In Defense of Tom Rotta

[XLFD]

"  'cause if you can't even defend yourself, who else should bother to?  "

I love playing the black pieces in chess; white always gets the first move and that kineticism is met with the potential energies of black setting up a solid defense capable of a counterattack.  There is one problem, however, with the chess game I am playing with the City of Ludington, I start off being overwhelmed materially, and the best position I can get is a stalemate.  Let me take a look at today's City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews), the day after I made a brief statement for disclosure of some records at the City Council meeting, then went off to see the WMOM/MCP.com candidate forum.  Let me preface this by reminding the reader, that the COLDNews has never been a fan of mine, no matter who writes the story.

The Opening

Each Ludington City Council meeting, like most public meetings, start off with the pledge of allegiance to the flag.  "...United States of America, And to the REPUBLIC for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."  Do these people understand what a republic is?  I inquired about this in my 5 minute statement we are allowed at the beginning of the meeting.

"My name is Tom Rotta, I hail from 137 E Dowland Street. Tonight the City Council is going to review two other FOIA appeals it has yet to decide on. Both have been turned down by the FOIA Coordinator for being investigatory records of an open investigation and can therefore be exempted from disclosure in their minds. The City Attorney and the Prosecutor of Mason County, Paul Spaniola, have backed that decision with conclusory statements and have failed to show how disclosure would affect the stale investigations of these incidents. One 'investigation' is 13 months in and has resulted in the imprisonment of someone for 10-15 years. Yet, the Prosecutor would deny any records to be disclosed at this point in time. That is unlawful, and violates the FOIA, as has been decided in case after case. The City Council in the last two meetings have denied disclosure of such investigatory records and the copying of non-exempt material. This is also unlawful. And runs counter to what all Americans should hold dear. This country was started as a republic over 200 years ago; our forefathers were unanimous in declaring that the rule of law would prevail in this country, not the dictates of one person or a group of people. The law must affect everyone equally, and those laws must be enforced equally. But here we have Manistee lawyers and a legally-weak prosecutor saying you need to keep the public records secret, even when the law and all the court precedent says those records must be released. This is not doing their duty as public officers. The new issue tonight is the release of the records dealing with the death of Lingyan Zou at the Municipal Marina nearly two months ago. The City Manager had contended that this is an open investigation and all the records need to be kept secret. The autopsy results, the toxicology report, the death certificate, and other records have been released to me by the county coroner. The City denied me even these records until they learned that I had them, and gave me those duplicative records when they found out, but no more. It is a ridiculous game that the City Manager has used over and over again with few variations in his arbitrary and capricious way of shirking his duties as FOIA Coordinator. I have to go away for another event before this is decided on, the Candidates Forum being held in Scottville. I have given the Councilors at least seven court precedents that say what the attorneys are opining is wrong and against the law. Councilors, you can do your own research and find they must at least redact what WOULD be exempted and say why. Choose to follow the law, not to blindly obey the friendly attorneys you trust without verifying. For those who want to see those precedents and FOIA law, go to the Ludington Torch on your internet service provider and look for the thread "When Open Governments and Open Investigations Collide".

The Middle Game

The COLDNews recap of the council meeting pictured here goes like this in reviewing the night's FOIA appeaI, it is in blue-- I couldn't resist adding my green comments, as they are eco-friendly:

Also on Monday, the council denied FOIA request appeals from Tom Rotta and Toni Swiger. Rotta had requested all records relating to the death of Ling Lang Zou [Editor's note:  That's Lingyan Zou, have some respect for the dead, COLDNews] at the Ludington Municipal Marina June 2. The request was denied because the police department reported it was still an open investigation [which does not automatically make any record exempt by any lawful interpretation of the FOIA].

Swiger had requested all written records, recordings and transcripts related to interviews with Ariel Courtland during the investigation into the 2011 disappearance of Courtland's daughter Katherine Phillips, also known as "Baby Kate." Swiger's request was very similar to a Rotta request and appeal that were denied because the police are investigating the disappearance as a murder. [which is a totally irrelevant point, once you think of it] Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett said he hopes to conclude his investigation in the marina case within the next 60 days.  [after all the tourists go home and then quietly released on page 6] Councilor Gary Castonia told the council he's tired of Rotta being "snotty" to the councilors and city officials.  He also said the amount of time and effort city officials spend to answer Rotta's requests is ridiculous.  [I agree; the efforts I see by Shay are often ridiculous] "I am just getting tired of it," he said. "The thing that gets me most is the name-calling."  ["Snotty" Rotta generally abstains from name-calling, Honorable Councilor Castonia.  In my presentation, I just don't see any blatant name calling.]

