IS IT TRUE Special Edition (NO CLOSED DOORS)

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kangaroo court

IS IT TRUE tomorrow’s scheduled CLOSED DOOR executive session of the Evansville City Council’s legality is being questioned by a media law attorney?…Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt said the open meetings statute being used by City Council is open to interpretation?…the Indiana law being cited by the council allows such a meeting “with respect to any individual over whom the governing body has jurisdiction” to “receive information concerning the individual’s alleged misconduct” and to “discuss, before a determination, the individual’s status as an employee, a student or an independent contractor?”

IS IT TRUE there is plenty of precedent in both state and federal courts that support the interpretation that an elected official is not an employee and certainly not a student or independent contractor and therefore cannot be dealt with in a CLOSED DOOR MEETING?…elected officials ultimately answer to voters and not to colleagues?…this even applies to last weeks reported admonishment session that was masked under the name of caucus?…it seems as though every time the machine of Evansville is threatened they run behind a CLOSED DOOR whether to take away the Homestead Tax Credit or do a pinky shake to elect a candidate from the other party?…this time the door got slammed in the face of those who prefer to do their dirty work out of public view?

IS IT TRUE that in a called public meeting like the second one called tomorrow the gloves are off and the other members of the council can talk to Councilwoman Riley or each other like dogs if they like?…doing so in the light of day with the public in attendance will take more courage that carrying on a kangaroo court behind a closed door?

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18 COMMENTS

  1. whether SBR comes out of this remaining vice president of the council or not is unimportant, she has every right to hold her head up high as one of the very few elected officials who truly represent best interests of the people they were elected by. The rest, for the most part, I’m disappointed in.

    • Agreed! I am glad that the attempt at secrecy is being looked into. I do hope CCO keeps us posted on this. I’d be interested to know if the meeting is postponed.
      I’m not even certain whether it would require 5 or 6 votes to accomplish Friend’s childish goal, as SBR was made VP of the Council by a vote. It is my understanding that reversal of a vote of the Council requires 6 votes.
      SBR’s vote on Council will still count the same, whether or not she is VP, so this whole hoopla really amounts to a big, fat zero.

  2. Some city councils can be trusted to do certain aspects of the public’s business behind closed doors. This is not one of those councils. Once that door is secured shut they’re liable to authorize 5-6 million to anyone with a story and 4 winos to point to as bankers.

    Their new 3 man police ‘presence’ shouldn’t make them feel any more important than they are. In fact, it is in itself a very bad commentary on the state of politics and what passes for leadership in Evansville.

    • You’re right about them falling for anyone with a story. Tonight’s town hall meeting Wink shilled for E-Lights. Like we need to spend money on E-Lights right now. It’s like he gets a commision on these deals. I wonder who did get a commission on the water meter ripoff.

      • We the citizens/taxpayers paid $400-500 to install a part that cost less than $150.

        You figure it out. If a union bargains collectively there is and arms length agreement in place to keep each party in line. The Unions should ask for every penny they can get.

        Not so with government contracts when the pols and the unions work together to benefit each other, at our expense.

        Does that answer your question?

  3. This town is so crooked and corrupt it is pathetic beyond words.

    There is a list of priorities for this city that needs to be addressed that would stretch from here to Chicago. Instead we’re gonna spend hours if not days in an attempt to scold, humiliate, and ostracize a city council women for trying to prevent the powers that be from covering their nefarious tracks.

    If you live on the island of liars, you sure don’t like truth tellers. So the first thing you do is tell the rest of the island the truth teller broke the law, that’s she’s reckless, she’s unqualified to live on the island of liars and that she is untrustyworthy.

    On the list of embarrassing things about Evansville, SBR’s release of the audio of a30+ day old audit exit conference is about 5968 on the list.

    My rant for tonight.

    • But wouldn’t those “nefarious tracks” have been revealed in the end anyway? Why the rush to break the news before the news has been made?

      IMO, it wasn’t her telling of the truth (whatever that is) that was reckless but rather a recklessness of judgement….she was no doubt hoping to garner the justification you just presented. She’s risking any further political ambitions as well as her career by banking that most feel the means justify the ends. That’s reckless.

      • Better hold on myturn, for you are going to catch hell for that post. From day one it has been that the end has justified the means. What puzzles me is that it has not been long ago that Friend & the posse were the citizens saviors in regards to the hotel $$$$$ debacle. My what short memories we have. It’s not what have you done for me lately, but can you do for me now.Personally, I was no Friend fan then, and no Friend fan now. The whole damn bunch could be an opening act for Barnum & Bailey. As someone previously stated, thank goodness the County government was not voted out.

        • From my view SBR and the others present at that meeting were acting in the capacity of public servants. As a public servant it is my view they do not have the right to act in or treat the cities finances in a confidential manner. They are public servants being evaluated on how well they are handling public money by other public servants. These meetings like the city council meetings should always be held in the public view.

          The contention SBR was using the end to justify the means is not in my view correct. She was doing nothing more than what is done during a normal city council meeting; recording the events, there is no recklessness of judgement.

          If the SBOA had nothing but glowing praise about the audit and SBR did the same thing you can be sure there would be not the least bit of a kerfuffle.

          • dveatch, I totally agree with everything you stated in your first paragraph. However, I respectfully disagree with your second paragraph. If I remember correctly how this went down, SBR was not acting in an official capacity as the Council “recorder” when she recorded the meeting/exit interview, she did so as an individual that happens to be the Vice-Pres of the City Council(that also happens to be an Attorney)and did so in a “secretive” manner, meaning no one was aware that she was doing so. I have never stated that she broke any laws by her actions, I just feel that she was on a slippery slope, skirting a fine line next to being unethical.

            • It is pretty common knowledge that John Friend knew about and encouraged the recording of the meeting. It is not the first time either.

  4. BBQ TRUTH:
    Start with one damning truth
    Marinate in smokey indifference for years
    Remove truth from marinade and discard
    Replace truth with a big fat lie
    Cook behind closed doors until unrecognizable

    TIP: Best served when the public is no longer hungry and headed out for the holidays

  5. Mr Fiend: my above post was meant as making reference to my original post, which was posted when it was not known that Friend was aware of the recording. Have a great day.

  6. “elected officials ultimately answer to voters and not to colleagues” This is in theory only.

    Mr. Wallace,

    I surely wish that you had been around in the 1996-1999 era when the Warrick County Commissioners and Area Plan Commission along with their(taxpayer funded) legal council and judges secretly colluded with Deaconess Hospital to abscond a sight for the Ohio Township Hose House by supposedly placing a “Gag Order” on all concerning conversation of the elected and appointed officials.

    There is no limit to the actions that public official will go to and very little accountability for those actions!

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