The Martin Chronicles continues to hear chatter about former Mayor Mike Martin across the town he on disgracefully mismanaged. Many Villa Hills residents are expressing deep regret that they once somehow fell under the sinister spell of the dishonest little fella.
The reaction our reporters continue to witness is like watching a large group of people describing their experiences as if they had awakened from an hypnotic trance. Our reporters have heard many people say things like, "I can't believe I ever trusted a thing that guy (Martin) said" or "whatever made me think such a stupid little man had the capacity to manage anything", acting like the poor subject who refuses to believe that they actually clucked and strutted like a chicken after being mesmerized by the hypnotist who brought them up on the stage.
But, Martin was able to mesmerize a good number of-otherwise-more-or-less-bright-people in to, first, voting for him in 2010 and, second, throwing out a hard-working City Council who spent the first two, dreadful years of Martin's mayoral tenure opposing the former tiny tyrant's corruption and incompetence in the 2012 election. The facts are the facts. These terrible things did happen.
So, how did these terrible things happen? Well, Martin exactly fits the mold of almost every tin pot dictator and tyrant who have wreaked mayhem and havoc since time immemorial. Martin is certainly not the first "bad guy" who used lies and fear to get them the power they so desperately craved.
Much like previous despots, Martin was twice able to falsely convince an inexplicably gullible electorate that he was their "champion". Martin deftly deceived people in to believing that he was the "one" who would fight the undefined "dark forces" that were supposedly conspiring to "keep them all down". Don't you remember the morons who wore hats adorned with signs reading "Follow Me To The Witch Hunt" at Martin's much-deserved 2012 removal hearing? Heck, even a former Kenton County Judge Executive committed political suicide when he publicly backed the undeserving Martin. Sad. But also very true.
Like virtually all tyrannical rulers who eventually-and most deservedly-end up in history's dustbin, Martin cleverly used bogus "straw men" who they dishonestly claimed were out to "get everybody" in order to attain the power they supposedly desired. Martin's undeserving "straw men" were Sadouskas, Schutzman, Goodenough, Bruns, Kilburn, Ringo, Sogar, Taliaferro, Duncan, Robbins, road work (that Martin completely ignored for his four years as mayor), the city budget (that Martin recklessly mismanaged) and the hated, unfair $40 per car sticker tax (that Martin fully embraced until he became desperate for re-election in 2014).
And, like virtually all tyrannical rulers who eventually-and most deservedly-ended up in history's dustbin, Martin had his fair share of "useful idiots" who foolishly aided him in pushing his pernicious propaganda. Do you want at least a partial list of these "useful idiots"? Of course you do:
- Every single corrupt civic club ass clown. You should know who these morons are by now. If you don't, just check out the useless jack-wagons who huddle around the "lodge bar" virtually any night of the week.
- Former Council-geek Mike Pope, whose sick websites intentionally spread Martin's lies for years.
- Local lunatic Boom-shaka-laka, who-for his own sick, twisted reasons-was willing to spread Martin's sick lies on rubber-banded toe tags that he crazily distributed all over town in 2010.
- Former Council-stoner Jim Noll, who was the only one impressed with his pompous and misguided pronouncements.
- The dishonest-and failed 2012 council candidate-Dale Schaber, who 2012 voters correctly decided was only trying to protect the $47.50 per hour, taxpayer-funded, rip-off, crony-hire job Martin handed to his wife Cordelia to cover Martin's fouled-up financial tracks. Fortunately, Dale Schaber is staring down the barrel of a serious lawsuit for his fraudulent efforts.
- The small band of twisted teeny-boppers who inexplicably felt compelled to lick the bottom of Martin's hob-nailed jackboots as they desperately toiled to prop up their undeserving teen-idol tyrant.
- The mean-spirited, social-networking opinionated haters who evidently crave nothing more than to screw-over undeserving people simply to find a way to justify their sick, twisted "world view".
- The vile, ancient crocodile Mary Koenig, who has been spreading her own brand of baseless and dishonest HATRED since before she was first elected to city council in the last century-1989 to be exact.
- The moronic woman who took to a podium in early 2013 to bewilderingly proclaim that, "this mayor (Martin) does great things for people". If this pathetic idiot wants to really know what happened between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2014, she needs to talk to former Villa Hills Police Chief Dan Goodenough. But, of course, she is too much of a craven coward to do that.
