IS IT TRUE October 18, 2012
IS IT TRUE that the word in the street is that a search committee to recommend a new city council attorney will be appointed by City Council President Connie Robinson?…the makeup of that search committee according to well placed CCO Moles will be Council members Jonathan Weaver, Conor O’ Daniel, and President Robinson herself?…the choice of Councilman Weaver is puzzling as he should not serve on this committee because he was one of the members of the City Council who was involved in the Maingate Bar fiasco that nearly cost Al Lindsey his day job due to backroom bi-partisan whisper campaigning?…Council members Missy Mosby and Weaver lost the battle with fire merit commission hearing case that could have resulted in Councilman Lindsay being fired from Fire Department?…Attorney Scott Danks represented Al Lindsey against the allegations that were set into motion by Mosby and Weaver?…it is the opinion of the CCO that Councilman Weaver could not be an objective member of the search committee in considering Scott Danks as the next Evansville City Council attorney?
IS IT TRUE that the minimum payments from Earthcare Energy that the Winnecke Administration snuck a $200,000 loan to in a back door manner without even telling the City Council remain current?…that Earthcare still owes the City of Evansville about $186,000?…the CCO has been made aware that the link to the website for Earthcare Energy is no longer working?… there is also recent confirmation that other businesses that were doing about the same thing are not producing or selling the Langson devices either?…it was not just the numbskulls of Evansville that got sucked into this either?…the President of the United States Barack Obama flew in on Air Force One to tout the future of greatness associated with this technology along with Solyndra, EnerOne, and recently A123 Systems?…that should be a lesson that politicians of any level are the kiss of death to a commercial venture with technical content and that there is no office high enough to be immune for being “Earthcaredâ€?
IS IT TRUE that the CCO was the first to publish a letter from the Office of 8th District Congressman Larry Buschon that addressed the ways in which federal grants will be effected in the event that Evansville and Vanderburgh County are merged in the November referendum?…this is an issue that was clearly communicated by the supporters of unification and the consolidation committee to be a NON-ISSUE from day one and over and over in public forums?…after that it appears like there is an impact after all and that in the short term that the impact is definitive and negative to the tune of $180,000 per year?…we have not seen any headlines about this hidden cost of consolidation?…it also seems as though former DMD Director Tom Barnett warned of this in 2011?…this is just another example of the incomplete nature of the consolidation plan that is being voted on in November?…that proponents counter that there are other competitive opportunities that are only available if consolidation passes but there are no numbers or timelines that have been disclosed?…that consolidation seems to be coming down to the question of “trust us, it will be better yet our plan shows little improvement and bars us from picking the low hanging fruit for 10 years†vs. “the City of Evansville is a fiscal mess and is not ready to merge with anythingâ€?…this will be the choice facing voters this year?…the YES position sounds very much like the HOPE AND CHANGE rhetoric from 2008 compete with a team that got “EARTHCARED†ready to take us “FORWARDâ€?
Since it involves a lawyer, shouldn’t it be o’daniel, riley, and then robinson since she is president?
I agree. What does Weaver know about being a lawyer?? NOTHING. He doesn’t even know how to do the job he was elected to do (Councilman at Large, NOR County Assessor)! I can’t wait for Weaver to be voted out of office. Such a waste of space and a wasted vote on the council!
Dan McGinn is also an attorney.
The last thing we need is McGinn involved in anything. Period.
If it were not for Dan McGinn and Mayor Lloyd who appointed him to head Mesker Zoo, the zoo would not exist today.
McGinn took the zoo from having lost its accreditation to gaining it back. Evansville owes McGinn a great deal for saving that valuable asset.
Thank you, Dan. But you should rethink your vote to destroy another valuable asset, Roberts Stadium.
Scott Danks or Rob Faulkner would be excellent attorney choices. Too bad Weaver and Mosby have to be involved in any of these adult decisions.
I would think the council would want the best lawyer available. Mr. Danks reputation is one of a very good lawyer, I think our elected officials should stop crying over spilled milk, and start serving the people who elected them by choosing the best person for the job, leaving personal feelings for outside the chamber walls.
What does Weaver know about attorneys except that he should have gotten one when his ex-wife obtained a protective order against him this summer? As to Conor, Tim Hambidge, his partner, has been emailing city council members pushing for an individual to be selected. It doesn’t sound like this committee will be anything but a joke. How convenient that the two attorneys on the council that are independent thinkers were left out. Thank God Robinson’s tenure as president will end in two months.
LOL….I smell the making of “attorneyGATE” in the making!
JMHO
Taken down by editor because of personal remarks.
I have a scheme to harness the latent energy from everyone connected with the Winnecke Administration being run from office. It could potentially power 8 ballfields and a dog park simultaneously!
Now, who wants to get drunk with me and discuss the finer points of how you can give me a long term, low interest loan which I can then reinvest in something completely unrelated which earns a dividend so I can retire to Barbados?
