Page 4 of the security report:
…city manager says this is not a gag order... what do you think?
REPRINTED FROM JULY ARTICLE
To most individuals it is a cruel reminder that medieval and depraved forms
of ‘fear-based management’ are still in use today. In this case,
those in power use threats and intimidation to control or silence the flow of
information to the public. The terms were drafted by utility director Rebecca
Mattey before Stanton took over and no one knew if the new city manager strongly
agreed with them or not.
So LWM set out to ask the new city manager to clarify her position at a July
7th meeting. And much to our astonishment she said: “Mr Reyes is not under
any gag order,” and went on to deny any gag order was in effect. But LWM
reminded her that the gag order was posted on the LWM site to which she responded
that it wasn’t a gag order; that there was nothing wrong with it; and
proceeded to vigorously defend its use!
That our city manager has resorted to these tactics is in sharp contrast to
assurances she made to employee groups …that she didn’t approve
of gag orders and similar actions taken against employees. So who is telling
the truth… Susan Stanton or Susan Stanton??
Maybe she wants to redefine the universe as she knows it… but that denial
of reality has a familiar ring to it ...it sounded more like something Joseph Stalin
said when he was starving millions to death in the Ukraine. He was asked by
a reporter about the rumor when he calmly interrupted and said with great thoughtfulness
"no one is starving in the Ukraine."
The suppression of information or the fear of being an open and transparent
governmental system …in itself means something is wrong with the leadership
at the top. And most disturbing of all – the public expectations were
that our new city manager would rid the city of corruptive forces yet she justifies
and defends the use of the very tools OF corruption… the very things every
citizen has hoped would be finally dissolved. So while waving the banner of
positive change and espousing the virtues of open and transparent government…
the new city manager appears to be saying one thing and doing another.
Note that item 1 above literally forbids Mr Reyes from discussing anything
about work with his own wife! To prevent information getting to the public or
commission, Mr Reyes is banned from talking to either including the media; Mr
Reyes has to report problems verbally to Mattey so as to leave no electronic
or written trails unless the utility director tells him its okay. That protects
all utility activities from any public scrutiny. He can’t even have any
kind of personal computer at work. His first amendment rights were violated
by the prohibition against attending a city meeting unless allowed to do so
by the director.
There is positively no reason for our city to represent itself by taking such
brutal, unnecessary and prejudicial not to mention counter-productive action against anyone… employee or
not.
And so in the hope that something good can arise from this… LWM would
like to invite the new city manager Susan Stanton to
LIFT the gag order on Mr Reyes and any other bans/gag orders on employees…
>
city manager Susan Stanton
The punitive nature of these terms imposed on Mr Reyes is more of what you'd
expect in a communist country or from some criminal enterprise. But this gag
order was imposed by city manager Stanton who said on July 7th, “it isn’t
a gag order” and proceeded to passionately defend its use and appropriateness.
as a statement of her belief that these tactics are unacceptable, unproductive
and inappropriate. LWM would like nothing more than to assist in any way, the
new city manager with the best of her intentions.
Political advertisement paid for and approved by William Coakley for Mayor