Yes, these abject fools and others helped get Martin get elected mayor in 2010. These thoughtless tools also helped Martin "get what he wanted" in 2012. The entire four years of Martin's Reign of Error were an unmitigated disaster for which these (and other) "useful idiots" finally need to take at least some shameful credit. But, they won't. Why? Because they are either crazy or craven cowards.
We get on our knees and pray, "We don't get fooled again".
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Next up, the words that may have finally brought 82% of Villa Hills' voters out of Martin's demonic spell.]
The Martin Chronicles has taken several jabs at the dying dinosaur media since we launched our pesky little blog on October 8, 2011. All one has to do is look back at what happened in tiny Villa Hills, Kentucky from August, 2010 through December, 2014 to conclude that the dying dinosaur media generally couldn't grasp a HUGE story even after it had bitten them right in the hind end.
Think about it. Colossal media organizations that have news outlets in our mostly-prosperous piece of the world like Gannett, Scripps Howard, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Hearst Television, FOX and WorldNow mostly missed the rampant corruption and abject mismanagement of the dreadful little man who almost bankrupted the little City of Villa Hills, Mike Martin. Declining revenues and shrinking budgets played a part. But, so did inexcusable apathy.
Our case study is Gannett's incredible shrinking newspaper, The Kentucky Enquirer. The timid reporters who covered Mike Martin for this dying rag cut Martin far more slack than the little liar ever deserved. We can only guess that these cowardly correspondents thought they were giving undeserved credence to Martin's perpetual lies out of some misplaced respect for "journalistic integrity". Despite the fact that the little man they were reporting on had not one scintilla of integrity. And all of the Gannett reporters who covered Martin knew he was spewing nothing but lies. We know this for a fact.
That is why The Martin Chronicles beloved publisher gathered the best reporters who were ready and willing and able to fill the inexcusable void left by these colossal-and shamefully inattentive-local "news" organizations that missed the biggest story of local government corruption and incompetence in the history of local government corruption and incompetence. Namely, Mike Martin.
With all due modesty, The Martin Chronicles takes some measure of comfort in the largely recognized fact that our endless reporting efforts on that-mostly-otherwise-ignored- Martin corruption and incompetence played at least a small role in the unprecedented, staggering, astonishing, crushing, devastating, humiliating, shocking, overwhelming, dumbfounding 82%-18% electoral rout on November 4, 2014. We firmly believe that the more than 300,000 visitors to The Martin Chronicles "Fountain of Truth" included a sizeable segment of Villa Hills voters who came to know that Mike Martin was toxic to their town.
So, that brings us to an article posted in a fledgling internet news entry know as the nkytribune.com. Truth be told-as it always is with The Martin Chronicles-nkytribune.com is very,very hard to find. We were lucky to see the article shared on Facebook. Subsequent internet searches for nkytribune.com only yielded the confounding response "This page can't be displayed". Not good. Not good at all. At least for nkytribune.com.
So, anyway, former dinosaur media reporter Mike Rutledge posted a far too lengthy article about Villa Hills' new mayor-thank-the-Great-Spirit-and-the-finally-attentive-voters-of-Villa- Hills-Irvin "Butch" Callery. The best part of the article? Probably the online photo of someone sitting in the Villa Hills' mayor's office other than the vilely corrupt and abjectly incompetent Mike Martin.
But, what was Mike Rutledge-of-the-mysterious-and-mostly-unread- nkytribune.com-possibly thinking? Read the online article. That is, if you can find it. It will leave the sane people of Villa Hills scratching their heads.
Why did Mike Rutledge provide the misdirecting Martin even one keystroke? All Martin tried to do was tell even more lies about his mismanagement of the taxpayers' money. All Martin tried to do was offer up an ineptly feeble explanation for his well-known vendetta against the local police department that the little liar falsely blamed for his 2007 forgery arrest that was later affirmed by four respected appellate judges. All Martin tried to do was explain his tyrannical abuse of city employees when the former diminutive dictator tried to muzzle them from telling the TRUTH about his corrupt and incompetent administration.
And, why did Mike Rutledge go to Mary Koenig for smarmy comments about new Mayor Irvin "Butch" Callery? What a terrible choice. Koenig was the vile head of the dishonest ticket that was trying to fool Villa Hills voters in to falsely believing that the corrupt and incompetent Mike Martin was actually "Moving the City Forward" as they headed to the polls on November 4. 2014.
Mary Koenig's emetic track record is out there for anyone who takes even a little effort to research. It took The Martin Chronicles less than thirty minutes. The evidence clearly demonstrates that Mary Koenig has accomplished little more for the taxpayers' of Villa Hills than cause them one major-and very costly-headache after another since she was first elected to council in the previous century(1989, to be exact).
The Martin Chronicles advice to other fledgling media outlets that are trying to survive in a media era of tremendous change? Do the very hard work that is required to report the corruption and incompetence of misplaced "leaders" like the moronic Mike Martin. It isn't really all that difficult if you do the work that should be done. Crooked morons like Mike Martin are really easy to cover. If you are willing to work at it.
If you can't run with the big dogs, please, please, please stay on the porch.
The Martin Chronicles is watching the early days of the new City Administration of Mayor Irvin "Butch" Callery with great interest. Most of the early reports have been very good. Not surprisingly, an experienced hand like Callery should know how to effectively run a City Government.
Sure, we don't-and won't-agree with every decision Callery makes. For example, we don't understand why Callery hasn't already eliminated his over-taxed-payer-funded, divisive City Administrator. Callery certainly has the time to handle the day-to-day operations of a City the size of Villa Hills. Why waste taxpayer money paying someone who has already caused so many problems? We can only speculate that Callery doesn't have the energy or the interest to spend his days at the City Building. Fair enough. At least for now.
Fortunately for Callery, the previous mayor and his mismanaged, incompetent and corrupt administration set the bar incredibly low. No matter what Callery does or doesn't do, it would take a Herculean effort to be as dishonest and incompetent as his resoundingly-defeated predecessor. In point of fact, it is virtually an impossibility.
The sole member of the City Council returning from the class of 2013/14 is a different story, however. Several sources have confirmed that Mary Koenig continues to operate in the same, worn-out way she has since she was first elected to City Council in the last century. The year? 1989.
We hear that Koenig actually continues to believe that the degradation and embarrassment of the past four years somehow represents an example of "moving the City forward". We hear that Koenig continues to desperately cling to her unfounded prejudices and still believes all of her false, pre-conceived notions of the actions and intentions of others. This despite the fact that very solid evidence proves her absolutely wrong.
Folks around Villa Hills tell us that Koenig continues to push the same, tired lies she has been telling for almost thirty dreadful years. Sure, the opinionated haters will always lap up Koenig's lies. Why? Because they share the same false beliefs. But, everyone else is four-years-past ready to finally move on.
The Martin Chronicles has a very stern warning for newbie Councilperson Jennifer Yost-Vaden. If Yost-Vaden doesn't decide to become an independent thinker, she will be sacrificed on the same altar of Koenig human shields that destroyed people like Steve Clark, Chuck Fieger, Mike Pope, Holly Menninger-Isenhour and the despicable Mike Martin. Yost-Vaden would be wise to separate herself from Koenig's ongoing-and unfounded-hatred. We aren't convinced she is wise enough to do so.
The Martin Chronicles also has a very stern warning for Mayor Callery and the rest of the members of the new City Council about how to deal with the toxic Mary Koenig. Koenig needs to be handled with the same care as a box full of bottles of nitroglycerin. Why? Because there are enough opinionated haters in Villa Hills to do severe damage to the well-intentioned efforts of the new administration and majority of council.
Please, please, please don't open yourself up to bogus criticisms of misogyny. Too many people-who simply don't pay enough attention-will buy in to those bogus criticisms. The opinionated haters will also spread bogus charges of misogyny with misplaced glee. Please, please, please don't allow that to happen. You will only be opening the door for the return of the abject corruption and incompetence that everyone witnessed these past four, dreadful years.
Here is our advice. Let Koenig be Koenig. Give her every opportunity to reveal her hateful prejudices to the public-at-large. And, if Yost-Vaden is mindlessly willing to dutifully serve as Koenig's latest human shield, allow her to do so. If Yost-Vaden is willing to be Koenig's latest "fall guy", let them both reveal themselves to be who they truly are.
Why? Because the 2014 election proved that even the usually inattentive voters of Villa Hills will eventually wake up to the corruption, incompetence and perpetual lies that were the hallmarks of the previous mayor. If the voters finally get enough of the real Mary Koenig and anyone else who is foolish enough to serve as the latest Koenig human shield, they will finally be sent to the dustbin of history.
And that is where they belong.
The Martin Chronicles is investigating a story about some technically "unauthorized" spending that seems to have happened in the final hours of the previous Villa Hills' City Administration. The amount of money spent is a pittance compared to the hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars squandered by the previous administration between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2014. This latest escapade essentially serves as the rotten cherry on top of the sour-and-very-costly-to-the-taxpayers-sundae served up over the past four years.
If you want to follow us in connecting the dots, you can start by watching a replay of the Villa Hills December, 2014 City Council meeting. The outgoing mayor asked council to join other area cities in making a donation to a local-and very worthwhile-non-profit endeavor. We won't name the local non-profit endeavor because they are very worthwhile and had nothing to do with what later transpired in Villa Hills.
For reasons only the previous council members can explain (and there are several potential very good ones), they decided to take no action on the now-former mayor's request. No one on the previous council made a motion to bring the decision to the floor for discussion and a vote. No one on the previous council seconded the motion that was never made. There was no "aye" or "nay" vote taken. Therefore, the matter became an issue for the incoming mayor and council by default.
But our readers only need to think back on what has happened in Villa Hills since January 1, 2011 to understand what happened following the previous council's "no decision". Our readers need only remember the previous mayor's now-infamous pronouncement, "I'm the CEO. It's MY decision. We're moving on. Get over it", to get a handle on what happened in the days following the December. 2014 meeting. Then-proper or not-what happened will make some kind of "sense".
Despite the fact that the previous council never authorized making a donation to the local-and very worthwhile-non-profit endeavor, the former mayor brazenly cut a donation check (paid for by the taxpayers) anyway. We have also learned that the required-and as yet unapproved-budget amendment that would legally allow the unbudgeted expenditure surfaced after the fact.
Some defenders of the previous administration may say, "What's the big deal? It wasn't that much (taxpayer) money. Besides, the money went to a very worthwhile cause". But that still doesn't justify making a technically "unauthorized" expenditure of taxpayer money.
The little man who failed as mayor defiantly cut the technically "unauthorized" check on his voter-mandated way out the door falsely campaigned that he was some kind of champion of "honesty and integrity" in 2010. Spending unapproved taxpayer money is always just plain wrong. No matter the reason. Doing so is certainly not an example of some falsely-promised "honesty" and "integrity". Quite the opposite.
Especially if you've taken a solemn oath to be a faithful steward of the taxpayers' money.
The Martin Chronicles will be watching new Mayor Irvin "Butch" Callery's first caucus meeting with great interest. We expect the new mayor and majority of council to make it abundantly clear that this new administration intends to immediately change the crazy course established over the last four years.
We believe the majority of the new bunch will work very hard to restore the truth and integrity that has been sorely lacking over the past four years. Don't be surprised when Mayor Callery and the council deliver the unvarnished truth in the months ahead. Whether the truth is good or not.
We also predict that there will be a concerted effort to quickly clean out the filthy stable the incoming city government was left with by the previous administration. Look for the turmoil created four years of personal vendettas to be rapidly resolved.
The City Attorney position is already "vacant". That is a very good thing. The Martin Chronicles hopes that the retired, septuagenarian Callery also soon realizes that he can save a great deal of taxpayer money-and heartburn created by ill feelings and stupid shenanigans-by eliminating the City Administrator/City Clerk and taking on those day-to-day duties himself. Callery certainly has the time to spend at the City Building. Let's hope he also has the necessary interest to do so.
The Martin Chronicles already knows that the new administration has opposition. We have been monitoring the mostly-silly Callery-Count blog. We also know that the previous mayor continues to tell people that he is a "lock" to be elected to council in 2016 as his prelude to a return to power. Villa Hills is not out of the woods by any means.
But, the fact that Mayor Callery hasn't lived in Villa Hills very long actually gives him a huge advantage. You see, Callery hasn't lived in the town he was elected to lead long enough to create any real opposition. That is just beginning now. Callery has no real allegiance to any local special interest or organization. Callery doesn't bring along any cronies he needs to pay back as the previous mayor did. We firmly believe Callery is just interested in trying to fix an obviously broken city government.
The Martin Chronicles does not want to play the role of political advisor for anyone. But, we do think it is important to offer some advice to the new administration that is based on what our reporters are hearing and our sources are telling us.
Sure, we know Mary Koenig has always been a royal pain in the @$$. Koenig is far too old to change her ways now. We also believe our sources who tell us that Jennifer Yost-Vaden is following the lousy lead of Koenig-and others-despite what the obvious evidence to the contrary should be telling her.
Even still, we urge the new mayor and others on council to make an effort to work with Koenig and Yost-Vaden, no matter how distasteful that should seem to them. Otherwise, they will be playing in to the hands of the "dark forces" who want to discredit and derail the new administration as quickly as possible. Why would anyone want to do that? To position themselves for a return to power.
