With sincere apologies to Emerson Lake & Palmer…it somehow seemed so oddly apropos…as another Main Line blogger said this evening:

Welcome to the People’s Republic of Tredyffrin

Tredyffrin Supervisor DiBuonaventuro goes after media and bloggers in letter posted to township website

Published: Friday, September 07, 2012

By Richard Ilgenfritz
rilgenfritz@mainlinemedianews.com

A member of the Tredyffrin Township Board of Supervisors this week injected himself into the recent dust up over why police officers failed to show up for a court hearing in a public intoxication and disorderly conduct case involving a township zoning and hearing board member.

In a letter that was posted on Tredyffrin Township’s website Thursday morning and signed by board vice-chairman John DiBuonaventuro, he suggests that he has been defamed by the media and bloggers as a result of the story.

The letter was in response to an issue that was first brought to light two weeks ago on Main Line Media News’ website. The article sought to find out why the police failed to show up to a summary court hearing regarding the arrest of a member of the Tredyffrin Township Zoning and Hearing Board.

Suzanne Pratowski had been arrested in May 2012 on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges. The hearing date was scheduled for Aug. 21. However, the police failed to show up for the hearing and as a result the charges were essentially tossed out.

In the letter signed by DiBuonaventuro, the Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors vice-chairman said that Main Line Media News suggested that he was the unnamed designated driver in the car when Pratowski was arrested.  DiBuonaventuro’s name was never mentioned in the article.

An undated file photo showing Pratowski and DiBuonaventuro, along with six other people, was posted along with the article. The photo was taken by Main Line Media News at a social event in October 2011. DiBuonaventuro stated in his letter that “the MLSL internet-based story accompanied by the picture left the reader with the obvious implication that the driver was me. It was not.”

In his letter,  DiBuonaventuro states that he had a relationship with Pratowski that lasted a little over a year and ended in November of 2011.

DiBuonaventuro also used the letter to suggest that a local blogger, Pattye Benson, has been trying to discredit the local government through her website, Community Matters. DiBuonaventuro said the site “[A]ppear[s] to be an on-going effort to discredit our government and its efforts to serve the citizens by creating and fostering an environment of conspiracy and mistrust among its limited readership,” the letter reads in part…..DiBuonaventuro went on to raise other questions about bloggers and what he calls “anonymous commentators.”

“I also question if they (bloggers) would have the fortitude and stamina to engage in a one-on-one campaign for elected office let along serve in a position with little or no pay, full responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens they serve, and with appears to offer nothing more than continuous ridicule in return,” according to the letter.

Township supervisors have control over local taxes, development and a host of other issues that have a direct effect on the lives of residents, businesses and visitors to a particular municipality.

DiBuonaventuro did not return e-mails seeking comment and clarification of the issues he raised in the letter.

A posting on Tredyffrin Township’s official FaceBook page seems to agree with the assertion that DiBuonaventuro has been defamed in some way. The posting was in response to a question raised by [Chester County] resident and blogger Carla Zambelli when she asked “is this letter attacking a private citizen and local media outlets currently posted on your site an official government sanctioned release?”

The response to her question was posted by Tredyffrin Township Manager Mimi Gleason.

“It is unusual to post a statement from an individual Supervisor, but given the inaccurate and derogatory statements and innuendo publicly made about John DiBuonaventuro, the Township Manager approved the posting of Mr. DiBuonaventuro’s letter on the Township website. In this case, he was the subject of baseless public speculation simply because he is a Tredyffrin Supervisor. The circumstances justified the use of the website to publicly defend him, carrying with it the implicit endorsement of the Township to the accuracy of his statements. The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and the Township Solicitor agreed that it was appropriate for the letter to go on the website,” the posting reads…However, Police Supt. Anthony Giaimo and Board President Michelle H. Kichline have not returned phone calls or e-mails this week regarding the issue.

For more on The Peoples Republic of Tredyffrin read Pattye Benson’s blog Community Matters.  If you have FiOs and depending on where you live in Chester and Delaware counties, some of you may be able to watch Tredyffrin’s next Board of Supervisors meeting on Verizon Channel 24.  If you live in Tredyffrin, get thee to a meeting!

The next Board of Supervisors Meeting as per Tredyffrin’s website appears to be Monday, September 17 in something called Keene Hall in Tredyffrin Township at 7:30 p.m.  Show up and speak out for Pattye and for yourselves.   If you are very good and very lucky, maybe they will post another letter on how horrible residents are?

Local governments like this only have the power you allow them to have.   It is time for Tredyffrin to change.   And your Board of Supervisors President Michelle H. Kichline has some explaining to do, does she not? And is her surly vice chair just supposed to keep on bullying residents and potentially anyone who disagrees with him?

Tredyffrin, how do you want your community governed?  It is up to you.  These people work for you.  I noticed that Michele Kichline is on  http://ttgop.org/  (they list her non-Tredyffrin e-mail as 2m2a@comcast.net ) and is a committee woman for Tredyffrin Republicans or something?

Anyway, I am a Republican as I have said before, so I was curious as to what Tredyffrin GOP listed as core values.  Check out what practically leaped off the page:

Our Values.  As Republicans, we believe:

~ That limited government must be fiscally responsible and always accountable;

~ That our nation must protect the dignity of every individual and guarantee the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness;

So Tredyffrin residents, how are those values working out?  Do you think your government is living up to these values?