We publish Scott Graves statement so our readers can hear for themselves what Graves actually said and what actually happened. A City Councilor raised a point of order as Scott Graves spoke off topic regarding the Sludge Landfill at the public hearing regarding the Racetrack. Council President Elizabeth Kazinskas asked Graves to stay on the topic of the meeting. The legal question is whether a speaker can talk about anything they choose or whether parameters can be established by a public body.
Former City Councilor Scott Graves Objects to Treatment at July 23rd Public Hearing
Scott Graves has written about the Public Hearing on Social Media several times since the July 23rd session in which people could voice their opinions regarding the Horse Racetrack Issue. This is the actual AUDIO of Scott Graves, Listen on any device, CLICK PLAY.
On July 27th, Scott Graves wrote the following on Social Media, “When the Gardner City Council interrupted my three minutes of fame during my exercise of my free speech at the July 23, 2024 Public Hearing (please note the word “Public” modifying the word “Hearing”), it was doing so in order to cast a “chilling effect” pall over the entire Citizenry. This is the message: “if we can shout down, distract, unsettle, and make 8-term City Councillor, and bad ass, Scott Graves, Esq., apologize (which I did in a moment of surprise and unfamiliar weakness), imagine what we can do to you.” That is the main reason why I am doing something about it. Stay tuned. You’ll read all about it here.”
Scott Graves previously wrote, “I’m closely evaluating the City of Gardner’s violation of my freedom of speech at the Public Hearing on July 23, 2024. From the beginning of this matter, to the end, I will be posting on this Page what I am doing, and what they are doing. Every step of the way. So, the Citizens will know how constitutional rights work. This is not about me. It’s about the Citizenry. I have always stood for the common man and woman. For the children who will lead us all tomorrow. When a Government, like this inept City Council, tries to shut down a Citizens’ free speech in a public forum, it interrupted my speech, took away my constitutional rights, and made all the Citizens turn to the official who began shouting me down (and to not listen to me). Worse, it also deprived all the Citizens of their constitutional rights to hear what the Citizen speaker was conveying at a public forum. That’s a big no-no. Worst of all, this is the City’s message to all future public speakers, that night following me, and forever, that if you want to speak at a public forum in Gardner, you better tow the company line, and say the correct things, or you will be shouted down, embarrassed in public, and silenced. For most people, that kind of Governmental tyranny scares them off. Watch here to see if it scares me.”