Its been suggested by the School District’s attorney that my blog may incite violence against the school board.
Dear Mr. Hunter:
Thank you for the phone conversation this morning. I think it was a productive discussion and resolved a few items prior to the Tuesday, 4/28 court scheduling conference. I did want to follow up on one of the issues I mentioned to you. As you know, one of the Plaintiffs, Mr. Welty, has a blog called lincoln democrat. We certainly understand the right of the public to observe, comment and disagree with the public operations of the school board. However, given the high feelings about the school facilities planning topic, we are concerned that the discourse remain courteous. We are also concerned about any disruption or potential violence toward the board or the public.
After the 4/21 board meeting, Mr. Welty posted the following commentary:………………………
“I got a report from a close friend shortly afterward who watched the meeting on TV that Nancy Nilsen was rolling her eyes and yawning and so deliberately rude that someone ought to have ***. I didn’t notice that myself and in fact, I thought that once again the Board was relatively well behaved. That only happens when there is a significant audience of critics at a meeting watching them.”
Given that I cannot contact your client due to your representation, I am requesting you to pass along our concern about this issue. The school district requests that the commentary which I have underlined be immediately removed from the public posting. This is a suggestion that violence should be done. Please convey to Mr. Welty that we will seek intervention by the court if he does not immediately and voluntarily remove this portion of his commentary and refrain from such violent statements/suggestions toward the school district and its officials and personnel. The message of disagreement may not extend into suggestions of violent actions.
Thank you for cooperation in this regard. Please let me know when this has been taken care of so that I can determine whether or not it needs to be dealt with further.
Sincerely,
SET
This email is entirely appropriate. Attorneys are the go-betweens for their clients. If their clients are being unruly the attorneys must convey this concern. I have as good an appreciation of the Board member’s public vulnerability as anyone. When I was a school board member people got angry with me. I can show you just how I reacted when my critics resorted to catcalls rather than calling me up to talk things over. This is a column I wrote for publication just after one such incident.
I revere democracy and I believe in showing deference to those who have been chosen democratically to represent the people. When I address the Duluth School Board formally I always begin with the appropriate honorifics. I know these board members and some of them have been my close friends. I would like to keep the discussion of the Red plan on a high plain. I’m a lousy demagogue. On the other hand when an elected official refuses to compromise, especially in the face of good evidence and abuses their authority I’m willing to challenge them.
For two years I have followed the prescriptions the law provides to get a vote on the Red Plan. I’ve organized petitions. I’ve run for political office. I’ve written my elected representatives and I’ve sent letters to the editor. I’ve lobbied the legislature, the Minnesota Dept. of Education, the Attorney General, the State Auditor. As a last resort I’ve taken my case to court.
Either I am right and the Board has broken the law or it hasn’t. If I lose and stop pursuing other methods to win a vote on the Red Plan that will be that. It will be a good story I can tell my grandchildren whenever someone tells them how much their Grandfather hated public education.
In a war of ideas words are a powerful weapon. To show you what kind of company I keep in this regard see if you can tell me who said this:
“I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword”
*** I have expunged six words from this post after a second request to do so by the School District’s attorney. The underlining to which the attorney refers did not transfer to this post when I copied it. I am satisfied that the considerable commentary this letter has prompted on this blog makes it quite clear that I have no use for violence or the threat of it.
