Jovanovich Gives Joe the Sack on RGC Emails

A Guest Column from Rye City Councilperson Peter Jovanovich

The public should be aware of the background to Joe Sack’s complaint about not getting information from the City.

For over a year, Joe as been admonished by the Corporation Counsel, the Mayor, and the City Manager about his use of his private email address for public business. All Council members are told, explicitly, to only use their rye.gov email addresses for public business. As the Corporation Counsel Kristen Wilson has explained: this procedure ensures that information requests can be fully complied with.

Joe Sack, uniquely, refuses to comply. All other Council people do. Recently, the Mayor and the City Manager warned Joe that they would no longer reply to his emails from his private address. They said they would answer, and provide information, if he adopted his City email address. He still refuses.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the City struggles with a budget, which is being eaten up by skyrocketing benefit and pension costs.  With the little money that’s left, we try to provide crossing guards, keep the library open more hours, and generally serve the City while not overburdening the taxpayer.

Joe Sack’s recent sally against the Mayor and the City Manager accomplishes nothing while chewing up time. To paraphrase Shakespeare, it’s an expense of spirit in a waste of silliness.

Peter Jovanovich
Rye City Councilperson

Comments

[tedc]

SWINESONG!

Rye’s Corruption-Nurturing, Stale-Dated Political Class Tries a Comeback:

'MUNICIPAL PORN' PETE TO MOTUNT BACK DOOR CHARGE AT SACK IN NOVEMBER ON INDEPENDENT LINE

http://www.lausdeo10580.com/lausdeo10580/2013/07/municipal-porn-star-deputy-mayor-jovanovich-to-mount-back-door-charge-at-sack-in-november.html

[Hill v. Jovanovich McGraw-Hill]

Dear Judith:

We here in Rye apologize for anything you were forced to endure at the hands of Jowannasnatch and McGraw-Hill.

Unfortunately for us here in Rye, it seems around the same time that your allegation of sexual harassment and other allegations were filed, Jowannasnatch moved here to Rye. We have been stuck with this guy and his wife since then.

When a dedicated City of Rye employee accused his boss, City Manager Pickup, last year of lying to the Rye City Council and withholding official records, Jowannasnatch referred Pickup to a non-investigative Board of Ethics rather than perform a credible investigation of the serious allegations.

Jowannasnatch also used this ploy when his friend the Mayor of Rye, Doug French, was accused of having an illegal STAR Tax Exemption and for building code violations.

Jowannasnatch has also refused to detail what City of Rye operating funds he and others on the Rye City Council took $5,000,000 from apparently without any authorization to do so.

[Judith A Hill]

Mr. Zahm,

Named in at least six additional suits by former stockholders, Mr. Jovanovich's company defended a case where investors were misled about the financial position of the company. The suit also claimed that false information was distributed by executives that violated securities law and artificially inflated the value of the company's stock as they strapped the company with nearly $3 billion of debt at the same time. This suit has nothing to do with Ms. Hill's claims of sexual harassment.

Now I ask you, would you have someone handling your personal money and running your business that was involved in these types of issues? I don't think so and it is my guess that most of the residents in Rye would feel the same way as I do about having that same person serving as a trustee of our city.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1992-03-13/business/9203130427_1_preferred-stock-suit-jovanovich

[Robert Zahm]

@ the latest mask wearer (JH) - your comments would have some relevance if a.) they were made under your real name; b.) there was a valid link between personal dirt that has been dug up to smear someone and the ability to serve as a trustee. But you really only care about spreading dirt. Glad to hear that you live in a glass house.

[Judith A Hill]

Mr. Zahm,
I feel this has everything to do with issues that are now and have been on the front pages of every newspaper in town, including the spin from the Rye Record that the Deputy Mayor and his wife own.

Are you aware in that very same case, Deputy Mayor Jovanovich’s company paid out approximately $450,000.00 in damages for wrongful termination? Isn’t that what the Dapolite case was all about? Wasn’t the reprimand placed in Andrew’s file, the beginning?
http://www.kroplaw.com/win_hill.html

I understand from the victim’s attorney that there was one holdout on an eight-member federal jury - a gentleman in his 70's - who declined to find for the victim on the sexual harassment claim that would have entailed statutory attorney fees in addition to the award. That’s seven to one, that is pretty good odds, wouldn’t you say? They did prevail on a breach of implied employment contract cause of action.

Ms. Hill’s attorney also stated that his client in that case, Judy Hill, is a very hard-working, professional, and level-headed woman.

[Hill v. Jovanovich McGraw-Hill]

http://www.kroplaw.com/win_hill.html

Jowannasnatch has been a stain on Rye for a long time. In my view he is a disgusting and deplorable sub human being.

Jowannasnatch should resign, sell his and his wife's propaganda based biased newspaper to the realtors they grovel to and go back to where he came from.

[Curious Tom]

Bob,

We don't really care about your standards for your neighbors- and I am grateful that we live on opposite ends of town (maybe ;) ). My standards for my Deputy Mayor would not include sexual harassment in the workplace, or anywhere else for that matter. That is why these issues are important and need to be vetted.

"Rye faces major problems. Our infrastructure is crumbling. Roads and bridges need repair, sidewalks must be built or improved, and crosswalks made safer. Underneath our roads lies millions of dollars of sewer and other infrastructure that need to be fixed." These are the words spoken by a man who possibly chased female employees around his desk leveraging his position of authority.

Is it your position that sexual harassment in the workplace is acceptable so long as we fix the infrastructure? Good government is not just about the issues that affect you personally, Bob. As we have come to learn in Rye, the integrity and values of our leaders are important.

How about we invite Judith Hill to our next City Council Meeting to provide her perspective on our Deputy Mayor?

[Robert Zahm]

CuriousTom and the rest of you posting under assumed names are perfect examples of what I want my neighbors not to be. If you really cared about anyone involved, you'd be make comments using your real names that would actually elighten or improve the situation. Your snide, rude commentary has no relevance to the issues in Rye and reflects more poorly on yourselves than those directly involved. Get a life. Get involved, but do so constructively and openly.

[Curious Tom]

I didn't mean to infer that Peter Jovanovich had an affair. What I meant to say was that I feel bad for Robin, knowing that she was sitting at a desk writing newspaper articles, as Peter was chasing the girls around his own desk at his workplace.

http://www.kroplaw.com/win_hill.html

[Curious Tom]

I feel bad for Robin Jovanovich, having to like through her husband's affair.