In many cases, residents are simply sharing
information about incidents in their neighborhood. This group sharing information
seems to be serving as a kind of internet community watch group. We think it is
a great idea and providing a valuable public service. We certainly hope they
continue their efforts.
Then there are “the usual suspects”
who take any mention of the increasing crime problem as an attack on their
hero, the mismanaging Martin. These “usual suspects” typically chime in,
writing that “there is crime everywhere”.
True enough. But that does not mean
that residents should sit back and accept it. Especially when it becomes more
abundantly clear every single day that mayor of their City continues to
actively undercut the actions of the local police department.
The troubles began when
then-Councilman Martin was arrested for FORGERY
in late 2007. Martin falsely claimed his FORGERY
charge was nothing more than retaliation for his good-government zealotry.
Martin went so far as to falsely claim that Police Chief Dan Goodenough
“violated department procedure” and to DEFAME
Assistant Chief Joe Schutzman by claiming that Schutzman committed perjury.
The corrosive effect of Martin’s LIES became clear when a razor-thin
majority of residents rewarded him by electing the tiny tyrant to the mayor’s
office in November 2010. A growing number of residents now understand that the
mendacious Martin’s words and actions that resulted in his election were DISGRACEFUL. What has happened since he
took over in January 2011 has been a far greater DISGRACE.
Martin has never seemed to grasp the
undeniable fact that he was no longer a detached critic of the police
department once he became mayor. Martin should have ended his role of hurling
unsubstantiated allegations of wrongdoing at the Villa Hills Police Department
and its leadership the very instant he assumed his duties as mayor. Instead, it
was his sworn duty to address his allegations directly with the local police
and its leadership. There is absolutely no evidence that he has ever done so.
Instead, Mayor Martin ramped up his attacks on the local department he
blamed for his 2007 FORGERY ARREST. Mayor Martin refused to bring the
department up to proper staffing levels despite repeated requests from Chief
Goodenough and the previous City Council to do so. Martin promised to go
door-to-door to explain to residents his rationale for an under-manned police
department. He broke that promise. His only explanation was-and continues to be-that he is “the CEO. It’s is his decision. Deal with it. We’re moving
on”. All the while, the crime rate grew and grew and grew and continues to
grow.
Oh, it gets worse. Martin used his
personal-and now City Attorney-Toad
V. McMurtry to-probably unwittingly-carry
his DISHONEST water during his
October 2012 removal hearing. You remember? It was the hearing where the
malfeasant Martin was FOUND GUILTY ON
SEVEN OF NINE CHARGES OF OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT AND NEGLECT OF DUTY.
So what did Toad V. McMurtry do? He
accused Police Chief Goodenough of “unethical behavior” and made the
never-substantiated claim that Assistant Chief Schutzman “planted evidence”. McMurtry
went so far as to accuse council people who simply opposed Martin’s radical
plan to dismantle the local police department of conspiring to frame the tiny
tyrant. Once again, it was DISGRACEFUL.
Even including the turmoil that resulted from the Clark/Koenig firing of Corky
Brown in 2000, the ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR
and LIES of the miscreant Martin
that led to his October 2012 removal hearing is the absolute low point of Villa
Hills’ nearly fifty-two year history.
And it gets even worse. After the voters surrounded Martin with
a far more compliant council in November 2012 in a vain attempt to bring
“peace”, they learned that Martin had been planning to disband the police
department he crazily blamed for his 2007
FORGERY ARREST all along. This despite all of Martin’s LIES to the contrary.
Now Villa Hills’ residents face a
skyrocketing crime rate and the very real fact that Martin plans to provide
nothing more than half-baked, patchwork police protection. Why? Only because of
Martin’s LONG-STANDING VENDETTA against the local police
department. That VENDETTA continues
to this day.
Sure, there is crime everywhere. That statement is ridiculous because it is so
obvious. But when you look at Cities large and small, the ones whose elected
leadership strongly supports the efforts of their police departments fare much
better. The Cities where elected officials default to using their police
department as a political football fare much worse. It’s obvious which kind of
City Villa Hills is now.
Villa Hills’ residents will have an
opportunity to fix this unnecessary mess. But they will have to wait another 393 DAYS to do it. That is when they
will have the opportunity to walk in to the election booth and elect a mayor
who is capable of running a City like Villa Hills.
It won't be easy. We've all heard the otherwise-nice-folks who have vapidly jumped to the defense of Martin even when it was obvious that he is LYING to them. Martin will continue to have some level of support from civic club ass clowns and other dimbulbs who don't seem to mind all of the LAWBREAKING and LIES. But decision day is now within sight.
On
that day, Martin and his cronies on council need to be tossed out on their collective
butts once and for all.
