The Martin Chronicles has to admit that Villa Hills Mayor Mike Martin has been great for readership. We are experiencing unprecedented growth to our already substantial audience. We certainly have mixed emotions about the reasons why. There is nothing better for political writers than to cover a phony hypocrite like Martin bungling from pillar to post displaying to those who are paying attention what a disaster he is. But we are also aware that Martin’s scandals do damage to more than himself.
It is hard to believe that it was just June 2010 when Villa Hills was designated the best city in Northern Kentucky resulting from a thorough study done by Cincy Business magazine. Martin’s mayhem makes it seem like many years ago. Now the taxpayers are facing serious liability for the misadventures of their mayor.
The Martin Chronicles’ staff takes comfort in the old saying that people get the government they deserve. They did elect Martin, after all. So they have earned the result.
We have no plans to offer Martin any advice. He portrayed himself as an epic “man of the people” possessed of great leadership skills. While the results have betrayed that depiction as false advertising, he deserves the same fate as those who elected him.
Believe it or not, we actually find some humor in Saturday’s The Kentucky Enquirer article covering Mike Martin’s Villa Hills headlined “Letter claims illegal conduct”. Let’s explore that.
The Kentucky Enquirer reporter writes that Martin said, “At this time I cannot comment.” For those readers who think we do nothing but criticize the mayor, you may feel faint. The Martin Chronicles believes Martin was right not to comment. This is a very serious matter that exposes the taxpayers to great liability. In this case silence is “golden”.
But, of course, Martin simply couldn’t help himself. So, he continued. “Right now, there’s just a letter saying there looking into something.” The Martin Chronicles has confirmed that the “something” being looked into was Martin’s persistent refusal to take the concerns of an employee seriously.
Martin also said he discussed the matter with the city attorney “on a very limited basis”. The Martin Chronicles has also confirmed that Martin is lying about that. The mayor and the city attorney actually met with the employee many weeks ago. The offshoot was a commitment by Martin and the City Attorney to keep the allegedly harassing councilman out of the City Building and away from the employee. We have also confirmed that Martin quickly endangered the city by walking away from that commitment. He is the CEO, after all.
Now the taxpayers are staring another serious lawsuit right in the face. There are witnesses to the alleged harassment. These witnesses will take any case out of the realm of “he said-she said”. Martin’s lies are quickly making the situation far worse. We are currently working a story that the city has been notified that the current limits of their policy might not be enough to cover the judgments Martin may have provoked. If that proves to be the case, the remaining balance will come right out of the collective pocket of the residents of Villa Hills.
Remember, there is the now-infamous “Martin Way” of dealing with problems. The residents of Villa Hills should not be at all surprised if Martin rallies his diminishing hillbilly lynch-mob to hurl all manner of allegations against the employee who has been complaining to the mayor for months now about harassment. While that is a dreadful and dangerous tactic, it would not be the first time Martin resorted to such a move. A similar Martin attack is what provoked another serious lawsuit. The residents should remember that this strategy could backfire yet again, leading to an even greater judgment against their collective pocket.
Yup, elections have consequences. And it might take as long as 1,007 days for the voters to fix the current “problem”. But The Martin Chronicles doesn’t think that is so.
