- It has been brought to my attention that earlier today Councilman Divilio and Talbot County, through Councilman Divilio’s actions on its behalf, posted a defamatory and damaging statement about The Talbot Integrity Project, Inc. and about me personally on a local Face Book page, “Trappe the Waste.” The post reads:
…Talbot Integrity has been created by someone [me] who admitted fraud in court…
(Emphasis supplied. See Exhibit 1, a screenshot of the post.) This libel comes one day after TIP filed a lawsuit against Talbot County in Circuit Court.
The assertion you made to the public is entirely and absolutely false, without relationship to any event or any reality that could even be an instance of misunderstanding. It reflects not just a reckless disregard for the truth. It is a malicious flat out lie.
This libel is very serious because it damages The Talbot Integrity Project, Inc. in fundamental ways. TIP’s stock in trade is credibility. Integrity is in its name. Its effectiveness as an independent citizen-based organization is nothing without the public’s absolute confidence—established at great cost and effort over countless hours of diligent, good faith work on behalf of the citizenry—that what TIP says is honest and fact based. To assert falsely that it is the creation of a fraudster is to try to destroy TIP at its foundation.
TIP is an organization devoted to community interests. Falsely asserting that TIP is the creation of someone with a criminal background—fraud no less—undercuts the interests of all of Talbot’s citizens at the same time it damages the individual libeled.
The libel also is an effort to destroy TIP financially. As is well known by Talbot County and Councilman Divilio, TIP operates only on contributed funds donated voluntarily by other citizens to fight for honest County government, particularly in regards to land use approval processes. Talbot citizens have entrusted TIP so far with several hundred thousand dollars, individual contributions from $25 to $25,000. And as litigation is expensive, you know it is likely that TIP will need to raise more…for the specific purpose of litigation against Talbot County and/or against projects improperly advanced by a majority of the County Council, which majority includes Councilmen Divilio and Callahan.
Another aspect of TIP’s mission–to protect the County’s rural character and quality of life as described in our Comp Plan–is to advocate, on a non-partisan basis, for election of candidates to the County Council who will most effectively support TIP’s agenda. Indeed, TIP made recommendations in the recent primary…including a recommendation against voting for Councilman Callahan who is running for reelection and who, on land use matters (e.g., Lakeside) is closely allied with Mr. Divilio and espouses position adverse to TIP’s agenda.
The money TIP requires in order to advocate for its mission all comes from contributions from local citizens, and the prospects of raising such money will be destroyed if your defamations are permitted to stand. Who is going to entrust their money to an alleged fraudster? Who is going to believe a person who is alleged to have admitted in court to fraud, and kept that fact hidden?
As to defamation, in addition the libel cited above, I have reason to believe slanderous statements to the same effect have been traveling in the community for a few weeks. Given your clear motive for malicious actions, underscored by the libel published yesterday, one can surmise the same source for any slanderous information being distributed verbally—that is, by rumor–through our community.
Finally, Exhibit 1, short as it is, includes three other statements by Councilman Divilio that, while perhaps not libelous, are untrue and should be refuted, lest from silence a reader infers they are true. First, it is laughable that I am running an anonymous Facebook page; I do not know how to get onto Facebook, have to ask people to forward screenshots. Second, TIP absolutely is NOT attacking staff—a red herring if ever there was one. TIP is attacking the flawed leadership—our County Council majority. Staff knows for whom they work, and are caught in the middle. It is not staff that TIP is focused on; the problem is at the top. (Indeed, the only remedy TIP requested in its recent complaint is to set-aside of Contract 22-07, not the reprimand of any staffer). Lastly, we explained clearly why we had to sue the County in Circuit Court: the Ethics Commission does not have the authority to set aside a County contract.
For all the reasons cited above, TIP and I, together and individually, make the following demands of Talbot County and Councilman Divilio both:
- We demand that at its next legislative session the County Council take the official step of adopting a resolution directing that a written retraction of yesterday’s libel against TIP and against me be published within five days thereafter in the Easton Star Democrat and the Talbot County Spy, including a retraction of any additional defamatory statements that come to light prior to that meeting;
- We demand that retraction be accompanied by a written apology.
Be advised that if these steps are not taken, The Talbot Integrity Project and I personally intend to pursue rigorous legal action. Your libel is a defamation per se. TIP and I will seek money damages in addition to the simple acts described above, and we will seek recovery of legal fees.
We hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.
Talbot Integrity Project
Dan Watson, Chair
Bob Jones says
Attacking one with politically differing views with slander, libel, innuendo and blatant medacity is fundamental Trump Republicanism. Mr. DeVilio has descended to the lowest rung on the civic ladder. In stepping off it, he launches a pre-emptive salvo in desperation that HIS actions in the Lakeside matter may be exposed as actually what he is trying to deflect upon TIP and Mr. Watson. That’s how the Red Boys roll.
Dan Watson says
Bob, I’ve always had the point of view that as to local, Talbot County matters, political party is really pretty much beside the point. I appreciate that you share the concern about how inappropriate this is, how low, as you couch it. But I for one am not laying it on tribal/party affiliation either way. IMO, it’s all much more local and granular than that. Relationships. Getting angry is not as meaningful as getting it right. Elect the right candidates, whatever party. IMO.
DW
Barbara Denton says
Good grief. How is Trump responsible for this? TDS is alive an well in Talbot County. This response is so stupid it defies logic.
Carol Voyles says
This is not surprising. Upon emailing Councilman Divilio a request for an opportunity to understand his point of view concerning Trappe earlier this year, I received a similarly toned response accompanied by his hope that the CBF lawsuit against Valley Proteins, the chicken processing plant polluting waters in Dorchester, would fail.
Having supplied council members with documentation and then been accused of not checking facts and expecting Lakeside’s residents to wear “colostomy bags,” Dan’s request regarding libel in this public forum is more than appropriate.
Michael Davis says
When I read these days that local elections are nonpolitical, I am reminded of a song by Tom Lehrer about the Nazi scientist who invented the V2 rocket that rained terror in London. We took him and put him in charge of our space program. Just because he was a Nazi does not mean he was political, right? A lyric from the song (used by permission):
Don’t say that he’s hypocritical
Say rather that he’s apolitical
“Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That’s not my department!” says Wernher von Braun.
The spiritual head of the Republican Party is a pathological liar. His base of true believers also accepts lying as a legitimate political discourse. Mr. DeVilio is a Republican. He drinks Trump’s Kool-Aid. This coming election is no more apolitical than Wernher von Braun.
Barbara Denton says
Here again we have a TDS victim. However, do not blame the Republican Party for Mr. DeVilio’s actions. He was on his own when he voted to remove the Talbot Boys, when he voted to let Lakeside start and when he voted for Rauch to get this comprehensive engineering contract which could potentially ruin Talbot County. None of us know who got to him, or what he got out of these terrible votes. As far as I know none of the Republican candidates for council are for unbridled growth which cannot be sustained by our current infrastructure. You have to look at the town of Easton for that sin. Donald Trump would never have voted the way DeVilio did on any of these issues. Do not blame a political party for an individual’s actions. If you want to have input in all the developments that Easton is trying to ram through go to the planning commission meetings on the 3rd Thursday of each month.
Jerry McConnell says
Where in the world is Frank Divilio coming from, and where is he going? How can a guy with his obvious pro development/ anti—conservation tactics continue to have any role in managing the affairs of Talbot County?
If you voted for or support him and his ideology, please explain to me what’s going on. Thanks