Out of Africa

 Africa we hardly knew ye

The last remaining vestige of former Select Board Czar Anne Awad was briefly on display last night as our current Select Board members discussed dissolving -- due to a lack of interest -- the Nyeri Sister City Committee, the single handed handiwork of Awad back when she was at the height of her ruinous reign.

Awad had breathlessly reported to her Select Board underlings (who unanimously approved the Sister City relationship recommendation to Town Meeting) that she received paparazzi-like reception at the Kenya airport.  Apparently at the time Ms. Awad had a daughter-in-law living in Nyeri and her ego was such that that alone was reason enough to tie Amherst into a Sister City relationship.

Amherst has two long standing, active, Sister City relationships, one with  La Paz Centro in Nicaragua and the other with Kanegasaki, Japan.

The Nyeri article passed Town Meeting but not without a fair amount of discussion (scroll down to article #14).

Awad came to power in 2000 as the "fusion candidate".  The turnout that year was higher than normal (20.4%) due to a non-binding referendum that demanded local police  "deprioritize" marijuana enforcement, which Awad strongly supported as did the voters.

As a result College students actually turned out to vote for a change.  Although they supported the wrong candidate.

Awad crushed her opponent incumbent Hill Boss 2189 to 1429 and she spent the next few years orchestrating a behind the scenes power grab which was finally realized on March 31, 2004.

She of course was the lone dissenting vote on the night of September 10, 2001 when the Select Board voted 4-1 to allow the commemorative American flags to fly only on six occasions in the downtown.  She only wanted the flags to fly but once, July 4th.  

I call Awad's reign "the dark days," and the minutes of that meeting where she was unanimously elected Czar, I mean "chair", perfectly illustrates my point.  That night the Select Board voted 3-1 with (Eva Schiffer voting No and disillusioned member Carl Seppala MIA) to cut $85, 270 from the budget for two police officers.

A few moments earlier they voted unanimously to "support Cherry Hill" even though the golf course was at that point in the middle of a multi-year $100,000 annual losing streak.  So yeah, lets cut $85K for two cops but continue to squander more than that on the expensive game of golf.  

Another fitting reason for the term "dark days" is because Awad was cited a number of times by the District Attorney, responding to my complaints, for violation of the Open Meeting Law, and using email to carry on discussions (attempting to sabotage the July 4th Parade) that should have been in the bright light of a pubic meeting.

Of course the ultimate symbol of her to-Hell-with-transparency attitude was the fact she was married to fellow Select Board member Robie Hubley for over a year (and obviously had been dating prior to tying the knot) before bothering to tell the voters.   

And let's never forget how she tried to cling to power even though purchasing and quickly moving into an expensive home in South Hadley, where today she lives in obscurity. 

Ah, the bad ol' days ...

With a reference like that

Since it was a forgone conclusion assistant town manager John Musante would ascend to permanent town manager to replace the suddenly departing Larry Shaffer, I figured why bother weighing in with an opinion even though I was recruited at the last minute to donate my analysis for Localocracy

The Select Board public "discussion" contained this hidden gem: a former Select Board Czar who moved to another nearby town but wanted to maintain her Amherst elected position and lied in a letter/statement published in the Amherst Bulletin about the status of her Homestead Declaration (positive proof she was no longer fit to serve in Amherst) took the time to write a recommendation for Musante.

I'm not sure what is more frightening: Our new town manager being heartily endorsed by the likes of her, or that Princess Stephanie "considers it to be a very important letter."

Final loose end

Click to read: note the RETURN ADDRESS 11:45 AM

10:00 AM
I stopped into the Town Clerk's office on the way to the Jones Library where I am at the moment keeping my darling daughters occupied, to inquire if Mr. Hubley resigned his Town Meeting seat yet (I had asked to be informed when it came in--but Public Documents Law does not allow for asking in advance for a document).

Sure enough, Mr. Hubley did indeed resign his seat as of 8/31 (no mention in his resignation letter of stalking, harassment or aliens flying black helicopters).

