Council Retreats To Closed Session After Bukowski's Disclosures
After months of incriminating e-mails sent to the general public by Council member Ken Bukowski, Emeryville City Attorney Mike Biddle might be preparing to sue the city, sources close to the city reported to the Tattler. The council retreated to closed session with legal counsel on April 5th to discuss "significant exposure to litigation" based on claims of "defamation and breach of contract" from the voluminous e-mails from Mr Bukowski.
Council member Bukowski has been claiming Mr Biddle is incompetent and that he is over-paid in numerous e-mails addressed to "unknown recipients" over the last few months. Mr Bukowski has also skewered City Manager Pat O'Keeffe and Assistant City Manager Delores Turner in the public e-mails.
The e-mail disclosures have resulted in many private barbed responses from the City Manager addressed to Mr Bukowski, also subsequently made public by Mr Bukowski.
The City Manager warned Mr Bukowski in a March 24th letter cc'ed to the city council that "You have made public distribution of matters that you have been asked to be discussed confidentially in closed session". Mr O'Keeffe added that Mr Bukowski's public e-mail disclosures have undermined his ability to lead the staff.
It is believed that Assistant City Attorney Michael Guina is functioning as counsel in this matter owing to the fact that Mr Biddle would necessarily be barred from providing counsel.
This is only a drop in the bucket. I see many areas the city is exposing themselves to litigation. Lets just hope that these lawsuits are filed against indiviuals instead of the city as a whole. Why should taxpayers be penalized for certain individual's incompetence?
ReplyDeleteBiddle IS incompetent and overpaid....since when is stating the truth actionable? Laughable. Biddle and O'Keeffe should schedule a team building retreat at John George.
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