IS IT TRUE SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

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IS IT TRUE our last “Readers Poll” ask the question, “Do you feel that Mayor Winnecke is making a mistake by not attending the Veterans “Call To Assemble” event”?  …a whooping 537 people voted in this unscientific but trendy  poll?  …that 411  people voted “YES”?  …only 75 voted “NO” and 51 said they “Didn’t Know?

IS IT TRUE we wonder what the real reason why Mayor Winnecke has declined to attend the local Veterans hosted “Call To Assemble” event on September 23, 2015?  … could the real reason that he is afraid that Democrat candidate for Mayor Gail Riecken would take advantage of the opportunity to debate him on random questions coming directly from the public? …its well known that Mayor Winnecke does poorly when he speaks without written notes and is forced to think on his feet?

IS IT TRUE we hear that next weekend the State Republican Party are paying for and sending a bus full of people to go door to door to hand Winnecke for Mayor campaign material?  ...we wonder why the GOP State Party officials felt compiled to send a bus load of out of town Republican campaign workers to Evansville?

IS IT TRUE we wonder what the State Democratic Party is going to do for Gail Riecken campaign?

IS IT TRUE we are not surprised to hear that City Council members Connie Robinson (D) and Al Lindsey (D)  will not  be supporting Councilman Jonathan Weaver (D) for re-election because he’s been publicly bashing them ?

IS IT TRUE we are surprised to hear that EVSC paid almost $50,000 to the Chief Negotiators representing the school system in a labor dispute with Local Teamster Union #215?  … that Superintendent Dr. David Smith claims he doesn’t have any legal fees costs associated with The EVSC negotiations concerning the Evansville Teachers Association contract?  …we wonder if Superintendent Smith ask the EVSC attorney to write the terms of the collective bargaining contract between the School Board and the Teachers Association?  …if he did, than he indeed had to pay legal fees for services concerning the EVSC negotiations between the Evansville Teachers Association?

IS IT TRUE after reading the candidates comments about “Community Blight” in the Courier and Press George Lumley of “LETS FIX THAT” fame, is concerned that only a few candidates have an informative view of the Mayors land bank proposal and why it is a bad idea at this time?  . …that he is disappointed the candidates do not realize the county is already land banking properties and the expansion should occur there following the guidelines of recent state legislative changes?  …that money for actual demolition and code enforcement has been, is, and will be the limiting factor in eliminating the blight?  … that the proposal only take money for the actual work of fighting blight and applies it to expanding the administrating cost of an already out of control DMD extracurricular called the Brownfields?  …with this flock of blind sheep following the Mayor mentality it is going to be harder to “FIX THAT” than Mr. Lumley had anticipated?

Please take time and vote in today’s “Readers Poll”. Don’t miss reading today’s Feature articles because they are always an interesting read. Please scroll at the bottom of our paper so you can enjoy our creative political cartoons. Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without our permission.

66 COMMENTS

  1. My name is Greg LaMar and it’s no big secret that I’m a regular in the social and night life scene in Evansville and have been for years.

    I just wanted to make the public aware that a week ago on Saturday night on the 12th, City Councilman Jonathan Weaver was thrown out of Boogie Nights night club for being disrespectful toward his ex-wife.

    Saturday night I went to a charity event at Boogie Nights. I was dancing with his ex-wife when from out of the blue Councilman Jonathan Weaver grabbed her out of my arms against her will. I quickly got in between the two of them and asked her if she was okay. By the time I turned around to have words with Weaver he scampered off

    I Immediately went to find a bouncer and let them know what had happened and they immediately went and escorted Mr. Weaver out the door.

    In my opinion any man who feels he can publicly assault women with impunity like this has ABSOLUTELY no business representing the taxpayers as a member of City Council. I wonder if Councilman Weaver has ever mistreated any other women in this community like this?

    • Weaver is popular with the groupies on Facebook, therefore he’ll be re-elected. Same goes for Mosby. Some things never change.

    • Thank you Greg for being brave enough to offer an honest and straight forward recollection of this.

      I hope this event finds more coverage that it deserves. An elected official should never behave this way.

      Makes me wonder if there are repercussions available against Weaver.

    • Are you the same person just shared the Facebook photo that says: “Good hand-job tips: 1. Put it in your mouth”? You’re giving lessons on being a gentleman?

