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Allston Village Street Fair bars Obama-based voter-registration drive

Jonathan Kamens, an Obama supporter, reports how the Allston Village Street Fair (which happens today, noon to 6 p.m.) denied him permission to set up a voter-registration table.

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Comments

There will be a voter registration drive at the Beacon Hill Block Party today, though Obama volunteers will not be allowed to wear Obama buttons.

The Beacon Hill Block Party is from 12-3, with a Beer Garden from 2-6, on Mt. Vernon Street.

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Jonathan has five kids and is running a volunteer voter registration desk. Good for Jonathan.

Joan Pasquale has a low threshold for insult and uses her authority to settle personal scores.

Jonathan jammed Joan by writing the mayor and every other politician about Joan's intransigence.

Don't worry Jonathan, karma's a bitch. Something will rain of Joan's parade ...in this case, um rain. Keep registering voters!

Finding out how to vote is now quick and easy.

Using this tool you can:
1. Register to vote.
2. Request to vote absentee.
3. Find your polling location.
This should only take about 3 minutes.

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Many street festivals, especially ones that represent a mirade of interested parties tend to avoid politics and political issues as much as possible. While the blogger thinks that his being there should only result in an invite to the McCain campaign there are many other campaigns who would also petition to be added as well. I have dealt with many event organizers and many just would rather not open up the pandoras box, and would rather maintain the non partisan flavor of the event. I have a feeling a group of Obama tshirts would only serve to bring political issues into the event.

As for marching politicians I dont recall seeing politicians in parades handing out literature. Most of the politicians I have seen in parades are their acting as a public official. All public officials are politicians but not all politicians are public officials and I think sometimes people forget about that. If Obama wanted to come march , in a non campaign fashion, I am sure as a public official the organizers would allow him to do so (altough he is not a public official who represents any of us in this area so one never knows.)

These street festivals all have their own flavor and mission. If you really want to be altruistic and sign up voters then do so without the Obama clothing and buttons, otherwise just find a new place to park your table IMO. It should also be noted that most events that involve shutting down streets tend to also come with a blanket space permit meaning the organizers are , in theory, renting every square inch of public space within the fair grounds which means they can control who hands out literature during the times of the fair.

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Many street festivals, especially ones that represent a mirade of interested parties tend to avoid politics and political issues as much as possible.

That might matter if this were a Obama for President table. It is not. This was a voter registration table. I think you are confusing the act of voting or registering with a political partisan act.

Who you vote for after you register is nobody's business. Registering people to vote is a non-partisan civic responsibility and participation activity, not a political issue. Asking people to not wear or display "Obama" this or that would be in line. Banning the table is BS.

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I believe the blogger had wanted to make sure that he could be there displaying himself as an Obama person registering voters. At no point did he imply or say that he would be willing to strip the Obama moniker off and go as a non partisan voter participation drive. A voter registration table wasnt banned, an Obama table that happened to be registering people was. Big difference.

As a person who always has a few voter cards in his trunk and has worked for quite a few campaigns I am definitly on the side of those looking to get people registered to vote and would be 100 percent behind the blogger if they truely were altruistic and would have been willing to do the table without any Obama stuff present *including shirts and buttons* Also in case it matters Im an Obama supporter so my opinion doesnt stem from anti democrate principles.

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Yes, of course I was looking for visibility for Obama. While I certainly appreciate the importance of non-partisan voter registration efforts, right now, less than two months before the election, registering voters is not my first priority. Helping Obama win the election is my first priority.

If Massachusetts were a battleground state, then I might have been willing to put the time and effort into setting up a non-partisan voter registration table, under the assumption that it would be an opportunity to get Obama supporters registered simply because these efforts, even when completely non-partisan, tend to register more Democrats than Republicans.

If there hadn't been a parade the same day where I was organizing a group to march for Obama, then, once again, I might have been willing to put the time and effort into setting up a non-partisan voter registration table.

But Massachusetts isn't a battleground state, and I had another event to plan and run, so no, I wasn't really interested in doing a non-partisan voter registration table at the fair.

And that is why I was trying to talk with Ms. Pasquale to find out exactly what rules she expected us to follow, so that I could make an honest assessment of whether we would be willing to follow those rules, and if not, politely withdraw our request to participate in the fair.

