Going to Court to Get the Business Dealings Between City Official/ City Council Candidate Tykoski and the City

[XLFD]

Today, or at latest tomorrow, the City will receive my first FOIA Appeal taken to the 51st Circuit Court here in Mason County.  This is the same as the administrative appeal Eve presented to the City Council at the September 26 meeting, but it has the additional 'Summary and Complaint' that courts require, and we hope, an actual legal explanation of why it will be either granted or denied. 

 

Her request dealt with public records dealing with contracted work (and likely some uncontracted work) the City had with the businesses that 5th Ward candidate Nick Tykoski had with the City since January 1, 2008 (when Nick became a City Official when he was appointed by his good friend Mayor Henderson and fellow FF, to the DLB, eventually becoming the fiance of the chair of that organization and beneficiary of a no bid contract for $14,999 in 2009, violating the City code requiring sealed bids on contracts over $10,000).  Not to mention that he was voted the long term exclusive beneficiary of the DDA's $150,000 signage project after a bid-rigged process was undertaken in 2010.  These statements are documented by public records in other threads.

 

Is there public interest in the information right now?  Sure is; this man is poised to possibly become a City Councilor of Ludington, and his integrity is something that the electorate needs to know about.  Will this information's divulgement at this point be unfair to him?  Not if there is no wrongdoing in his business dealings with the City.  But the record has already shown he has.

 

I don't run a local sign company, but you know they are experiencing rough times when a government unit decides to bypass any sort of mandatory fair bidding process to appease a crony employed as a City Official on the DDA's Sign Subcommittee.  As such, the law dictates disclosure of this fact when he gets contracts with the City at open public meetings.  His buddy already on the City Council, and fellow DDA-er Secretary Les Johnson, has never recorded that in any DDA meetings. 

 

This is undeniably corrupt, violating numerous ethic and laws designed so that public officials don't unfairly benefit from their public service in their private business.  But our FOIA Coordinator, City Manager John Shay, our Manistee City Attorney Dick Wilson, and the rest of our City Council does not want the public to get that information.  Shay had four possible responses to reply with, but he did not grant the request, partially grant the request, deny the request, or ask for more time to compile info. 

 

He denied our right to appeal his first and second "response" for lack of a better term.    When I appealed directly to the City Council members it was put on the agenda as a FOIA fees appeal, without any explanation of what fee I was appealing, because there was none given.  Just a nod to four other requests that were much different than this one. 

 

When it came to the City Council meeting, they struck the appeal from the meeting, mentioning afterwards that they decided to do so when Eve did not show.  Nowhere in the FOIA does it allow such attendance at an administrative appeal, except through the Open Meetings Act, which has been violated for me since March 1st. 

 

We had both submitted documentation showing our point, and requested to be able to attend this meeting as a team.  I was explicitly denied by John Shay, when I received no such communication to attend-- which I City-legally need to attend because of the Workplace Safety Policy and my receipt of a constitutionally-challenged Letter of Trespass for two public buildings.

 

We waited the ten business days for their reply, figuring that since they met on the tenth day succeeding (this Monday), that they might decide there.  We sent E-mails alerting them to that.  It was once again ignored.  By the law, this is a denial.

 

This Tuesday, we gathered my best virtual legal resources and started our appeal to the next venue, the 51st District Court.  And got it court-approved and served today to the City Clerk via certified mail, return service requested.  Unfortunately, if the City plays a waiting game, this information can be withheld until after the election.  Will the Ludington Daily News touch on this at their open forum in a dozen days or before, or will current City Councilor/Former LDN magnate Paul S. Peterson and fellow DDA co-commissioner/LDN Circulation Editor Julie Payment and their editorial czars have the gutless LDN reporters bypass any mention of such things?  My bets on the latter.

 

Here is what City Hall will be receiving, I've spent $150 just to get it filed and for court costs:

Summons

Complaint p1

Complaint p2

Complaint p3

Exhibit p1

Exhibit p2

Exhibit p3

Certified, RSR slip and receipt

 

[AQUAMAN]

Keep us posted on the Judge hearing this, and the court dates approaching in the matter.

[XLFD]

Will do, once I learn of them.

[Willy]

What is amazing is that Shay will continue to use taxpayers money to fight this so he can continue to hide information from the citizens who pay is unearned salary. Your going to be an expert in civics by the time this is settled.

[AQUAMAN]

Circuit Court? I would have hoped some State agency oversaw these FOIA matters, so that the local court system already in bed with the COL could be bypassed. If it's the usual judge, expect the worse. If a visiting impartial judge is available or requested, you might have a chance. Try to request that and see what happens is what I would do. Perhaps citing conflicts of interest is the reason, as the COL has continuing cases that local judges never want to rule against as it's an arm's length away from county business as well, i.e. they all feed at the same trough of public funds more or less.

[XLFD]

If the Circuit Court does wish to cherry-pick that certain judge, I believe we can request disqualification successfully. 

If not, we do have the right to further appeal outside of the county, and will get a good FOIA lawyer then, not the foolish idiots we now have!

[XLFD]

Shay and his co-horts have an endless supply of money in their pockets and a wide access to attorneys to sequester their activities from the sunshine.  I surely don't.   Yet, I and Eve will continue to do these appeals because the concealment of public records by FOIA Coordinator Shay is only getting worse, and less lawful.