Index to the web page below:
6/15/01 Alert from Jerry Wickham
Partial transcript of 1/28/02 RLECWD Board meeting, Directors comments
Partial transcript of 1/28/02 RLECWD Board meeting, Public comments
 

Other Mary Harris Links:
Index to Mary Harris pages
Mary Harris fiction about Jerry Wickham and Dewight Kramer (NWD)
Mary Harris CRAW letter that libels Don Flesch of the Rio Linda News
Mary Harris fiction about the Water District Violating the Brown Act
Mary Harris fiction about Arabs celebrating Sept. 11
Ethics? Mary Harris' use of Jerry Wickham's stand without his permission. Pictures, letter

Contents of this web page
Mary Harris asked that she be provided a copy of the "letter" from which I read at the January 28, 2002, meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rio Linda/Elverta Community Water District (RLECWD). I stated that I would post it on my web site. What is posted here is an actual transcript of what was said, transcribed from the Video Tape of the meeting. My statement was read from my personal notes (not from a "letter"). I used my notes and the video tape to prepare the transcript excerpts included below.

The events leading up to the January 28, 2002 RLECWD Board meeting are detailed below.

Alert from Jerry Wickham

RLECWD Director Jerry Wickham, also the subject of a recall by proponents including Mary Harris, stopped by on June 15, 2001, at about 3:30 PM, to relate what he had heard from Mary Harris when she cut his hair. My wife Jan also heard Jerry's story.

Jerry related that Harris stated that nine days ago someone got into her computer from the internet and copied her files. They also put a worm on her computer. She has reported this to the Sheriff's office. She didn't accuse me of being the culprit, but said that she felt I had the knowledge to do these things.

Harris then told Jerry that there's a lot of people out there, "his neighbors", who "don't like Jay" because of "his radio thing" that interferes with TV. She said that I "spied on" (Jerry confirmed she used the word "spy") a neighbor. She said I was using a video camcorder, and I was taping the image on this person's TV through his window, and the person "saw him, went outside, and beat him up."

My Actions

I decided the computer story was preposterous and decided to take no action, especially as Harris did not directly accuse me to Jerry.

However, the "spying" story was troubling, as someone had knocked me down after I took a snapshot of his TV antenna from the street. This happened in 1965. I sued the assailant for assault and battery and accepted an out of court settlement from his insurance company.

I spent most of June 21, 2001 finding and retrieving copies of the 1965 court documents, which were stored on microfilm at the Superior Court in Sacramento.

After a review of the documents, I engaged legal counsel.

After reviewing the documents, counsel advised me that the terms of the settlement were such that I could not divulge the settlement amount.

Counsel advised that when asked for my side of Harris' story, I should flatly deny the slander rather than explain the 1965 incident. Counsel advised that I would not be untruthful in denying the charges, even though I knew there was a thread of fact in Harris' story. The reasons I could flatly deny Harris' charges include the following:

• Camcorders were not available to the public in 1965
• I did not trespass on or enter the complainants property
• I did not approach a window to take the picture

I opted to not file a suit at that time, as I felt it would be contrary to my efforts to defend myself from the recall. To preserve my legal standing, should I wish to file suit later, I followed the advice proffered by counsel.

Over the next several months, whenever I was asked about the alleged spying incident, I followed counsel's advice and flatly denied the incident. Whenever the issue was raised, I suggested that Harris be queried for additional facts. Additional facts were not forthcoming.

The recall failed in mid September; Harris did not get enough signatures.

I discarded the idea of a lawsuit, as I had already spent too much of my time defending myself against Harris' attempt to recall me. I decided that all I really wanted was for the truth to come out so those who heard the story from Harris would know it was false. I prepared notes to read from at a public RLECWD Board meeting, when Harris was present. Even though Harris would be under no obligation to respond, I hoped to obtain her admission that she had, in fact, repeated the spying story, so there could be no further argument about the story coming from her. I was prepared at every Board meeting, but Harris always left before the last agenda items, "Directors Comment" and "Public Comment". At the December Board meeting, I requested that "Directors Comment" be moved to the beginning of the agenda for the January meeting, hoping I would then have the opportunity to confront Harris in front of the video camera.

In January, Harris came in late to the meeting! The President deferred "Directors Comment" at my request, and I was finally able to confront Harris in public. This was more than seven months after I was first told of Harris' falsehood; seven months where I could not be forthcoming with the real facts. Seven months of torment. After finally making the facts public, I feel like a large weight has been taken off my back.

Here's the transcript of the portions of the Board meeting that relate to the "spying" allegation made by Mary Harris. I certify the transcription excerpts that follow are as accurate as I can make them.