As I told Ms. Pasquale quite explicitly in my emails to her, I was fully supportive of her right to run an apolitical event and to prohibit my group from participating if we were unwilling to abide by her rules for what "apolitical" means.

My complaint was not that she refused to allow us to campaign at the fair, but rather that she did so in an astounding display of uncalled for rudeness, petty power tripping, and unwillingness to share information.

If she had conducted the entire exchange politely, the end result would have been the same -- we would have chosen not to participate in the fair -- but the experience of arriving at that conclusion would have been one of mutual respect rather than pointless abuse.

What I said in my letter to Menino was correct -- there was no legitimate reason for our group to be excluded from the fair, because Ms. Pasquale excluded us before even telling us what rules she expected us to follow, let alone ascertaining whether we would be willing to follow them.

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Many street festivals, especially ones that represent a mirade of interested parties tend to avoid politics and political issues as much as possible.

That's true enough, and as I noted in my blog posting, I have no objection to the fact that PCBG wanted to keep the fair apolitical. My only objection was to the way I was treated by Ms. Pasquale.

While the blogger thinks that his being there should only result in an invite to the McCain campaign there are many other campaigns who would also petition to be added as well.

That's incorrect for two reasons:

  1. Nobody but the Democrats and the Republicans has ever participated in the Allston-Brighton Parade for as long as I've been living in Brighton (>10 years), and there's no reason to think that the street fair would be any different.
  2. In fact, to maintain its 501c3 status, a group is only required to be open to participation from the major political parties. They don't have to let in the nutcases, just like the non-profits that organize candidate debates aren't required to let in the nutcases.

As for marching politicians I dont recall seeing politicians in parades handing out literature.

Perhaps you haven't been to the Allston-Brighton Parade, then. People running for office march in the parade and hand out literature every single year.

Most of the politicians I have seen in parades are their acting as a public official.

The people marching in the Allston-Brighton Parade are not only politicians already in office; they are also the candidates for office, who are by no definition "public officials," so this argument simply falls apart.

In any case, we did march today in the parade, about ten of us carrying Obama banners and signs and handing out buttons, lapel stickers and Obama literature, and we were very well-received.

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what's "a mirade"?

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The world is saved by the spell check police once again, because we all know that if you dont spell one word right then your entire thesis goes out the window. Thank you almighty spell police.

Maraud rather then Mirade... the world is safe again.

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"Maraud" probably also isn't the word you want.

http://1smootshort.blogspot.com

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I'm going to guess 'myriad', but I purport that particular word isn't particularly obvious.

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Notice how he never actually quotes her emails, just characterizes them? And he's happy to quote his latter emails, but not his initial correspondence with her, in which she reportedly found his tone to be offensive?

Also, repeatedly arguing with her didn't help his case. At a certain point, yeah, you're just going to piss off people and they'll say no because you pissed them off and they don't want to work with you.

If the dude is so interested in registering voters, why didn't he organize a group to register people with no political affiliation?

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Notice how he never actually quotes her emails, just characterizes them?

Quoting other people's private email in full is both rude and a violation of the sender's copyright. Summarizing and/or quoting small portions of it is OK, but quoting all of it is both wrong and illegal.

If Ms. Pasquale were a public official, then her emails to me concerning official business would be public records, and I would therefore be free to post them. She isn't, so I'm not.

If she thinks it'll help her case to have her emails to me posted in full, she's free to post them herself or give me permission to do it, and I will happily do so. I assure you that I have not mischaracterized their content.

And he's happy to quote his latter emails, but not his initial correspondence with her, in which she reportedly found his tone to be offensive?

I omitted only my first email message to her from my blog posting, because it was completely mundane and innocuous and I saw no reason to make the blog entry any longer by including it. I quoted in full all of the email messages I sent after the first one. Since you seem to be suggesting that I'm hiding something nefarious in that first email message, here it is, for your edification:

Greetings,

I am a volunteer for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and a Brighton resident. I would like to organize a few volunteers to set up and staff a voter registration booth at the upcoming Allston Brighton Street Fair. Please let me know what arrangements I need to make with you to make this possible.

Thank you,

  Jonathan Kamens

Also, repeatedly arguing with her didn't help his case.

