The Martin Chronicles is worldly enough to understand that many politicians will bend the truth to promote their positions and agendas. We are very familiar with the practice of "spinning" a story in a favorable way. That is why history is kind to a man like George Washington for simply stating that he could not tell a lie and why the moniker "Honest Abe" separated Mr. Lincoln from so many of his contemporaries.
There is the old joke that there was a way you could tell Lyndon Johnson was lying. The punchline? Johnson's lips were moving. Lest we forget, Richard Nixon was not dubbed "Tricky Dick" for his ability to perform fantastic acts of prestidigitation. How many politicians feel so cornered that they feel they need to tell the public, "I am not a crook", after all?
But Villa Hills Mayor Mike Martin is on a pace to put even the likes of Johnson and Nixon to shame. In seventeen short months Martin has demonstrated himself to be an almost total stranger to the truth. When caught in an embarrassing lie about not being asked to meet with Special Counsel when Martin actually was, he oddly replied, "I'll give you that one". Let's take just a sampling of Martin's flame-broiled whoppers.
First, let's go back to before Martin was elected. How did he say it in his LIBELOUS campaign literature and website? "I am happy to tell you that I am not suing you". One minor problem. Martin was suing you for $1.505 MILLION. Says who? The United States Supreme Court, that's who. Martin only stopped suing you on June 7, 2011 when his pathetic lawsuit was tossed out of court for a second time.
Let's stay on the subject of Martin's specious lawsuit. On June 7, 2011 Martin told the media that he and his wife prayed and they decided to DROP their law suit. No, they didn't drop it. The judges drop-kicked Martin's silly lawsuit right out of the court house. Prayer had nothing to do with it.
How about the lie about "finding" $30,000? A careful review of Martin's talks at both the 2008 and 2010 Civic Club Candidate Forums shows Martin making that bogus claim both times. He even goes so far as to say that, "I don't know how I found it." Multiple sources confirm that the reason Martin doesn't know how he found the $30,000 is that, well, uh, how to be nice? Er, he didn't find it. Even still, Martin remains enamored with that lie. He even used it to try to puff up $47.50 per hour, uncontracted-contract employee, crony-hire, clerk-bookkeeper Cordelia Schaber at one point by saying she found the $30,000!!!
On January 19, 2011 Martin threw his "Truth and Integrity" pledge out of the proverbial window by telling his first official mayoral lie. And he did it even before he called his very first council meeting to order later that night. Council people approached him seeking assurance that the rumors of his unlicensed electrical and plumbing work were not true. Martin told them he had never done unlicensed work. We now know better.
In late October 2011, Martin improperly used City personnel and resources to produce a flyer for the Voice of Villa Hills promoting his proposed ROAD TAX. A few days later Martin called a resident to chastise him for putting VOTE NO TO THE ROAD TAX signs around town. When the resident asked Martin who was responsible for putting the PRO ROAD TAX flyer in the Voice of Villa Hills, Martin replied that he "had no idea".
Perhaps Martin's most damaging lie? Well, he actually told it twice in a matter of seconds. Martin was twice asked if the falsified document he provided council truly listed all of the records he burned on January 5. Both times he answered "yes" without hesitation. We now know that wasn't even close to the truth.
A very nice but confused woman took the podium at the May council meeting to express her somewhat rambling opinions. At one point she asked, "So what's the big deal about burning some papers?"
Good question. Here is the answer. Destroying City records in the middle of a serious lawsuit is far more than "burning some papers". Especially after the Kentucky League of Cities and the CIty Attorney both advised Martin NOT to do so. There are strict State guidelines for the retention and destruction of City records. Gathering up anything you may feel is incriminating in a lawsuit and throwing what you have improperly gathered into a hastily dug fire pit does not qualify under the State guidelines. In fact, it could very well be a Class D felony. The term "tampering" also comes to mind.
Any political pundit will tell you that cover-ups are often a bigger problem that the initial crime. This is very likely true in Martin's case as well. Remember, Martin told the Public Works Director not to tell anyone about the document burn. Martin also tried to find out what records had been recovered from the fire when he quizzed the Public Works Director and Chief of Police on January 6.
We know why Martin was so intent on learning what had been recovered. He was hoping he could include those items on the falsified document he was going to prepare later that day. Later on the afternoon of January 6, Martin sat down with the endlessly interim City Clerk and the $15 per hour, temporary-hire clerk-that he is now blaming for the document burn-to craft a fallacious list of destroyed records.
A judge also completely disagrees with a shoulder-shrugging "burning some papers" assessment of Martin's misconduct. She sternly-and correctly-told Martin that his wanton actions did great harm to the residents of Villa Hills. City council must hold Martin accountable.
Nixon said he was "not a crook". Martin said there were "inaccuracies" in Special Counsel's report. We say, "same difference".
