Far be it from The Martin Chronicles to tell world-class attorney and Villa Hills Special Counsel Phil Talaiferro how to do his job. We are confident that Mr. Taliaferro will deliver the long list of Mayor Martin misdeeds and malfeasance in the most highly visible manner possible in a venue that is large enough to hold a large crowd. We are equally confident that Mr. Taliaferro’s presentation will be painstakingly thorough and will clearly spell out the compelling legal reasons why each of Martin’s business and government offenses warrant the mayor’s removal from office. Don’t take us at face value. Mayors all over the Commonwealth have been removed from office for far less offenses than the incredible offenses that Mr. Talaiferro will reveal in the weeks ahead.
We believe the Special Counsel’s presentation will take place at a special meeting. Any attempt to hold the presentation at a regular council meeting would be unwise. Martin often presides over grueling four-plus hour long council meetings that are excruciating to watch and worse yet, typically accomplish nothing. Why present something so important to the public in such a dreadful setting?
Look for an extreme amount of media coverage. There are very few things that attract viewers to local news more than a shocking story that small-town government corruption. From what our sources are telling us, this will be corruption writ large. It will also become very difficult for other law enforcement and regulatory agencies not to take action against Martin once the bright media spotlight is turned on the mayor’s mess.
City Council also has to play a role in communicating the truth to the public. They must understand that the Martin apologists from that reeking armpit called a Civic Club and from elsewhere will try to downplay even the most heinous of Martin’s misdeeds. Can’t you already hear it? “Everyone does unlicensed electrical and plumbing work.” “People are always looking for ways to avoid paying for licenses, fees, permits and taxes.” “Martin has broad powers.” “The council is just upset over the result of the 2010 election.” “The sexual harassment allegations are just a case of he said-she said.” “This is just bickering.” And yes, we will sure we will here this, “Martin is a really nice guy. He is just so very dumb.”
Villa Hills deserves better. The residents should not be satisfied to accept the pathetic standard established by the Civic Club apologists. The people in this town should not feel comfortable in a “Civic Club environment” where those placed in charge were so inattentive, distracted, divided, disinterested and accepting that hundreds of thousands of dollars were embezzled right under their noses just a few short years ago.
Council must make sure they disseminate the facts to counteract the surely coming Civic Club claptrap. Information should be posted on a website that clearly spells out Mr. Taliaferro’s findings for the public to carefully review. The people must see the evidence of the willful destruction of, removal of and tampering with City property and records. The people must see the evidence of the fraudulent documents generated to cover the mayor’s tracks. The people must see the evidence of the willful Open Records and Open Meetings violations. The people must see the evidence of the conscious misuse of City personnel and resources. The people must see evidence of the persistent cronyism, retaliation and harassment. The people must see the evidence of the intentional efforts to evade license requirements, permits, fees and taxes. The people must see the evidence of everything that has been going on.
Any media outlet so-inclined should be afforded the opportunity to examine every single scrap of evidence-save what may be part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Residents should also be encouraged to ask any question, should be given thorough answers and should be provided any requested information-again, save what may be part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Remember, 50% + 89 voters in the 2010 mayoral election are being asked to accept the fact that they fell prey to Martin’s incredible 2010 election scam. That will not be something easy for anyone to accept.
While we will never know if it occurs, we suspect Mr. Taliaferro will offer Martin one final opportunity to exit before the results of the investigation are made public and turned over to the proper authorities. Fortunately, Martin is too self-absorbed to choose the easier way out. Sadly, that is actually a good thing. The public needs to know the whole truth.