I didn't "repeatedly argue with her." I made the case to her that we should be allowed to participate exactly once. When she reiterated her position, I asked her to clarify exactly what the rules were so that I could make an educated decision about whether we would choose to participate. I only "argued" with her once, in my last message, the one in which I told her, basically, that I was offended and bothered by the way she had treated me and intended to do something about it.

For what it's worth, all it would have taken at that point to prevent me from writing to the mayor et al was for her to apologize for her rude behavior. Instead, she dug in her heels. That's just stupid.

If the dude is so interested in registering voters, why didn't he organize a group to register people with no political affiliation?

Did you miss the part where I asked her to clarify exactly what the rules were, and in return she told me that I was not welcome to participate in the fair? She did not offer me the option of organizing a group with no political affiliation; she told me I was "Not Welcome" at the fair.

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I think you acquit yourself as a reasonable, responsible, thoughtful and credible person with good judgemnt.

Pay no attention to Brett. We still can't figure out how he types so effectively with his head lodged firmly up his arse.

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She was right- you do have an attitude problem; it pervades your emails to her, your blog post, and your responses to comments and criticism here.

From the very start, you were presumptuous. You didn't ask to come- you declared you were going to. You didn't ask if there was room, or if they were interested in having a voter registration booth at their event. She did, however, tell you that they were NOT INTERESTED. You couldn't respect that. You argued with her decision and her justification.

She told you "no", you argued with her citing your 'legal experts', she said "no" again, you persisted. After demonstrating such single-mindedness, THEN she had the further reason: you were an argumentative jerk who was going to pester her and pester her until she said what you wanted to hear: "yes, fine, come" and if you DID come, she's probably have trouble with you at the event.

Also, if you think Pasquale even remotely cares about what you write to the mayor, you're delusional.

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shorter Brett: You brought this upon yourself.

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Hold on a minute, normally Brett is the one going after the "man" so seeing him defend an authority figure is interesting to me. He has valid points, and makes alot of sense in this case.

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FYI, Joan Pasquale has posted a response on my blog, and I've responded to her there.

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Add in the regular misuse of words, misspellings, bad grammar, and the general grandiosity of her tone and you've got a portrait of a pinhead in words.

Here is by far the best part of her screed:

The Hill Baptist Church collected Soda Cans from those Barrells throughout the 6 Hour Event day, for which the Hills Baptist Church received a Profit. It’s also important to note that the Hills Baptist Church Members who collected those cans from their Marked Recycling Barrells were also observed by the AVSF Security Staff, Volunteers, Event Participants and both of my AVSF Event Co-Chairs, throwing Garbage on the Sidewalks when found in their Recycling Barrells.

How Dare the Baptists makke a Profitt by collecting Soda Cans? Did you know they throwe Garbage upon the Sidewalks?

All in all, her tirade is hilariously Babbitesque.

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There is nothing angry about my statements. I am stating the facts. And you neglected to state that the mention of the Hills Baptist Church was in reference to a posting on Mr. Kamens Blog, by the Hills Baptist Church.
The Hills Baptist Church was given every courtesy at the 2007 Event, and their requests were accomodated as stated by the allowance of their barrells.
It's not the issue of profit that is raised - it's the issue that after a year, they are still complaining about not getting special treatment - just as Mr. Kamens is now.

I am more concerned with stating the facts, then correct punctuation, spelling and grammar. This is not an Essay Contest, it's a rebuttal forum. Everyone has their own style of expression,speech, etc., are you concerned with the facts, or looking for something to complain about.
Joan Pasquale

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No, that's the room down the hall.

This is the nasty busybody tryouts. You're doing well; you're creaming the competition. Keep going. Many people who had never heard of you before now don't like you.

P.S. After you look in your style guide to find out what capital letters are for, you might want to turn to the chapter on paragraphs.

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The "You Can Be A Self-appointed Grammar and Usage Czar!" workshop isn't until Thursday, fifth spoke clockwise from the valve stem, near the hub.

All the same, the most Germanic use of capitals is odd. I'm used to seeing that at work, where I've been working with Dutch and German scientists, so I almost didn't notice.

