The Citizens Strike Back
Click here to read the Show Cause Order filed today by attorney Peter A. Reese seeking to impel the release of financial information pertaining to the upcoming Buffalo school board election on May 5.
Five qualified voters are the petitioners seeking, among other things, the release of this public information. The respondents are superintendent James A. Williams, BPS clerk James M. Kane, school board members Christopher L. Jacobs, Catherine Collins, and Florence D. Johnson, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Buffalo Students First, and NYS Commissioner of Education Richard P. Mills.
The court date is set for Monday, May 4 at 11am. Hon. Frederick J. Marshall, J.S.C. presiding.
Additional relief sought includes, in the alternative, the filing of revised campaign statements by the incumbents, or an injunction against further participation in school board elections by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and/or Buffalo Students First.
“Of interest, the section of the education law which allows the judge to order filing or revision of campaign statements contains a provision allowing the judge to grant immunity from criminal prosecution and thus compell testimony. Such a course of action would require further proceedings and take much more time than can be accommodated prior to the May 5 election,” Reese adds.
The petitioners’ primary objective on Monday will be to obtain a bench court order requiring the immediate release of all documents filed with clerk James M. Kane, pursuant to the conduct of the 2009 Buffalo school board election.