      • Off color Facebook memes are not the same as physically accosting women against their will. I was in the military for the better part of 10 years so yeah I have a rough sense of humor. I challenge you to find one woman who has ever met me who I have not treated appropriately and with respect. There is a fundamental difference between joking around on Facebook and man handling women in real life. Grow up man.

        • It’s okay to disrespect women with a “joke”. That’s the problem with our society and why women still struggle to get the equal recognition of their male counterparts. We (men) set the rules on how to correctly respect women. I’ll say this…If someone did what you say happened Saturday or if someone made an off color joke about my daughter, they’d be on their back the same. To me, you seem like less of a man after the whole story. According to your story, someone came up and assaulted the woman that you were dancing with and instead of defending her against the “attack”, you ran and got security and then posted it on the online hate blog. Be a man.

          • I’ll put my “man card” against your “man card” any day fellow. Offended is not assaulted just because you don’t think it’s funny doesn’t mean me and dozens of others who do find it humorous should bow to some guy with a stick up his ass standards of decency. It’s a joke and plenty of women find it just as funny as I do. My Facebook page is voluntary with many options to hide my posts. These women groped by Weaver haven’t had a say in their treatment.

            I find it curious that your issue with this incident is my being a salty Navy vet instead of the current city councilman who appears to be a predator? Trying to justify some prior indiscretions on your part?

          • Phyllip, your predilection with being “in the bag” for Winnecke and (by extension) Weaver is known by everyone. “Be a man” and stay out of it.

            Greg did the right thing in relating an episode of VERY disturbing (and potentially illegal) behavior from a sitting member of City Council who is running for re-election.

            Not only that, you are telling someone to violate the law and use physical violence against another person.

            You are advocating that Greg should have physically assaulted another person, an ABSOLUTE violation of the law.

            For you to tell someone they are “less of a man” for doing things the proper way is vile and disgusting, and you should be held accountable in political circles that you CONSTANTLY want to play in.

            Why are you trying to cover this up? Maybe you should “be a man” and quit being a suck-up to the Mayors office.

          • Based on my personal experiences with Weaver, I’m sure that the young woman’s fate would have been immensely worse had Greg not stepped in to defend her.
            Are you suggesting that the situation would have been better if Greg had confronted Weaver with violence? Is violence the answer to the problem? Although I truly believe that someone does need to teach Weaver a lesson that only a swift kick to the crotch could satisfy, I also feel confident in saying that Greg did the right thing by getting Weaver away from the woman that he was harassing and allowing security to do their job.

          • I could not care less about anyone’s opinion. I just find it funny that someone that makes misogynistic posts on Facebook is criticizing another man for mistreating women. In my opinion, both are wrong. I just can’t pass judgement on a situation that I did not witness as there are always two sides of a story. I also find it humorous that you took the high road of starting a rumor online. To me, it sounds like a story between Weaver and his ex-wife. Of course, this is the best site to stir up the busybodies.

            CEP, if someone assaults a lady in my presence, I will always intervene and let the chips fall where they may. A man that sits back and witnesses an attack against anyone is just as bad as the attacker. Of course, you wouldn’t understand this because you think that bravery is insulting people while hiding behind a pseudonym.

          • WOW, Phyllip, you and your buddy Wayne sure do rant the same way.

            What’s the matter, the First Amendment something that bothers you?

            Last time we checked, anonymity is allowed to foster open dialog. We all know you only want names so you can try and harass people, but thankfully the CCO supports the rights of citizens.

          • Okay man I’m sure you’re a saint with a crystal clear record on these types of issues. Which it would a appear, based on at least one other post is not the case.

            As far as my motives, if I had not witnessed one other incident during the winter and had several people message me about their experiences I would have probably let it go as sour grapes between ex’s. However, that’s not what happened so here I am wasting my time arguing with your silly ass.

            BTW it’s not a rumor if it is the truth. All I’ve done is highlight a real life, happened to me event. I can relate another dozen stories that I have heard about second hand but I’m sticking to the one incident I was involved with.

            If more of those other victims are willing to share their stories so be it. If not I said my peace and you can continue to prop up a very flawed human being.

      • Phoenix,
        It’s well known, a matter of public record in fact, that you share some of Weaver’s basest attributes. To your credit, you seem to have straightened up a bit since 2001. However, there was little doubt that you, in your infinite capacity as a Winnecke administration (de facto inclusion of Weaver) hanger-on, you would again attack someone shedding light on their villiany.

