The Martin Chronicles sometimes gets a little frustrated by the ebb and flow of the mess in Mayor Mike Martin's Villa Hills. It has only been fifteen days since City Council slapped Martin with four reprimands after an extremely lengthy executive session that sources say was-to be polite-highly contentious. And yet it sometimes seems more like fifteen weeks.
As we have written before, we suspect that there is a reason Martin's January 5 document burn was not the subject of a reprimand. Our guess? Council is being cautious because of the lawsuit an employee has filed against Martin and the City. On April 26 a judge made it crystal clear that the fact that Martin wantonly destroyed City records in the middle of a serious lawsuit and then lied about what was burned has done great harm to the taxpayers.
No one is disputing the fact that records were destroyed. No one is disputing the fact that Martin's list of destroyed records was-again, to be polite-woefully inaccurate and incomplete. No one is disputing the fact that Martin created the list the day after he was caught. All that Martin's attorney could say when asked about the shameful series of events is that he didn't have an answer!
So, we wonder why City Council is hesitating to pursue this issue. After all, could the City's position be any weaker than it already is? Martin seems to have done a fine job of placing the taxpayers in the lawsuit jackpot with no help at all.
Martin's after-the-fact fabrication about what he burned is a clear case of misconduct. Council should deal with that matter quickly. What Martin did warrants more than a reprimand. It warrants removal. Further delay will play right into the mendacious Martin's hands.
How do we know this? Because Martin already tipped his strategy in his Unahandyman Manifesto. In a little more than two months the field will be set for the 2012 council election. If the current council sits on its' collective hands-and the mountain of evidence of Martin's wrongdoing-Martin will have no problem recruiting a slate of candidates to challenge the incumbents in November.
Can't you just hear Martin now? "They won't work with me. I am trying to move the City forward. Help me get rid of the Civil Service Commission. I have had to endure and overcome tremendous obstacles. Look at all your money this council wasted on investigating me and what did they find? I need the voters to give me a council I can work with." Martin might just pull it off.
Martin will bank on the voters being as apathetic about local matters as they were in 2010. Martin will be fairly sure that most voters have very little understanding of the ongoing issues in their City. Martin will count on voters being focused on the national elections. Martin will trust that he will be able to tell enough lies and spread enough libel and slander that he can dupe the voters one more time. Falsely portraying himself as an innocent victim paid off in 2010. Martin will rely on "victim status" once again.
Look, this isn't about politics. With all candor, we normally wouldn't give a tinker's dam who sits around the Villa Hills council table. But these aren't normal times. Look at all the serious harm Martin has done even with a majority of council doing everything they can to rein him in. How much worse will it get if Martin gets the council members he wants?
If the current council doesn't do everything within their power to let the public know what Martin has done, we believe the self-proclaimed CEO may well get his wish in a mere 159 days.
