Wednesday, May 22, 2013
City Councilors are not supposed to use cellphones during meetings. Jeremy Denlea says councilors are using them, and he wants repercussions.
Last month's hot topic during an Attleboro City Council meeting was when councilors take their bathroom breaks. This week it was whether councilors were using their cellphones during meetings, violating an unofficial rule set by council President Frank Cook banning the use of cellphones by councilors and audience members during meetings. Councilor Jeremy Denlea alleged Monday night that some of his colleagues were "texting, emailing and playing games during every meeting." He at first did not specify names, but later pointed at the two men who sit to his immediate right at the horseshoe table—Richard Conti and Jonathan Weydt. Weydt said he was "very upset and disgusted" by the allegation. Denlea immediately responded that he sees Weydt …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
City Councilors Frank Cook, Richard Conti and Jay DiLisio become official candidates for the fall contests.
Editor's Note: The original version of this article incorrectly stated Walter Thibodeau was certified for the election and did not include the fact Richard Conti was certified. This was due to an error on the status sheet at the city's Election's Department office. Office Manager Marianne Draine contacted Patch about the error after the story was published. She said Thibodeau "is a little short of 100 percent certified" and Conti was certified for the election. The story has been corrected. Three sitting Attleboro city councilors were certified Monday for the fall election. Frank Cook, Richard Conti and Jay DiLisio became official candidates when election officials confirmed they had collected enough signatures from local registered voters…
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Two councilors head for the restroom during a vote with permission from the president. A third councilor says the vote should be redone. His motives are questioned.
Granting someone permission to use the bathroom can have consequences. For Capt. Mark McCluskey and Virgil "The Turk" Solozzo in the first Godfather film, the decision cost their lives as Michael Corleone returned from a restaurant restroom and fired a gun. The outcome was a little lower on the intensity scale for Attleboro City Council President Frank Cook, but his apparent permission to allow two colleagues to use the facilities during a discussion and vote at the April 2 meeting led to a 20-minute debate two weeks later about who can go when. At the center of the controversy were City Councilors Jay DiLisio and Mark Cooper, who left the table for the bathroom during a discussion and vote on, perhaps ironically, pollutant limits for …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
City Council President Frank Cook leads his colleagues in a moment of silence to honor the victims of the marathon tragedy and those who helped them.
With President Frank Cook noting Attleboro's strong connection to Boston, the city council honored those affected by the marathon tragedy during its meeting Tuesday night. Cook said Boston is more than just the capital of Massachusetts. "It is a place where many in this city, like myself, were born and raised," he said. "It is a place where every day hundreds of our residents go by train to their jobs. And it's also a place where on Patriots' Day every year for over 100 years, citizens have gone from here to participate [in the marathon]." He said nearly everybody in Attleboro has either run in the Boston Marathon or knows somebody who has. "At this time, it's important we stand with the citizens of the city of Boston ... and that we …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Due to health issues, the seven-term councilor says he has not been able to focus on whether he would run for re-election.
If City Council President Frank Cook decides to run for an eighth term as the Ward 3 representative, he will have at least two competitors. Former Councilor John Davis and Planning Board member Ben Dowling say they will run for the Ward 3 seat this fall. Frank says health issues have prevented him from focusing on determining whether he would seek re-election. Dowling, who has served on the planning board since 2009, pulled nomination papers Tuesday. His father Tom challenged Cook in the 2011 election, and lost by a 62-38 margin. "I just think it's time for a fresh perspective on the council for Ward 3," Dowling said. "I'd like to be more actively involved in government. I think you can be more active by being on the council than you can …
Friday, February 22, 2013
John Davis pulled papers for the City Council contest and Jim Stors looks to return as a school committee member.
Two challengers pulled papers in the past two days for Attleboro's fall election, but both men have familiar faces. Former City Councilor John Davis pulled papers Wednesday for the Ward 3 council race and former School Committee member Jim Stors took out nomination papers for the Ward 2 and at-large school committee races. He must choose which contest he will officially enter. Davis served as the Ward 5 councilor for four terms before giving up his seat to run for mayor in 2007. Mayor Kevin Dumas defeated him in that election. If he pursues the Ward 3 contest, Davis could face Council President Frank Cook, who is a seven-term incumbent. Cook is one of two sitting councilors who have not pulled papers as of Thursday. The other councilor is …
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Councilor Shannon Heagney wants a committee to review the city's ordinances for possible revision. Council President Frank Cook says he needs to talk to the mayor about that first.
A proposal for a City Council committee to review Attleboro's ordinances and determine if any could be removed because they are out of date or conflict with state laws turned into a 30-minute debate Tuesday night between two councilors. Councilors Shannon Heagney and Jeremy Denlea proposed that a council subcommittee review the municipal laws for possible changes. Usually when a councilor makes a proposal, Council President Frank Cook determines which committee (whether it be an existing one or a new one) should review it in preparation for a possible recommendation to the full council. However, this time he said he wanted to refer the item to the city's administration, which means Mayor Kevin Dumas and Budget and Administration Director …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Sara-Lynn Reynolds says a recently approved cash reserve policy is "fluff." This angers Council President Frank Cook, who sources say yelled at Reynolds and Councilor Jonathan Weydt after the meeting.
The city could get specific on its savings policy if the City Council approves a measure proposed by Councilor Sara-Lynn Reynolds. She faces opposition from the council president and the head of the budget committee. Although the council approved a measure last month calling for the city to increase targets for cash reserve accounts, Reynolds said at last week's meeting this was "kind of just a fluff policy, there was nothing really set in stone." She has proposed the outline of an ordinance that she said would "put more teeth to it." Reynolds' proposal states, "The city of Attleboro requires and must maintain a cash reserve policy that includes stated targeted balances for the stabilization fund and other reserve funds or a percentage of …
Thursday, September 20, 2012
City Council President Frank Cook's walking out of the meeting on the Attleboro Landfill capping was childish and offensive.
Last evening, City Councilors Jonathan Weydt and Richard Conti held a meeting to inform Ward 4 residents about the situation at the Attleboro Landfill. It was an informational meeting that was requested by the people who live in the area and will be affected in many ways—truck traffic on tiny roads, health risks and property devaluation. The purpose was to educate and listen. Two city councilors cared enough about their constituency to do what they were elected to do. Thank you to both of them. Somehow, several city officials found this to be so offensive that they stormed out. City Council President Frank Cook was one of them. Mr. Cook was "offended" by the a word used by Councilor Weydt. Newsflash: This meeting was not about Mr. Cook or…
Denise Wayland
10:38 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
I am FURIOUS at Mr. Denlea's actions. I have volunteered in Massachusetts for over 20 years. I started in social services and then moved to helping the intellectually disabled. When dealing with an individual with intellectual disorders, it is important to be calm. Never be reactionary or interrupt the speaker. Mr. Denlea's behavior was clearly not fair to Mr. Weydt. He was assertive and didn't … more ›