The watchdog endorses Ron Winters for the position of Property Valuation Administrator (PVA). Winters’ opponent, Albert Harrison, has served his country valiantly, however, he simply does not have the experience that Ron Winters has. When someone attempts to unseat an incumbent my first question is: Why should I vote for you? In this case Harrison has not given any reason that I believe is worthy of firing Winters from his job.
Winters had the courage to stand by his convictions when a few developers tried to get the other residents of Oldham County to shoulder part of their tax burden. He has appealed the decision of the Appeals Tax Board in an effort to defend and protect the citizens of Oldham County. For that he deserves another term.
On the other hand, Harrison has no experience as an appraiser and no experience in real estate to the best of my knowledge. He does have a lot of experience as a surveyor but I do not believe that surveying experience is as valuable as having been the PVA and having been an appraiser.
If Harrison could show that Winters had violated the law or that there was some other egregious reason that he should not be re-elected, my decision might be different but he has not been able to do that. He has attempted to make an issue of the fact that Winters has hired his wife. While nepotism may offend some people the court has said that Winters did not violate the law by hiring his wife. Further, the experience that I have had with the office of the PVA reflects that she does a good job and that the taxpayers are getting their money’s worth with her.
In the race for magistrate in the eighth district Mike Logsdon is challenging incumbent Bob Deibel. Mr. Deibel is a gentleman but he has little to offer the court now. He has been around for a long time but he does not have any new ideas. Rather, he seems to find it easier to vote as Judge Duane Murner votes. The people need someone who will vote independently of the county judge and someone who does not want to raise our taxes to balance the budget. Raising taxes is not the answer to every crisis. Bob Deibel has voted for every tax and fee increase during the present administration.
Thus, I have chosen to endorse Mike Logsdon. I have spoken with him and I believe that he is a conservative. Can you believe that I am actually endorsing a realtor? I have no problem with that. I believe that Mike will bring fresh ideas to the court and I believe that he has a feel for the needs of the people and business. He is in touch with both.
Vote for Ron Winters and Mike Logsdon on May 18, 2010.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
BREAKING NEWS ABOUT SCOTT DAVIS, STEVE MASIElLO AND DERBY TICKETS
According to an article just posted on the Louisville Courier-Journal web site another person has surfaced in the Kentucky Derby ticket sales. His name is Steve Netherton. For the entire story click here.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
WATCHDOG ENDORSEMENTS
The time has come to announce my endorsements for the May 18, 2010 primary election. I will start today by making a couple of those endorsements and they probably will not be a surprise to you.
First, the race for the county judge/executive office, this is a very easy call for me to make. After having listened to the candidates discuss issues on three different occasions, after reviewing David Voegele’s background, and after reviewing the background of Paula Gish, I recommend that the voters of Oldham County vote for David Voegele.
David Voegele has considerable management experience, has a college degree, and has an excellent background in communications. Meanwhile, Paula Gish has only part-time experience as a secretary in the business world. True, she has been involved in parent teacher associations as has Voegele and she has been a magistrate as has Voegele. The only government experience that she has that David Voegele does not have is that of having been a Deputy County Judge/Executive for three years. And, in that position she was determined to be unqualified to supervise the payroll clerk. The Kentucky State Auditor made this determination during an audit of Oldham County. Simply put, if she is not qualified to supervise a payroll clerk, she certainly is not qualified to run Oldham County. She has sent out several mailings and obviously has more money to spend than David Voegele. However, she has yet to state any goals and has not stated how she would move the county forward. Again, there’s only one real choice in this race and that is David Voegele.
In the race for magistrate of the fifth district the people have a choice between a true Republican and a Democrat who claims she is Republican. The incumbent, Iva Davis, claimed in a recent newspaper article that she switched to the Republican Party in order to vote for Tim Wakefield when he was running for sheriff. However, I believe she told people attending a Republican Party meeting that she switched to the Republican Party because she knew she could not be elected as a Democrat. But it doesn’t matter which of the reasons she changed her party affiliation for, or for that matter if she changed for both reasons. Neither reason is a good reason to change parties. One should only change his/her political affiliation because he/she has had a change of political philosophy or a party that he/she is a member of no longer represents his or her views.
