After being roundly r
ebuffed by his colleagues on the Common Council, Councilman Gerry Daley is trying a new tactic to obtain confidential information about the investigation into Mayor Drew and the City Attorney's office. His efforts
echo those of the Mayor himself, and serve to keep the
multiple issues and controversies raised by the investigation alive.
Daley last Friday filed a formal request for the information associated with the invoices submitted by the firm hired by the Council for the investigation, just three days after the Council voted 8 - 3 against requesting that same information.
The bills and invoices were redacted before being shared with the Council, to protect the confidentiality of employees who spoke with the investigator about their concerns. When
Mayor Drew filed an August 7th request for information about those employees, Union President Geen Thazampallath said releasing this information would have a chilling effect on employees, "... he would be able to retaliate."
Daley's request is under the Freedom of Information Act, he writes:
... the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public's understanding of how $40,000 of taxpayer money was spent in relation to the engageemnt of LeClairRyan 'to represent the Common council of the city of Middletown ("Common Council") in conducing an independent investigation of the Office of the Mayor and the Office of the General Counsel in connection with a complaint of alleged violation of the City's sexual and other harrassment policy, as well as in responding to correspondence from the UPSEU Local #6457.
There is some controversy over whether these records can be released under the Freedom of Information Act. Documents that fall under attorney/client privilege, or attorney work products, or those related to whistleblower protection statutes,
may be exempt.
The rulings on the FOI requests by Mayor Drew, by Daley, and by others have now become contentious issues arising from the investigation of the mayor.
<Disclosure: The Eye has filed several requests for documents as well.>
The Corporation Counsel, and "An Abundance of Caution"
Because the Office of the General Counsel was itself also a subject of the investigation, the Corporation Counsel, Attorney Daniel Ryan, has been providing legal guidance to the city on matters arising from it. Whether this is appropriate has been challenged by Councilman Seb Giuliano, who points out that the Corporation Counsel serves at the pleasure of the Mayor, who is under investigation.
Michael Rose is an outside attorney who has been representing the City and its officers and employees in the investigation into the Mayor and the General Counsel's office. Rose has not publicly commented on whether the Corporation Council could rule on issues related to this investigation of the mayor and the General Counsel.
However, Rose previously represented the Bristol City Council in its investigation of their mayor. In his 2017 report to the Bristol City Council, Attorney Rose wrote, "Moreover, the Council was within its rights to seek legal guidance from outside the Corporation Counsel’s office since the inquiry involved the actions of the Mayor, who had appointing authority over the Corporation Counsel."
Attorney Ryan has now recused himself, writing:
However, since Councilman Giuliano has objected to the Corporation Counsel representing him in this regard because of a purported "conflict of interest", the Corporation Counsel chooses to utilize an abundance of caution in this instance and to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and therefore declines to represent Councilman Giuliano in the above captioned matter.
General Counsel Brig Smith will choose an outside attorney to provide legal advice on these issues. Smith is working with the Connecticut Association of Municipal Attorneys to identify ones with expertise in the Freedom of Information Act.
Smith said, "My goal is to find someone who is an honest broker, with no connections to my office, and no political contributions to any elected official in the city."