We need the Top Cop

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
July 7, 2008


Dear Attorney General Coakley,

On May 20 I requested you undertake a ‘quo warranto procedure’ to remove from office Amherst Town Meeting member Robie Hubley. On April 10 Mr. Hubley signed a ‘Homestead’ declaration for a residency in South Hadley and also signed (with his wife) an FDIC mortgage from Florence Savings Bank that also requires “primary residency” at the South Hadley home.

The Amherst Town Attorney wrote to you and politely suggested you stay out of the matter until the local option occurred, G.L.c. 51, 48—a hearing before the Amherst Board of Registrars.

On Thursday, July 3’rd the Board did meet (as I am currently in China adopting a second daughter, I did not attend) and according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette both Robie Hubley and his wife Anne Awad (who recently resigned her Select Board seat) attended but did not speak, because—amazingly--the Board of Registrars did not ask them any questions!

The issue of the “Homestead” declaration was not discussed and the bank mortgage “primary residency” requirement was dismissed as a “private” matter.

One of the three Registrars, Harry Brooks, is a personal friend of Anne Awad and failed to recuse himself from the proceeding.

The Town Clerk (who moderated the meeting) serves at the whim of the Amherst Town Manager. Anne Awad and Robie Hubley were both Amherst Select Board members two years ago and made the decision to hire him. Town Manager Shaffer has steadfastly defended the couples right to declare Amherst their home no matter the evidence to the contrary.

Since this initial July 3 hearing was simply exploratory to ascertain whether “sufficient grounds for an investigation” exists, it is beyond comprehension the Board of Registrars unanimously decided that no such grounds exist —right up there with the earth is flat, Apollo 11 never landed on the moon and Elvis is alive.

Obviously the proceeding was far from impartial and if allowed to go unchallenged will undermine the confidence of Amherst voters in our system of democracy.

Could you now, please, bring your office into this matter?


Sincerely Yours,

Larry Kelley
Amherst Town Meeting
Amherst Redevelopment Authority
5’Th generation Amherst resident

via email

For whom the bell tolls

At least the Gazette is (somewhat) paying attention to this greedy (Only in) Amherst residency scam. Someone emailed me the Jpg of this morning’s article so I could post it, but the Internet connection here is now slower than customer service at a Bank of China.

But in reading the article directly at Gazettenet I was reminded that today’s 3:00 PM hearing at Town Hall is kind of like a Grand Jury indictment proceeding, in that they do not definitively decide the issue today, they simply weigh the evidence to see if there is “sufficient grounds for an investigation”—as in proceeding on to a trial.

So under those laissez-faire conditions, there is no way in Hell they can decide that Hubley/Awad are “beyond a shadow of a doubt” full-time Amherst residents with all the rights and privileges to vote and/or hold local office. Remember, OJ beat the criminal rap but lost the civil case because it only required a "preponderance of the evidence."

I will not be flying 17 hours to attend the hearing so here’s the only question I would ask each of them if they continue to insist--even under oath--that Amherst is their “primary residence.”

To Mr. Hubley: You signed a ‘Declaration of Homestead” on April 10 legally declaring 4 Jewett Lane South Hadley your “Primary residence”, were you lying then or are you lying now?

To Ms. Awad: You signed an FDIC approved mortgage on April 10 (under pains and penalties of perjury) from Florence Savings Bank with a ‘Residency Requirement’ for a home at 4 Jewett Lane South Hadley within 60 days; yet you now claim Amherst is your primary residency. Are you lying now or were you lying then?

Either way, mortgage fraud or voter residency fraud notwithstanding, it's perjury and perjury is a federal offense. And the only good thing about Amherst's system of town government is they have a bylaw banning anyone who has a Federal rap sheet.

You got that right!