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I went to school in Germany for one year in second grade. I still make the mistake of capitalizing some words that should Not be Capitalized. That said. What good does it do to harp on grammer, spelling, punctuation, paragraphs, etc. Gareth, resist the temptation.

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Oh yeah? Well you shouldn't criticize my criticizing of her criticism. So there.

Really, I'm in it for the lulz. That paragraph about the Barrellls was precious. I hope whatsisface keeps provoking her so she'll say more funny Things.

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"What good does it do to harp on grammer, ...?"

Especially since you want to provoke her into saying something funny. The grammar line of commentary won't move the discussion in that direction.

I know it's your thing to criticize grammar, punctuation, paragraphs. Knock yourself out.

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I know that those of us who give a damn about the English language (or any other for that matter) are pissing in the wind. People who get to her age and are still ignorant will probably stay that way. But we do it anyway because we hope to instruct you kids. Learn to write properly and it will help your career prospects.

I didn't say anything about your grammer. She's probably a nice lady.

But thanks for your permission to knock myself out. I needed that. Hey, you knock yourself out too! It's on me!

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Mr. Kamen's posted email quotes are selected passages of numerous lengthy explanations to Mr. Kamens regarding the PCBG, Inc. 501c3 Mission Statement and 501c3 Application Statement of Non-Support of Political Groups or Organizations. PCBG, Inc. does not endorse, invite, or assist any Political agendas. As explained to Mr. Kamens many times via email correspondence - The Allston Village Street Fair is Sponsored by the PCBG, Inc., and to have any Biased Political Group on site handing out Political Literature wearing Political Endorsement T-Shirts, at a Table with Political Posters and signs - could be seen as a Political Endorsement by PCBG, Inc., and would be in violation of the PCBG Mission Statement. Mr. Kamens is not the only Brighton Resident that approached me with this request,as this explanation was stated to another Obama supporter, who clearly understood.

