HAVERHILL — A majority of city councilors intend to vote tomorrow to publicly reprimand their colleague James Donahue for comments posted from his home computer to The Eagle-Tribune Web site criticizing city officials.

That is according to Councilor William Macek, who said he will propose the censure at tomorrow's meeting. Macek said the move has the support of at least six councilors — Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien, Michael McGonagle, Kenneth Quimby, David Hall, President Michael Hart and himself.

Hart, a lawyer and former city solicitor, described censure as "a severe reprimand."

"It would not affect or impede his duties as a councilor," Hart said in a previous interview. "It's a show of disappointment."

For the council to censure Donahue, five of the nine councilors must vote in favor of the reprimand.

While Hall supports the censure, he said he won't attend the meeting due to a previously scheduled vacation.

"What Donahue did deceiving the public and attacking his colleagues is totally reprehensible," Hall said. "But if Macek needs my vote, he's going to have to delay it until the next meeting."

The Eagle-Tribune confirmed Macek's count of councilors who support censure, with the exception of Quimby, who did not return phone calls.

Councilor William Ryan also could not be reached, but Macek said Ryan told him he does not support censuring Donahue — a first-term councilor and history teacher at Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School in Haverhill.

Councilor Robert Scatamacchia told Macek and the newspaper that he is undecided on the matter and will wait to hear what Macek, Donahue and other councilors have to say at the meeting, which is set for 7 p.m. in City Hall.

City Solicitor William Cox said Donahue has told city officials he may bring a lawyer with him to the meeting.

Donahue, 35, did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

The Eagle-Tribune has reported that more than 50 messages under at least 38 different screen names have been posted from Donahue's personal computer in the last month, using the comment feature on the newspaper's Web site. Many of the posts deride other city officials and make it appear that there is widespread support for Donahue's positions on public policy matters, such as opposing Mayor James Fiorentini's use of city money to study tapping the Merrimack River for drinking water.

Donahue has acknowledged the posts were submitted from his home, but he said those critical of Macek and other officials were posted by a team of activists with access to his home computer.

"For Jimmy Donahue to try to sway public opinion in support of his positions and bring down other councilors using 38 different aliases is unethical and borderline criminal," Macek said in a previous interview. "...We need to uphold our own integrity and send a strong message that this is wrong."

The majority of the posts from Donahue's computer were in response to Eagle-Tribune stories about his dispute with the mayor over the proposal to draw drinking water from the river, which Donahue opposes. Several of the posts suggest Fiorentini take a swim in the river or drink from it if he thinks it's clean.

Fiorentini has said he also has blogged on The Eagle-Tribune Web site under fictitious screen names. He declined to tell the newspaper what subjects he has commented on or what screen names he uses, but said he has not blogged on the river issue or criticized other people.

How city councilors say they'll vote on censuring Councilor James Donahue

William Macek: Yes (he's proposing it)

President Michael Hart: Yes

Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien: Yes

Michael McGonagle: Yes

David Hall: Yes (Not expected to attend the meeting)

Kenneth Quimby: Yes*

Robert Scatamacchia: Undecided

William Ryan: No*

Note: Censuring, or publicly reprimanding, requires five votes

*The Eagle-Tribune could not reach Quimby and Ryan, but Macek said they told him how they will vote.