Op-Ed: 'Pot and Kettle' Not

The following is a blog post by M.H. Griffin, a former chief officer at Stratford Animal Control.

Almost all major corporations have policies in place to eliminate nuisance and sometimes extortion lawsuits by having the equivalent of a “slush fund” to pay off what to them are fleabites.

Many cities have the same policies including Stratford, although you’ll probably have a hard time finding it in the town budget. Most nuisance lawsuits are settled for under $15,000 -- anything over that costs the town money. With that settlement comes a “gag order” which prohibits ether party from disclosing the outcome of the lawsuit under penalty of contempt of court.

(Democratic mayoral hopefuls) Beth Daponte and Joe Paul are not the "pot and the kettle" of this issue, they are actually the apples and oranges of this issue.

Joe Paul’s suit, actually three suits, was settled with a monetary settlement and a gag order. Joe Paul can’t declare this a victory. He filed three different sets of charges. Racial discrimination, age discrimination, and came back a third time again to be rebuked by the court. Bank of America offered him a settlement which he accepted and signed off on.

Beth Daponte did not settle her suit versus the federal government, she won her suit with the help the American Civil Liberties Union, which by the way has a long proud history of protecting the constitutional rights of citizens. It is not some left wing “commie” organization. I would ask Mr. Paul why didn’t he contact the ACLU or the NAACP, or any one of a number of organizations that protect our liberties?

To close, on June 11, Mr. Paul said in the Stratford Star “My campaign is not about attacking someone’s character, but solving the town's problems."

On Aug. 1, a spokesperson for Mr. Paul said, “Furthermore, your character leaves much to be desired as a mayoral candidate to represent the people of Stratford,” while speaking about Ms. Daponte.

You weren’t sure if you were fired because of “race, age, or for standing up to those nasty banks that you’ve worked in." And by the way, character is one of the most important characteristics for any public servant.

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