Additionally, I have watched Iva Davis for the past three years on fiscal court. During that entire time I can only recall her making one meaningful contribution to the court. That occurred when she vigorously questioned Joe Schoenbachler, who was the leader of the Oldham County Economic Development agency at that time, regarding efforts that the agency had made to bring new businesses to Oldham County. Other than that I would challenge anyone to show me something she has contributed to the court. Additionally, Iva Davis has voted in lockstep with Judge Murner on every issue that I can remember to include all tax and fee increases. She is a very nice lady and pleasant to talk with but she is not the right person to represent the people of the fifth magisterial district. Therefore, I endorse JD Sparks for magistrate for the fifth district. He is a young person who has fresh ideas, is not afraid to raise issues, and will bring a change to Fiscal Court.
Tomorrow I will have another countywide race endorsement and an endorsement for one magisterial district.
First, the race for the county judge/executive office, this is a very easy call for me to make. After having listened to the candidates discuss issues on three different occasions, after reviewing David Voegele’s background, and after reviewing the background of Paula Gish, I recommend that the voters of Oldham County vote for David Voegele.
David Voegele has considerable management experience, has a college degree, and has an excellent background in communications. Meanwhile, Paula Gish has only part-time experience as a secretary in the business world. True, she has been involved in parent teacher associations as has Voegele and she has been a magistrate as has Voegele. The only government experience that she has that David Voegele does not have is that of having been a Deputy County Judge/Executive for three years. And, in that position she was determined to be unqualified to supervise the payroll clerk. The Kentucky State Auditor made this determination during an audit of Oldham County. Simply put, if she is not qualified to supervise a payroll clerk, she certainly is not qualified to run Oldham County. She has sent out several mailings and obviously has more money to spend than David Voegele. However, she has yet to state any goals and has not stated how she would move the county forward. Again, there’s only one real choice in this race and that is David Voegele.
In the race for magistrate of the fifth district the people have a choice between a true Republican and a Democrat who claims she is Republican. The incumbent, Iva Davis, claimed in a recent newspaper article that she switched to the Republican Party in order to vote for Tim Wakefield when he was running for sheriff. However, I believe she told people attending a Republican Party meeting that she switched to the Republican Party because she knew she could not be elected as a Democrat. But it doesn’t matter which of the reasons she changed her party affiliation for, or for that matter if she changed for both reasons. Neither reason is a good reason to change parties. One should only change his/her political affiliation because he/she has had a change of political philosophy or a party that he/she is a member of no longer represents his or her views.
Additionally, I have watched Iva Davis for the past three years on fiscal court. During that entire time I can only recall her making one meaningful contribution to the court. That occurred when she vigorously questioned Joe Schoenbachler, who was the leader of the Oldham County Economic Development agency at that time, regarding efforts that the agency had made to bring new businesses to Oldham County. Other than that I would challenge anyone to show me something she has contributed to the court. Additionally, Iva Davis has voted in lockstep with Judge Murner on every issue that I can remember to include all tax and fee increases. She is a very nice lady and pleasant to talk with but she is not the right person to represent the people of the fifth magisterial district. Therefore, I endorse JD Sparks for magistrate for the fifth district. He is a young person who has fresh ideas, is not afraid to raise issues, and will bring a change to Fiscal Court.
Tomorrow I will have another countywide race endorsement and an endorsement for one magisterial district.
Monday, May 10, 2010
PAULA GISH FOUND TO BE IN VIOLATION OF THE HATCH ACT
Today Paula Gish tendered her resignation from the position of Deputy County Judge/Executive to Judge Executive Duane Murner. She tendered her resignation as a result of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) having found that she had been in violation of the Hatch Act since she filed to run for the office of County Judge/Executive. Gish has been in violation for several months.
