Fall River School Committee Member Collin Dias Alleges Intimidation by City’s Corporation Counsel Over Political Meme

School Committee member Collin Dias has filed an open meetings law complaint against the City Council in part for allegedly not creating a safe environment for him at a meeting on July 28 when he was approached by Corporation Counsel Alan Rumsey regarding a political meme on Facebook.

Rumsey declined to comment for this story, citing that an investigation into the incident by the Human Resources Department is ongoing. Human Resource Director Nick Macolini confirmed that on Wednesday.

The Facebook meme in question, titled “Axis of Evil,” depicts images of Rumsey, Mayor Paul Coogan and Ken Fiola, Executive Vice President at Bristol County Economic Development Consultants. However, the meme offers no context of its supposed message.

According to Dias, Rumsey approached him before the City Council meeting where he had intended to participate in the public input portion in his capacity as a School Committee member.

Rumsey reportedly questioned Dias regarding the meme and asked him several times if he was the creator, asking “Is this you?” Dias, in his complaint, claims that Rumsey told him, “I will find out.” When Dias asked Rumsey if it was a threat, the response was allegedly “It just might be.” 

In his complaint, Dias said the confrontation with Rumsey prevented him from using the restroom before the meeting began and before he spoke at public input.

Dias filed the open meeting law complaint on Aug. 4, alleging in part that “Considering Mr. Rumsey’s stern approach, his partial obstruction of my path of travel and his response after I directly asked whether he was threatening me, I felt threatened, intimidated, and in fear of my safety.”

Dias requested an independent investigation, a public apology from Rumsey and that the City Council “adopt rules of conduct.”

For his part, Rumsey said he hired Somerset attorney Steven Sabra to write a cease-and-desist letter regarding the Facebook posting of the “Axis of Evil” meme.

Dias confirmed he received the letter which was delivered to his Ray Street home by a constable. 

Dias admits to posting meme on his recall Facebook page

Serving his second term on the School Committee, Dias said that he didn’t intend to make “a super big thing” out of the confrontation with Rumsey, but that he “didn’t want it to happen again.”

While Dias said he wasn’t the creator of the meme, he admitted that as one of the administrators of a Facebook page devoted to recalling Mayor Coogan, he allowed the post to go online.

“I won’t lie, I let it go,” said Dias. “He did send a cease-and-desist letter through his attorney and claimed it was defamation. I spoke with my own legal counsel and they said it wasn’t.”

Despite the legal advice, Dias said he took down the meme and the anti-Coogan Facebook page.

“I realize now in my elected official role, it’s not like I’m a normal citizen. If you engage in activist politics, it creates distraction which I don’t think anyone needed,” said Dias.

Files public records requests regarding Rumsey letter

After receiving the cease-and-desist letter, Dias filed three public records requests.

No stranger to filing open meetings complaints and volumes of public records requests, Dias filed a request for information on three properties Rumsey owns on Rock Street. 

Saying he “heard concerns” about the properties and requested a trove of records dating back to December 2020 that include zoning and historical district records, parcel, assessor and GIS records and building and construction records.

“After reviewing the information and following the facts, I did not find anything that raised a concern for me,” said Dias in an email.

He also filed public records requests on city dealings with Sabra and the constable who served him.

Dias explained those records requests were to determine whether any city funds were expended regarding the cease-and-desist letter, which he found were not.