Keeling Geddis issues statement slamming Swibinski for meddling in City Business
Keeling Geddis issues statement slamming Swibinski for meddling in City Business
Hackensack Councilwoman Deborah Keeling-Geddis slammed the city’s public relations firm Vision Media and one of its principles today for meddling in city business.
Keeling-Geddis yesterday wrote to the city manager and demanded that controversial fliers that were prepared by Vision Media be taken down from the city website because they are little more than political propaganda and are misleading.
Vision Media executive Phil Swibinski responded claiming the newsletters should remain on the website.
Keeling Geddis said Swibinski is out of line to respond to a matter that does not concern him or his firm. Her statement is below
“Phil Swibinski is not a member of the city council or even a resident of the city. My request to the City Manager Ted M. Ehrenburg to have the controversial newsletters removed from the city owned website is a matter of city government business between a councilwoman and the city manager. It has nothing to do with Phil Swibinski. Frankly, I don’t care what Vision Media or Mr. Swibinski think. No one elected Mr. Swibinski to anything in this city and for Phil Swibinski to lash out at a sitting councilwoman is wrong and way beyond the limits of acceptable behavior by a consultant who is paid with public tax dollars.
The only ones who should be responding to my demands are Mr. Ehrenberg or Mayor Labrosse or Deputy Mayor Kathy Canestrino, who are the only beneficiaries of the newsletter prepared for them by Vision Media at great expense to the city taxpayers. And I again assert that the information in those newsletters is misleading and in some instances false.
“Mr. Swibinski has overstepped his bounds and I expect an apology from him immediately and I advise him to stay out of official city business and let the mayor speak for himself .”
see attached letter to Ted M. Ehrenburg
Deborah Keeling-Geddis
Councilwoman
City of Hackensack, N.J.
201-674-7440
Ted M. Ehrenburg
City Manager,
Hackensack, NJ
65 Central Avenue
Hackensack, NJ 07601
March 15, 2017
Dear Mr. Ehrenburg;
I am writing to you to formally request that the copies of the city newsletters that have been prepared and mailed by Vision Media be removed immediately from the city website. As you know, my position on the newsletters is that they are little more than political propaganda and should be financed by the campaign of the mayor and deputy mayor. The newsletters are outdated, and in the case of the latest mailer, present questionable information. I don’t see how they provide any useful information to our citizens.
Respectfully
Deborah Keeling- Geddis
Councilwoman
