Deemie Responds

“Corruption is nature's way of restoring our faith in democracy.”- Peter Ustinov

Fire Starter recently detailed the lies being told by Johnson City Village Board member and candidate Monica Silas.  Apparently unable to defend her own record, she made false accusations against one of her opponents, Greg Deemie.  In  a Facebook post, she accused Deemie of testifying against the Village at a recent court proceeding.  This was patently false and she knew it.  She was there.

Now Greg Deemie has written a letter to the press confiming what the Fire Starter reported last week.

Dear Editor,

I am a candidate for Johnson City trustee in this year's election. Misinformation has been circulated about me testifying against the village. Please allow me to set the record straight.


I was subpoenaed by the law offices of Hinman, Howard & Kattell to testify in the Public Employment Relations Board court in Albany on Sept. 20. I also was subpoenaed by the Village of Johnson City's attorney for their federal case.

I legally record the Johnson City board meetings; therefore, both sides demanded copies of my recordings. Because I received a subpoena, I was bound by law to appear in court. I was not there to testify against either side; I was there to authenticate my recordings. I was following the order of the law. I never testified because the PERB case was settled out of court and the federal case was dropped.

If those responsible had conducted themselves ethically, the truth would have been known.

Greg Deemie

We await any sort of contridictory evidence from Trustee Silas.

And while we are speaking of the Village of Johnson City, what's happening with Silas' Democratic running mate, Shawn O'Buckley?  As you will recall, Silas passed joint election petitions with Mr. O'Buckley.  Fire Starter later learned that Mr. O'Buckley was recently suspended from the practice of law in the state of Colorado.  Mr. O'Buckley admitted to failing to properly safeguard client money and overcharging clients. We now have the Court Decision regarding O'Buckley.

This guy is a real class act.  And a fitting running mate for Monica Silas.  It's easy to see why she would be confused by a person of integrity like Greg Deemie.

On November 2nd, you will have your chance to restore Democracy in the Village of Johnson City.  Use your vote wisely.