You see, this group of concerned citizens isn't about hating Martin. The meeting clearly proved that this group is about moving beyond the mess that has been created by Martin over the past 39-plus months and trying to support a City Government that will get back to the business of public service and progress.
This group wants to encourage people who are genuinely interested in stepping forward to run for elected office in their City for the right reasons. This group wants to identify people who come to the table without personal agendas and instead want to do the hard work of restoring Villa Hills to a community that people will look up to as a good example for others. We don't see even a scintilla of "hate" in those goals.
We look for the "Sensible Citizens" to hold regular meetings between now and November 4, reaching out to the busy residents of Villa Hills to identify what their real concerns are. We look for the "Sensible Citizens" to invite all candidates to multiple public forums to explain why they want to serve and how they believe they can make a contribution to the restoration of a community that has clearly taken a huge step back over the past 39-plus months.
We look for the "Sensible Citizens" to sponsor genuine debates between mayoral candidates and between council candidates. We learned that Martin refused to debate in 2010 because he didn't believe that it was "in his best interest" to do so. No surprises there. But that mistake cannot be allowed to be repeated.
We look for the "Sensible Citizens" to serve as a rapid-response "truth squad" countering any and all misinformation being spread by any 2014 mayoral or council candidate. The Martin Chronicles believes this will be an environment that someone like Mike Martin will find quite uncomfortable, to say the least.
We did learn a few things that-while they were not the main focus of the "Sensible Citizens" second meeting-should be reported.
- We learned that Martin routinely went ballistic over the expenditure of EIGHT DOLLARS for a weekly wash of each Villa Hills Police vehicle, but evidently has no problem at all with the expenditure of TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS on lawyers and legal fees since 2012.
- We learned that Martin's recent announcement that a "settlement" had been reached with former Police Chief Dan Goodenough involving the dropping of all of Martin's baseless charges against the former Chief in exchange for Goodenough's immediate retirement is an unfinished story. Why? Because Martin and his personal-and now City-Attorney Toad V. McMurtry have done absolutely nothing to finalize any "settlement".
- We learned that Martin's personal-and now City-Attorney Toad V. McMurtry's huge binder of so-called evidence against former Chief Goodenough that was wielded at Goodenough's recent dismissal hearing was mostly filled with pages full of nothing. William Shakespeare would describe Toad V. McMurtry's falsely-stuffed binder as "a tale told by an idiot. Full of sound and fury, but signifying NOTHING."
- We learned that Martin's crony-hire $47.50 per hour bookkeeper Cordelia Schaber has been totally incapable of answering any of the legitimate questions being asked by the City's hamstrung Finance Committee about the bollixed financial reports over the past three-plus years (Okay we aren't surprised. We already knew that Cordelia Schaber was in way, way, way over her head).
- We learned that Martin has been playing a disgraceful game of "dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge" with that same hamstrung City Finance Committee over the same three-plus years. Again, we aren't really surprised.
Despite the fact that the Villa Hills electorate has been mostly "asleep at the switch" during the last two elections of 2010 and 2012, they still deserve better. The voters need to pay attention to the efforts that are forthcoming from the "Sensible Citizens".
City Government has the greatest impact on the day-to-day lives of City residents. And yet, most residents spend next to no time thinking about that great impact of their votes for local elected officials. It has to be different in Villa Hills this time. Why? Because there is a lot at stake.
Villa Hills can't afford four more years of what they have seen over the past three-plus years of the mismanaging and corrupt Martin. Martin has to go. Someone who believes in the importance of true public service has to replace Martin.
Villa Hills also can't afford even two more years of councilmembers who are either too stupid, too timid, too stoned or too mean-spirited to see past their own fatal flaws to do what is truly best for their City.
It's time for the residents to wake up and realize that the people whom they elect to manage their City's Government make a real impact on everyone's day-to-day lives. They can't just pick someone they heard was a "nice guy" from some ass clown at the civic club without digging in to the truth.
2014 is a make-or-break year for Villa Hills.
