THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 10, 1995 TAG: 9502090213
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
The lawyer who once advised the Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority that there was no harm in conducting the public's business behind closed doors is playing ``I've Got a Secret'' again.
When a maintenance worker who was fired from his job with the Housing Authority asserted his right to have an open personnel hearing, John E. Zydron, the authority's interim attorney, kicked up such a legal fuss that the proceeding was postponed.
The ex-employee, Bobby Hawk, claims he was treated unfairly. He says he was stripped on his position, his seniority and benefits accumulated in 3 1/2 years of employment after being injured in an on-the-job accident in October 1993.
He has insisted that his hearing before an independent panel to be public to ensure that his side of the story is heard and that Housing Authority officials are held accountable for what takes place there.
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act allows personnel hearings to be closed to protect the privacy of employees, but gives employees the right to open hearings if they prefer.
But when a reporter showed up at Mr. Hawk's hearing, the lawyer declared himself ``shocked'' and proceeded to do everything in his power to prevent a public airing of the dispute.
Why, do you suppose, does Mr. Zydron consider it so important to his client's interests that this proceeding take place in secret?
``...If the truth is going to be told,'' Mr. Hawk declared after this week's proceedings, ``it shouldn't matter if anyone is in there or not.''
It's difficult to find fault in Mr. Hawk's logic.
The Housing Authority, through it's attorney, is now attempting to deprive Mr. Hawk of a hearing altogether, arguing that when he accepted a lesser position at the authority, he lost his right to file a grievance his earlier dismissal. That argument has the ring of a legal technicality, not of justice.
Not long ago, the Housing Authority and Mr. Zydron made decisions that almost cost Chesapeake its federal funding for public housing projects and resulted in the ouster of the entire Housing Authority board. Those decisions were made in secret, too.
If the Housing Authority did right by Mr. Hawk, why should it be reluctant to defend its position publicly? If the authority did wrong, as Mr. Hawk contends, it should be held accountable.
The citizens of Chesapeake have learned the hard way that not everything the Housing Authority and its attorney want to do behind closed doors is a good idea. by CNB