By: Francois Poisson
This is the second part of our Dossier series on Councilor John Tabor. This first section repeats the first part of Part I because some of you may start this series by reading Part II.
Councilor Tabor has become a fixture in City Hall. So, we wanted to take a little extra time looking at his claims to fame and what might really lie behind them. This is why we have created three parts to this dossier.
Councilor Tabor’s Personalities
We struggled to find the personification of City Councilor John Tabor. Since he is running for a third term on City Council, we wanted to give him his due. There are sides of John Tabor you might not know. As you will read below, John Tabor is filled with the spirit of Apate, ready to do mischief on behalf of the Portsmouth powers that be.
In fact, Councilor Tabor serves many masters, it seems. He aims to please. His agenda is to serve those in power, such as City management and the developers. He cozies up to the powers that are in Portsmouth, people such as Michael Kane, John Bohenko and Mark McNabb. If the current City manager needs something done, Councilor Tabor is on the call list.
All well and good, if he were open about this. But there is deception and deviousness involved. You’ll see the track record below.
Who Does a City Councilor Serve?
We ask: if elected as City Councilor, who should that City Councilor serve? Is the Councilor there to follow the instructions of the City Manager or the City legal staff? Or should the City Councilor be independent and work to govern City management? We think it is the latter. A Councilor needs a backbone.
Councilor Tabor thrives in a world of such duplicity, as you will see. This is a perfect setting for Apate to thrive as well.
Who Is Apate? (From Mythology Wiki, www.theoi.com)
Apate is the minor/primordial goddess personifying deceit, fraud, and deception, which also sums up her personality quite well. She is cunning and cruel, and her thought process is usually twisted and vile. She has no love for anyone or anything and takes pleasure only in rooting out people’s weaknesses and using these as weapons in her own favor. To her, everyone is fair game. She is certainly not past empty promises and stabbing those near her in the back. The only ones who have any form of slack against this are her siblings, though even this is not guaranteed.
Let’s Combine Councilor Tabor and Goddess Apate
Stoolie John – Audit Committee Leaker
If you want someone to engineer and manipulate nonpublic information to achieve City management’s goals, Stoolie John is your man. He listens carefully to Goddess Apate, City Attorney Robert Sullivan and City Manager Karen Conard.
Just so you know, what follows is based on nonpublic information that was made public four months later, in July 2022, after Melanson was hired to be the City auditor for the 27th year in a row.
Any Excuse to Keep the Old Auditor
The first year the Audit Committee existed under the new City Council (2022), it tried to find a new auditor to replace Melanson, the City auditor for 26 years.
The City had other ideas. Based on results, it wanted to keep Melanson, the same auditor the City had had for decades. After all, Melanson knew where all the skeletons were hidden and the City likely wanted to keep them hidden. At least, that is the impression one might have. Things were cozier that way.
A Little Misrepresentation Goes a Long Way
Stoolie John’s assignment was to report to the public that unspecified texting had taken place during the Audit Committee’s nonpublic sessions and that prevented the City from hiring a new auditor, even if it was the technically superior choice favored by the three private citizens on the Audit Committee. The City “had” to stick with Melanson.
Because all the actual proceedings were hidden in nonpublic sessions, the public had to accept Stoolie John’s rendition. No one, including those on the Audit Committee, could contradict Stoolie John because that would mean they would discuss nonpublic information. Thus, Stoolie John had free rein on what was revealed. He had the backing of City Attorney Sullivan to reveal the selected nonpublic information, even though that violated legal restrictions on making such nonpublic information public.
Mission Accomplished
But the City achieved what it wanted: one more year with the old auditor. Maybe Goddess Apate could then cover up any fraudulent accounting before a different auditor replaced Melanson?
Back Stabber John – Deep Throat
Back Stabber John seemed to take advantage of his City Council position to collect information for himself and for others he wishes to please. It’s all part of the deceit and deception Goddess Apate wants spread. Back Stabber John would often check with colleagues to find out what they planned to propose or address at the upcoming City Council meeting.
Psst, Here’s What Hizzoner Plans to Say
While no one knew precisely where this information went, some thought it went to inform City Manager Karen Conard. Or others in City management.
Colleagues caught Back Stabber John looking over shoulders to read what those individuals were working on and writing about for the upcoming City Council meeting. Personal thoughts, private material and planned presentations were all fair game for Back Stabber John. Who needs shady characters when you have Back Stabber John present? Goddess Apate applauds.
Self-Dealer John – Prescott Park Recusal
Let’s examine other duplicitous behavior.
I’ll Grease Your Palm
Of course, as President of Prescott Parks Arts Festival, Self-Dealer John should recuse himself when voting as Councilor to fund the Festival with City money. Oops. Well, there’s another ethics violation. But Self-Dealer John’s vote in favor helps fund a favorite City project and pleases Precott Park Board members, such as Self-Dealer John’s friend, former City Manager John Bohenko. So that’s excusable. The City denied there was an ethics violation. Goddess Apate would agree.
Part III Is Next!
There is so much to cover with Councilor John Tabor. His electioneering material says he’s done so many wonderful things. But maybe that’s Apate’s voice speaking? In any case, many of Councilor Tabor’s claims deserve a deeper look and this series helps the reader do just that. We’ll look at Community Power next, plus a few other items. Watch for Part III. It’s just around the corner.
