In her December 23 letter to the editor, Charlestown Charter Revision Committee (CRC) member Margaret Hogan suggested that I won't let my video tape of the November 26 CRC meeting be broadcast on Public Access Channel 18. No one is more concerned that it didn't air than I am.

Among other reasons, I video tape public meetings as a public service, and do so on my own time and at my own expense. Unfortunately, I don't always get it right, which was the case with that meeting. I forgot to bring headphones and as a result wasn't able to monitor the sound levels. Consequently, the sound on the tape of the meeting was very low and the speech garbled. I took it to the RI PBS studio hoping it could be fixed, but they couldn't do anything with and it was not suitable for airing.

If Ms. Hogan wants to hire someone to fix the sound portion of the recording with sophisticated sound editing software, then she's more than welcome to have a copy. But I believe she'd find that using the services of an expert is an expensive proposition, as I learned when I hired an expert to prove that James Mageau's handwriting was on the envelopes of the "hate mail" sent to some Charlestown residents last winter.

Speaking of Mageau, he's now working on a new angle in his continuing war against the Planning Commission. Along with his political ally, CRC chair Deb Carney and her fellow CRC member Margaret Hogan, Mageau is questioning whether the voters can continue to vote for members of the Planning Commission - a well-established right they've have had for the past twenty-five years. He would like to see the Town Council appoint the board's members, I believe. The path chosen to accomplish this radical shift in power is to get the issue into court, basically to give a judge an opportunity to do the deed.

The November 26 CRC meeting Ms. Hogan referred to in her letter was the first public discussion of the issue. My ruined tape of that meeting would have clearly revealed the sales pitch used to convince the other CRC members to go along with a vote recommending that the Town Council go to court and let the judge decide. Unfortunately for Mageau and good for the voters, shortly after this meeting he was derailed in his efforts and suffered a setback. But I'm sure he's still working to get it into court. If he's successful in landing it there and if the judge is then convinced to rule in his favor, the voters will lose an important right and will be disenfranchised. Now town solicitor Robert Craven is working on the problem. I wonder if he will get the train back on track?

Cliff Vanover