Thursday, June 04, 2009

"That’s the way things are done in Cambridge."

Bob Reports:

The following letter was printed on line on June 6, 2009 by the Cambridge Chronicle:

Reading the city solicitor’s very strong op ed to the Chronicle on Monteiro versus Cambridge reminds me of an incident which personally concerned me several years ago.

An employee of the Election Department trashed 51 out of 100 signatures on my election papers, trashing the papers. He objected to my turning in original signatures on forms that were photocopies of his forms. He did so in clear and direct violation of a Supreme Judicial Court case concerning Jack E. Robinson, a Republican candidate for governor. I informed him of the case. He informed me that the way he did things was the “way things are done in Cambridge.”

A lawyer with the state election people told a friend of mine that it was inconceivable that any city solicitor would support the Election Department’s action. The city solicitor’s office supported the action. A bunch of city appointed lawyer members on the election commission also supported the action of the employee in spite of the very clear wording of the Jack E. Robinson case.

Grievances against a list of departments damned by the guest editorial that followed the editor’s editorial sounded like old home week.