Mayor Denounces ‘Poison Pen’ Letters

In the wake of the recent heated election campaign for City Council, anonymous “poison pen” letters are now circulating in the city, Mayor Barry L. Denes said.

Denes denounced the unsigned letters in a speech at the council meeting this week. He said the anonymous missives unjustly attack him, Councilman Joseph S. Barsa and newly elected Councilwoman Patricia L. Bortle. Denes said the letters imply that he, Barsa and Bortle were involved in unethical politicking, which he categorically denied.

A furor erupted after the Nov. 5 city election because of accusations brought by William E. Baker Jr., one of the unsuccessful council candidates. In a Nov. 14 lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court, Baker, a lawyer, charged that he was slandered during his campaign by untrue statements that he had once been suspended from law practice.

Supporters of Baker have charged that slander and dirty politicking led to his defeat. A former city councilman, Jim Wells, appeared at the City Council’s Nov. 26 meeting and denounced what he called “character assassination” of Baker during the November campaign.

Denes this week told the council he believed Wells’ statements unjustly criticized Bortle. Barsa agreed, and he moved to strike Wells’ statements from minutes of the Nov. 26 meeting.

Assistant City Atty. Dan Slater said state law allows wide latitude for citizens’ comments at public meetings, and he recommended against changing the minutes. Nonetheless, the council voted 4 to 1 to delete Wells’ comments from the minutes. Councilman Bob Bell cast the lone opposing vote.