Mr. Kamens refused to accept PCBG, Inc.'s policy, and contacted a Lawyer and Rep. Moran's Office and then returned to me stating his contact, with the challenge of their responses. Again, PCBG, Inc. Policy was explained to Mr. Kamens, who aggressively pursued the issue with numerous emails, which were responded to in a timely fashion
especially taking into consideration the fact that I was in the Production process of the AVSF Event, and assisting another Community Event Project, plus I work. The PCBG, Inc., is an All Volunteer Community Service Non-Profit Organization. I handle PCBG, Inc. Business and Projects during the day, and work at night.
At one point Mr. Kamens was asked to please stop contacting me, which he ignored, and with his last correspondence stated that he would go to the Media, Mayor's Office and Boston City Council with a formal complaint about me, for not allowing him to have Table Space at the AVSF Event. My response was for him to go ahead, as Mayor Menino and all of the Boston City Council members are aware of PCBG's Non-Political Support stance re:previous campaign requests and refusals.
My correspondence to Mr. Kamens were as clear, to the point and assertive as this rebuttal - there was nothing rude about them, and I did exercise a tremendous amount of patience, as I truly believed that Mr. Kamens was an inexperienced, irate 15 year old boy, who in his Campaign passion for Obama, was confusing aggression for assertiveness. I was astounded in realizing that Jonathan Kamens was an adult, as I had also requested that the PCBG, Inc. Board be patient and not file a complaint with Mayor Menino and the Obama Campaign Headquarters. After Mr. Kamens last correspondence, I re-thought that request. The decision to firmly refuse Mr. Kamens any form of Vendor participation in the AVSF Event, was a Group decision based on the contents and tone of Mr. Kamen's correspondence to me.Beyond the fact that any Political representation was considered in violation of the PCBG Mission Statement, it was felt that Mr Kamen's unprofessional aggressive pursuit, not only represented his Organization poorly, but could become a problem at the Event, as he appeared to be problematic. As stated to Mr. Kamens, there is a Huge difference between and Unbiased Voter Registration Table and a Vote for Obama Table with Obama Literature, Obama T-Shirts, Posters and Signs, and although Mr. Kamens raised the issue of inviting McCain supporters - that doesn't change PCBG, Inc.'s Mission Statement Policy of No Political Representation, Assistance or Support. Mr. Kamens could have requested an Obama Table at the 5K Race Station from Rep.Honan, and would have had plenty of time to walk the two blocks to the Parade Set Up, as he participated in the A-B Parade.
The Allston Village Street Fair is a Multi-Cultural Community Event to Celebrate the wonderfull Diversity, Culture and Cuisine of our Community. It's not a Political Forum, and should not be compared to the A-B Parade where Politicians March shortly before election day for exposure, and as stated by Mr. Kamens in his Blog - He was not interested in an Unbiased Voter Registration Table - He was interested in getting Obama elected. Yet Mr. Kamens also states that he wished to comply with PCBG/AVSF regulations, to accomodate his request for a Voter Registration Table. Mr. Kamen's statements are contradictory. I do not owe Mr. Kamens an apology, for not giving him the answer that he aggressively pursued, and threatening me with complaints to the Media,Public Officials and Organizations was not going to change PCBG, Inc. Policy, or PCBG's decision. Mr. Kamens followed through on his threat to approach the Media,etc., as he did post his complaint letter to Mayor Menino, and this forum is as much of a Media format as the newspapers.
Since Mr. Kamens offered the invitation of reading his Blog postings, I urge you to do so, as I have again responded to his statements which hopefully remain posted. In regards to Mr. Kamen's statements regarding my character and experience. I have been an Allston-Brighton resident for 39 years, in which time I have worked with many Boston Community Groups and Organizations on their Events and Projects, if you check my correspondence on Mr. Kamen's Blog, some are noted. PCBG,has been Public for 4 years and although our website is badly in need of updating, you can view some of our past accomplishments through pictures and text at www.parentsandcommunitybuildgroup.org Mr. Kamens is the only person to ever be refused participation in a PCBG, Inc. sponsored Event. That refusal was based on his correspondence and the facts that he presented to me, via email correspondence. I have offered to post all of Mr. Kamen's emails and my responses to clarify my statements, which I will do. I am not tech savy and will need a PCBG member's assistance, but will post all of the emails as soon as possible, as per my Kamen's request. I have nothing to hide, and nothing to apologize for. I hope that this correspondence and my Blog rebuttals to Mr. Kamen's claims,
clarifies what is really going on, as I feel that Mr. Kamens is acting in a vindictive manner, to get even with me for not giving him the Yes answer that he pursued.There were options for an Obama Voter Registration Table at the 5K Race Station which is right on Brighton Avenue a Main Street in Allston, and at the After Parade gathering in Oak Square. Mr Kamens was not solely dependent on the AVSF for Voter Registration exposure, and could have approached our all Democrat Political Repesentatives for Voter Registration Space at their Events.
Joan Pasquale

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Joan, You and Jonathan have far more in common than you have that is different. I don't know how the two of you got off on the wrong foot but you did.

I'm sure it doesn't help that he made the disagreement a pubic one, nor does your decision to paste your lengthy responses to him on his blog and here too. Sure, he started it... at least the public forum part.

I'm pretty sure no one actually intends to wade through the long posts to find the truth when the truth is in front of our noses. That truth is: You're both altruists involved in activities to help other people. You think Jonathan treated you in a disrespectful way and he thinks you did. This is fairly easily remedied if you can both get passed the perceived insult and treat each other with the dignity you both justly deserve.

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I did not feel that Jonathan treated me disrespectfully, as I honestly felt that I was corresponding with an adolescent. There are different perspectives of comprehension, especially in communicating with teenagers. I was patient, and clearly explained the PCBG Mission Statement of No Political Support or Representation for any Candidate. Mr. Kamens is being highly disrespectful now.

I was just informed of the route of the problem, which is clearly posted on the Obama Website. Mr. Kamens invited people to attend the Obama Voter Registration Table at The Allston Village Street Fair, before any reservations were discussed or confirmed. It is boldly stated on that site, that the Obama Voter Registration Table for the Allston Village Street Fair is Cancelled. How do you Cancel something that doesn't exist? This certainly explains Mr. Kamens aggressive pursuit of an Obama Table, his disinterest in an Unbiased Voter Registration Table, and his anger in PCBG, Inc.'s decision to honor the No Politics Policy of our Mission Statement. Instead of accepting responsibility for his irresponsible action, he has dropped this in my lap; which is wrong. Mr. Kamens has also posted this issue on multiple Blogs and Sites.

