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by Fawn Moroski
Residents of the Town of Rochester finally had a chance to speak out regarding the allegations made by the Town Board against Manuela Mihailescu and the events that occurred at the February Town Board meeting, which resulted in the meeting being abruptly adjourned, the police being called and residents locked out in the cold.
The highly anticipated March 1 Rochester Town Board meeting was relocated to the Accord Firehouse to accommodate the expected crowd. Over 100 people were in attendance and continued to fill the room until 8 p.m. All eyes were on the Town Board as they conducted a business-as-usual meeting and did not directly acknowledge the large audience. Following a presentation that was given by the Historic Preservation Committee regarding the planned Veterans Memorial Park, Supervisor Pam Duke broke the silence about the Mihailescu issue with a statement that she and the board had prepared.
"We are aware that many of you are here this evening because you feel Ms. Mihailescu was wronged by the Town Board and many people have based our actions on only one version of the story," she said. "Executive sessions are confidential meetings permitted by State law...We are obliged to remain silent about what happened during an Executive Session interview."
Duke claimed that since Mihailescu would not sign a waiver the board is required to remain silent.
"We have not spoken about Ms. Mihailescu's confidential interview. We have honored due process." She continued by saying, "The Town Board received information that potentially linked Ms. Mihailescu's name to adult websites. We asked ourselves 'Is the information relevant to her appointment? Is the information reliable? If true, would it prevent her from carrying out her duties?' The only way to answer these questions was to meet with her and ask for her side of the story."
Offering a formal apology, Duke said, "We regret the emotional angst that this has created and the division that this has cause in our community. We believe that we acted properly and with sensitivity. Despite what the local press and rumor reported, the vote on Ms. Mihailescu's candidacy was never taken and the process was not completed." Following the statement the board held the vote that would determine if Mihailescu would be appointed to the Historic Preservation Committee and "complete the process." She was denied a spot in a 4-1 vote.
As one gentleman in the audience attempted to address the board, Supervisor Duke gruffly told him that he was "out of order" and must wait until the public comment period at the end of the meeting if he wished to speak. Several other times throughout the meeting, Supervisor Duke had to bring order back to the room and silence the audience who were whispering, snickering and speaking among themselves.
Signs were held by some in the audience that said, "This is Our House" and "We Will Be Heard." The public comment period was opened by Supervisor Duke at 8:30 p.m and allowed each person to speak for approximately three minutes. One of the first people to speak was Mihailescu. Emotional and near tears she said, "You don't ruin people's life like the way you did mine. There is no justification for what you've done. You just don't want to work with us Republicans."
Her comments were met with a round of applause from the audience.
"You just don't get it why people are upset," said area resident Imre Beke. "The way the Town treated people was unfair. Authority and legitimacy come from people of the Town. You have chosen power over those things. You ran on open government, so now be open."
Donald Dunn expressed his offense by the fliers mailed by the Republican Club to residential homes.
"This is the only pornography I saw," he said. "These fliers were laying all over the floor at the post office.
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Anne Katz, one of the people who found themselves locked out of February's meeting, praised the board for shutting down the meeting. "What I saw at the last meeting was a group of people acting like a lynch mob. It was scary and confusing. I commend the board on their actions," said Katz.
None of the board members commented or responded. The meeting adjourned promptly at 9 p.m. The board meets again April 5 at 7 p.m.
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