The Martin Chronicles is a firm believer in the old saying, "past is prologue". People are fretting about the animosity between the Villa Hills City Council and their embattled mayor. You know, "The Little Man From Norwood"? The guy who operates the "shoddy at best" illegal contracting business?The unlicensed business that Channel 9 reported has the guy facing criminal charges? The self-proclaimed "CEO" who has been slapped with a reprimand from the Ethics Board for misuse of City personnel and resources? The guy who had to watch his attorney answer, "We have no idea, Your Honor" when a judge emphatically asked, "why, why, why would anyone think it is a good idea to burn City documents in the middle of a lawsuit?!?". Yeah, that guy. Mike Martin. You got it.
So let's examine the animosity for the next few posts. Let's explore why the majority of council-most of whom have been ably serving the residents for many years-seem to have this "deeply concerning" animosity towards Mike Martin and his "Reign of Error". Before we go on, we do believe that Martin's seeming inability to ever tell the truth is a large part of the current problem. But it goes back further. It goes back to the curious case of Councilman Mike Pope.
We have had the good fortune to acquire some campaign literature Mike Pope distributed when he ran for mayor as a write-in candidate-when his pal Mike Martin backed out at the filing deadline-way back in the heady days of 2006. This literature sure tells us a lot about the current situation. And about the very strange Mike Pope.
Mike Pope first found his raison d'etre nearly eight years ago when he became enraged that a poor schlep developer expressed the raw nerve to improve the "Ameristop strip center" in Villa Hills. Pope launched a crazy campaign to stop the development. He accused the City's zoning administrator of all manner of wrongdoing-coinciding with then-Councilman Mike Martin's ill-advised investigation of that same zoning administrator. Pope went so far as to record phone conversations with the City Clerk and e-mailing them to the council and others as proof that there was some massive conspiracy. Pope bitterly complained of retaliation, saying that "police cruisers were slowing down in front of his house". Pope could not wrap his twisted head around the very real fact that they were slowing down because there is a stop sign in close proximity!
Dissatisfied with the outcome of his crusade, Pope filed to run for City Council in 2006. He changed his mind and decided to run for mayor as a write-in, again because his close friend Martin got a case of the goo-goos at filing deadline.
Now, the literature. Let's start with his theme. "Mike Pope for Mayor for a family friendly Villa Hills". Yup. He didn't get his way. So Villa Hills was obviously unfriendly to families. Never mind the events and recreational opportunities. Never mind one of the best community-oriented police departments in Kentucky. Forget about the yeoman-like work of the fire department and EMT's. Pope was unsuccessful in stopping the "Ameristop expansion". So City government must hate families. If you agree with him, stop reading now. Then go get some professional help.
The Martin Chronicles wonders if Pope's concern for a "family friendly Villa Hills" includes the Saturday night prior to the election when he terrorized the wife of the incumbent by pounding incessantly on their door. Pope went to his opponent's house armed with a tape recorder, fueled by the lie he had been told by an embittered former council woman who falsely told him that the incumbent's family had been stealing-oddly enough-the campaign literature we are reviewing today. It was so bad that the police had to get involved.
Not surprisingly, Pope lost the 2006 election. Unless of course your read his website. He posted a twisted analysis that concluded that he had actually been victorious. Oh, it gets a lot weirder than that.
[PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Next up-Mike Pope and the City's streets.]
