Saturday July 28, 2012

To the Editor:

The Transcript’s slanted angle on words by a crafty reporter couldn’t have been more off-base in "City denies wrongdoing in banning citizen from City Hall" on Friday, July 20.

Biased at best, the allegations regarding truth, justice and Mr. Cardimino’s liberty to ask questions and receive answers, are about accountability and transparency for a 75-year-old citizen who is a Vietnam vet, not "Who-Shot-The-Sheriff."

It would be improper for me to comment regarding this case, as I don’t want to be like the city in trying his case in the media. He might just want to apply for an injunction or a TRO, and I wouldn’t want to taint the jury pool.

I will comment on the reporter’s use of words to imply something different. The spin appears that Mr. Cardimino, in my words, was crashing through the rail of the City Council Chambers floor.

Quoting the reporter: " ... crossing through a gate that separates the council floor from the public galley to do so."

Yes. Nothing wrong about being on the floor before or after the meeting.

Rule No. 26 of the 2012 North Adams City Council Rules of Order: "No person shall be admitted within the rail in the City Council Chambers during any meeting of the City Council, except upon permission of the President."

The key word here is "during," not before or after. It was a common practice in the past for visitors to cross through

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the rail to speak to a councilor after the meeting.

As for the statement by the reporter -- "The police were called to City Hall by a councilor and [Cardimino] was escorted out of the building [on June 12th.]" -- not on that day; get your facts correct.

Quoting City Solicitor John B. DeRosa’s "No Trespass Notice of June 18," In part: "After the meeting was gaveled adjourned, you approaching the Council President’s desk and confronting and personally attacking the President and other members of the Council. Again, the police officers were called, but by the time the officers arrived, you had left the building."

In closing, the burden of proof is on you, the writer. Just my two cents. The Spin Zone is on.

Mark Trottier

North Adams

July 23