Jay O'Brien:

Now that the recall is over, I will speak out.

There is no law that requires petition circulators to tell the truth. I am pleased that our constituents understood that and backed us by not signing.

I can almost understand how circulators guided by someone not understanding the legal effort our District went through fighting the County and SNAGMA on behalf of private well owners could wrongly say that our Water Board wanted to put meters on private wells.

I can almost understand how circulators could include me in that action, even though I was not a Board member at the time.

I can almost understand how circulators could blame me for the pipeline debt, even though I was not on the Board at the time and I opposed the pipeline.

I can almost understand being suspected of entering a recall proponent's computer, over the internet, copying her files and implanting a worm on her computer. By the way, I don't know how to do this and I don't want to learn.

I can almost understand how circulators could say I harassed a petition gatherer who was illegally collecting signatures at the Post Office, when in fact I was assaulted by the circulator.

However, I can't find any basis in fact in one story. I am told that Mary Harris' story is that my neighbors don't like me because of my radio towers that supposedly interfere with television. I am told that she alleged that I used a video camcorder to spy on a neighbor, allegedly recording his TV set screen from outside a window of his house. The story goes on to say that when the neighbor saw me outside his window with a camcorder, he went outside and beat me up! Of course, this begs the question "Should someone like that hold public office?"

Mary, how many people did you share this fiction with?

O'Brien: What was the source of this information? Who told you?

Harris: Oh, I think that we can talk privately if you'd like to.

O'Brien: And what was the neighbors name that supposedly beat me up?

Harris: Ahhumm we can talk privately if you'd like.

O'Brien: Where did this actually happen?

Charlea Moore: Is this appropriate?

Harris: Yeah, is it? I don't think it is.

O'Brien: Well, the point is, I'm the one that has been put in a position of defending myself. Now, I'm going to make a statement here that follows up, now that you've admitted that this has been a story that you've...

Harris: No I said somebody did tell me that, so maybe that's where the story's coming from.

O'Brien: The story came from you.

O'Brien: In the last fifty years,

Harris: And who said that to you?

O'Brien:

In the last fifty years, the only physical altercation I have encountered was a situation where I was walking on the street pavement, accompanied by a neighbor. This was on K Street, just east of Rio Linda Boulevard, over a half-mile from where I live now.

Standing on the blacktop, in full daylight, I took a snapshot of a TV antenna on top of a house. I took the picture to send to the FCC as part of an investigation of a television interference problem that was related to the poor condition of that TV antenna.

The owner of the house ran out, jumped across the ditch, ran out in the street and knocked me down. His teen-age son attempted to kick me in the head and steal my camera. My neighbor protected me and helped me home.

I sued for assault and battery. Unfortunately, the attacker didn't get the camera, or I could have got him for robbery, too.

O'Brien: I accepted a large out of court settlement.

The terms of the settlement are such that neither party may divulge the exact amount, even now.

Is this the incident to which you refer?

The incident I just related happened on January 16, 1965. 37 years ago.

I congratulate Mary Harris for dredging up this ancient incident, changing it completely and using it to discredit me. I understand that her story, as I said before, was "Would you want a man like that in public office?"

That really took some digging. It shows the credibility and confirms the lack of concern for the truth.

O'Brien: Don't tell that slanderous story again, Mary. Try the truth for a change.

Harris: Ok, how 'bout if the phone number was there, people were running to me to tell me stuff. That's their story, not mine. I didn't know you, I don't know anything about it.

O'Brien: So you didn't repeat that to anyone? Then how did it get back to me? How did it get to me?

Director Jerry Wickham: Well, I'm the one that told him. You told me when I was sitting in your barber chair, getting a haircut. Yeah, I told him. So, you did repeat it. To me.

Harris: Ok.

O'Brien: Next time try the truth, and next time check your facts. You caused me to spend a day downtown, digging out the legal records, so that if this had to go to court, I'd have them. That's a day I'd rather have not spent downtown. Thank you.

Doug Nelson: That's part of being in public office.

Moore: All your dirty laundry gets hung.

During the "meeting reports" item:

Harris (to O'Brien): I would like a copy of that letter. I would love to read it again. Your letter that you read -- the accusation?

Moore: Where you accused her of slandering you.

Board President Cater: Public comments right after the next (item).

Mary Harris: Yeah Jay, can I have a copy of that, I'd like to read it.

Jay O'Brien: I'll tell you what, I'll post it on my web site.

Harris: I don't go there.

O'Brien: Then everybody can read it.

Harris: No.

O'Brien: Well then somebody can send it to you.

Harris: Ok.

Thank you for reading this document.
I'm very happy that the real facts are now public.

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