Mr. Mageau’s recent letter concerning the legality of the Charlestown Planning Commission follows a predictable pattern of behavior and expression known all too well by the citizens of Charlestown.  If any organization or representative of that organization voices a perspective different than Mr.Mageau’s or questions his political intentions they become a target of his rage and familiar hyperbole or even worse, frivolous complaints to the Attorney General’s office.

What Mr. Mageau failed to convey to the public in his letter to the editor was that many citizens were not only concerned about the politics of this issue but criticized the process used to question the legality of the Planning Commission.  The Town Council at its November meeting heard from many citizens, including myself.  These citizens believed that there had not been an opportunity to participate in a fair and open discussion on the Planning Commission.

The Council’s response to the citizen’s feedback was to reject the Charter Review Commission’s request for a Court Review on the legality of the Planning Commission. Instead, the Council passed a motion to have the Town Solicitor review the history and legal issues surrounding the Planning Commission and render a legal opinion that is expected later this month.  Mr. Mageau also failed to mention his personal response to the Council’s vote for an internal legal opinion. Mr. Mageau attempted on his own to bring the issue before the court rather than wait for the Town’s legal opinion to be issued.  His attempt failed because he lacked legal standing.

The unhealthy public policy environment that has existed in Charlestown this past year has been fueled by Mr. Mageau’s actions against the citizens, including his own council members, and his failure to uphold the high standards of public service. Given this dysfunctional environment, I believe the Council’s decision to seek an internal legal opinion was a fair decision in response to the citizen feedback that rejected the option of going to court to resolve the issue.

Daniel Slattery