Mark GiaQuinta’s Behavior Labeled “Unprofessional” & “Slanderous”
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 6/23/08 @ 2:05 am - Filed Under 2008 Local Elections, Featured, Local Politics
Sunday the JG had a piece on outgoing FWCS board member Carol Coen’s career. At the end there was a quote from board president Mark GiaQuinta that made me chuckle:
“Seven Mark GiaQuintas on the Fort Wayne Community Schools board would be a recipe for disaster,” GiaQuinta said.
Hey, he said it. Soon after, I read Democratic county treasurer nominee, and Wayne Township Advisory Board member, Maria Parra’s (via FWoB) post on GiaQuinta’s unprofessional behavior at the last meeting:
The denigrating comments from Mark Giaquinta were unprofessional, uncalled for and slanderous. He is attempting to intimidate me and paint me as incompetent to discredit any financial analysis conducted by me to inform the board and ultimately the taxpayers of Wayne Township. What is the Trustee and Mark Giaquinta hiding that would require browbeating a woman trying to do her job?
The denigrating comments from Mark Giaquinta were unprofessional, uncalled for and slanderous. He is attempting to intimidate me and paint me as incompetent to discredit any financial analysis conducted by me to inform the board and ultimately the taxpayers of Wayne Township. What is the Trustee and Mark Giaquinta hiding that would require browbeating a woman trying to do her job?
Hey, she said it…
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10 Responses to “Mark GiaQuinta’s Behavior Labeled “Unprofessional” & “Slanderous””
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I lost a lot of respect for Maria Parra after what she did at Germanfest. She snuck into the food area and was attempting to shake hands with customers trying to get food - she was given the boot. Next she weaseled her way behind the bar (WHICH IS ILLEGAL WITHOUT A BARTENDING LICENSE) and was shaking hands with patrons yet again. When I noticed the disturbance she was causing I kindly asked her to leave - she ignored me and continued trying to shake hands and introduce herself. She clearly was impaired and slurring her words. I escorted her to the nearest exit and was holding the gate open for her when she darted away and squeezed herself through a tiny gap in the fence. Her actions were definitely unprofessional and uncalled for, not to mention against the law.
Are you sure the quote said seven?
Abby, most of your comments are not factual, however I respect your right to your opinion. In fact, blogs are just that - forums for personal opinion, sometimes verified with facts (i.e. FWoB). That said, I’m not sure how my campaigning at Germanfest has nearly the signficance of the issues raised at the Wayne Township board meeting.
Abby,
I think I understand your comparison - I guess you think Maria is a pot calling the kettle black. But I think there’s quite a bit of difference between the actions you describe and what’s transpiring in Wayne Township.
This isn’t overzealous campaigning. We’re talking about stonewalling an investigation into where the taxpayers money is going. And the stonewalling is being done through intimidation.
Now, I wasn’t there so I’m going by Maria and Charlotte’s report but I think those allegations are serious and I’m not sure the actions you cite are quite on the same level.
But you are certainly welcome to your opinion…
No repudiation of Maria Parra is necessary here because she is really irrelevant to this whole episode. It could have been anybody that requested those documents and the situation would still be the same. This is about Mark GiaQuinta and his refusal to quickly hand over requested public documents.
Mark GiaQuinta is the villain here, but that does not mean that Maria Parra was the heroine. The focus should be on him, not her.
Ok - I agree - may not have been the correct forum to bring up the behavior I witnessed, however I fully stand behind my story.
Several thoughts
1. Seven clones of anybody sitting on any board would be a recipe for disaster. Ideally, there should be different people from different backgrounds.
2. Abby, if what you say is true, then you should have had Maria Parra arrested.
3. Maria Parra, if what Abby says isn’t true, then it is libel, not an opinion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no one is entitled to defame.
I have been trying to understand exactly when Ms. Parra filed a freedom of information request. At first I thought it was months ago and then I understand that she indicated at the township board meeting that she filed it less than seven days ago. If there are hundreds of pages as I understand there may be, that doesn’t seem like a long time to get that many documents together. I know from experience that no city or county departments will issue documents without that offical request.
I guess freedom of information requests are public record too, so I could go check the filing date-but I thought someone here would know?
Lola:
Ms. Parra’s freedom of information request was filed recently, just a few days before the public meeting. The confusion arises because Ms. Parra’s unanswered informal requests were made for several months prior to filing the official request. The formal request was the result of not receiving informally requested documents.
When no response is forthcoming from a government entity or the individual simply wants access to certain materials, individuals have been provided a mechanism to get to that information - the federal FOIA and the similar state versions.
Ms. Parra did not call the public meeting to address the issue. That was done by either the Trustee’s Office or the President of the Board, Tony Henry - I am not sure.
In fact, I found myself wondering why on earth a meeting was necessary to address the request. We all spent 65 minutes at a public hearing that wasn’t necessary to resolve the issue. The materials could have been copied and provided without resorting to a public meeting - unless somewhere in the Trustee’s duties and/or the Board’s duties this is required. I am not sure.
I know Jeff, Mike, and others have filed FOIA requests in the past, and I don’t recall any public meeting being scheduled to handle their requests.
I hope this answers your question.
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