Click to ENLARGE

So I’m glad the Bully showed some journalistic integrity (about time!) by making the July 4’th Parade turnaround article the banner lead and Ms. Awad’s crying wolf story--although still Above The Fold--a bit less hyped.

Although that hardly neutralizes the AP national wire distribution of the story on Tuesday morning, insinuating I was a “stalker”.

And even if they did play it up as the TOP news story of the week, it would not matter all that much because faithful Bulletin readers will remember that Awad and Hubley lied to them a month ago in a Letter claiming they revoked the Homestead on the South Hadley mansion and reinstated it on their tiny (up for sale) Amherst condo.

Gotta Love this Letter in the same edition

Well…I meant the one from Mr. Souweine (owner of the “House” made famous by Tracy Kidder) but Mr. Rivard’s lead letter is also equally sagacious.

Let the trial begin

Click To Enlarge/Read

Not only do I want the two of them gone from Amherst elected “public service”; but I also do not want either of them to be able to vote on their replacements. And apparently Ms. Awad’s Select Board seat will be filled this September 16. Mr. Hubley has yet to resign his Town Meeting seat, but that body is pretty negligible.

So let’s hold the Board of Registrars investigative hearing to decide their residency (especially since they will be placed under oath—not a requirement to pen a lying Letter To The Editor of the Amherst Bulletin).

And when they are proven to be South Hadley residents, then not only can they not hold local office but also they can also not vote in an Amherst precinct.

Wolf in the fold (or so the little boy cried)

UPDATE 9:30 PM (Tuesday). I stole the brief video of Ms Awad giving her Nixon like resignation speech at last night's Select Board meeting from Mary Carey's blog. I was at the meeting sitting at the journalists table from 6:50 until about 8:35 live blogging but she gave the speech just prior to the 'public comment' period at 6:30 pm.

Original Post (about noon Tuesday):
When I took a photo of Mr. Weiss’s late model auto covered with lefty bumper stickers, I was standing on a town road located only 20 or 30 yards from his front door. When I took a photo of Ms. Awad gardening at her South Hadley home--also from a public road--I was over a hundred yards from her front door (my $100 Kodak digital camera has 3x optical zoom) as the house is located at the top of a steep hill.

Although he never complained about my photo shoot at his home, Mr. Weiss describes the latter as “harassment”.

Of course he also described my Open Meeting Law complaint (later upheld by the District Attorney) as having a “chilling effect” on his Select Board.

I never actually photographed the Amherst condo complex (only the real estate sign down on the front lawn advertising an Open House--where presumably any citizen could have walked through their supposed residency. Or you can go to Sawicki Real Estate web cite and take a virtual tour of their condo (bedroom included).
Take the tour (they are not home)

In our initial phone conversation (prior to calling back to apologize for shouting) Mr. Hubley voiced concerned about my use of the term “locked and loaded” on my blog, considering that a “threat” to do gun violence.

Of course I felt like responding that I would not need a gun to take him out, but knew that might be considered a threat, so I simply laughed and pointed out it was, you know, a metaphor.

Guess I will not bring my daughter Kira trick-or-treating to their South Hadley mansion this Halloween.

Blogger (1), Powers that used to Be (zero)

So finally their tortured existence—at least as Amherst town officials—comes to an end. The resignation of Anne Awad from the Select Board caps a month of arrogant refusal to acknowledge the inevitable. Aided of course by a supportive Town Manager and a hired gun town attorney.

Yeah, the bricks and mortar media could have and should have done a lot more--especially after they used the Commentary Pages of the Amherst Bulletin to lie to the general public.

But all’s well that end’s well. Damn…now what do I do?

Ding Dong the Witch is Gone!

Amherst Select Person and former Czar Anne Awad is going, going, GONE as of of September 1'st! (because she moved to South Hadley on or about April 10'th).

Of course now you gotta wonder if she votes on the winning side of an issue over the next two months and it's a 3-2 vote, is that going to hold up in court?

