New London Housing Authority member calls for mayor's recusal
New London — Kathleen Mitchell, the Housing Authority commission member under fire for alleged bullying behavior, has asked that Mayor Michael Passero recuse himself from an upcoming hearing in which he was to decide on her removal.
Mitchell, through her attorney Jason Burdick, claims in a Jan. 8 letter to Passero and city attorney Jeffrey Londregan that Passero already told Mitchell during a conversation last month that he planned to remove her.
Mitchell additionally claims in the letter that Passero has access and posting privileges to her controversial Facebook page, Whale Tales Two, which has been cited as a favored platform for anonymous criticism and intimidation of Passero and Mitchell’s fellow commissioners, most notably commission Chairwoman Betsy Gibson.
“This means that you could have contributed and/or controlled the content for which Ms. Mitchell is now being admonished,” Burdick wrote in the letter. “Ms. Mitchell has requested that you testify at the hearing as to your participation with ‘Whale Tales Two' over the course of the last several years.”
Responding to complaints about posts in the past, Mitchell has maintained that, while she is the administrator of the Facebook page, the posts could have come from any of the dozen people who can post there.
Passero, who to date has stayed at arm’s length from the issue, called Mitchell’s latest claim “ridiculous” and part of the same smear campaign Mitchell has enacted against other people who do not share her own views. Passero said while Mitchell may have sent him an unsolicited message with the login information for her Facebook page, he has never posted on the site and would not do so anonymously.
“Until now I’ve never known Kathleen to be dishonest or deceitful,” Passero said.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mitchell indicated that she was not technically savvy enough to say for sure whether Passero had posted anything on her Facebook page. As the administrator for the page, Mitchell would be able to view the information of whoever posted. She claims the posters sometimes appear only as an email address.
“The only thing I know for certain is who I’ve given the sign-in information to,” she said.
Mitchell said that until Tuesday she had access to Passero’s campaign Facebook page, a privilege afforded to her because of her work on his campaign.
Aside from the more sensational claims in his letter, Burdick also questions what specific charges the Housing Authority board of commissioners has that would constitute “inefficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct in office” that by state statute would warrant Mitchell’s removal.
The board of commissioners in November voted 3-2 to ask Passero to remove Mitchell after the meetings started getting more confrontational. A summary of the commission’s request to remove Mitchell includes allegations that Mitchell maintains an “unprofessional demeanor” and has “routinely taken positions adverse to her fellow board members seemingly only to cause conflict and division.” The summary also alleges that police have twice been called to a commission meeting to maintain order.
Mitchell argues that Gibson had acted in coordination with the mayor rather than with fellow commissioners.
Passero, who appointed Mitchell to the commission about a year and a half ago, has said he planned to weigh the evidence and follow the advice of the city’s attorney on whether to remove Mitchell.
Burdick said Tuesday that the commission’s charges against Mitchell do not rise to the level of removal and his first concern is to ensure Mitchell receives a fair and impartial hearing.
A hearing scheduled for Thursday has been postponed, though a new date had not yet been set.
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