Monday, March 18, 2019

The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 16: Last week's minutes from the Board of Public Works and Safety reveal big donors daintily lapping their gravy.


Previously: The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 15: Beam, Longest and Neff -- they're why Jeff Gahan is HERE and awash in cash, 16,500 times over.

Some people canoodle, but during the coming weeks we'll be plucking highlights from eight years of the Committee to Elect Gahan's CFA-4 campaign finance reports. Strap in, folks -- and don't forget those air(head) sickness bags.

After a while, it makes your head spin. You see those donor dollars multiplying up there on Jeff Gahan's campaign finance tote board, then you spin the Wheel of Random Meeting Minutes and see the fats cats eagerly queuing for their treats.



To illustrate this, let's look at the minutes from the March 12 meeting of the Board of Public Works and Safety -- but first, this wonderfully revealing moment as the bored prepare to approve the HWC Beautifies IKEA-ly work currently underway on Market Street between State and Pearl.

Somehow awakened against all odds, board gatekeeper Warren Nash actually asks a good question of city engineer Larry Summers.

Mr. Nash asked if the properties on the south side
(of the street) have been notified.
Mr. Summers stated they will still have access.

You'll notice Summers did not answer the question -- but of course Nash didn't follow up. Who's he think he is, a News and Tribune editor?

This Mr. Oakes works for AllTerrain, which won the Market Street project with a bid far below what had been expected ... so far that David Barksdale envisioned trees outside the project area being felled so they wouldn't block the view of the Fork in the Road, but seeing it was easier just to remove the public art installation without bothering to inform the artist who designed it ...


Stephen Triplett (owner) and AllTerrain Paving have shoveled a whopping $10,750 to Gahan since 2015. Meanwhile, with an emergency situation on Old Vincennes Road, normal procedures are circumvented for the sake of speed (for the repairs, not lead-footed drivers).


Jeff Eastridge (CCE) has donated $5,500 to Gahan's coffers, and various arms of Jacobi, Toombs & Lanz have poured some $33,225 of sugar on Dear Leader since 2011, contributing all eight years.

The beak wetting intensifies on Mt. Tabor Road.


United Consulting (including owners and employees) has accounted for $15,650. However we've saved the best for last.


I've yet to devote an episode of this series to the sheer numbing ubiquity of Clark Dietz, which serves as an unofficial department of city government.

Wanna know a secret? Clark Dietz sits atop Jeff Gahan's campaign finance suction magnet with $34,400 in donations since 2011, including his two largest bursts ever, $7,500 in 2017 and 2018. Still, Clark Dietz is only a whisker ahead of Jacobi, Toombs & Lanz ($33,225) and a combined grouping of John Neace companies and allies ($32,250).

That's still a cool $100,000 between only three power brokers. Think about this, and #FireGahan2019

Hold on ... 2-way streets from State to West 5th? Whatever it is, don't expect it in an election year.

Rebuttals are welcome and will be published unaltered -- so don't forget spellcheck. If you have supplementary information to offer about any of this, please let us know and we'll update the page. The preceding was gleaned entirely from public records, with the addresses of "individuals" removed.

Next: The Jeff Gahan Money Machine, Part 17: Denton-Floyd feels M(ighty) Fine -- and the resulting Reisz Krispies Treats never tasted better to Mayor Gahan.

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