Ferguson critic’s calls to his home shut down

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Dresden supervisor Paul Ferguson’s wife, Jean Ferguson, spoke with the Town Board at its March 14 meeting regarding the removal of her husband’s home phone number in the wake of a flurry of calls.

The issue was brought about by community member Anda Gang in an email that was sent to the entire board, board lawyer Matt Fuller said.

“We live in a very small town,” Jean Ferguson said. “Paul has his cellphone and home phone, which it was not recommended to give, but we give the home phone.”

Supervisor Ferguson told the board that the answering machine has been full for a while now due to persistent calling from Gang. Jean Ferguson also said that their home phone’s answering machine was shut down because of constant calls from Gang.

“We get several calls a day from many people in town and they have no problem contacting us no matter if it is the cell or home,” she said.

Supervisor Ferguson said that the messages not from Gang were saved and the answering machine is now open again. Gang said that she has been writing letters regarding the Dresden Town Board and said that she has still been calling and the problem has not been resolved.

“The phone is still not available,” she said. “When you call 518-499-1100, it rings and then a fax noise comes on… I have a four-year history of letters to the paper, and if you look in the archives, I am still addressing issues he had from the beginning.”

“Paul’s home phone number disappeared from the Dresden staff page. This is America. We are a beacon of hope to the world. I believe in the Constitution,” Gang said. ‘I believe that any citizen has the right to question their government. When the government is unresponsive, as a citizen, I have the right to freedom of speech in the public forum. It is absurd to say I filled up the machine.”

Another issue discussed was charges being made to the town by lawyer Matt Fuller for calls to Fuller by council members.

“Ultimately, the council is supposed to contact me to contact the lawyer,” supervisor Ferguson said. “Nobody should be writing the lawyer.”

Jean Ferguson she said the town was charged for a “community member” who contacted Fuller. When Gang was asked about the calls, she said she had called the lawyer in the past and that the issue is something to be dealt with by the town. She said it was regarding supervisor Ferguson seeking a shed from a family member at a discounted rate for the town.

“I felt that he should know what the shenanigans were that Paul was pulling, like telling the board he wanted to place some shed he’d bought from his brother. He followed no policy-based method of making a capital-type project purchase. There was no paperwork provided when councilman Wilbur requested to see them,” she said.

Supervisor Ferguson told the board that if there are any questions for Fuller, they should be brought to him first as he should be the primary contact for discussions between the town and Fuller.

“I haven’t spoken with Matt (Fuller) about it yet, but when he gets an email from somebody in the town, the community member should be charged because it’s not the town reaching out first,” he said. “I’m going to tell him to charge whoever it is calling if it isn’t me.”