I brought the issue of Gish being in violation of the Hatch Act before the Oldham County Fiscal Court months ago and at that time I notified the court that I had filed a complaint with the OSC regarding the matter. At that same time Judge Murner indicated that he had also asked the OSC for an opinion on Gish’s position. It had been well known throughout county government circles that I had planned to file a complaint.
Gish indicated in her letter of resignation that she would be interested in serving as a consultant or in a part-time position until after the election. Considering the fact that she has been in violation for such a long period of time, I don’t believe that she should be considered for any position. To give her a job of any type would be a “slap in the face” to the residents of Oldham County. However, I fully expect her to be offered some type of position after the election on May 18, 2010. If she loses, she will be offered the position of Deputy Judge again. If she wins, she will be offered a part-time position or a consultant’s contract. Murner will find a way for her to receive a salary at the expense of the public. Ethics don’t seem to be a concern for this administration.
Just what is Gish qualified to do? The state auditor stated that she was not qualified to supervise the payroll clerk and the county doesn’t have any PTA positions. However, Murner is known to take care of his cronies. Remember, Bill Tucker, after losing in the primary election in 2006 and again in the November election in 2006 landed a job in county government after Murner laid off several other employees. Remember when Murner sued former Judge Mary Ellen Kinser over the appointment and subsequent attempt by Judge Kinser to remove Kevin Jeffries from the Planning and Zoning Commission, Murner was taking care of a friend there also. And don’t forget that Murner broke the law to keep from revealing that the Rawlings Foundation was the anonymous donor of $100,000 to the county. He even indicated that he would go to jail before he would reveal the name. However, when the time came for him to produce the name of the donor or go to jail, he chose not to go to jail. He had made a joint statement to the press that the donor was George Rawlings but when the cancelled check was produced it was revealed that the donor was the Rawlings Foundation instead of George Rawlings.
I brought the issue of Gish being in violation of the Hatch Act before the Oldham County Fiscal Court months ago and at that time I notified the court that I had filed a complaint with the OSC regarding the matter. At that same time Judge Murner indicated that he had also asked the OSC for an opinion on Gish’s position. It had been well known throughout county government circles that I had planned to file a complaint.
Gish indicated in her letter of resignation that she would be interested in serving as a consultant or in a part-time position until after the election. Considering the fact that she has been in violation for such a long period of time, I don’t believe that she should be considered for any position. To give her a job of any type would be a “slap in the face” to the residents of Oldham County. However, I fully expect her to be offered some type of position after the election on May 18, 2010. If she loses, she will be offered the position of Deputy Judge again. If she wins, she will be offered a part-time position or a consultant’s contract. Murner will find a way for her to receive a salary at the expense of the public. Ethics don’t seem to be a concern for this administration.
Just what is Gish qualified to do? The state auditor stated that she was not qualified to supervise the payroll clerk and the county doesn’t have any PTA positions. However, Murner is known to take care of his cronies. Remember, Bill Tucker, after losing in the primary election in 2006 and again in the November election in 2006 landed a job in county government after Murner laid off several other employees. Remember when Murner sued former Judge Mary Ellen Kinser over the appointment and subsequent attempt by Judge Kinser to remove Kevin Jeffries from the Planning and Zoning Commission, Murner was taking care of a friend there also. And don’t forget that Murner broke the law to keep from revealing that the Rawlings Foundation was the anonymous donor of $100,000 to the county. He even indicated that he would go to jail before he would reveal the name. However, when the time came for him to produce the name of the donor or go to jail, he chose not to go to jail. He had made a joint statement to the press that the donor was George Rawlings but when the cancelled check was produced it was revealed that the donor was the Rawlings Foundation instead of George Rawlings.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCOTT DAVIS STORY
There are two sides to every story. Today Magistrate Scott Davis, of Oldham County, Kentucky, took the opportunity to tell his side of a story. As most you know Davis has been accused of failing to deliver Kentucky Derby tickets to people who purchased them from his company, Derby Deals.com. Actually, several news reports have stated that what he did was a “scam.” It has been stated that Davis’ company delivered over 800 tickets to customers – he did not take their money. If Davis were running a scam why would he have delivered tickets to any of his customers? Not one reporter has asked that question. Davis nor his company have had any charges, criminal or civil filed against them.