        You ought not type with your mouth full. It’s not polite.

      • Wow Mr. Davis….. Your comment speaks volumn for yourself… Instead of thanking him for stepping in – – the first thing you do was to go check out Mr. LaMar’s FB page to see what kind of things you can dig up on him??? Are you kidding me???

  2. Thank you Greg, for going public with this episode. It is no surprise that Weaver “scampered off”. Most wife beaters are cowards, so they bully those who cannot defend themselves.

      • COMMON COUNCIL

        IC 36-4-6-6 (local government)
        Power to expel member or declare seat vacant; rules
        Sec. 6. The legislative body may:
        (1) expel any member for violation of an official duty;
        (2) declare the seat of any member vacant if he is unable to
        perform the duties of his office; and
        (3) adopt its own rules to govern proceedings under this section.
        However, a two-thirds (2/3) vote is required to expel a member or
        vacate his seat.
        As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.3.

  3. Thank you Greg for this needs to go very public. This guy has got to go… Just like a wife-beater – beats up on women and runs like hell from a real man….

    Thank goodness you was there – no telling what would have happened..

  4. Evansville voters re-electing Weaver, Mosby, & Winnecke is the same thing as the Peanuts Classic cartoon where Lucy pulls the football as Charlie Brown runs to kick it.
    If these a$$ clowns get back in, we’ll be down for another 4 years.

    • This entire post was taken down because the comments about Cops were totally unacceptable!

      • Ding Ding Ding Ding – We have a winner, folks: Most vile, disgusting and ridiculous post of the year, so far. eb – you are a reprobate. You should be ashamed but fools like you have no shame.

      • Your post was totally unacceptable. And completely wrong. Nothing surprising about that, eh eb?

    • Don’t know, but Llord Winnecke has tacitly endorsed him. The mayor’s silence on this growing scandal squeaks volumes. I’ll foolishly continue to give Llordie the benefit of the doubt but it sure seems his quietude on Weaver’s serial bad behavior constitutes an endorsement of sorts. I don’t think he’d trade him for a 6th floor for his motel.

    • I have nothing against “the cops”, but seriously–if the FOP endorses Weaver and these numerous accounts stated today are true, aren’t they giving tacit approval to spousal abuse ? If there are restraining orders from the past and one sealed record, shouldn’t the police at least vet the guy before endorsing him ??? Ever heard of ‘to serve and protect’ ?

  5. Weaver should resign his seat on the council. He is widely considered our dumbest current councilperson. While that may qualify him to be the face of the Winnecke administration, the odious way he publicly prosecutes his personal life hurts the city’s already tarnished image and he should go.

    If Weaver has one decent act in him he’ll resign.

  6. Weaver was a jerk when he was Assessor. He was then elected to the Council. What’s that say about voters?

    • This is an EXCELLENT comment Commonsense.
      “What’s that say about voters?”
      1. What’ s not right here?
      2. All of the comments today at the CCO are demanding, with authority, that certain council members are no-good SOB’s.
      3. But the voters….the voters are the final arbiters of such things, right? Isn’t that how this works?
      4. These people, who are described as disgusting vile people so easily here….they win the trust of the VOTER at the voting booth. Right. That’s how it works, right?
      4. So, what’s not right here. The voters are stupid. Is THAT what everyone who is posting today at the CCO is saying?
      5. I ask again. What is not right here?

      • Our more followed media outlets are owned by the machine. That’s the problem. If some of the local sheep knew about it they might vote differently. I emphasize “might.”

      • It suggests to me the voters are uninformed. The proper role of the media is to shine a light on things like this so the voters CAN be informed.

        • So…the answer the voters are wrong and vote wrong, repeatedly, and the voters judgement is wholly questionable is:
          “It’s the media.”

          The comments here are hellfire and damnation clear that these people are no good SOB’s who are liars, crooks and unethical.
          Surely…..SURELY !!!…..there is a stronger answer than “It’s the media.” That’s it?
          C’mon, this is a perfectly reasonable question. What is not right here? These people keep getting re-elected, repeatedly, by the voters. What is not right here?

          • Don. Here’s another possibility. He’s a Democrat. That’s all it takes for many voters to “pull the lever” for him.
            Incidentally, his dual personality (sans the mistreatment of women) is in charge of the DMD.

