In a Letter to her "Fellow Residents of the Town of Rochester" on the "State of the Town as of December 31, 2005" (http://www.townofrochester.net), Town Supervisor Pam Duke - who should have been presiding over the controversial Feb. 1 Town Board Meeting but chose to allow the Town Attorney to choose who may be given the floor and under what conditions - says the following about Open Government:
"We worked to improve open government by making meetings of various town entities more accessible..."
Interesting. Accessible to whom? Not to the Townspeople who are told they cannot speak because the "Town Board is not interested in a one-sided conversation." Not to the hundred or so people locked out of the Town Hall (including several who were either elderly or disabled). Not to Manuela Mihailescu, who just wants some justice.
Also, a letter attributed to "Town of Rochester Democrats" on former Democratic Assembly candidate Kelly Keck's website (http://keckforassembly.com) says the following:
"Also, we encourage you to see democratic (small D) open government in action by attending and participating in Town Board meetings. These are held on the first Thursday of each month at 7pm at Town Hall."
We took them at their word. We attended and tried to participate. We were shut down, censored and locked out of the process. Now, they are accusing us of being a "mob", of not wanting to engage in dialogue and discussion. Careful, guys: your hypocrisy is showing.
Apparently the only thing "open" about the Town Government in Rochester is that everything is "open" to interpretation, especially if it is interpreted to benefit the current regime.
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