• Problems with petitionspot? Sign here instead

23Jan10

MAIN PETITION LINK – http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/stepdownrussbrown

This petition calls for the immediate resignation of Russell Brown from his position as President of of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC) due to his actions which demonstrate contempt for the First Amendment while seeking to intimidate and harass two of his constituents. It also calls for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) to explain its irresponsible actions which led to a Neighborhood Council board member threatening private citizens.

On January 19, 2010, Kim Cooper, a private citizen, filed a complaint with DONE, an agency of the City of LA charged with overseeing the Neighborhood Council system, regarding unethical behavior by Russell Brown, the President of DLANC.

On January 21, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Ms. Cooper received emailed confirmation that DONE had received her complaint. At 3:40 AM on January 22, 2010, Ms. Cooper and her husband Richard Schave received an email from Mr. Brown, the subject of the DONE complaint, in which he stated that based on Ms. Cooper having filed a complaint with DONE and also publishing her opinions about Mr. Brown’s political activities on the internet, he intended to file suit against both Ms. Cooper and Mr. Schave using the resources of the City Attorney’s Office and the LAPD. Attached to Mr. Brown’s email was a copy of a cover letter from DONE informing the board of DLANC that Ms. Cooper had filed a complaint against Mr. Brown, and the complaint itself.

There are two issues here. Firstly, it is disturbing that Russell Brown, a public figure serving in a political position, has threatened suit against two private citizens, one of whom is exercising her free speech rights to comment upon his public actions and to complain to an oversight agency, the other of whom simply has the good fortune to be married to her.

Secondly, it is egregious that the agency charged with overseeing the behavior and activities of Neighborhood Councils and their board members would simply forward a copy of a serious complaint made against a board member to that individual, thus informing him of the nature of the charges made against him and identifying the person who had made those charges. This flies in the face of all reasonable expectations for how government is supposed to work, and shows contempt for the safety and rights of any whistleblower seeking to shed light on improper or unethical behavior.

We the undersigned call on DONE’s management to provide a full reckoning for its hostile and inappropriate behavior and to explain how its actions are reconciled with the ten tenets of its Neighborhood Empowerment Pledge, which begins “We will treat the public with courtesy and respect.”

As for Mr. Brown, we the undersigned call on him to immediately resign from his position with DLANC. This resignation is the only possibly response to his own email of January 22, which seeks to compel an unlawful prior restraint on speech. By attempting to prevent private citizens from expressing themselves in printed or oral fashion for reasons that have nothing to do with any reason that would serve as an exception to the broad parameters of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the First Article, Second Section of the California Constitution and the values of openness, transparency and representative government that underlie them, Mr. Brown shows himself to be utterly unsuited to hold any public office due to his profound contempt for free speech and his outrageous threats towards his constituents.

(Note: for more information on the circumstances described in this petition, including supporting documents, please visit the blog at https://stepdownrussbrown.wordpress.com .)

MAIN PETITION LINK – http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/stepdownrussbrown

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment