What Happens Next ?

The Martin Chronicles is very pleased that Mike Martin will be exiting the mayor's office for the final time on or about December 31, 2014. "Mayor" Mike Martin will be no more in just 52 days-at least for another four years.

Do we think Martin will do the right thing and just get on with his life? No, we don't. We fully expect Martin will be vindictively working behind the scenes to stir up trouble. Why? Because he's done that very thing before. We also fully expect Martin will make a run for city council in two years. That is why The Martin Chronicles is not going anywhere.

But, the 2014 election is over. Martin was resoundingly defeated in an embarrassing 84%-16% avalanche. A new administration will be setting up shop come January 1, 2015. Change is coming. There is absolutely nothing that Martin or anyone else can do now to stop that long overdue change.

So, what does The Martin Chronicles think should happen next? Well, we hope that Mayor-elect Callery and the six incoming councilmembers commit themselves to working together in every way possible. We aren't suggesting that anyone walk away from their core beliefs. But we do hope that they all focus on those issues upon which they can work together.

We understand that Mayor-elect Callery is a huge baseball fan. That is a great sign. Why? Because that tells us that Callery fully understands that success is not based on the actions of any one person, but that success is a result of cohesive teamwork. We doubt we'll ever hear Callery say, "I'm the CEO. It's MY decision. Get over it. We're moving on."

Teamwork doesn't mean "marching in lockstep". But it does mean a group whose members are occasionally willing to "lay down a sacrifice bunt". How does that translate to the operation of a successful city government? It means that each issue should be respectfully debated, a vote taken and-no matter the outcome of that vote-each member of the team graciously accepts a win or a loss and simply moves on to the next issue.

There are several issues that the new mayor and incoming council must face:

• There are several justifiable lawsuits generated by the reckless behavior of the previous administration that must be somehow equitably resolved.
• The four-year long-unnecessarily ugly-debate over the future of the local police department must be brought to a conclusion. How many members? All full-time? A mix of full and part-time? This issue must be resolved.
• Decisions must be made on a real, ongoing plan to correctly fund the necessary repair and replacement of Villa Hills aging streets.
• Action needs to be taken-and taken quickly-to put an end to the outrageous waste of taxpayer money on lawyers and legal actions. Just think of how much good could have been done for the residents with the $500,000 outgoing Mayor Martin squandered on those lawyers and legal actions.

There are other important issues to face. We hope these issues are dealt with quietly. Not secretly. But, quietly.

• THE BUDGET: It is clear that Martin and some of his cohorts have been "cooking the taxpayers' books" over much of the past four years. A serious effort must be undertaken to untangle the mess.
• THE CITY ATTORNEY: A very close look has to be taken at who will hold that important position for the incoming mayor and council. It is a huge understatement to say that the current city attorney has been highly controversial and has billed far too much to the taxpayers. The current city attorney also has the baggage of serving as outgoing-mayor Martin's personal attorney. Mayor-elect Callery is on the record saying that he wants a city attorney "with real municipal law experience". That suggests that a change is definitely required.
• THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR/CLERK: The current person holding this position has also been highly controversial. Besides, Mayor-elect Callery has the time to take care of much of the city's administrative work himself. We know Mayor-elect Callery and the current City Clerk/Administrator have worked together before. But we trust that Mayor-elect Callery will make the decision to do what is best for the taxpayers-despite previous connections.

January 1, 2015 represents a great opportunity for Villa Hills to move beyond the "cult of personality" that exemplified the last four years of the now-outgoing Martin Administration. There is a real chance that Villa Hills can have a city government run by true public servants instead of a mayor and some on council who were mostly interested in serving themselves.

The last four years of chest-beating, show-boating, game-playing and "gotcha" politics can finally come to an end. Martin has been resoundingly defeated. The election has decisively proven that it is the voters who are the true "CEOs" of their city. They have made their decision. It's time for the outgoing Martin to get over it. The residents have decisively told him in as loud and clear a way as possible that they are moving on.

51 days and counting.