2014: Fast And Furious

The Martin Chronicles will not be writing about one of the many scandals that have been reported out of Washington, D.C. over the past few years. No, in keeping with our mission statement, our focus remains local.

Courthouse sources tell us that yet another wave of bad news is breaking for Villa Hills’ malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin and some of those around the tiny tyrant. This bad news will also negatively impact the taxpayers of Martin’s mayhem-plagued municipality. Once again, the taxpayers have only the mendacious Martin to “thank” for the perpetually-growing list of problems.

Here’s what we can tell you.

·         More legal action is looming. This legal action is a direct result of Martin’s ongoing vendetta against the Villa Hills Police Department.

·         A Villa Hills appointed official is also involved. When the news of this appointed official’s actions becomes public, Villa Hills’ residents who care at all about their town will-at the very least-be scratching their heads and wondering why these embarrassing things continue to happen.

·         A new phrase is about to enter the lexicon of this dreadful time known as the Martin Reign of Error, “and other persons unknown at this time”.

The Martin Chronicles has long been reporting that the diminutive dictator and others have been involved in a conspiracy of sorts. The odd thing is, each conspirator must have a different reason for their involvement in this wrong-headed effort.

We have always suspected that Martin has been pursuing his vendetta against the Villa Hills Police Department because of his anger over his 2007 forgery arrest. Despite the opinions expressed by four respected judges, Martin cannot simply admit that he was fortunate to avoid facing serious legal repercussions for signing someone else’s name on that same someone else’s checks and cashing them.

Instead, Martin has been pursuing some form of twisted hillbilly justice against his perceived enemies. He has long been trying to convince people that he was just a poor victim of dark forces who were trying to derail his “good government” efforts. These last three years clearly prove that Martin knows nothing about good government.

We also understand why an attorney might decide to hitch his wagon to such an effort. Think about it. The more turmoil their client creates, the more lucrative billable hours their client also generates. A good attorney will advise their client to avoid making mayhem. But if the client insists in making such mayhem, the attorney is still duty bound to defend his client. The question is, just how far will that attorney go to defend his client?

But why would other appointed officials consider jumping in to the fray? Especially if they have already established a decent track record of public service and have aspirations to continue on that career path.

What possible good can come of involvement in such an effort?

Let’s examine the Villa Hills’ situation in particular. Most people who have been paying any attention to the turmoil in that troubled town realize that-at the very least-Martin faces a tough re-election. Despite all of the many fables Martin is sure to tell in the months ahead, the miniature mullah now also has a very dismal record he’ll be forced to defend. Everyone on the “team” Martin has assembled over that past three years has to understand that. Or, at least they should.

As we have already written, we are withholding our prediction on the upcoming Villa Hills’ mayoral election until the landscape becomes clearer. But suppose Martin is finished at the end of what is sure to be his fourth of four dreadful years of municipal malpractice? What happens to the team Martin has assembled then?

We believe one of the first things a new mayor-elect would do is offer the consideration Martin never offered the team he inherited in 2010. This mayor-elect would most likely contact each Martin team member to advise them that their services would no longer be needed effective January 1, 2015.

These officials will then be facing the requirement of peddling their wares elsewhere. If this is the case, will it help or hurt them to be dragging around the ball and chain that resulted in their time of service with the corrupt and incompetent Martin? Especially if media reportage paints a picture of these officials’ willing participation in Martin’s corruption and incompetence? The answer to that question is certainly obvious.

There are now two paths each member of Martin’s team can choose. The first-and best-path would be to begin the careful process of diplomatically distancing themselves from Martin’s mindless misbehavior. The other option is to go “all in” to do whatever it takes to help shore-up the tall tale that Martin is not the perpetrator of the problems but instead the continued “innocent” victim”.

Officials who choose the second path will be forced to get down in Martin’s mud. They will surely be covered in it. They will be forevermore be linked to it. In point of fact, Martin will very likely point the finger of blame at them for it.

These officials would also be wise to examine what has happened to others who have flown too closely to Martin’s feckless flame.

·         One temporary, part-time clerk was forced to claim that she was solely responsible for the illegal destruction of City records because she said she read a book that said she could. This despite the sworn statement that says it was Martin who ordered the public works crew to continue illegally burning those City records. Martin went on to issue the order that the public works crew was to tell no one of the records barbecue.  

 

·         Another clerk faced the public embarrassment of the reading of a Martin-issued reprimand that accused her of violating Federal, State and City statutes. Oddly, that embarrassing reprimand would soon disappear from that clerk’s personnel file. Either way, the damage had been done.

·         Martin blamed the previous mayor, City Council, City Clerk, City Attorney, the current Police Chief and Assistant Police Chief for his financial and personnel mismanagement that led to the unnecessary squandering to more than $100,000 in taxpayer-funded overtime expense. There is now documentation-and more is forthcoming-that clearly prove Martin is lying about this.

·         Martin embarrassed a current City Council member. The diminutive dictator removed this council person from the City’s Finance Committee, claiming that the council person was not providing him with the information he needed to effectively manage the City’s finances. Of course, that is ridiculous on its face. Why? Martin had completely mismanaged the City’s finances from his first day in office. Furthermore, the City’s finances remain a mysterious mess to this very day.

Despite the well-documented dangers of “throwing in” with the mallet-headed Martin, look for things to get much worse before they ever begin to get better.