The Reaction |
Reaction to the blog entry ranged from bewildered to outraged. Following is a sampling of the reactions on Frambors: Ginny Marino said, "It's quite obvious Katie is shocked that she lost but doesn't know how to lose graciously. [...] For shame Katie, for shame." Dr. Brian Davison wrote, "I did speak privately to Ms. Murphy in 2004 about a proposed project that was to be built abutting my property [but] she left out two important facts: 1. When I told her of my concerns she did not say she supported the project, instead she said 'I have concerns about that too.' 2. Then she said to me that I should not attend the BOS meeting that second night as it would be more of the same, and nothing would be resolved. You can be sure that I almost fell out of my seat when Ms. Murphy rose to her feet and said that 'It was a time for leadership' and that she was supporting the project. About the election, I did not donate to Mr. Smith's campaign. My wife supported him with her time. That was the extent with our involvement in his candidacy." Karen Foran Dempsey wrote, "I must respond in memory of my deceased father, Edward W. Foran. [...] Our family felt personally attacked, hurt and outraged when we read about 'our dying father in Ms. Murphy's ICU' on her blog. Ms. Murphy, having been a nurse for so many years, more than crossed the line...she hit a new low. Not only that comment on her blog was offensive to our family but she goes on to further state that she was surprised that we were so liberal as to have a latino friend. What does she mean by that? Is she implying that we are racist because we are more conservative?" Peter Adams wrote, "Regarding STEPPS, Katie was of help to us when we first approached the Board of Selectmen regarding 517 Winter Street. Katie writes:
That statement is largely accurate, and we definitely appreciated Katie's help. However, we learned later that there was a great deal more that the Town could be doing regarding social services. I think Katie was happy to help a neighborhood group like ours on our isolated concern, but just never grasped that we were concerned about more than 517 Winter or that the social service industry's abuse of Framingham was a townwide issue. I have no idea what she means by 'STEPPS' fury grew.' We have tried very hard to be issue oriented and calm in our approach." Ellen LaRose wrote, "Katie’s comment (in her blog of apology) that several supporters urged her to 'make more details public of issues that occurred over the years' clearly shows that falsehoods, misperceptions and unanswered questions still remain. [...] Are there any facts in evidence that would support that all people who were opposed to [JCHE] are pro STEPPS and anti affordable housing? [...] Are all those who disagree with Katie scary? Are they Anti-Framingham because they have different ideas about what is good for their town? [...] Do all parents of baseball players cast their votes together and are they really uninformed? Is every resident who voted for Katie's opponent a pawn in some imaginary game?"
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Following her loss to Jason Smith in the April election, the formerly polite politician opened fire with an entry on her blog that was so controversial it was covered by the MetroWest Daily News. Following the article and a flurry of messages on Frambors, Murphy issued an apology and removed the entry from ber blog. It is reprinted here for historical reference.
I'm probably one of the few that understands the story from its inception. For starters, I've never been too popular with the old boys, from the days of Tony Colonna, et al, and maybe they even remember me as someone who tried to update that department in the late '80's.
Ginger and her following realized I was far more progressive than she, and worked hard for my opponent in '03.
First Strike
Upon taking my seat, I had the opportunity to hear from JCHE about their excellent elderly housing for our senior citizens planned for Edmands Road, In Precinct 1.
JCHE is a highly regarded organization that provides excellent services for our elderly residents. Housing is getting more expensive every day, that's according to multiple respected research think tanks, but not Sue Bernstein, so you choose.
I happened to meet one of the abutters, Dr. Brian Davison, of Juniper Lane at my place of employment when Janet Leombruno's father was dying in my ICU. I recall Janet telling me she didn't vote for me because her family voted for "a family friend". They didn't strike me as the liberal types, so I was surprised they had a Latino "family friend".
Brian talked to me of the Shillman House which, apparantly he felt was bad for the neighborhood. The night the Board of Selectmen voted to support the project, he looked at me and I said to myself, that night in 2004: In 2006, Brian Davison will be financing my opponent. So none of the deep pocket stuff is a surprise to me. Smith couldn't have funded those expensive signs himself. Plus, the first ones appeared on Ginger's lawns.
Chapter 2: The Neighborhood as Front Person, or, How to Put a Friendly Face on An Inherently Scary Cast of Characters
On to 2005.
When STEPPS first contacted me, they wrote a letter saying they were coming to Public Participation. I never saw the letter,as our Admin Assistant read it to me on the phone. I told him to put STEPPS on the Agenda, picked up the phone and called David Westwater. I invited him, and his people to the meeting and told them they were on the Agenda. We had a good dialogue and the Selectmen listened carefully and offered all the support we had to offer. Now, this is the kind of leadership I provided: fair, impartial and open to all. Those who sit on the Board, beholden to those who placed them there, are, by definition, owned by their handlers. Woe to those who don't have coffee with the right folks.
The JCHE opponents perked up their ears at the STEPPS issue, and remembered how they had lost in 2005 by being themselves. The community was really turned off by their negative rhetoric. They needed to fly under the radar to unseat me in '06. What a ready-made addition to their base: so many anti-Framingham people lived in that neighborhood: Capone, Rotatori -- really a match made in heaven.
Spurred on by the Precinct 1 anti-JCHE, anti-affordable housing folks, STEPPS' fury grew and they focused on me, the Selectwoman who had invited them to the Board in the first place, and pretty soon, social service agencies became the catalyst, the focus, the issue around which a hurricane of lies, fallacies and anger would coalesce.
An unqualified person, with no record, who was willing to play this role was recruited and the machine identified above, along with an attorney with connections, a Department Head with an agenda, and an uninformed group of baseball players parents, worked to put one of the least qualified persons on the Board.
Many people were pawns in this campaign, and most will never know it.
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