          • INDIANA ENOCH….The people commenting here. Those who insist the voters are wrong, and THEY are right about the Evansville candidates who win voters trust time and again by winning re-election, but who the people in here insist are really no good SOB’s…..They are a small slice of a minority.
            And the people commenting here…..they all agree with each other and think they have found truth and love. They don’t realize they are kissing each other, and THAT is why they think the lack of posters disagreeing w/ them, is somehow a confirmation they are right.

            But the voters decide this. Calling the voters WRONG – is a permanent losing proposition.

      • A) A large pct of people vote either by name recognition or party affiliation, Weaver has support of both

        B) Weaver, Mosby, and Winnecke are part of the “cool kids crowd” who like to see and bee seen that helps garner them support

        C) Weaver rode a D wave in 2008 to become Assessor and the at-large race is largely a name recognition race

        D) Sociopaths are usually very charming on the surface and learn to prey on trusting/gullible people.

  7. Having been a victim of Weaver’s physical, verbal and emotional abuse, I appreciate Greg’s courage to stand up for a woman that was probably scared for her life. I hope that all of his victims (there are many in this town) can speak out together to stop the violence and abuse. I also hope that voters will see Weaver for who he truly is and not vote for his re-election. This town does not need a politician that preys on young women and uses his power in politics to intimidate them.

    • @Halo: it would be my hope that other victims of Weaver will come forth and make CCO a clearinghouse for complaints against the jerk. Just saw a show yesterday (CBS Sunday Morning) in which they collected the MANY complaints against Bill Cosby, and showed them together, a very powerful approach).

  8. Two comments this morning:

    City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr. :

    If he wants the public to believe his statements then let him back them up with something solid. Why has he not produced a single CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) for any of the three years that have data available?

    My guess is there have been things going on that the administration would rather not publish for all to see.

    * * * * * * * * * * *

    The Cult of Personality:

    The business of the city of Evansville is not carried out on social media. Council members who hang out on facebook and twitter and in the local bars, and are texting back and forth during the council meetings to their posse are egocentric and narcissistic, and not suited for a career as a public servant.

    • IC 36-1-2-6
      “Fiscal body”
      Sec. 6. “Fiscal body” means:
      (1) county council, for a county not having a consolidated city;
      (2) city-county council, for a consolidated city or county having
      a consolidated city;
      (3) common council, for a city other than a consolidated city;
      (4) town council, for a town;
      (5) township board, for a township;
      (6) governing body or budget approval body, for any other
      political subdivision that has a governing body or budget
      approval body; or
      (7) chief executive officer of any other political subdivision that
      does not have a governing body or budget approval body.
      As added by Acts 1980, P.L.211, SEC.1. Amended by Acts 1981,
      Indiana Code 2015

  9. I know most Realtors want nothing to do with weaver. I know from personal experience.

    • A very close friend who has now been retired from real estate for a bit had nothing but totally negative things to say about Weaver. And she is someone who I totally trust. She was appalled that he was elected to anything.

  10. Put this up the other day, and its relative to the same subject, as a business traveler that rude overbearing approach actually made me practically ill. His aftershave should be named Girl Gone, if that is what that nasty chemical smell emanating from the guy was. Ruined my experience with your town for now. My impression is the guys bird like, a bantam rooster type just looking to get his tail feathers up in a tizzy. Strutting the barnyard with a smallish splinter of a chip on its shoulder feathers.

    The previous comment.

    N267 EllieL
    Sep 17, 2015 at 11:48 am

    The little man minion weaver is a paws on creep on top of all that. Disgusting breath as well. He’ll force himself far to close to women he doesn’t know, and likely after the rush on,will never know.
    The epitome of a overbearing male creep.

  11. Weaver pushes women around and gets away with it because his ex-wives won’t press charges against him and he is to big of a coward to stand up to a man.

    This paragraph was taken down because it was insulting.

    • Clearly you have not seen our judicial system through the eyes of the victim. Traumatic events, such as those caused by Weaver’s abuse, are very difficult to relive on a witness stand in front of judgmental stranger’s eyes. Add to that the cross examination techniques of his attorney, and it is a recipe for more psychological trauma than any woman should ever have to experience. This sentence was taken down because remarks were to personal.
      I agree that he is a coward. Any man that disrespects women in such horrid ways, especially in public, does not deserve to be a public figure in our community.