Kaye Ferguson Holman said she agrees. She resents Rotta's actions and said she will wait to explain her feelings until a time when Rotta can stay to listen.  [during last fall's city council campaign where I ran against Kaye, I made the true statement that Toni and I had sent 30 letters and E-mails to Kaye without one reply from her, this was during the same time she was hypocritically saying she responds promptly to everyone.  She amended that to not include me or Toni as 'anyone'] He had been at the meeting but left before the decisions [as I explained, I was going to the candidate's forum in Scottville, I didn't even mention it was being held by WMOM and Mason County Press, as I might have hurt the COLDNews' feelings].

The Endgame

But the COLDNews wasn't content bashing me in the news column, they also wanted to set up a fianchettoed ex COLDNews publisher and 12 year City Councilor Paul S. Peterson to attack along the diagonal in the "From Our Readers" column.  Is he standing up for the proper implementation of the FOIA and for more disclosure?  Are you kidding?  Here's the article, followed by Paul's letter wrote out in blue, and my interactive, environmentally-conscious green comments in reusable brackets.

In Defense of City Officials

The law is quite clear: All units of government are subject to the Freedom of lnformation Act (FOIA) [incorrect, Section 2(d)(v) the judiciary branch is not a public body under FOIA definition], which allows for full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by federal, state, and local boards. The law is specific about which records can remain shielded.- such as personnel, medical, and discussions involving client (the city) - attorney [personnel records are available through FOIA, except for Law enforcement agencies, medical records also are mainly available unless specially protected or if they would lead to the identity of one individual, and most writings by City Attorneys are available, only those shielded by privilege between them and their public official client are exempt.] During the last two years of my term on the city council, city officials were, and are, constantly bombarded byTom Rotta and his friend Toni Swiger with requests for records, minutes of meetings, committee meeting minutes, emails, copies of ordinances and even privileged information [making less than one request a week is a bombardment?] [Each of the examples Paul includes are easy enough to locate and send, privileged material would never be sent.] It all  started because of the placement of a traffic stop sign that Mr. Rotta claimed was a few feet in the wrong direction [It was 25 ft. from where it should have been and without a traffic control order, according to my initial FOIA request, but he's wrong:  It all started with a sly look from my papa at my mama.] Mr. Rotta has gone so far as to take pictures of the homes of the city manager, the mayor and, for heaven's sake, even the community development director.  [This is spurious, defamatory and untrue.  The best I have taken is a picture of the "$200" privacy fence on the south side of the CDD's right of way which blatantly violates the City zoning code.  I have taken a picture of Paul's frontyard, and three other councilor's frontyards back in 2009, to show the hypocrisy they were involved with by forcing  people to redo their sidewalks (some in very good condition) when they were so neglectful themselves to put in any sidewalk at their own property.] This may sound like "so what's the big deal? Give him the stuff." The city does grant his requests, but it is a "big deal" And the city has gone to extremes to fulfill their endless requests, which conservatively measure into the hundreds of pages [gee, furnishing public records to the public so they can see what their government is doing is such a bother...] . Obviously, those requests are not at the fingertips of city personnel. They must be located, a determination made to assure that the request does not in itself violate the law [a FOIA request can violate the law?!  On what planet, Paul?  This is the mindset of these people.], and the material copied and mailed [I never ask for copies or ask to have it mailed to me.  I always ask to inspect, failing that, to have scanned images sent electronically.  This cuts cost, effort for all concerned]. The city has spent countless hours complying with the Rotta-Swiger requests, and for what purpose [Have you read the Ludington Torch lately Paul?  They are showcased here whether they be no-bid contracts, misuse of public funds, misuse of public office, etc.  But those things aren't important to you or the COLDNews, is it?]? The city has previously handled dozens of FOIA requests, and there has never been an issue, until now.  [We've been appealing these all along, Paul.  Not all to the administrative level, however.] To me it is all too clear that Mr. Rotta and Ms. Swiger have only one thing in mind - harass the city [City harassers?!]by making these unreasonable and frivolous demands on city time (which translates into tax money), resources and lobbing city employees of time they could well spend on worthwhile projects [Like cat-feeding ordinances and new beach rules, not to mention unconstitutional searches by City personnel for water connections, and letters of trespass for public areas.  Time well spent.] Mayor John Henderson was correct during the recent city council meeting when he praised City Manager John Shay for his ethics and integrity [And he said it without giggling like a schoolgirl]. In all the years I served with Shay, I have never known him to be anything but open, completely ethical with an unblemished record of integrity [then defend his actions at the Torch, Paul, you're not bound by your public service now.] I sincerely believe Tom Rotta is going to these extremes because in the beginning he felt he had been wronged. But nothing has come of this [In the beginning, the middle and the end, especially the end, ouch.] I am sure this letter won't lessen Mr. Rotta's determination [it actually charges my battery, Paul] to continue his harassment of city officials [Again this is a loaded and defamatory charge. Paul, please note, harassment does not include constitutionally protected activity or conduct that serves a legitimate purpose.  I contend the only people being harassed are the two people you are slandering here.]

But I feel that someone, other than city officials, should come to their defense [A city official who served twelve years, who had to put up with me for two, steps up.  Thank you Citizen Peterson].