If the new mayor and majority on council move to marginalize the mean-spirited Koenig and- seemingly-absent-a-mind-of-her-own-Yost-Vaden, they will be playing right in to the hands of the "dark forces" who are already plotting a return to power. It may not be fair or correct. But, it is true.
You see. the "dark forces" cannot wait for an opportunity to begin to describe the new city government as part of some actually non-existent "good old boys network". These "dark forces" would love nothing more than to be able to accuse the new administration as "outdated" and "misogynist". What better way to mobilize at least half the voting public than to convince the populace that Callery and the majority on city council disregard women's opinions. Please don't fall for that ploy.
There is far too much at stake.
The Martin Chronicles has been receiving numerous inquiries. Many in our vast readership have been concerned that we decided to fold our tent in the tiny town of Villa Hills and move on to cover government corruption elsewhere.
Rest assured, that is not the case. Not because we suspect that the new mayor and council will continue the indiscretions of the previous administration. In point of fact, we are fairly confident that they have already begun to face the dreadful mess that the previous administration left behind on their way out the door.
But, we remain concerned that sinister elements from and also those supportive of the previous administration are simply biding their time to make their return to power. Several sources tell us that this now-small group sees current septuagenarian Mayor Irvin "Butch" Callery as a short-timer who will be in office for-at best-one term.
We also know that supporters of the previous administration have launched a highly critical blog titled Callery-Count. While we wish the author(s) of this blog well, but we also wish them no success. Why? Because it is well past time to move beyond the absolute disgrace of the past four years.
There are some early positive signs from the new, Callery Administration. Just take a look at the personnel listed on the City-sponsored website. When you see "City Attorney", you have to take heart that it now says "vacant". We suspect that the previous administration's incredibly wasteful spending on lawyers and lawsuits is finally coming to an end.
Sources also tell us that at least a few people who once supported the previous administration are now recanting that misplaced support. These people now realize that the previous mayor may do "great things for people" in other ways, but certainly not in his mismanaged role as mayor. That is a great, first step on the road of their recovery.
The battle is far from over. Some members and supporters of the previous administration are correctly aware that Villa Hills politics swings like the proverbial pendulum. These hatch-plotters fully realize that it won't be all that long before the residents of Villa Hills completely forget just how terrible the past four years have been. They all long for the not-too-distant time when they can once again convince a sleepy populace that it is time for yet another "fresh start".
Well, a huge number of Villa Hills residents who take the time to vote now know that the supposed "fresh start" the head of the previous administration promised was actually four years of corruption and incompetence. These voters now know that the supposed "fresh start" the head of the previous administration promised was actually four years of personal vendettas and personal enrichment.
That is The Martin Chronicles' concern, These voters know it now. But, will they know it then. Will voters make the same mistake they made in 2010 in 2016 or-worse yet-in 2018?
That is precisely why we aren't going anywhere.
The Martin Chronicles sincerely hopes that everyone is enjoying this first day of 2015. Perhaps you have-or will-be celebrating New Years Day with a traditional "good luck" meal featuring a pork dish, sauerkraut, potatoes and onions. Doesn't that sound tasty?
We hope you are spending the first day of the new year full of optimism, whether you have to work or not. If you happen to live in the tiny town of Villa Hills, there certainly are many reasons for optimism.
The last four years of mindless mayhem and mismanagement of Villa Hills City Government have now mercifully come to an end. Villa Hills now has a new, experienced mayor. Villa Hills also has five new councilmembers-three of whom who have already established a sound track record of council service-who we sincerely hope take on their new responsibilities with a fervent desire to serve the residents to the best of their abilities. We think most of them will certainly do so.
The Martin Chronicles also hopes that the days of personal vendettas are finally gone. After four year of mindless executive punishment and mayhem, the newly-elected local government officials have a tremendous opportunity to now fix Villa Hills' embarrassingly broken City Government. We believe that is what the majority of these newly-elected officials will work hard to accomplish.
Yes, there are many "left-behind" messes for the incoming City Government to face. There are unfinished lawsuits, financial deceptions, leftover cronies and a bushel basket-full of hard feelings that the new City Government must face. But they can do it. We are pulling for them to do so. The past is exactly that.
The Martin Chronicles fervently hopes that no one continues to believe that there are still old scores to settle. Why? Because the majority of Villa Hills resident now understand the lies they have been told for the past four-plus years. The results of Election Day, 2014 speak loudly and clearly all by themselves.
Today should represent the true "fresh start" in Villa Hills.
