I received a message the other day with some new Right to Know requests in West Whiteland from my friend Tom:
“The following pages contain right to know requests from
~Tom Casey, resident of chester county pa
a West Whiteland trying to get personal information from a private
citizen.
The first one was filed prior to the Wednesday 2/23/2022 board
meeting.
The second was filed on Friday 2/25/2022 after I confronted
this supervisor in a public meeting about the attempted illegal
transfer of taxpayer dollars. This is a direct violation of my 1st
Amendment rights under the PA Constitution which guarantees
privacy.“
To say I am aghast is a gross understatement. Appalled is more like it.
It begs the question if this elected official,, Supervisor Theresa Hogan Santalucia is familiar with five important things contained within the First Amendment? The five freedoms it protects are: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government, correct?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
~first amendment
So when you speak at public comment during a public government meeting, is that not a form (depending up the situation) petitioning government for a redress of grievances? Should you not be protected from petty reprisals on the part of potentially aggrieved politicians?
I did Supervisor Theresa Hogan Santalucia a courtesy by covering up her personal home address, but because West Whiteland Township neglected to redact her email address used in one case, can one assume they want that out there?
Let’s talk about the email address. The Right to Know Request came in on her OFFICIAL West Whiteland Township email. It begs the question of harassing appointed officials, fellow elected officials, and private citizens does it not? Wow Democrats of Chester County, have you censured her yet? Are y’all O.K. with this? And who coached her to write this because I have heard her speak and this does not read in my opinion how she speaks does it?
Here are those bits of public comment that this politician probably did not like. Note you have to actually record them yourself, because West Whiteland seems distinctly sunshine adverse when it comes to maintaining recordings of meetings:
And these public comments are referring to:
Supervisor Theresa Hogan Santalucia is a supporter of PA State Association of Township Supervisors, right? Don’t they offer education on a number of topics? Like what is Executive Session and how can it be used? Or say the basics of how monies are dispersed in a 2nd class township? Or how you can’t use Right to Know Laws in your capacity as an elected official to throw shade on fellow elected officials and as potential reprisal against regular folk questioning government?
Ok that is all I have got. Seems mighty irregular to a mere mortal and a female like myself. People are entitled to relationships OUTSIDE the scope of politics and townships, even with plain old ordinary residents, right?
Also see Daily Local article I was polite and waited for it to publish so as not to scoop the reporter:
Mimi Gleason: ‘They fired me without warning’
By BILL RETTEW | wrettew@dailylocal.com | Daily Local News
PUBLISHED: February 28, 2022 at 5:08 p.m. | UPDATED: February 28, 2022 at 5:08 p.m.
On the article I will comment that the manager contract was not re-upped. It was not renewed. That is not as simple as saying someone is “fired” is it? However the real story in this article is Supervisor Theresa Hogan Santalucia, isn’t it?
Curious and curiouser…..we all continue to tumble down the rabbit hole in West Whiteland, don’t we?
Where is the Democratic establishment that was (justifiably) so upset when the former President was making a mockery of our Democracy? Yes, the position of Supervisor for a Township is light years from that of POTUS but the principles remain the same. The Democratic establishment needs to step up and show the residents of West Whiteland and Chester County that concerns over ethics and good government is not just a one sided endeavor. We are all about to find out if the local Democrats in West Whiteland and the Democratic leadership in Chester County are hypocrites or if they indeed hold true to beliefs they have enthusiastically put forward as a contrast to the other party over the last several years. This will be a test of that. Though they may not realize it now, this could be the very moment that they solidify their hold on the county or condemn themselves to slipping back into a minority position. You cannot claim a moral high ground by ignoring alleged malfeasance.