#Peter Romary

[bluepurpleviolatte]

''Unless you check this confirmation bias at the door, you could fall victim to it, or to allegations that you’re guilty of it. “You made your mind up early on, and gave up looking at any other possibility, didn’t you?” is a powerful question, one I’ve used many times during cross-examination in civil and criminal cases. It’s also a question that can only be genuinely refuted when you approach your search for the truth with an open mind, and you can demonstrate that you utilized an objective methodology.''

-Peter Romary, Elaboration on Applying the Elicitation Model in Business, in Law and in Everyday Life

[dr-archeville]

You might think the once-in-a-century pandemic jeopardizing our 17-campus University of North Carolina system would focus the minds of those our politicians entrusted with governing it.  That a disease threatening the lives of students, staff, and faculty in equal measure would trigger a degree of sobriety and seriousness when it comes to conducting the public’s business.

But you would be very, very wrong.

The past month has confirmed that the UNC System Office and its Board of Governors continue to play games with taxpayers’ money and students’ educations, even in the COVID-19 era.  Consider three burgeoning scandals to illustrate the point.

Last month, ousted East Carolina University Chancellor Cecil Staton — a different guy from the other ousted East Carolina Chancellor who came after him — filed a defamation lawsuit against the UNC System, former BOG Chairman Harry Smith, attorney Peter Romary, and others.  Staton claims Romary, working for a company called QVerity — which in turn was working for Smith, who in turn was working for UNC — went out of his way to badmouth Staton to the presidential search committee of a Texas university.  Staton was a shoo-in for the job, he insists, and only missed out because of an email from “John Q. Public at ECU” with a lengthy document attached known as “the Dossier” (seriously).

The lawsuit seems tailor-made for media attention but little else.  For example, North Carolina has a one-year statute of limitations on defamation claims, yet all of the BOG defendants except Smith were sued after that deadline had passed.  Staton claims “the Dossier” that so damaged his prospects was written by Romary, but ECU’s student newspaper got its hands on an affidavit from a former ECU professor claiming she compiled it years ago.  The “email” from “John Q. Public at ECU” turned out not to be an email at all, as a FOIA request to the Texas university for the electronic correspondence netted instead a physical envelope mailed out of an Asheville post office.  And I already disclosed in my column back in May that “John Q. Public” is a former client of mine who is not Peter Romary.

With Staton’s lawsuit now “in the wild” and naming several BOG members as defendants, sources now contend Staton lied about his salary and credentials as part of the application process that made him ECU’s chancellor in the first place.  It will be interesting to see what other skeletons tumble out of the closet as the lawsuit moves forward.

Not to be outdone in bizarre legal maneuvers, BOG Chairman Randy Ramsey — the same guy who misrepresented his academic credentials for years — tried to convince the board to misrepresent the tenure of Interim President Bill Roper.  Ramsey asked the Board to remove the “interim” title, making Roper a full President for a week.  Board member Marty Kotis reportedly made the motion at Ramsey’s urging, only to then withdraw it, also at Ramsey’s urging, when opposition became apparent.  The BOG then took a “straw poll” on the idea, which failed decisively.

This is not the sort of thing that can lawfully be considered in a closed session; North Carolina’s Open Meetings Act requires closed session items to be disclosed to the public in advance and requires all votes (including “straw polls”) to be done in open sessions.  But the idea that Ramsey and Kotis would even propose this sort of nonsense as a parting gift to the interim president who gave us #SilentSham is astonishing.

Then we get to the new president himself, Peter Hans.  When it leaked out of the NC General Assembly that Hans was going to be the new UNC system president, it also leaked that current Speaker of the House Tim Moore would be made ECU Chancellor as part of the deal.  The speaker’s office tut-tutted the idea since it would suggest the speaker knew Republicans might lose the House majority and he would no longer be speaker.  And those who held Hans in high regard — myself included, at the time — had a hard time believing he would sully himself by striking that sort of deal in the first place.

Yet at the very same BOG meeting, the board got to review a brand-new revision to the university’s policies on chancellor searches.  The policy would allow the UNC President to designate two people as automatic finalists for any vacant chancellorship, and those finalists would be included among the list of candidates a campus’s board of trustees sends back to the UNC president for final selection.  It completely eliminates the vetting process for any politician of the president’s choosing.

It is comically bad governance in normal times.  Against the backdrop of the House speaker being guaranteed a chancellorship in exchange for Hans’s ascension as President, it should be downright criminal.  The board is slated to vote on the policy change at its September meeting.

Many of us hoped those entrusted with running the UNC system would get their acts together after their #SilentSham deal exploded and the coronavirus took its place.  That optimism appears to have been misguided.  We’ll see in the months ahead just how badly we were wrong.

