Dear Mr. Rosenberg:

Although I believe your goal was satire, your column, “It takes all kinds: Bashers, singers and the quiet ones” appears to lay equal blame for disruptions at Town Hall at the feet of all members of the Charlestown Council. Neither the satirical depiction of the Council, or such a conclusion, would accurately convey what has transpired since the 2006 election, nor do many consider this a laughing matter.

Councilor Mageau’s actions during his tenure in office are well documented by the local media as well as by video tape of town council meetings. His belligerent outbursts towards residents, efforts to undermine town legal representation regarding the expansion of gambling in Charlestown, involvement in the sending of “hate mail” (as documented by two independent handwriting experts) and most recent arrest for his admitted assault against a town resident are but a few of the incidences that have been documented over the last 20 months.

As you noted, the response of Councilor Bruce Picard to all of these actions and more has largely been to remain silent. This is not a laudable response to such actions. If not for the outright and complicit support of Mr. Picard, and often that of former Council member John Craig (both of whom have announced decisions to move out of town), Councilor Mageau would have little ability to do any more harm than continue to be disruptive on the Council.

Conversely, amid the outcry of Charlestown citizens - themselves the target of Mr. Mageau’s verbal and physical abuse - two members of the Charlestown Council did speak up to oppose Mr. Mageau’s actions. Opposing the bullying tactics of Mr. Mageau IS a laudable quality, and the people of Charlestown owe a debt of gratitude to Councilor Kate Waterman and Harriet Allen for their strength, courage, and tenacity in working to limit the damage Mr. Mageau has inflicted on the town during his tenure in office. Both Ms. Waterman and Ms. Allen have previously served on Town Councils where the raising of voices was a rarity, if it happened at all. It is clearly the addition of Mr. Mageau to the mix that has changed the decorum at Town Hall.

Thankfully voters in Charlestown will have an opportunity to elect a new Council in November. Although the 2008 election holds the same dangerous potential to see a record number of Party line voters “pull” the Democratic Party lever and again return Mr. Mageau to office, one hopes that Charlestown voters will recognize that it is the “people” not the “party” they elect to office that most impacts their quality of life and right to civil representation.

Sincerely,

John J. Goodman