Marineview residents demand that City Hall ban DeFusco from meeting!

Wait until you hear this one...

This morning GA read a new press release from First Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco:  "Ravi Bhalla used city security forces to block me from community meeting!"  

What was that all about? 

GA reached out to City Hall to get the real story-- and it's a doozy.  In fact, the material GA obtained was sent out to other credible media sources, which explains the reason why DeFusco was barred from the meeting-- and it was not an open "community meeting" but a "Marineview residents only" meeting.  And it wasn't the Mayor who barred DeFusco... 

The request to exclude First Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco came from Marineview residents.  

  

Here is the email request, signed by a group of Marineview residents, sent to the Office of Constituent services on August 16:

Clearly, the meeting was not as DeFusco erroneously described as a "community meeting" but closed to Marineview residents; here's the actual flyer provided to Marineview residents only. 

Now for the rest of the story, that you won't read anywhere else...

EXCLUSIVE DETAILS! 

Oh, it gets even funnier... there is more to this story which exposes the utterly disingenuous Twitter-tantrum and companion press release (which should have been titled: "WAAAAAAAAH! I'm Full of Shit!")

So...

Once the First Ward Councilman caught wind of the mayor's scheduled Marineview  meeting he contacted City Hall to advise them that he was going, too.  Note: this was after Marineview residents emailed City Hall to object to DeFusco's presence, and after City Hall had given assurances to the objectors that their request would be respected. 

And so, the Mayor's Office pointedly asked DeFusco to "please not attend the meeting" as the mayor was committed to his obligations to Marineview residents. Note: DeFusco was not told that City Hall had correspondence from residents asking that he stay away. GA supposes some would call that "diplomacy" as well as protecting Marineview residents from harassment by DeFusco lackeys.  

   

DEFUSCO BANGS ON MEETING DOOR, CREATES RUCKUS!

After being politely asked not to attend the meeting, what happened next? 

Mike DeFusco showed up at MarineView, got let into the building by a resident, who then left the scene. 

DeFusco proceeded to the meeting room where he banged on the door, screeching in protest! In spite of the scene he created in the hall, the Mayor met his obligation to the tenants of the building who had promised to leave if the councilman entered the room.

"50 RESIDENTS" ATTEND, NONE ASK FOR DEFUSCO TO BE LET INTO MEETING

In spite of the ruckus created outside, not one of the meeting attendees asked that their Councilman be allowed in.   

Not one. The howling Councilman had no impact inside the room...

In fact, Councilman's DeFusco's name never came up at the Marineview residents meeting. The mayor was there to talk to them about their concerns-- not to talk politics. he was there to listen.  And for that, GA hears that residents were grateful; grateful that the Mayor- in office for less than 8 months- cared enough about them to come and talk. 

This is not DeFusco phony, election-time fakery, this is not tricking the public on social media, this is a mayor who is doing his job.

FIRST WARD RESIDENTS UNHAPPY WITH DEFUSCO

Yes, GA has told you several times that First Ward residents are not happy with the First Ward Councilman's performance, and his perpetual PR-campaign against the Administration. They want him to do his job.  It is unclear if he understands that his job is not churning out press releases and Tweets. 

First Ward residents understand.