BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

ADD 1, NOV. 14, 2019, mid-afternoon: THE PLANET has learned that after virtually non-stop consultations with  multiple lawyers and the legal department of the Secretary of State’s office in Boston, Melissa Mazzeo and her Team have been advised that if she eventually wishes to file charges of ballot tampering, she first has to ask for a recount. She has to clearly state why she is asking for this and file the petition before 5 p.m. today.

THE PLANET has confirmed that Mazzeo is in the process of getting the signatures in each ward right and that as soon as it’s complete, she will take it to the clerk’s office. The reason for doing the recount has to do with exhausting all possible avenues before going to court. The cost of a recount exacts a price, but Team Mazzeo has no choice. If they don’t ask for a recount, they can’t be sure of getting a court hearing. The last we heard, she was on her way to city hall and presumably the clerk’s office at 2:55 p.m.

This is a developing story, and THE PLANET has been the first, and only, media outlet to have it. That’s why so many go here first.

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(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION NOV. 15-17, 2019) — There’s much we could be talking about. Take two ripe stories, please. The Democrats continue their Star Chamber ghost hunt for the “high crimes and misdemeanors” that just aren’t there. Then there’s the special ed teacher at Taconic High School who collapsed in a classroom and later died.

A stuck elevator robbed the teacher of precious moments, and already school and fire officials were breaking their backs to imply the jammed machine did not “seem” to be a factor in the death. One of the med responders disagreed, saying even a few extra seconds could have made all the difference. Blind, deaf, and dumb city leaders don’t seem to care, but there’s a lot of anger in the community over this $121 million lemon, The School Where Nothing Works.

“Seem,” by the way, came from a fire department spokesperson talking to The Boring Broadsheet. He also said elevators get stuck on a regular basis. Yeah, sure. THE PLANET has hopped more elevators than there are hair lips on Bear Creek, and we have never been stuck. Of course, the intrepid reporter for The BB printed every word of officialese, verbatim — no digging, no follow up on  story weeping for it.

At Mercer, meanwhile, our special agent imbedded there told THE PLANET that “the brass” was “mapping out a response should there be an inquiry.” If that’s true, why would they be doing this if all was as the official public claims? Is this the first time the elevator exhibited problems? We wonder: Does the building have a valid certificate of occupancy? When was the last time the elevator was inspected? Were problems reported to the administration and ignored? Was there no portable defibrillator available?

A man may have paid with his life.

Sleep well, Supt. JIV and Lady Boots Yon.

Our focus this weekend, however, is on the mayoral vote on Nov. 5. THE PLANET has confirmed that (a) Melissa Mazzeo and her team have been going through the voter rolls, (b) they have been in contact with state officials, (c) they have been consulting with an attorney, and (d) they believe the outcome was rigged.

None of this means Team Mazzeo will take action. While they decide whether to challenge the outcome in which she lost to incumbent mayor Linda Tyer by 500+ votes out of nearly 12,000 cast, THE PLANET keeps hearing of alleged irregularities in the polls that day and in the week leading up to it.

Should Mazzeo dispute the results, it would not be via a recount. That deadline expired Friday 11/5. She would presumably file in Superior Court alleging voting fraud.

Here is what various sources have told THE PLANET regarding voting on Nov. 5 and activity in the Registrar of Voters in the week before the election. None of this has been officially confirmed.

• At least one precinct cut off voting at 8 p.m. sharp, not allowing people into the booth who were in line prior to 8. The law requires that poll workers allow everyone in line by 8 p.m. to cast a ballot. If anyone was prevented a vote under these circumstances, you should notify the state attorney general’s office and THE PLANET.
• Was the mayor riding around with city clerk Michele Benjamin on Election Day? We had several reports saying that. It would be problematic in perception and if not in law. Benjamin serves on the board of the Registrar of Voters. The city clerk also certifies the tally. Shouldn’t candidates stay away from a person who has the ability to monkey with the numbers?

• A key area of concern appears to be absentee ballots. There were 745 absentee ballots received by the city, a surprising increase of 47% over 510 such ballots in 2015. [ED. NOTE: Initially, the city said 749 absentee slips were received]. One source told THE PLANET that when the ballots were opened on Election Day, “a number of them” were taped. In filling out an absentee ballot, a voter marks her ballot and places it in an envelope that she seals. She then places this envelope in a larger one to mail to the city. When city receives the package, it remains in possession of the registrar of voters, where it is supposed to be secured from tampering. The only envelope the registrar should open is the outer one. The inside one should be sealed, pristine, until opened with witnesses and police guard on Election Day. If that envelope is taped, it indicates someone may have tampered with the contents.

