NEWS: Selectmen Mull 'Media Policy', Spurred by Info Access Complaint

Art Campbell, owner and operator of the Groton Line news website, and administrator of the popular talkaboutgroton list serve, appeared before Selectmen to register an official complaint about his difficulty obtaining official information from Town Manager Mark Haddad.

Mr. Campbell began his complaint, saying "If I call the fire department, I would expect them to come to my house," adding that if he called the Police department he would expect to be treated the same as any other resident. He went on to say that he had a continuing problem getting information from the Town Manager. He referenced the Groton Charter, saying that the town manager had a responsibility to keep his professional conduct separate from his personal feelings. He added, "Maybe we need some kind of media policy," and "There needs to be a policy for handling communications."

Selectman Stuart Schulman questioned Campbell's comparing fire or police department response to calls for requests for information from the Town Manager, suggesting that if someone calls the fire or police departments multiple times each week, every week that response time might become a bit slower.

This was an apparent reference to Mr. Campbell's well-known tendency to make frequent and persistent requests for information multiple times a day to Town Hall departments, not just the office of the Town Manager. Some town hall employees say that his persistent phone calls and emails, sometimes coming several times each day, sometimes consume so much time that work for the town is impacted.

Campbell said that Town Manager Haddad had not communicated with him by email since the final months of 2011. When Haddad was asked if he would explain why he was unwilling to deal directly with Campbell, Haddad did not reply but simply shook his head.

Although unwilling to give his reasoning, the date of Campbell's and Haddad's last communication correlates with the period of the Campbell's coverage of Haddad's relationship with a town resident. The personal nature of this coverage is rumored to be the cause of Mr. Haddad's unwillingness to engage with Campbell.

After being recognized, Lowell Sun Reporter Hiroko Sato asked pointedly whether Selectmen should first be determining whether Campbell's complaint is legitimate and whether Haddad's refusal to deal with Campbell was warranted before considering establishment of a 'media policy'. She also said that the Lowell Sun had no part in Campbell's request to establish such a policy.

Selectman Degen said he respects Mr. Haddad's right to not respond to Campbell's inquiries and suggested creating a communications officer to field press inquiries to resolve the Campbell's complaint. Degen added that Town Clerk Mike Bouchard was willing to function in this role if the Board decided to implement such a policy. The opinion of the two major print media outlets was not sought.

Selectman Jack Petropulos smiled in bemusement saying, "The idea to having to establish a communications officer is like adding a fifth wheel to a vehicle that is not working," Rather he said, "We need to fix the vehicle."

Selectmen agreed to further discuss establishing a communications policy and appointing a communications officer.