They don’t like it, but there’s not much they can do about it.
That is the reality facing the town’s Web Site Committee, who are annoyed at Joe Rasberry’s www.oxford-ct.com.
The official town Web site, you see, is www.oxford-ct.gov.
However, up until January 2008, Rasberry’s URL was the town’s official site.
When the local Republican was not re-appointed to the town’s Web Site Committee, Rasberry took his URL with him.
Since then, while the site has kept tons of useful Oxford information online, it also leans heavily toward town Republicans.
Example: On Wednesday, the site’s top story was a picnic to raise money for Republican candidates David Haversat and David Yish.
“This is not Oxford CT’s official web site,” reads a sentence with a font so small it appears somewhat blurry.
Town Attorney Fran Teodesio said Oxford has asked Rasberry to enlarge the sentence.
“The town has asked him to enlarge the print and Rasberry has not done that,” he said. “Now the town has to decide what it is going to do about it.”
Rasberry’s URL is a political site masquerading as the town’s official Web site, according to Herman Schuler, the town’s Economic Development Director.
“This copycat website is hardly in the best interest of the town,” he said.
Rasberry, who has owned the domain since 1997, declined to comment on the charges leveled against him by members of the town’s Web Site Committee, who, by the way, are in constant contact with the town’s attorney regarding the site.
“This is my Web site and the committee is trying to ruin me,” Rasberry said. “They do not like me and I don’t care. I will keep on putting up what I want.”
He then hung up his phone, ending a brief interview with a reporter.
Rasberry is well within his rights, according to Joan Andrews, the director of Legal Affairs for the State Elections Enforcement Commission.
“There are no violations of state election laws if the political ads are attributed to who paid for them,” she said.
According to meeting minutes of the Oxford Web Site Committee, some members are concerned that legions of Web sites still link to Rasberry’s site, still thinking the URL is the “official” town site.
Yahoo, for example, still lists it under “government” in its directory.
The registration data Rasberry entered for the site was last updated in 2008. He describes it as “Oxford CT, Home Page.”
The next line begins “Town of Oxford Connecticut the citizens web site.”
Brett Olbrys, vice chairman of the Web Site Committee, indicated Rasberry simply isn’t playing fair.
Olbrys has a 2008 mission statement he said is from Rasberry. The statement promises to be unbiased when it comes to politics, according to Olbrys.
“Rasberry is duping the public,” he said.
Rasberry has apparently tweaked the town fathers to the point they inserted a rather unusual disclaimer on the official site, apparently prohibiting incoming links to the site, which is impossible to enforce.
Haversat, meanwhile, who is trying to unseat Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers for the First Selectman’s Office, contends information about him on Rasberry’s site was publicly posted on the Republican’s home page.
“If that information is being posted on another site, I have nothing to do with it,” he said.
It should be noted that In addition to Oxford-CT.com, Rasberry also built the Republican’s Web site, according to registration information.
