Ruthsburg - GSA/DS Impropriety?

Ruthsburg - GSA/DS Impropriety?
http://wordpress.centreville-md.net/?p=1562

On Tuesday night, January 5, 2010, the General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) held a public information meeting at the Queen Anne’s County High School regarding the proposed Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) being considered for Ruthsburg in Queen Anne’s County.

At that meeting, and while speaking to a reporter from the Baltimore Sun, I personally (with two others) witnessed the GSA employee presiding over the meeting, Gina Gilliam, GSA Regional Public Affairs Officer, interrupt our conversation to encourage the reporter to interview persons in favor of the Ruthsburg site. She specifically directed the reporter to two well-known proponents of siting the FASTC in Queen Anne’s County.

Today, I’ve been informed by a senior Queen Anne’s County official that during the break in the Tuesday night meeting, both he and his wife witnessed Ms. Gilliam encouraging the Chairman of the QAC Economic Development Commission and the President of the QAC Chamber of Commerce to go be interviewed on TV in order to show support for locating the FASTC in Ruthsburg. This Queen Anne’s County official (along with two others) and I are prepared to sign affidavits documenting Ms. Gilliam’s activities.

I seriously question the propriety of a GSA officer, responsible for presiding over a public information meeting, seeking to channel media coverage of the meeting toward a particular result. As the presider, Ms. Gilliam was fully aware that the great majority of the many, many hundreds of people present were strongly opposed to siting the FASTC in Queen Anne’s County, yet she actively sought to create a different impression for those not in attendance at the meeting. Her actions confirmed that the GSA/DS presentation was in fact, nothing more than a sales pitch for a decision that was not open for genuine discussion.

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