By Kiera Blessing kblessing@eagletribune.com
BRENTWOOD — The Town of Salem officially filed a complaint against selectman Stephen F. Campbell in Rockingham Superior Court this week after voting in March to seek his removal from office.
The complaint, filed Tuesday, seeks that the court remove Campbell from office for allegedly sharing confidential personnel information, which he was privy to as a selectman, with the public on two occasions in 2014 and 2015.
The court documents detail a letter sent to the Board of Selectmen on March 9 of this year by police captain and head of the Salem Public Administrators Association Union, Robert Morin. Morin alleged Campbell had broken state law by sharing information about the internal investigation of a deputy police chief with The Eagle-Tribune in late 2014.
Though not named in Morin's letter or court documents, former Deputy Chief Shawn Patten was at the center of the investigation. A former Police Department employee, Steve Malisos, sent a letter to the town manager in October 2014, accusing Patten of falsifying records and theft. Though Patten was eventually cleared through an internal investigation and by the Attorney General's office, Morin alleges Campbell brought the information about the investigation to the media, violating state public record laws.
The court documents also mention an incident from February 2015, when Campbell posted about Salem Police Chief Paul Donovan's suspension on his Facebook page. The suspension had previously been kept from the public as a private personnel matter.
Campbell has not denied either accusation.
According to court documents, Campbell acknowledged he was "not authorized" to discuss the chief's suspension publicly; in March 2015, the board voted to "condemn" his actions.
Campbell has also admitted to bringing information to the media, but has maintained that he did not break public records laws in doing so.
“I don’t believe I did anything wrong,” Campbell said during a board meeting March 28. According to court documents, on March 25, Campbell posted on his Facebook page that "The information I shared with the Eagle-Tribune was sent to me and others through the US mail. It was sent to us by a retired Town employee. The information was not from a non-public meeting."
When asked by board Chairman James Keller why he took the information to the media, Campbell answered he "would rather not say."
A hearing is scheduled for May 4
24 comments:
thought this was "Atkinson Reporter".
Salem issues are Salems
What about the alleged Green non incident at the Academy,
It's sick what they do to this Woman...
Our school reps shun her yet she's the one that asks the
"Uncomfortable " questions..... Hey Sandown, trade ya
2 for 1.....
Salem is in stark contrast to Atkinson in that they have enough respect for themselves to do the right thing. Atkinson has become a disgraceful community where anthing goes.
I watched the video and read the meeting announcement. Who was the man who asked Mrs. Green to leave and I agree, he was dead wrong for shunning her.
Atkinson is a great town, best in the State... I love it here..
Always have.. So get your boney butts outside and put some seed
In the ground...
Another 'out of touch' idiot. A declaration of opinion does not prove an argument, nor does it provide any valid support to it.
Under the right to know laws would we have known the information supposed to be as illegally gotten? We have the right to know what is going on in each department and who is alleged to have violated that department or board. The reasons for the bringing a complaint against Campbell should be above board and published for all to see because of the charges against him. I do not think he is going to be removed from the board after a fair and just proceeding in any court.
He shared personnel information with the public. That's not allowed under the Right to Know law. Except in Atkinson.
Green went there looking for trouble like she usually does if you look at her Facebook post on April 5th you would know the real story, and no one at the meeting did anything to her, someone outside on a Facebook page posted something they where told and had nothing to do with the parties involved at that meeting, she knew some of it was closed and she came down with a video camera asking to go into the NON-PUBLIC meeting.
She is a nothing but a local agitator and she will be voted out next year, what she did to Sandown over leaving the district was a disgrace and the voters let her know it, just look at the results 1311-300 please don't talk about stuff you have no idea about.
next time your board just look at the beginning of the last School board meeting when she humiliated 3 teachers.
sorry for the typo above "Bored"
The meeting was posted for SB members, read it. She, being a SB member should have been let in. SHE is no less and elected member that the man who refused her. She was bullied and she was right. This was not the first time she's been unfairly excluded. Now, next time your "board", why don't you brush up your spelling skills and your manners.
Moron at 1:26 only a very SMALL part of the meeting was open to all of the board, the non-public was closed to certain people (Kelly ward (safety) and Metzler, for obvious reasons and Ms. Green knew this, she acknowledge this on April 5th and implied she was going to crash the party and see what's happen, she was warned to contact the board first before she tried to crash the NON_PUBLIC part, she tried the same antics last year, she knows why she is not allowed to be involved in a private meeting with Homeland security which addresses certain tactics and security measures which are kept private to a few, as to not allow the general public to know how they respond to certain situations should they ever arise.
It's all okay because she will be gone next year, and funny how you never answered her idiotic attempt to move out of the district and her wish was Pinkerton and only last week we find out they are in Default on bonds and there bond rating has dropped.
She lies and exaggerates at the expense of the taxpayers and cost us a lot of money.
Exact quote:
"The agenda will include consultation with agents from the US Department of Homeland Security. It is expected that the majority of this meeting will be held in nonpublic session under RSA 91-A:3, II, paragraph (i) consideration of matters relating to the preparation for and the carrying out of emergency functions, including training to carry out such functions, developed by local or state safety officials that are directly intended to thwart a deliberate act that is intended to result in widespread or severe damage to property or widespread injury or loss of life"
SHE IS NOT ON THE SAFETY COMMITTEE....
The legal posting of the meeting SAID TRSB AND Safety. The meeting was posted this way. Maybe next time they will post the thing correctly.
I'm not interested in whether Sandown moves out of the district. I don't tlive there and it's their business.
Your comments are uncalled for, saying she'll be gone next year when you don't know one way of the other, calling her a liar. I'll bet it feels good to sit there and bully people from behind your (not really) anonymous post. You're so against her that you likely don't live in Atkinson either.
Hmm. Post it correctly the next time. MORON.
@ 3:54 you are kidding right? Liar!....have you seen what all you nit-wits- post in here, I'm surprised no one has sued you.
And yes she will be gone because 1311 voters, trust me don't care for her antics
To 6:07 - Who can trust the words of an angry person?( anger often comes from jealousy or low self-esteem ). Just to point out to you, as the nit-wit bully @6:07 PM, you responded and berated yourself @ 3:54. Angry, hateful people derail themselves without any help at all.
@7:23 this entire Blog/board and all the people in it including you, live and thrive of Hate do you even read what you have typed over the years?, LOL you are to far gone time for your MEDS.
so chief want his personal " stuff" back....
Mark, we all know, you got it, don't cha..
Hey Phil, check Leonitas ' s trunk...
@8:09 LOL
"stuff". Keep a copy just in case...............
He did check the trunk, only a case of mouthwash.
@ 5:39 LOL!!!!!!
Hey moochers, conman butt sniffers and Donna Green bashers ( the ones that want us all to spend without restraint on their children) she won her court case, now the Right to Know law just might be followed by "some" of our town officials. To bad it wasn't followed for the last 30 years.
To the poster at 8:09; If you mean the civil files Phil illegally compiled under color of law on anyone who was critical of him, they are NOt "his stuff", They are the stuff of the people whose rights he violated.
But that is ok, because, while people like you called me a liar for years, for stating that Phil was abusing his authority and violating law by gathering these files, it was not until he was FIRED for sexually harassing the dispatcher young enough to be his daughter that the files were seized and we were proven correct yet again. As usual Phil lied and his witless supporters blindly bought it.
Before you attempt to bring me into your juvenile screed learn the facts.
Post a Comment