Mike Martin is a living, breathing example of what Abraham Lincoln meant when he said, "Almost any man can handle adversity. The true test of a man's character is to give him power". The voters gave Martin power in 2010. The voters gave Martin even more power in the council election of 2012. The tumult of the past thirty-nine months has revealed a great deal about the real Mike Martin. Many Villa Hills residents are more than ready to offer their score on Martin's "character test". In most cases, that score will be quite low. But it still isn't the time to post Martin's final grade.
The beauty of our great experiment in democracy is that voters have the opportunity-and it is only an opportunity-to correct any mistakes they themselves have made in previous elections at the next election. The downside of this great experiment in democracy is that those same voters have to wait those years until the next election before getting that opportunity. Naturally, that waiting can lead to frustration.
The Martin Chronicles is witnessing some of that understandable frustration surfacing now on the social networks. Fine people who generally want to address the same problems are beginning to snipe at each other. While it is perfectly understandable, that sniping is mostly counter-productive.
Martin's spending priorities are certainly wrong-headed. Any reasonable person will admit that. The most obvious example of Martin's persistent waste of taxpayer money is the ridiculous sum he is squandering on lawyers and legal actions. There are many more examples. But those examples are just symptoms of the real problem. The real problem is Martin himself. He's simply doesn't have the management or people skills to run a City.
Villa Hills residents will have to wait until November 4 of this year for the opportunity to remove that problem. That day will be here before you know it. In the meantime, these residents should focus on their immediate issue. Namely, their concern about Martin's horrendous treatment of Police Chief Dan Goodenough.
Residents who support Chief Goodenough need to attend Monday night's dismissal hearing and any subsequent meetings. They need to behave in a respectful way. The last thing Chief Goodenough needs is an ugly public spectacle that might generate undeserved sympathy for Martin.
The residents need to contact Martin and the council to express their respectful and level-headed support for retaining Chief Goodenough. While it may have no impact, those contacts should be made.
The opportunity to provide the final grade on Martin's "character test" will have to wait until Election Day.