• One of our operatives said he spoke with Heather Gregory-Brazeau, assistant clerk for registration and elections in the Registrar of Voters Office. She said, “By state law, we received the sealed envelopes with ballots by mail from whatever state/address they live. Voters had the option to send it 27 days in advance. We did not open those envelopes. We kept them sealed until Nov 5. On that day, we brought them into all 14 polling stations and in presence of police officers. Those envelopes were opened and ballots brought through casting machines.” It puts those 27 days in play. Where were the envelopes stored? Who had access? What is the process of keeping them secured and free from tampering?
• This would make reports of unauthorized people in the Registrar’s office all the more troubling. One story we heard was that Gregory-Brazeau was working after hours one night before the election when two people came into the office. Gregory-Brazeau identified the pair as the mayor and her husband, Barry Clairmont. Our source says Gregory-Brazeau expressed surprise that they would be there after regular city hours but said nothing to either Tyer or Clairmont other than the usual social pleasantries. We asked both the mayor and her husband about this. Clairmont told THE PLANET, “That NEVER happened. I’ll take a lie detector test on this matter.” As of press time, we had not heard from the mayor.
• One city official told THE PLANET that results from the voting machines had Mazzeo winning. That person said the challenger lost with the absentee count.
• In one ward, voters were against to see unfilled ballots spilled over the floor, unattended.
• There were concerns about the qualifications of several poll workers. The city was in fact desperate for workers in the days leading up to the election. We heard reports of poll workers being loud, obnoxious, not staying at their desks, socializing, being to near the booths during voting, and one report of a worker with double sets of books. Workers only get one book. Two books would allow them to text to candidates names of registered voters who did not yet vote, opening the way for any person to claim a name and illegally vote. As you know, Pittsfield does not require photo I.D. at the polls.

• Focus is also on Ward 2. Morningside, typically the lowest turnout ward, showed the highest gain in new voters in the city. City sources noted some “suspicious new voters — substance abuse types” who miraculously developed a civic conscience and decided to participate. Related to this were rumors of cash being offered to people on the street to vote.
• Why did the schools decide to hold a teachers’ professional day on Election Day? The countywide day couldn’t have been timed better if the goal was to interfere with voting. At Reid Middle School, teachers were allowed to park in front near the entrance, taking up almost all the spots that should be been there for voters.
• Also highly irregular was The Boring Broadsheet repeating their endorsement of Tyer on Election Day. We can think of no other instance of that happening.
• Part of due diligence in a process like this would be for Team Mazzeo to scroll through the list of voters. THE PLANET heard from two different sources about the dead coming to life. We call them “Lazarus votes.” We were told that “multiple people listed as dead voted.”
• We also heard that more than 300 “suspicious names” were found when comparing the electorate rolls with the names of those who actually voted.

Finally, we present this report from one of operatives, Z-9. Here’s the relevant part of Z-9’s information:

“I used a list of registered voters from early 2017 and pulled out all the voters who cast votes in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. 2016 was a very big year because of the presidential race, with 20,478 votes cast, 71%. I didn’t have the list from 2017 but didn’t need it as it was a low turnout of 6,387 voters, 23%. 2017 was a local election without a mayoral race.

As I mentioned earlier, I thought something was up with the 2018 general election and there may have been. My data showed that 439 voters came out to vote in 2018 and 2019 who hadn’t voted in 4 years. In addition to these last week there were an additional 120 voters that came out to vote who hadn’t since before 2013. I called a couple that I knew and confirmed that they did vote, however. Concerning absentee ballots, I counted 683 returned ballots, 5.7% of the ballots cast. This is a historically high percentage, but maybe voters liked the early voting in the State elections and have begun using absentee ballots for more convenience. I called one friend who confirmed she voted via absentee because she didn’t want to deal with the crowds. The highest percentages of absentee ballots were in Wards 5B at 8.6% and 1B & 6B both at 7.4% of the votes cast.

It was interesting to note that of the 716 of new voters that registered before the 2018 general election only 134 voters returned to cast a vote in 2019. It appears that almost 600 registered in October 2018 to vote in November and then disappeared.

To investigate if there were systemic voter discrepancies, I would have to start with calling the 120 voters who came out to vote for the first time since at least 2013 and see how many confirm that they voted. If there are no discrepancies found in this data set of voters, then I wouldn’t look any further.

Does all this add up to a swing of 213 or more votes? That would be the number to flip the official results.

It would take solid evidence for Team Mazzeo to get the result overturned in court. Should they decide to challenge the result this way, it’s a sign they think they have hard evidence, as in The Goods. We don’t know if or when they will take action, but we do know it is under serious consideration.

Your thought, please?

Have a great weekend, everybody.

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“I’m willing to let justice decide if I’m innocent … or guilty” — Vincent Price as Frederick Loren in House on Haunted Hill.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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