  12. In my reckless and irresponsible years I was no stranger to alcohol. I drank. I drank excessively. I even drank and drove, but I never abused women. This seems to be Jonathan Weaver’s Modus Operandi. He had a restraining order filed against him alleging that he was “threatening to commit acts or committing acts of domestic or family violence, stalking, sexual offense” against his first ex-wife. Now we are hearing about him allegedly “mishandling” another ex-wife in public. There is another restraining order filed by his first ex-wife against him thats “sealed” by the Judge.

    Now, I’m not sure if this city has a law which would remove a council member for “incompetence, official mis-
    conduct, or intoxication,” but it seems that most other cities do, and with this alleged reoccurring violent misconduct problem surrounding Jonathan Weaver,something must be done before more women get hurt. If these allegations are true he should be asked to step down at least for a season while participating in stringent alcoholism classes and anger management classes just as any common citizen would be required to attend and complete.

    Furthermore, I think that if anyone is found to have such deep and unsettling issues, that they cannot possibly represent the public, not with honesty nor with integrity… as they would be proving to that same public that they are still in their reckless and irresponsible years, making little effort to address the root problems of their own personal lives while making every effort to “cover up” their tracks so as not to lose their position in an environment where they are supposed to be making decisions for thousands of people.

    Things like this have been covered up for far too long in this city in it’s “Good Ol’ Boys” motto of “You cover up my mess, I’ll cover up yours.” This is not the kind of representation this city needs, and the people in this city are rising up even now to hold every aspect of local leadership to a much higher accountability.

    I,and many other pastors in this city, are praying for our local leadership regularly (including Jonathan Weaver) that they may be blessed and not cursed as they turn toward God and fulfill their position in this city unto and toward the purposes of God for His people here. But we are also praying for the exposure and removal of all of those who are corrupt, and all of those who are unfit to represent the people to make way for those who are destined to fulfill their position while yielded to God.

    Mr. Weaver is just the first of many who will be exposed by God so that they may repent of their wrongdoings or be removed from their position. In my opinion, the following is what the city should ask of Mr. Weaver. He should:

    1. Step down from the Council (and any other local governmental leadership) for a season
    2. Take and complete Alcohol Recovery classes, and
    3. Take and complete Anger Management classes

    This should be required of anyone in his position whose extracurricular activities include excessive use of alcohol or even one incident of violence whether domestic or otherwise.

    Mr. Weaver, if you are reading this… I hope and pray that you make things right before God and before man for the eyes of both are upon you even in this moment. I pray that you make the right decision.

      • And it’s religious people who are intolerant. God will not turn your toes green for agreeing with someone even with the jargon. We are all in this together man.

  13. IIT “– DMD extracurricular Brownfields–“. Brownfield- An industrial or commercial site that is idle or underused because of real or perceived environmental pollution. How does that square with DMD using it to tear down unsightly houses?

  14. CCO
    After the post today from English Bob against Police Officers, I respectfully request you suspend his ability to post to any topic on this site . Thank you.
    BP

  15. I see I’m way late to the Beaver Damning. It’s nice to see both parties working together finally.

    The Weather Vain was once a very useful tool, and now Mayor Winnecke wants to scrap him off his shoe.

  16. Is there a legal process by which the common citizen can request that such criminal matters as Weaver’s be brought up before a private meeting of the city council for discussion? Then these responsible folks could act for the betterment of the community. I really do not want such a creep making calls on my behalf or spending money either. He only votes as his trainers tell him. He would not be missed on the council. It would be one less city-wide representation. I could live with that vs the alternate of having him be on the council.

  17. Okay one last post then we’ll just have to see where the cards land. This is a list of domestic violence organization in the tri-sate area. If any women currently have or in the future need help with this guy or any other abusive guy this is a list a resources to help you through the situation.

    http://www.ywca.org/site/pp.asp?c=cjISK8OVG&b=59481

    http://www.vanderburghprosecutor.org/?page_id=92

    http://www.albionfellowsbacon.org/page.php?page=domestic_violence.php&action=4

    http://www.in.gov/dcs/2971.htm

    http://www.icadvinc.org/get-help/shelter-list/

  18. I would like Pastor Steve to please pray that David Smith quits lying to the board and to the public about the ongoing negotiations with the Teamsters Local 215.

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