The Martin Chronicles was pleased that so many Villa Hills' residents came to River Ridge Elementary last evening to hear the Special Counsel's report into their investigation of Mayor Mike Martin. As reported in other media outlets, the atmosphere was tense, but people certainly paid close attention. We are preparing follow-up reports that will be delivered soon.
We do take issue with the way one matter was presented. It was revealed-as we have reported for months-that Martin has been doing electrical contracting work in Kentucky without the proper licenses. While that is not "official" misconduct, it certainly puts Martin in the difficult spot of explaining how he can expect other contractors doing work in Villa Hills to follow the law when he clearly has not. Furthermore, this type of unlicensed work has landed some contractors in jail.
Martin made some unintentionally revealing comments that we believe go a long way towards explaining the mess he has created in Villa Hills. "I do believe I have and will continue to make the right decisions to move the City forward" Martin stated. Given the huge budget problems and the recent dressing-down in court for the destruction of City records-just to state two of many examples-there seems to be a bit of a disconnect here.
When WCPO asked if he had perhaps made mistakes, Martin replied, "I am not necessarily convinced I made mistakes. Could I have made different decisions? Possibly." One could ask, if the matters presented by Special Counsel were not "mistakes", did he do these things intentionally?
Given the current state of the Villa Hills City government, the divided community and the complex set of evidence revealed by Special Counsel last night, comments like that are strange indeed. As nky.com wrote, Special Counsel's report didn't vindicate or convict Martin.
That resolution is yet to come.