Obviously, the other side is running out of ideas on how to play civilly.  Will they tip the table over at some point in frustration?  Check.

[XLFD]

I really don't think it can be seen any other way if you look at all the facts honestly.  I just wish I could get any of these folks, including any or all of the City's City Attorneys to come on here and argue their position with laws and reason. 

The whole thing reminds me of a poker game where your opponent has put his cards face up on the table and keeps bidding you higher, and even though you keep bidding, because you know you have the winning hand, you also know at the end of the game that he is rewriting the rules of poker as you go, and he's twice your size.  Not to mention he's got a full police force behind him. 

[Nikki Forbes]

Go door-to-door.   They care what the public thinks.  You have the majority on your side.  The public just needs to know what's really going on.  Or, don't go, but send a crew out.  LPD, etc., even when no elected, has no power without public support and demand.   I realize this event is two years old.  Time flies indeed.  Stop fighting alone. 

[XLFD]

Truly I am not fighting alone; I hear from a lot of disenfranchised people of the area who have suffered from the unethical/illegal actions of our local officials or their policies.  But as the thread suggests, this is much like a chess game, where the other side has a vast material advantage with a lot of powerful pieces, and there is no guarantee that our pawns will be queened if they get to the last rank. 

I am all too aware that most of us pawns are being blockaded from moving due to the repercussions if they do.  Still more are unaware that anything is amiss, until they actually experience it firsthand.  Even then, they may accept it as just the way things are. 

I will just keep plodding along like I have since 2009 and try to gain more material, while the other side continues to overplay its position.  My multiple victories in court since this thread, and the acceptance by the general public to many of the incontrovertible points I bring up at these meetings suggest that it may still prove the winning strategy in a game where the outlook seems hopeless.

[Nikki Forbes]

Nothing is hopeless, powerless maybe.. but not hopeless.  God says (I trust Him over any human being, although I like human beings.. generally) - in His word, that He will bring all intentions, wrong or right to fruition, revealed (2 Peter 1:16 - 21; Hebrews 4:12 - 13; Romans 14:12; 1 Peter 4:4 - 5. "Man" may not be true to his word, but God is). That means with us, or without our input!  Nevertheless, it was an attorney here, who had to be the one to tell me that they indeed care very much what the public thinks.  There are no leaders where there are no followers.  The public sees what's right and what's wrong.  They just have to know about it.  They're smart.  They care about how they are managed.  They'll come around. 

[XLFD]

That's why I used 'seems' hopeless, rather than 'is' hopeless.  I am filled with hope, filled with faith, filled with love.  You will not see me throw in the towel, forsake people and/or ideas that deserve support, or advocate anything other than peaceful solutions.

The public servants I find myself in opposition with, would like to portray me as something other.  But these fellows have no problem infringing more of your rights and seizing more of your property than they need to, under the threat of official force.  They have no faith in their fellow citizens to know how to best spend their money, or to do the right thing without them imposing Draconian laws.  Their hopes seem to be only how to get more power and money for them and their fellow officials, and quashing hopes of people that do not want to cooperate with them. 

They say they "Love Ludington" (whatever that means) but figuratively, they never buy Ludington flowers or chocolates, or take it out for dinner or a movie, unless Ludington (citizens) is footing the bill. 

[AQUAMAN]

That's a nice scripture ref. Nikki. X, your last analogy hit the nail for me, thanks. 

[wildfire]

XLFD, Can you get a pertition to get people to sign , n then hand them a flyer about when n were you or your helpers can get a meeting together, 

[Nikki Forbes]

Now yer talkin'.   Except mail the results signed and certified to Ray Franz, to start.

[AQUAMAN]

Ray Franz's office is run by a mature liberal female from Manistee last I heard, and she's not open to legal or public comments that come from taxpayers, just a dogma of fixed agenda's by his cronie constituents. So, that's not a viable option imho. But, X has other videos from cameras of his own, and might prevail in the end if the cards are dealt out fairly. If it comes down to Cooper, that sure would make things difficult for X in any shape, way, or form. Btw, nice post Willy, I totally agree with your input! 

[Nikki Forbes]

What's the goal?

[XLFD]

I have talked rather stridently about the Ludington situation in front of Ray Franz at a couple of the city council meetings, sent him a letter about my own disenfranchisement back in 2011 and 2012 because of the city's Workplace Safety Policy, but he is not interested.  He served for three decades on the Onekama Village Council, including six years as village president, so he has more feelings for officials over citizens, I truly believe. 

I will likely not organize much beyond this website other than to address an emergent issue that needs it.  Even then, I'm not the best organizer, nor do I want to be.  It's easier to do what I feel is right for myself than it is to please a whole group of folks.

[Nikki Forbes]

Then solo, you are merely an annoying mosquito to them.  You are in a private dance where the extent to the only attention they feel compelled to give you is scorn, and they have a cohort of support for that.  What's the goal?