Fail: Interruption was ‘gender-based’

SAUGUS – Saugus resident Stephanie Fail said selectmen disrespected her this week when the board adjourned its meeting while she was trying to speak during citizens? forum.?I?m the only one they interrupted like that,” said Fail, who was one of many residents to speak out against the Saugus Cable Television Station Board of Directors. “I?m the only one up there that?s young. I feel like it?s gender-based too because they?re instantly disrespecting me and it was the males that were talking over me right away. I feel like it?s my packaging too that?s so abhorrent to them that they don?t respect me.”Selectmen Chairman Michael Serino said Wednesday that charge is “outrageous” and noted he adjourned because he tried to get the meeting in order, “but she wanted no part of it.”?She kept on going and blabbing about free speech ?” said Serino. “She complained about her freedom of speech and she?s been at several meeting where I?ve allowed to her speak two or three times at each meeting. Unfortunately, I warned her that she was going to ruin it for everybody. There were a couple of people that wanted to speak ? She just kept going and going and going, and wouldn?t listen to me so I had no choice but to adjourn the meeting. It was too unruly.”Fail said she was interrupted almost as soon as she began speaking, and the meeting was finally adjourned when she turned to the audience for support.?When he started saying I was out of line and I started talking over him to make my point ? he said we?re going to have to adjourn the meeting ?” said Fail. “At that point I turned to my fellow citizens and said, ?Let?s take a poll. Who believes I should be cut off right now from what I?m saying?? As soon as I said that I heard Horlick saying, ?Adjourn adjourn.?”Selectman Stephen Horlick compared the meeting to Town Meeting and said if people conducted themselves at other board meetings the way they conducted themselves Tuesday, “they would be asked to leave.”?Everything that has been going on on the Board of Selectmen with people coming up with the name-calling and doing the actions they?ve been doing the last several weeks ? the moderator would never let that happen on Town Meeting floor ?” he said. “We?re more lenient on letting these people speak their mind than Town Moderator Bob Long would allow on Town Meeting floor or any other board in town.”Horlick also said new open meeting laws may prohibit people from speaking on topics not listed specifically on the agenda.?When Castinetti says, ?There?s no one here to speak in favor,? did you know he was going to bring that up, twice?” asked Horlick. “Did the public have notice that Mr. Castinetti is going to bring up to remove the board? Nobody knew it was coming up ? that?s why you can be in violation. If they want to come and discuss SCTS, it should be on ?correspondence.? If we take it up out of that, we could be in violation.”Massachusetts open meeting laws state that an individual is “not permitted to disrupt a meeting of a public body, and at the request of the chair, all members of the public shall be silent.”?If after clear warning, a person continues to be disruptive, the chair may order the person to leave the meeting, and if the person does not leave, the chair may authorize a constable or other officer to remove the person.”Open meeting law also states that meeting notices must contain a list of “all topics that the chair reasonably anticipates, 48 hours in advance, will be discussed at the meeting” and specifies that the list of topics must be “sufficiently specific to reasonably inform the public of the issues to be discussed at the meeting.”It goes on to say, “While not required under the Open Meeting Law, public bodies are encouraged to make a revised list of topics to be discussed available to the public in advance of the meeting if the body intends to discuss topics that come up after posting but before the meeting convenes.”Selectmen Vice Chairman Steve Castinetti said adjourning Tues