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Can’t Dismiss the Validity

In his March 8 letter “Settle a Score,” Kirk Carr claimed that Gary Bousquet used “the FOIA statutes to settle a score with fellow commissioners.” Yes, Mr. Bousquet was removed as chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission. However, his removal does not change the fact that certain members of that commission held an illegal meeting.

I have a question of Mr. Carr: As someone who champions transparency, doesn’t it bother him that select members of a town commission held a meeting without giving notice or allowing public participation?

Mr. Carr claims that Mr. Bousquet’s single FOIA request is an abuse. Well, what does he call the 26 FOIA requests he’s made to the town and the eight FOIA requests he’s made to the Board of Education? Business as usual? To quote Mr. Carr, “The money that the FOI Commission and the Town of Clinton must spend on this vindictive complaint is disgusting. Frivolous complaints trivialize the important work the FOI Commission does.”

Speaking of money, I’d like to know how much money the town has spent on Mr. Carr’s 34 FOIA requests. Mr. Carr constantly reminds us of the need for fiscal responsibility, yet, he files countless FOIA requests, caring little of the costs incurred by the town for complying with same. FOIA requests are important, on this I agree with Mr. Carr. However, Mr. Carr can’t dismiss the validity of another person’s FOIA request simply because he disagrees with the content of said request. To do so would be, in his words, vindictive.

Peter Giannotti

Clinton