Bringing a gun to a knife fight

Well I hope the town did not pay much for that rather short letter. So yeah, I will implement the “local” option and when they blow me off, will recontact the AG. Notice the AG said they would not take up the case “at this time.”

As some of you may remember another town meeting member challenged on the floor of Town Meeting the right of Anne Awed to act in behalf of the Select board and nobody ever mentioned this option of going to the Board of Registrars.

(Yeah, I noticed the fudged receive date but am not sure what's up with that)

D-Day. Decision, decision, decisions...

So today is the day—because as of today Ann Awad is, by her own hand, a resident of 4 Jewett Lane, South Hadley. And thus, disqualified from her high-ranking Amherst elected Select board position (with its $300 annual salary).

The FDIC backed mortgage, signed on April 10 under pains and penalties of Federal Law, clearly states: “Borrower shall occupy, establish and use the Property as Borrower’s principal residence within 60 days after the execution of the Security Instrument and shall continue to occupy the Property as Borrower’s principal residence for at least a year after the date of occupancy”

And my friends in the legal profession tell me that US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan frowns on bank fraud—even for a petty, egotistical reason such as this.

Tomorrow night Amherst Town Meeting will discuss spending $400,000 to preserve two Main Street lots, a stone’s throw from Miss Emily’s Homestead. Last week in a procedural move designed to enhance the probability of passage the motion passed by almost exactly a two-thirds vote.

So one or two votes (and Hubley and Awad always vote the same) could decide the difference on this important issue.

Why it matters

Update: 2:45 PM
SLIGHT CORRECTION

Ultra-informed source tells me that the Select board voted 3-2 on February 25 to place the 3% CPA surcharge on the Town Meeting warrant (with, of course, Anne Awad voting in the majority).

On April 7 the newly constituted Select Board (Greeney out, O’Keeffe and Stein in) signed the Warrant for the annual Town Meeting and nothing could be added after that.

On April 23 the Select Board voted 3-2 (Brewer and O’Keeffe opposed, Awad, Stein, His Lordship Gerry Weiss in favor) to recommend/approve Article 24, the CPA tax increase to 3%.

My point, of course, still applies (like a Harpoon from Hell).

Original post 11:45 AM:

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
June 6, 2008

Dear Attorney General Coakley,

On May 20 I requested you undertake a ‘quo warranto procedure’ to remove from office Amherst Town Meeting member Robie Hubley because he had signed on April 10 a ‘Homestead’ declaration for a residency in South Hadley.

Both Mr. Hubley and his wife Anne Awad, currently an Amherst Select Board member, also signed a mortgage that day with an FDIC insured bank that clearly states: “Occupancy: Borrower shall occupy, establish, and use the Property as Borrower’s principal residence with 60 days after the execution of this Security Instrument and shall continue to occupy the Property as Borrower’s principal residence for at least one year after the date of occupancy.”

Since the Homestead declaration also covers Ms. Awad, it is quite possibly an investigation will conclude that she was no longer entitled to serve on the Amherst Select Board as of April 10.

On April 23 the Amherst Select board voted 3-2 (with Ms. Awad making the motion and then voting in the majority) to place on the Annual Town Meeting warrant an article to increase the Community Preservation surcharge Tax from 1.5% to 3%. Town meeting approved the measure and it will be placed on the November Ballot.

But, if Ms. Awad were not legally entitled to vote as a Board member on April 23, the outcome would have been a 2-2 tie and the measure would not have been placed on the Town Meeting Warrant and would not appear on the ballot this November.

Certainly as of June 10, because of the mortgage, Ms Awad is no longer a resident of Amherst. And from that day forward any 3-2 vote of the Amherst Select Board that she participates in will be subject to legal challenge.

In fairness to the voters of Amherst, could your office please expedite an investigation into this matter?

Sincerely Yours,


Larry Kelley
Amherst Town Meeting
Amherst Redevelopment Authority

Stein speaks

In a message dated 6/2/08 12:05:58 PM, dstein@mtholyoke.edu writes:

So, you would like the town to spend the $ for a special election when if
she waits until with 90 days of the Sept primary, it can cost nothing
extra?
Diana


In a message dated 6/2/08 2:01:02 PM, Amherst AC writes:

Diana,
My understanding is it will still cost money even if it is placed on the September primary ballot but just not as much as the 12-K for a stand alone election. Yes, I would much prefer it be done on the September primary ballot. But, either way: she needs to step down as of June 10'th.
Larry

In a message dated 6/3/08 9:42:11 AM, dstein@mtholyoke.edu writes:

Larry,
It will be a loss to the Town no matter when she steps down as she
has served the longest and remembers the background for issues that the rest of us do not have institutional memory about. That recall of issues can save us money and time.
Diana


In a message dated 6/3/08 10:12:05 AM, Amherst AC writes:

Hey Diana,

My institutional memory goes back twenty-five years. My family's goes back five generations. Her 8 years is but a drop in the bucket.
Larry


In a message dated 6/3/08 10:54:17 AM, dstein@mtholyoke.edu writes:

Larry,
But you haven't served on the SB during the last 8 years which is
what I was referring to. Serving sharpens one's memory about related
issues. And I have lived here since 1964.
Diana


In a message dated 6/3/08 11:07:15 AM, Amherst AC writes:

Hey Diana,

Then you can always call Bryan Harvey who served forever. The landscape is littered with folks around who have served on the SB (Judy Brooks, God forbid--Harry Brooks--or Carl Seppala, etc) who would probably be open to giving advice if asked.

What you need to now consider is the image and credibility of this office to which you have ever so recently been elected.
Larry

In a message dated 6/3/08 11:38:20 AM, dstein@mtholyoke.edu writes:

Hi Larry,
I know many of the former SB members. But having someone there
while we discuss issues who brings forward relevant info from the past is very different from my calling up someone and asking. Sometimes it is not clear what questions should be asked until Anne brings up an important point.
Diana

In a message dated 6/3/08 12:56:38 PM, Amherst AC writes:

Hey Diana,
Well then I guess you will just miss her when she's gone. But get used to it--because she will be gone with the wind very soon now.
Larry

Her nose keeps growing L-O-N-G-E-R

UPDATE: 6:05 PM

So I just called (from my business) a publicly published Amherst phone number 256-1042—just to see if Mr. Hubley or Ms. Awad were home.

Of course I get voice mail and hang up (actually I was hoping the message would say “this number has been changed to a South Hadley number”)

About 5 minutes later my business line rings and it’s Mr. Hubley asking if I just called his number. “Hey Robie! Yeah, I was just calling to see if you were actually living in Amherst”

All-in-all the resulting “conversation” lasted about 10 minutes. Mainly consisting of Mr. Hubley yelling in a shaky voice about “leaving me alone”, or “it’s a personal matter” and “I hope you go to confession because you are an evil person”.

He refused to explain why he would purchase a $310,000 home in South Hadley while supposedly still living in an Amherst condo half that size and half that price--one that is currently up for sale.

Or why he took out a Homestead declaration on the South Hadley home that identifies it as his and her “primary” residence. Or why they lied in the Amherst Bulletin Letter to Editor saying they had switched the Homestead back to the Amherst condo.

And he sounded real nervous about potential Federal bank fraud charges over the FDIC mortgage that requires them both to live in the South Hadley home by June 10.

And any time he used the phrase “it’s a personal matter,” I would respond with “then why is this all available on a official Massachusetts state database?

At that point he yelled something slightly unintelligible and slammed down the phone.
############################################################

6:55 PM: So Mr. Hubley just called me back at my personal home phone number (only available to Amherst Town Meeting members) and wanted to “apologize for losing his temper”.

Apology accepted. But when he insisted, “he was not hurting anyone” I tried to interject that he was shortchanging the voters in his precinct.