T. GREG DOUCETTE is a local attorney, criminal justice reform advocate, and host of the podcast #Fsck ’Em All.  He continues to be a pain in the UNC System’s ass.  Follow him on Twitter. Comment on this column at backtalk@indyweek.com.

Voices is made possible by contributions to the INDY Press Club.

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[gandaever]

I didn’t realize that today is the anniversary of AUB Gensan Santiago Branch — the first branch I headed 16 years ago. Nostalgia suddenly hit me. Today, I honor every individual who shared my AUB journey. We’ve come a long way, my fellow AUBankers. The Branch Managers who came after me were all my Sales Officers — Cheng Zarzoso (who is now based in New Zealand), Paulo Mariano (presently Area Head of Northern Mindanao) and now Stephanie Allera. My first Service Manager and assistant was Rey Sumalde who later became Branch Head of Gensan Aparente Branch and presently a Quality Assurance Officer. He was replaced by Daisy Reyes followed by the present SM Roger Melanio. Roger will be celebrating his 10th year as an AUBanker this year. Of the six original members of Team Gensan, only Rey and myself remain. I share this sense of pride with the following individuals who became a part of AUB Gensan Santiago Branch: Dave Arreglado Leah Cunanan Delfin Irving Dwight Destajo Manuel Aspera Jr. Gwyn Clarisa Jenel Go Labiana Steven Yang Alexis Cañizar Chua Hannah Anika Bentham Jeremy Shawee Agreda Abi Santos Romarie Ivy C. Tan Christine Padilla Chino Gadia Ernan Escalada Buncalan Chester Teves Lloyd R. Giron Dinah M. Mapalo Leem Alvarez Eduard Francis Leyson Chiqui Andrade Jun Jimenez Yen Yen Jemmie Lim Tan Anton Lugo Happy 16th, Team Gensan Santiago! And before I forget, special mention to my Peter Pilot! (at General Santos City) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjjWFdrNSfd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[niniarangocortissoz]

I've Been Compromised from Courtney Sposato on Vimeo.

An intelligence analyst is pursued by a relentless operative through a dreamlike hotel.

Written & Directed by Courtney & Mark Sposato Produced by Wendy Vall

Starring Kent Moran, Katelyn Marshall, Reginald L. Barnes, Mike Callahan & Barbara Thomas

Director of Photography: Arthur Woo Gaffer: Barton Cortright 1st AC: Peter Garafalo Sound Mixer: Eric Romary Hair & Makeup: Meagan Coyle HMU Assistant: Cat Mignano Art Director: Kristin Sztyk Production Designer: Casey McCoy Script Supervisor: Caprica Stanley Production Assistant: Alex Xin Wardrobe Supervisor: Susan Spencer

[bluepurpleviolatte]

''The reason it’s so important for us to be aware of optimism bias is simply that it’s very helpful to know what it is that creates confidence in those who can cause us harm, and even more helpful to be cognizant of how easy it is for our own behavior to lead us down a dangerous path. That recognition won’t shatter the optimism itself, but it will help us to manage potential risk by, perhaps, obtaining insurance, or making contingency plans to be prepared in the event that things go wrong.''

-Peter Romary, Elaboration on Applying the Elicitation Model in Business, in Law and in Everyday Life

[bluepurpleviolatte]

''As a cautionary note, I’ve found it’s very possible in the negotiation context to harm your own chances of a favorable settlement by unintentionally fueling optimism bias in the other party. I have seen cases in which negotiators, hoping to cut to the chase, make a very reasonable first offer or demand. The other side, expecting the initial offer to merely be a starting point, becomes more emboldened by the prospect of coming out with a far better deal than was first imagined. As a result, the other party digs in its heels, and its counteroffer is far less favorable than it otherwise might have been. Social psychologists refer to this phenomenon as anchoring.''

-Peter Romary, Elaboration on Applying the Elicitation Model in Business, in Law and in Everyday Life

[gandaever]

Thank you for the love: AUB AH Cindy Carreon and Team South Mindanao, Former Gov. Miguel Dominguez, AUB BM Chippy Chua Montano, PBB BM Peter Tiang Salvador, Mare Past District Governor Mary Anne Alcordo-Solomon, Frank Maan Nunez & Baby Frankie, AUB FSO Bernadette Baruel, Former Miss Gensan Romarie Ivy and hubby Jerome O. Tan, Gaisano Gensan (Paul & Jr), Doc Lex Cornelio, Bok & Pinky Villa and Fredy and Cynthia Dela, Sydney Tan of Isla Jardin del Mar. #Finally58 (at Manansala Mansion) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUZ5iuhAcIM/?utm_medium=tumblr