may 4,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, A municipal judge in Hackensack dismissed the latest complaint by Ridgewood Councilman Jeffrey Voigt against one of his constituents on Thursday. Voigt alleged that resident Anne Loving violated a September agreement between herself and Voigt when she filed anonymous OPRA requests for his emails. That agreement was set after the two traded harassment complaints late last year.
Judge Anthony Gallina said that without the opinion of a handwriting expert, there was no probable cause to find that Loving had penned the anonymous Open Public Records Act requests, and found that OPRA requests did not constitute harassment, as they lacked any “offensively course language,” or were “otherwise made to cause alarm.”
In 2017, Loving, her husband and another resident filed separate complaints accusing Voigt of harassment after he posted copies of their requests for Voigt’s council emails on social media, thus revealing “personal information” such as their phone numbers and addresses online.
Voigt counter-charged that the residents had filed the deluge of OPRA requests simply to harass him.
At that time Prosecutor Linda Schwager persuaded the residents to withdraw their claims, citing the lack of evidence to prove a criminal act. Judge Roy McGeady had reached the same conclusion and was prepared to dismiss all claims from both sides.
This time Voigt alleged that five separate OPRA requests for his emails submitted to the Ridgewood village clerk between September 2017 and February 2018 under the name “Victoria Burpee” had in fact been filed by Loving in an attempt to further harass him. Voigt was unable to prove “Victoria Burpee” was Anne Loving.
Clearly the councilmen does understand that every citizens right to OPRA and is attempting to use a short term legal agreement to curtail, the use of the Open Public Records Act ie OPRA and suppress public information.
In the Open Public Records Act the NJ Legislature finds and declares it to be the public policy of this State that:
government records shall be readily accessible for inspection, copying, or examination by the citizens of this State, with certain exceptions, for the protection of the public interest, and any limitations on the right of access accorded by P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented, shall be construed in favor of the public’s right of access;
all government records shall be subject to public access unless exempt from such access by: P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented; any other statute; resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature; regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or Executive Order of the Governor; Executive Order of the Governor; Rules of Court; any federal law, federal regulation, or federal order ;
a public agency has a responsibility and an obligation to safeguard from public access a citizen’s personal information with which it has been entrusted when disclosure thereof would violate the citizen’s reasonable expectation of privacy; and nothing contained in P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, shall be construed as affecting in any way the common law right of access to any record, including but not limited to criminal investigatory records of a law enforcement agency.
Douche bag supreme. Anne Loving should sue him for every penny he’s got.
“Councilmen Voigt Continues His Crusade to Supress Public Information and the Use of OPRA” – How true it is!
The BEST headline EVER on The Ridgewood Blog.
While under oath during Thursday’s Probable Cause Hearing, Mr. Voigt reported the existence of a “no contact” court order. No such court order ever existed. Liar, liar, pants on fire Mr. Voigt.
We might really need to check the water. Everyone is crazy. I mean this is the point of OPRA. I am so confused.
I think I am now going to start always posting as Victoria Burpee.
Victoria’s maiden name was Belch. So now she goes by Victoria Belch Burpee.
I think we should all show up at the next council meeting wearing name tags saying My name is Victoria Burpee!
Resign now, please. Thank you.
“I am Spartacus!”
I wish I could have my hours of sitting listening to this u stable little man, back. He’s a snake and a sneak and if you associate with him, you’re suspect.
How you doing there Voigt? You sure look like a total asshole now. Well, that is a compliment. An asshole is a useful and essential body part, eliminating waste. You are not an asshole. You are the stuff that comes through. And we need to eliminate you from the dais. You are a disgrace.
Oh Jeff, all that education and look what a complete moron you are.
The judge TOSSED the false charges. Too bad we cannot TOSS the councilman
I hope Sedon and Knudsen win and take this guys place. May 8th can’t come soon enough.
Yet another thin-skinned Ridgewood politico pursuing his personal agendas
How much longer with this lying pos?
1:19, Councilman Voigt’s term will expire at noon on July 1, 2020. We elect or re-elect two council members one year, then three council members two years later, and so on, so that there are always experienced people in charge. Feel free to start asking around for good people to run in 2020, though, when THREE seats will be open.
Mark my words, Councilman Voigt will be out of office prior to July 1, 2020.
Ok I’ll bite, then why did Mrs Loving bother to use a fake name to OPRA if it didn’t matter. Clearly she didn’t want people to know it was her. Other than Jeff who really cares?
What makes you think she used a fake name? Victoria Burpee could be anyone. A judge said so.
Douche bag Voigt offered no proof that Mrs. Loving was the person who submitted the OPRA requests. The judge said as much. A clear case of malicious prosecution. Sue the bastard.
The article says that whistle blowers often use fake names. This town is packed with involved citizens. Hell, Victoria Burpee could be Voigt himself, trying to make trouble. We know he is a pot stirrer.
And how could someone come up with a name like Victoria Burpee out of thin air? If she was using a fake name it would have been Bretha Frashare or Walker Fublocks not some gardening name. She wouldn’t know one flower name from the next, would she??
Mr. Douche Bag was on a fishing trip at the taxpayers’ expense. A few weeks prior he signed identical complaints claiming another resident who he claimed was Victoria Burpee. So now we know he is a failure at sleuthing. An all around failure.