Mr. Kamens is diverting negative attention in my direction, to hide his mistake. Only one other person had approached me in regards to hosting an Obama Table. I know that person, and they would never post anything without a confirmation from me first.
Joan Pasquale

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Do you mean route 57 to Watertown, or route 66 to Harvard Square?

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Joan if I were working in your office I would recommend that you avoid posting on forums like this one. I realize that you were attacked but your never going to get anywhere on the blog sites because they are populated by anti-establishment types and you my friend are in the establishment camp (at least in their minds.) "When you wrestle with a pig you get dirty and the pig likes it" something to consider.

That being said I agree with you fully and think that your being unfairly attacked. You run a fantastic event, and I appreciate the fact that you try to keep politics out of booths. I am an Obama supporter and would love to see a pro-Obama table anywhere where it is welcome, and it is obviously not welcome at your fair, if only the original blogger would understand that not everyone feels the same way he does.

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Ms. Pasquale,

I posted the event on the Obama Web site to gauge whether there was sufficient interest to be able to run a voter registration table before contacting you about it.

I did not wish to waste your time trying to arrange for the table if there weren't going to be people to run it.

Thank you, again, for turning my attempt to be considerate of your time into something nefarious.

Your irrational ravings about how I couldn't "cancel" the event once it became clear that we were not going to be allowed to participate do not warrant further comment.

The motives you have attributed to me for my behavior, without any evidence to support them, are once again more a result of projection your own thought processes onto me than an accurate reflection of why I am pursuing this.

And by the way, in fact Alex Selvig was talking to people about his plans to have a voter registration table at the fair at an Obama event on Saturday, September 6, before he spoke to you about it and you told him he wouldn't allow it. He did this for the same, perfectly reasonable, reason that I posted the event before talking to you -- to find out if there was sufficient interest to be able to run the table so as to avoid wasting your time.

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I did not feel that Jonathan treated me disrespectfully, as I honestly felt that I was corresponding with an adolescent.

All the more reason to show some patience and help him understand your parameters, which is what he was asking for. So what if he was grating or pushy? Handle it. You represent the decision making voice of a wonderful community event meant to build community. Don't let that become an after thought. Put that from and center. Give him the time and respect. You won't regret it.

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Mr. Kamen's posted email quotes are selected passages of numerous lengthy explanations to Mr. Kamens regarding the PCBG, Inc. 501c3 Mission Statement and 501c3 Application Statement of Non-Support of Political Groups or Organizations.

Feel free to post the emails you sent me and let people judge for themselves.

Or, since you are not "tech savvy," feel free to give me permission to post them for you; I of course have copies of all of them.

By the way, could you please do me the courtesy of spelling my name properly? Thanks.

As explained to Mr. Kamens many times via email correspondence - The Allston Village Street Fair is Sponsored by the PCBG, Inc., and to have any Biased Political Group on site handing out Political Literature wearing Political Endorsement T-Shirts, at a Table with Political Posters and signs - could be seen as a Political Endorsement by PCBG, Inc., and would be in violation of the PCBG Mission Statement.

Actually, no, you did not explain this to me "many times." All you mentioned in your first two emails was campaign literature. This is why I asked you explicitly to clarify the rules you expected us to follow, making it explicitly clear that my goal was to understand those rules so that we could be sure not to break them.

If you had mentioned T-shirts and signage in your earlier emails, I wouldn't have asked you about them. Is that so hard to understand?

There is a psychological phenomenon called "projection," which means, basically, that people tend to assume that other people think and behave like them, and interpret other people's actions in that light.

We are both guilty of "projection" in this exchange.

Throughout our email correspondence, I assumed that you would be reasonable and take my words at face value.

During the same email correspondence, you apparently assumed that I was trying to force you to do something you didn't want to do, that I was trying to blackmail you with the threat of bad publicity, and that I was an inexperienced, irate, aggressive adolescent.

Your assumptions say far more about you than they do about me.

Mr. Kamens refused to accept PCBG, Inc.'s policy, and contacted a Lawyer and Rep. Moran's Office and then returned to me stating his contact, with the challenge of their responses.

