{"id":1217,"date":"2016-04-24T19:08:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T00:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1217"},"modified":"2016-04-24T19:08:41","modified_gmt":"2016-04-25T00:08:41","slug":"meier-is-bringing-kanter-back-the-council-is-still-concealing-lea-dunns-memo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1217","title":{"rendered":"Meier is Bringing Kanter Back The Council is STILL CONCEALING Lea Dunn\u2019s Memo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meier is Bringing Kanter Back
\n<\/strong>The Council is STILL CONCEALING Lea Dunn\u2019s Memo
\n<\/strong>By Susan M. Halpern
\n<\/strong>Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Meier is desperate to maintain the control he has enjoyed over the council for the past two years, so he is pulling out all the stops.\u00a0 He fears the election of truly independent candidates.\u00a0 The three incumbents he supports have been obedient, working with Meier to lock down information that is available to the public.\u00a0 This Council has declared war on the Open Records Act.\u00a0 And that is critically important because for Meier to succeed, he must have free reign to mislead the public.\u00a0 That makes folks like me \u201cenemies,\u201d or as Meier and his group call us, \u201chaters.\u201d<\/p>\n

My word, but this has to change!<\/p>\n

Two months ago, Meier began his assault on the election, and he has relentlessly used Addison\u2019s resources and public meetings to conduct a campaign for the incumbents, all on our tax dollars.\u00a0 It started with the recycling of accountant Larry Kanter\u2019s two-year-old presentation.\u00a0 Kanter, who was hired without Meier and his cadre seeking bids from anyone else, likewise demonstrated his loyalty to Meier, gleefully trashing prior management and staff.<\/p>\n

My efforts to obtain the other side of the story \u2013 the TRUTH \u2013 have been blocked by Meier and his cadre.\u00a0 Addison initially withheld all documents, submitting the matter to the Attorney General on unquestionably frivolous grounds.\u00a0 That included asserting the \u201caudit\u201d privilege despite the fact that Kanter\u2019s engagement letter stated on its face that his work was NOT an audit.\u00a0 Addison then withdrew two claims, but continues to withhold the key documents, including Lea Dunn\u2019s 19 page response to Kanter allegations, claiming the attorney-client privilege.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been a lawyer for 33 years, and I can\u2019t fathom a set of circumstances that would make that document privileged.<\/p>\n

Meier can pull this stunt because he controls the Council, including the three incumbent candidates who claim \u201cindependence,\u201d but vote with Meier at almost every turn.\u00a0 They control this process.\u00a0 They have the ability to cause this frivolous position to be withdrawn.\u00a0 But they won\u2019t.\u00a0 It is my belief that Lea Dunn\u2019s memo and other similar documents will expose THE TRUTH about Kanter\u2019s misleading, inappropriate, recycled presentation.\u00a0 And these folks can\u2019t afford for THE TRUTH to come out.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: MEIER AND HIS CADRE ARE HIDING THE TRUTH FROM THE VOTERS in an inappropriate and dishonest effort to influence this election.<\/p>\n

It gets worse.\u00a0 Meier is actually telling people \u2013 including me \u2013 that he favors releasing Lea Dunn\u2019s memo.\u00a0 He claims he has tried to \u201cexpedite the process.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s absolutely hogwash.\u00a0 The suggestion that Meier and this Council aren\u2019t in control of the process is a flat out lie.\u00a0 Are you kidding me?\u00a0 What, Ken Paxton is telling Addison to hide the truth from its citizens?\u00a0 It\u2019s absolutely untrue.\u00a0 Meier owns this Council, and together they could withdraw their submission and produce the documents immediately.\u00a0 They won\u2019t.\u00a0 At least not until they try to influence the election with their one-sided, misleading stories.\u00a0 What a disgrace and a disservice to Addison.<\/p>\n

So, predictably, Meier is now bringing Kanter back on Tuesday.\u00a0 After all, voting starts Monday and Meier is going to continue running his campaign of misinformation on my taxpayer dollar.\u00a0 So when he does, ask yourself: is this how someone truly trying to improve Addison would act?\u00a0 Even if Addison\u2019s processes needed tightening, was it necessary to attack and disparage prior management to do so?<\/p>\n

And how can any of it be taken seriously when they are attacking people who are no longer around to respond and refute what is being said.\u00a0 And, when all that they DID say to refute this nonsense is being actively and intentionally CONCEALED from the public.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the other thing: What message do Kanter\u2019s attacks send to current employees?\u00a0 It seems pretty clear that if you dare to disagree with Meier or Kanter, you will be publicly disparaged.\u00a0 Who would continue to work here?\u00a0 The list of employees who have left is lengthy.\u00a0 We have lost thousands of hours of experience as employees have fled the hostile, toxic atmosphere these people have created.\u00a0 Consider the remarks of one retiring employee, who left after 23 years:<\/p>\n

The “transitional audit” has unjustly caused fear and intimidation among employees. False accusations have been made without giving the accused a chance to answer for themselves. Misleading comments have been made, planting seeds of doubt regarding employees who have always performed their duties in a professional and ethical manner. I also find it inappropriate and disheartening to hear former management and employees spoken of in a way that paints them in a negative light, giving the impression their tenure was less than satisfactory. When one speaks disparagingly of their predecessors, their comments speak volumes about the integrity and ethics of the speaker. I still have mixed emotions about retiring, as my coworkers are more like family than coworkers. This says something about the quality people that work for Addison. That said, I hope the hostile atmosphere will change and Addison will once again be a place people want to work for, not a place they want to leave….<\/p>\n

I suspect that Lea Dunn\u2019s memo similarly pulls no punches in responding to and refuting Kanter\u2019s inflammatory, one-sided nonsense.\u00a0 The concealment of this important perspective tells you all you need to know about Meier and his group.<\/p>\n

One last thing.\u00a0 Meier and his cadre have been the kings and queens of process.\u00a0 They have created a labyrinth of procedures and processes and committees and nationwide searches for employees and meetings and work sessions and liasons, it goes on and on.<\/p>\n

But Kanter was hired without any process at all<\/strong>.\u00a0 Meier recommended him, and it\u2019s clear from the documents I have seen so far and that \u201cLarry\u201d and \u201cTodd\u201d enjoy a cozy relationship.\u00a0 So isn\u2019t it incredibly convenient that \u201cLarry\u201d now continues to provide \u201cTodd\u201d with one-sided, unprofessional and inflammatory accusations to bolster \u201cTodd\u2019s\u201d campaign, all the while the REAL TRUTH is being withheld.<\/p>\n

Addison can do so much better than this.<\/p>\n

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