Once again he accused me of “tormenting” him and then hung up (although a tad less aggressively).
#############################################################
6:45 AM (original post)

So now it’s the old “residency is in the eye of the resident,” or like ‘Ultimate Frisbee’ where the players act as referees, or Hampshire College where there are no grades.

Obviously the Amherst Town Manager has been hoodwinked: “If she declares her residence (to be here). I take that to be true.”

But Ms. Awad also declared:

“The homestead declaration, cited frequently by this newspaper (Amherst Bulletin) as proof that we are already living in South Hadley, was an error on our part. We were unaware that such protection can only apply to one’s primary residence. We removed the homestead declaration as soon as we realized the error. It now applies only to our Amherst home as it has for years."

Oh really? A check this morning at the Registry of Deeds shows she has not “removed the homestead declaration” on their spacious South Hadley abode or reapplied it to their (up for sale) diminutive Amherst condo.

So Mr. Shaffer, if she can't tell the truth about the Homestead declaration--how can we the voters take anything she says to be true?

And don’t you just love His Lordship Gerry Weiss’s defense of Robie Hubley: "He goes to every meeting"? So does Frank Well’s cat!

Bad news for Pinocchio

The Pounding continues...

Click to enlarge: Article over on right above the fold.

So Bully for the Bulletin for continuing to question this sad story of aging, arrogant, political has-beens who desperately cling to their “power.”

The first thing I learned in Journalism 25 years ago (News writing and Reporting 101 at Umass) is always check the spelling of a source name. Although most readers will not notice a misspelled name the person you interviewed sure will and they will wonder what else you screwed up.

And the second thing I learned--even more important--was NEVER LIE TO A REPORTER!

At this point (with the Registry of Deed’s office still showing no change in the Declaration of Homestead being South Hadley) I’m starting to question the couple’s sanity.

Unfortunately, the Amherst Town Government Act does not have a provision requiring town officials undergo psychiatric review.

Enough is Enough!

Okay, so here is my uniform for Amherst Town Meeting this evening. And yeah, I sit directly in front of Anne Awad. If the Moderator has me arrested, I will sell "Free Blogger Kelley" T-shirts to make bail.

UPDATE: 10:15 PM. No I didn't get arrested; but then, the Moderator went WAY out of his way (as opposed to the normal just going out of his way) to avoid calling on me for anything, thus I could not stand up and display my nifty shirt (maybe I'll do a print run of 100 and hand them out at the next Town Meeting). But Town Meeting has a few nights left and it's my official uniform until we dissolve--although I did promise Stan Gawle, who sits next to me, that I would wash it.

By train, bus, or helicopter. Just go!

Okay, so it is now close of business (5:10 PM) Tuesday and still the Massachusetts Registry of Deeds (masslandrecords.com) clearly shows that Amherst officials Selectman Anne Awad and her husband Town Meeting member Robie Hubley have not “removed the Homestead declaration” on their new South Hadley home or retaken one out on their (up for sale) Amherst condo as stated in a Letter to the Editor last week.

And the Registry of Deeds also does not show a new mortgage on the South Hadley home minus that pesky Occupancy clause (saying they have to make it their primary residence by June 10).

I remember as an impressionable 17-year-old, just coming of age with politics, being stunned and amazed our President—the leader of the Free World—could lie to the American people.

And here we are, 35 years later…

South Hadley Town Center

2:15 PM. Yep, that looks like Ms. Awad to me. Would you spend Memorial Day weekend Saturday afternoon landscaping property that you don't intend to make your home?

Oh what a tangled web we weave

Click to enlarge: Awad letter on left although I have one over on the right

Okay, so as of close of business Friday they have not "removed the homestead declaration" on their new South Hadley home that is twice as big and twice as expensive as the Amherst condo they are trying to sell.

Gotta love the line "We are confident that we are doing the right thing. The propriety of our actions had been confirmed by the town manager, Mr. Shaffer..." Yeah, like he’s renowned for being a bastion of “propriety”.