As I have already told you, I spoke with a lawyer I know and with Rep. Moran's office to confirm that my understanding of the law was correct. I did this because I did not wish to waste your time if it turned out that you were correct that political activity at the fair would compromise your 501c3 status. It is unfortunate that you interpreted my effort to be considerate of your time as an attack.

It turned out that I had misunderstood your original point. As I now understand it, you were not saying that 501c3's in general are prohibited from providing forums for political activity, but rather that your organization in particular chooses not to provide such forums. When you explained this to me, I thanked you for explaining it, acknowledged my previous misunderstanding, and clearly indicated that my goal was to understand the parameters of the fair's restrictions on political activity so that we could abide by them.

You persist in claiming that I attempted to force you to allow my group to engage in political campaigning at the fair, when anyone with a basic grasp of the English language who has read my emails to you and my comments here and on my blog can see that this is simply not the case.

with his last correspondence stated that he would go to the Media, Mayor's Office and Boston City Council with a formal complaint about me, for not allowing him to have Table Space at the AVSF Event.

Ms. Pasquale, I must say that listening to what other people say doesn't seem to be your strong suit.

In fact, what I told you in my email was that I would be filing complaints about your behavior, not about your decision to exclude my group from the fair. And in fact, that is exactly what I did.

I've lost count of how many times I've explained to you that I think PCBG's policy of not allowing campaigning at the fair is perfectly reasonable. And yet you keep claiming, falsely, that I was trying to force you to to allow my group to campaign at the fair.

I had also requested that the PCBG, Inc. Board be patient and not file a complaint with Mayor Menino and the Obama Campaign Headquarters.

How noble of you!

After Mr. Kamens last correspondence, I re-thought that request.

Now who is threatening whom, hmm?

As stated to Mr. Kamens, there is a Huge difference between and Unbiased Voter Registration Table and a Vote for Obama Table with Obama Literature, Obama T-Shirts, Posters and Signs,

You said nothing about T-shirts, posters and signs until I asked. And yet you fault me for asking. It's truly mind-boggling.

as stated by Mr. Kamens in his Blog - He was not interested in an Unbiased Voter Registration Table - He was interested in getting Obama elected. Yet Mr. Kamens also states that he wished to comply with PCBG/AVSF regulations, to accomodate his request for a Voter Registration Table. Mr. Kamen's statements are contradictory.

No, they are not, and the only reason you think they are is because you still don't understand why it is that I complained to the mayor.

I asked you to explain your rules so that I could determine whether we were interested in participating in the fair while abiding them. You finally, in your second-to-last message to me, explained your rules in sufficient detail that it was clear to me that we would not wish to participate even if you had allowed us.

At that point, as I told you in my last email to you and as I've told you many times since then, the issue was no longer our participation in the fair, but rather the fact that you treated me rudely and unprofessionally when the result would have been exactly the same had you been polite and professional. The issue was no longer the fair, Ms. Pasquale, it was you. Get it?

Mr. Kamens followed through on his threat to approach the Media,etc., as he did post his complaint letter to Mayor Menino, and this forum is as much of a Media format as the newspapers.

I posted because I was asked for an explanation. Had no one asked, I would have kept it to myself.

I feel that Mr. Kamens is acting in a vindictive manner, to get even with me for not giving him the Yes answer that he pursued.

Yes, you've made that clear. The problem is that there isn't a single shred of evidence that your feeling about this is correct. Your feeling is based entirely on motives you have ascribed to me, motives which I do not have and of which there is no evidence in anything I've written.

See above about "projection."

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I hope y'all enjoyed the show, but I think it's time for me to run off and do more useful things with my time.

Please assume that any additional comment from Ms. Pasquale is followed by one from me which quotes hers and intersperses "Did not!" or "Did too!" as appropriate.

Thanks.

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Its funny that your "taking" the high road out of here after starting this fight by smearing her then posting multiple blogs about it, then on your way out you post 2 long comments before walking out. Your last statement sealing the exit so if she responds it makes her look immature. If she was in fact rude to you I can fully understand why.

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Jonathan,

I just wanted to let you know that voter registration, election, and how to run for office materials were freely available at the street fair, plus the MA Secretary of the Commonwealth's office ran a similar drive (without how to run for office)down the street at the Brian Honan Run.

Now that the presidential election is over, how about helping me to keep people voting in Allston?

Barbara

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