WORDS OF WISDOM

"Truth is incontrovertible; ignorance can deride it, panic may resent it, malice may destroy it, but there it is."
Winston Churchill

THE DECISION IS IN

The decision this morning was 7-0 to deny Chief Denison's attorney, Steven Houze, a motion to delay. The Commission then went ahead as scheduled with a vote of 7-0 in favor of all 21 counts as recommended in the final investigative report. That means that the Commission found Don Denison used his position for financial benefit eleven times in violation of ORS 244.040 and failed to notify the City of a conflict of interest ten times in violation of ORS 244.120. The Commission will now decide what kind of financial penalty will apply. The maximum is $1,000 per offense, or $21,000 but this will be negotiated for a final settlement. Our only request is for an admission of wrongdoing on Denison's part and an apology to the City. A personal apology to Mary Johnson and Mr. Neal for setting his attack dog, Linda Palmer on us would also be appreciated. We are proud to have stayed to the issues at hand and to have never stooped to mean-spirited personal attacks on the Chief. We respect his position and are sorry that his actions have brought unfavorable attention to our town. We now have an opportunity to face the future with a commitment to open government and high ethical standards or go back to the stonewalling and cover-ups that have plagued Toledo for the last several years.

AN INVITATION TO ALL TOLEDO CITIZENS

The final investigative report of the Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission has been released. The report will be on the agenda for the next GSPC meeting, Friday July 7th, 2006 at 9:00 am. The hearing will be held in Conference Room B of the Executive Building, 155 Cottage Street NE, Salem. Brief oral statements, including public comment, will be permitted. The Commission will then decide to dismiss the matter or conclude that there is an appearance of a violation and proceed to a contested case hearing. If anyone would like to see the two reports submitted to the Commission, send an email to tcc2-at-charter-dot-net and they will be forwarded to you. If anyone would like to carpool to the hearing, meet at City Hall at 6:45 am on Friday the 7th. Mr. Denison will not be in attendance at the hearing since he is currently on a six-month paid vacation and apparently on his way to Iraq to train police officers. (We wish him well and pray for his safety.)

After reading these reports, please stop by Linda Palmer's website at www.aboutdon.blogspot.com and check out the rationalizations, excuses and other rants she invokes to deflect the scrutiny engendered by the investigation. It will give you a better understanding of the depths of deceit and cover-up used by those who have desperately tried to avoid the spotlight brought to bear by Lowell Neal and Mary Johnson since October, 2005.

Congratulations and deeply-felt appreciation to those in the City government who trusted us and provided the necessary documentation to make the investigation proceed. It was through your honest efforts and concern for truth, justice and the American way that made this all possible. We were content to take the heat from Linda Palmer, knowing that you were not in positions to come forward. Your anonymity will be preserved. Trust is a two-way street, after all.

The City of Toledo continues to suffer from lack of leadership and ethical clarity. The recent arrest of the newly-hired public works director is evidence that ethical considerations are not very important to the City. How did this individual pass a background check? When the Mayor criticizes City workers who filed complaints with OSHA for acting "un-ethically", she obviously doesn't understand the issue at hand. The workers have federally-protected rights to complain about unsafe working conditions. The City Mayor cannot abrogate those rights. It might be a good idea for the City to invest in a short course on ethics for it's administrators. The workers have it right. The Administration doesn't get it.