You just got Winnecared!
You know, come to think of it… We could just place a turbine in front of the mouths of everyone in the Administration and ask them questions about why they didn’t call a press conference in January when they found the books to be out of balance, whey they advocated the demolition rather than auction of a surplus property, why they allowed themselves to be duped into loaning money to people whose technology was only one notch above the “perpetual motion” machines in Gadzooks, and why Consolidation isn’t just an effort to raise funds for the future sewer liabilities of the City of Evansville…
Several opportunities for renewable energy generation there – there is the kinetic energy of the air, there is a thermal aspect since it will undoubtedly be of the “hot” variety, and we cannot discount the methane from all the bullshit.
Mr. Linzey, your plan may just work!
Why aren’t charges being filed resulting from the laws broken by non-reconsilled books, transfering of funds between accounts,& bad checks written on those accounts? Both wienie and williams were sworn to uphold the laws of the state of Indiana. The cover-up will continue untill some heads roll. Johnie W. should, along with J. Collins and both people who followed them in office are guilty of obstruction of justice, along with their violation of said laws.
Agreed. Seems to me, there is both a civil and criminal aspect to this scandal. Every resident of the City of Evansville should have standing in a class action civil suit against the four individuals you mentioned, especially if the unbalanced books lead to a downgrade of Evansville’s credit rating or the costs of audits impact taxpayers in any way. Who will bring forth the lawsuit? That’s pretty much the only question there.
As for the criminal charges, that is up to the Prosecutor Nick Hermann to indict them, so if no indictments are forthcoming, he would be the one to prod about it. If by some magic no one is indicted over this, perhaps we should consider another Prosecutor in the next election as well…
Has this small, backwater, flyover town reached the point where they need to set up an Inspector General’s office to find out accurate facts and figures about the operation of local government…
They should start with the Martindale-Hubbell peer review ratings for legal firms in Evansville.
Consideration should only be given to firms that have both reviews by lawyers and clients. Martindale has a 5 point rating scale so the firms at or nearest 5, if they have enough attorneys to handle the work, should be the firms in the running.
Of course the reality of the situation is that these firm selections are always political in nature, and that is part and parcel of what has held this city down for generations. Ethics seem to go out the window when the guy who gave you that fat contract wants something done that doesn’t quite pass the smell test.
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Why was the post removed from heliumhead
How many times does Lindsey have to beat Missy and her equally drunken cousin David before they realize it is time to move on. To have Weaver on any committee immediately makes it a joke and Conner will probably choke on his silver spoon before he can make an educated decision. Did Robinson ask any other members of the council to be on this committee I guess Stephanie isn’t as qualified to vet an attorney as Weaver. Weaver couldn’t cut it as a weatherman where he was only right half of the time couldn’t cut it as the assessor and now can’t cut it as a councilman where if my math is correct he hasn’t been right any of the time, then I am sure he is the right man to vet an attorney as his average between all of his jobs that he has held is around 33%, this should fall right into his expertise. What a joke can’t wait to vote this moron out in 2015.
The reality is sad. Robinson, O’Daniel, and Weaver are more about gaining personal wealth and/or campaign contributions that anything else. The person chosen by them will obviously be either adding to their business or adding to their campaign account, or both. The problem is that Adams, , Lindsey, SBR and McGinn are in the minority. They can potentially pull Friend’s vote to get someone else, but Connie knew what she was doing this time. By making Conor feel important and including him on the committee, she seals up his vote. Now, Friend becomes the pivot point. Whomever gets his vote determines the next council attorney. Will it be someone of education and ethics, or will the fab 5 strike again?
I don’t understand why my question was removed. I was asking a question. (even though…I think I know the answer to my own question…humor me) Is Mr. Danks the best choice?
Helium Head, you need to release a little of that gas. By anyone’s standards Danks is eminently qualified. He has 25 years of experience and is one of the most respected and successful attorneys in the State. Attorneys and Judges know who the top lawyers are and when one of them need an attorney, they usually get Danks! Frankly, I don’t know if it’s true that Danks wants the city council attorney position and if so why he would want it. Although he is known to have a passion for government and politics.
I would be a little leery of someone who ” is known to have a passion for government and politics” and is actively seeking the job. We do not need activists, we need people who can interpret existing law and write contracts that protect taxpayers and their public investments, people of the highest moral and ethical values.
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Totally that the Council’s attorney SHOULD NOT act as an activist!!
Shin…my original question was… is this the same Danks that was popped for multiple alcohol violations. My next question was if he was the best Evansville had to offer for the position? My first question (or post) was removed…thus the confusion on your part. Read fast because I am thinkin’ this post will be removed before sun-up!
I think that heliumheads question of why the post was pulled needs to be answered. It shouldn’t be that hard for the editor to answer. But it is their site so they can pretty well do what they want. I have had questions not answered about blocked access to post.
Jack Waldroup
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