On Friday, May 7, 2010, DerbyDeals.com filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville, KY alleging that Steve Masiello, an assistant basketball coach with the University of Louisville men’s basketball program had agreed to purchase Kentucky Derby tickets for Davis’ company. Davis alleges that he gave Masiello $70,000 to purchase tickets for him but that Masiello did not supply him with all of the tickets that he was supposed to and only returned $10,000 of his money. In the complaint Davis alleges that Masiello claimed to him that he could use connections that he had, including Coach Rick Pitino, to obtain Derby tickets for him.
Davis has stated that he has refunded most of the money to the people that did not receive the tickets that they were supposed to receive and that he is in the process of returning the remainder of the funds.
In the lawsuit Davis is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Masiello. Davis also alleges that Masiello had an accomplice known to him also by the name “Steve.” However, Davis does not appear to be seeking any damages from him as he alleges that he was dealing with Masiello. The entire lawsuit can be viewed by clicking here.
I attempted to contact Steve Masiello on May 5, 2010 regarding this entire incident. However, he did not return my calls but Attorney Larry Wilder did call me and stated that he represented Masiello. He stated that the allegations made by Davis were not true. However, when I tried to ask Wilder other questions he hung up the phone. For the record, Wilder is the attorney who was found asleep in a trash can after police had been called by neighbors when a man was seen asleep in a trash can. The incident took place in Jeffersonville, IN. At the time of that incident Wilder was a city attorney for the city of Jeffersonville, IN. He was not cited for the incident.
The timing of this entire incident is not good for any of the parties involved. Scott Davis is seeking re-election to his Magistrate seat in Oldham County, Kentucky and as the world knows, the University of Louisville basketball program has already received enough bad publicity due to Coach Rick Pitino’s involvement with Karen Sypher. In addition to all of that Samardo Samuels’ mother has stated that he will not return for his junior year and that he will enter the NBA draft. What else could happen?
On Friday, May 7, 2010, DerbyDeals.com filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville, KY alleging that Steve Masiello, an assistant basketball coach with the University of Louisville men’s basketball program had agreed to purchase Kentucky Derby tickets for Davis’ company. Davis alleges that he gave Masiello $70,000 to purchase tickets for him but that Masiello did not supply him with all of the tickets that he was supposed to and only returned $10,000 of his money. In the complaint Davis alleges that Masiello claimed to him that he could use connections that he had, including Coach Rick Pitino, to obtain Derby tickets for him.
Davis has stated that he has refunded most of the money to the people that did not receive the tickets that they were supposed to receive and that he is in the process of returning the remainder of the funds.
In the lawsuit Davis is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Masiello. Davis also alleges that Masiello had an accomplice known to him also by the name “Steve.” However, Davis does not appear to be seeking any damages from him as he alleges that he was dealing with Masiello. The entire lawsuit can be viewed by clicking here.
I attempted to contact Steve Masiello on May 5, 2010 regarding this entire incident. However, he did not return my calls but Attorney Larry Wilder did call me and stated that he represented Masiello. He stated that the allegations made by Davis were not true. However, when I tried to ask Wilder other questions he hung up the phone. For the record, Wilder is the attorney who was found asleep in a trash can after police had been called by neighbors when a man was seen asleep in a trash can. The incident took place in Jeffersonville, IN. At the time of that incident Wilder was a city attorney for the city of Jeffersonville, IN. He was not cited for the incident.
The timing of this entire incident is not good for any of the parties involved. Scott Davis is seeking re-election to his Magistrate seat in Oldham County, Kentucky and as the world knows, the University of Louisville basketball program has already received enough bad publicity due to Coach Rick Pitino’s involvement with Karen Sypher. In addition to all of that Samardo Samuels’ mother has stated that he will not return for his junior year and that he will enter the NBA draft. What else could happen?
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