Saturday, March 26, 2011

Spotted in Hudson

A reliable source reports that Tom Swope, chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, was seen at Strongtree this morning having a meeting with DeWayne Powell, representative of the Galvan Partners, whose proposal for Union and First streets is currently before the HPC. 

6 comments:

  1. Carole, it was a chance accident, I was taking my morning walk, needed to get more coffee, and DeWayne happened to be there, and of course as we are friends from before, we visited.
    Who is spying on me? Weird that they saw fit to report to you on my every move.
    Tom

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  2. Tom, what is a "chance accident"? And you are "friends before"? What does that mean. Could you explain. This isn't about spying, Tom; it's about the public's business. It's about a potential conflict of interest, similar to the conflicts you have at the BAR.

    --pm

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  3. Chance means something that happens unpredictably without discernible human intention or observable cause. What about my comment above did you not understand?
    I have known DeWayne for years, I met him when he was looking for property up here, although I did not sell anything to him.
    Every person in this town would have perceived conflicts, it is the nature of a small community, we all know each other. That doesn't mean we cannot be fair and objective when we need or are required to be.

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  4. I have to say I don't think we should make sinister interpretations out of a chance meeting and I for one would take Tom at his word. Indeed Hudson is a small town, and chance encounters occur all the time.

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  5. Jennifer and Tom--It's the appearance of impropriety, and the fact that they were overheard discussing the Historic Preservation Commission, that caused the person who witnessed it to report it to me and me to report it on Gossips.

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  6. Jennifer, it's interesting that you attribute "sinister" meanings to what should be -- in a normal and functional system -- an obvious question. And all I did was ask a question. Does Tom know this guy? Has he met him before? Chance meeting, sure. But what exactly is the relationship? These are questions we have every right to ask. And Please, a "right" is nothing that we should have to apologize for. People tend to forget that public servants are just that: servants of the public. We have every right to know what the people doing the public's business are doing with our money -- and if they are friends with people petitioning the public for something, we the public need to know the relationships. The "small town" defense is absolutely no defense; it's a smokescreen. And in Mr. Swope's case, as he serves on the BAR and is a real estate agent, the need for full disclosure is an even greater necessity. His hands can't get any deeper into conflict of interest than ruling on the values of property that he himself has a stake in selling. It is absolutely necessary for anyone in public office -- I don't care how small the town -- to divulge these personal and financial relationships. Period. No exuses.

    --pm

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