IS IT TRUE? December 14, 2011
IS IT TRUE that today we will find out the name of the person that Mayor Elect Winnecke and his Transition Team will be appointing to be the next Police Chief of Evansville?…that in this column the City County Observer has let our readers know that one very well placed Mole has told us that Billy Bolin has been a leading candidate with a good inside track for this appointment?…that other members of the Mole Nation just yesterday are advising us that there may be another strong candidate under consideration?…that this candidate is female?…that either way we think Chief Brad Hill’s torch will be landing in a worthy set of hands as both of these candidates are capable and deserving?
IS IT TRUE that the Mole Nation is also rising up to tell the CCO that there are some members of the Evansville oligarchy who are working in the shadows to undermine former Mayor of Evansville Russ Lloyd Jr’s quest to become the next City Controller?…that knowing the former Mayor and the fact that he is a successful CPA makes him uniquely qualified to be City Controller and it will be quite difficult to find a better fit for that position?…that this is the very kind of backroom manipulation that has limited the City of Evansville’s capacity to perform its responsibilities and move forward at the same time?…that yesterday we discussed the four (4) balls and chains that the Weinzapfel Administration has shackled Mayor Elect Winnecke with and today it appears that the private enterprise arm of the machine is attempting to embed the puppet strings onto him?…that the people of Evansville elected Lloyd Winnecke and not some shadow figure to make these decisions and thus far he seems eminently capable of doing so?…that the CCO would like to encourage the dinosaur power brokers to get out of the Mayor Elect’s way and let him do what he people of Evansville elected him to do?
IS IT TRUE that there are members of the Evansville City Council who are beside themselves because the CCO published the powerpoint presentation that Hunden Strategic Partners made to the Evansville Redevelopment Commission regarding the vetting of the two hotel proposals?…that we had filed a Freedom of Information Act request to be supplied with this and other pertinent information and never concealed our intent to publish it at the first opportunity?…that this is information that was used to make a very expensive recommendation on the commitment of at least $8 Million taxpayer dollars?…that whomever conspired to keep this information secret so that the substance behind the rationale behind the recommendation may just be violating some sunshine laws?…that they probably aren’t but they are once again a poster child for SNEGAL (sneaky but legal) policy making?…that after having a look at the presentation that there are no smoking guns that rise to the level of secrecy for either of the bidders?…that by disclosing the powerpoint presentation that the people of Evansville now can form their own opinions about the ERC recommendation?…that all of the politicians who tout transparency and then do things like this are speaking with a forked tongue and do not need to serve in public office?…that we have even learned from City Councilman Curt John that everyone who got a copy of the materials was forced to sign a pact not to disclose or release the contents?…that we appreciate Councilman John’s honesty and candor?…that if that is transparency Evansville style, then Evansville has a thing or two to learn about transparency?
IS IT TRUE that the mutterings of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear about expanding gambling in Kentucky have elected officials all over Indiana but especially on the borders in Evansville and New Albany hiding in the basement clutching their security blankets in fear?…that just the prospect that somewhere in Kentucky in a place that you bet on horses they may have a slot machine has our elected officials terrified of strengthening a smoking ordinance locally and statewide?…that OTB parlors in Indiana did not kill the live racing industry in Kentucky and that putting slots and video poker at racetracks will not kill casino boats?…that Governor Beshear’s posturing is just giving chicken feed to the chicken $#!+ elected officials in Indiana who probably do not have the courage of their own convictions or the will to do what they campaigned on anyway?
IS IT TRUE that Evansville City Councilman Curt John heard some news last night that made him smile so broadly that one might think he just won the lottery or got a “get out of jail” card?…that he is not prone to smile so big?…that soon it shall be revealed what made Councilman John so happy and why the assumptions that put that big smile on his face may not be as they seem?
CPA Russ Lloyd Jr would be an excellent City Controller. Mr. Winnecke is far to smart to miss this obvious choice. Mr. Winnecke inherits several ERC related messes including the 4 year $1.5 million McCurdy fiasco, but the new Mayor appears very able and will focus on what is best for the City and not his political cronies.
Same old song and dance!!!!!
“IS IT TRUE that … knowing the former Mayor and the fact that he is a successful CPA makes him uniquely qualified to be City Controller and it will be quite difficult to find a better fit for that position?”
How exactly does your knowing Russ Lloyd “uniquely” qualify him to be city controller? Does that mean that if you happen to be familiar with Joe Blow (and he was a successful city planner), that would “uniquely” qualify him to be DMD director?
As former Mayor he is already familiar with the budget process, the formats, the programs used by the City of Evansville and there will be no learning curve. As a CPA he has an understanding of general accounting principles and is current in his knowledge of accounting. That is a pretty unique set of qualifications. If you make a list of CPAs with a working knowledge of the City of Evansville’s process it will be a very short list. John Friend would make the list but last we heard he has not applied.
Ditto, Russ Lloyd would be an excellent choice. John Friend would not be on my list.
You seem to have missed my point. I agree that Russ Lloyd unquestionably is qualified for the position, and I believe he would do a great job.
My point was that simply by your knowing Russ Lloyd does not automatically “uniquely” qualify him for a position. It’s more a matter of grammar and ego to which I refer.
ND…your childish game of semantics is pathetic. Clearly, Mr. Lloyd is especially fitted for the role of City Controller and it has nothing to do with the editor’s personal relationship to him.
Ditto
The PowerPoint presentation on the hotel vetting is incomplete and amateurish. Anyone that looks at it and sees it as any form of recommendation for Kunkel let alone a sound and well researched recommendation that they should base their approval for this project on is either an easily manipulated fool or flat out corrupt. With respect to the Mayor, John Kish, the ERC and the City Council, there is no doubt we are loaded with both. So far, Sara Miller is the only one that has done anything at all to show that she has the public’s best interest in mind and her decision to not rubber stamp this deal was late coming and ineffective since it passed the ECR’s vote anyway.
I’m all for building this hotel, but what gets built and who builds and operates it needs to be based upon solid and honest research. Paying for the vetting was supposed to deliver this at least with respect to the two proposals, but if there is no more detailed information than what was in that PowerPoint presentation, that is not what we got for our money. Smoke and mirrors.
Pappa….
…all I can say is that it had to have one hell of a narrative as a companion to the slide show.
JMHO
It must’ve been.
I think it perfectly understandable that the “Evansville oligarchy”, as you correctly describe them, would be uncomfortable having former mayor Lloyd in a position to “audit” what has taken place in the Weinzapfel administration for the past eight years.
Of course, it would be preferable to have the appropriate branch of government be the auditing entity so we could have a more public accounting of the matter.
Then again, one wonders what an agency that missed $300.Million of revenue on audits since 2007 might be able to uncover for the same time period of the Weinzapfel administration.
Some of the things that are allowed to take place in government, concerning the stewardship of the taxpayers’ money, are an affront to human decency and Christian morals.
__
I believe that a lot of people are in a wait and see mode right now.
They understand that Winnecke must make the most accurate assessment possible of where Evansville stands before he can intelligently peruse ANY course of action. And Winnecke can not accomplish that audit until the current mayor has left office. If Winnecke moves ahead without showing any interest in gaining a thorough knowledge of what has taken place, that would bode ill for the citizens of Evansville.
__
If members of the City Council “are beside themselves” over the Hunden powerpoint, then they are standing next to a fool.
Thanks for the laugh!!
That’d be funny if it weren’t so true.
Comments are closed.