Rest easy, suburbanites. It is highly unlikely that the conservative local Democratic Party will sanction defunding the police department.

Original title: BELATED NAWBANY WEEK IN REVIEW: "Councilman calls for closer scrutiny of New Albany police spending."

Following is a revealing article in the local chain newspaper. It seems that council member Al Knable, a Republican (not a Democrat or member of some other smaller political party), mentioned keeping an eye on police expenditures during the forthcoming budgetary process.

(As a relevant aside, the municipal budgetary process for next year stands to be very interesting, indeed, given the pandemic's effects on business, both local and statewide. It's hard to imagine any increases, and far easier to envision necessary cuts. Consequently, for the first time in a while, the budget might well become highly politicized.)

Concurrently, Jeffersonville's Mayor Mike Moore, a Republican, recently announced an effort to equip its police force with a new generation of high tech body cameras.

If my memory can be trusted, New Albany has rejected cameras in toto in the past on grounds of cost; as we can see in this excerpt, perhaps the consensus among elected Democrats (as opposed to Republicans, who have not enjoyed a majority on city council since before this blog was founded in 2004) is that such cameras are simply redundant in a city that doesn't have the sort of problems other cities do.

As an aside, isn't Pyongyang also an example of a city that doesn't have the sort of problems other cities do? The North Koreans keep saying so, at the very least.

Another point worth considering is the quote from the mayor to the effect that if our council is interested in social programs, members have had ample time to bring them to the table, and in fact should already have done so.

Te reiterate: Democratic Party council members have had an unassailable majority for most of the past 16 years. Based on this plain fact, there is a strong suggestion that any social program forthcoming from council would necessarily emanate from Democrats, as opposed to Republicans, or else have no chance whatever of passage. 

For most of the past 16 years.

I cannot recall substantive social programs being proposed by Democrats during this time, but if there were and I've missed them, please let me know and we can update and discuss.

In closing, allow me to note that since his return from Kentucky, Daniel Suddeath has contributed quite a lot of genuine substance to coverage of New Albany. He's lapping his immediate predecessor, the former assistant editor.

As yet it remains problematic for me to support the management of the newspaper, as it seems unable to acknowledge reality on the ground in this community. I wish this might change. If publisher Bill Hanson were to make a serious effort to change the newspaper's approach in terms of coverage, and analyzing events from a cross-section of the community rather than just one demographic, I'd purchase some variety of on-line subscription.

However Hanson can begin by acknowledging the thousands of hits NA Confidential has directed toward the newspaper's on-line advertising since 2004.

Bill, just say "thank you, Roger" -- and shake up that guest columnist roster -- and I'll give you some money

Deal?

Councilman calls for closer scrutiny of New Albany police spending, by Daniel Suddeath

 ... Mayor (redacted) said Tuesday that the council, administration and public should scrutinize the budget every year. Funding public safety and programs that improve the community isn’t an either/or proposition, he continued.

“If any of the council members are serious about funding social programs, I would hope they would have brought those concerns up in the past instead of waiting for a lot of unrest,” (redacted) said. “I don’t think it’s fair to pit the police department against social spending.”

New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey participated in a recent rally and protest walk in the city’s downtown. He said during the June 13 event that the NAPD values its partnership with the community, and that the department is demilitarized and has banned some of the questionable tactics and procedures of other police agencies that have drawn criticism.

(Redacted) also offered his support for the NAPD, adding that he’s aware of the concerns people have about policing, but stressing that departments and police officers have to be viewed on individual merits and not generalized.

“I think the New Albany Police Department has an outstanding record when it comes to treating people fairly,” Gahan said. “I think it’s a mistake to imply that we have the same type of issues other communities may be experiencing and to use what’s going on in other communities as an excuse to defund the police department.”

The June 13 rally in New Albany was historic, and it served as a call to action to community leaders, (Al) Knable said. The protest should lead to meaningful changes that include how the local government views the budgetary process, he continued ...

SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS: Normalcy or normality? I've made up my mind.

There's damage out there some place
You got to step aside
Where are you going that decision is made
That's how it started
Too hot and dirty inside
Contain your feelings when there's nowhere to go

After years and years of dithering, I've chosen normality over normalcy. English speakers have come to use these words interchangeably, and that's fine, but damn it, each of needs to make a choice NOW.

Normality gets my vote, and I'm sticking with it.

Whether you prefer normality or normalcy, one thing's for certain: we won't be having any of it for a very long time to come. Our favorite Doctor Councilman Al Knable explains the social aspect of normalcy/normality in a time of COVID-19 in this excellent op-ed piece contributed to the local chain newspaper.

KNABLE COLUMN: The road back to normalcy

There is an old yarn that tells of a weary traveler who, in the days before GPS and navigation apps, found himself far from home, hopelessly lost in the country. Indeed he was “off the map.”

Minutes passed as hours. Miles rolled beneath him, carrying him no closer to home, the gas gauge approaching “empty.” Desperate for assistance, the lost soul finally came across a seedy gas station, which to him appeared like an oasis in the desert.

Honking his horn with joy, a sleepy gas jockey at length appeared. The driver, overcome with relief exclaimed, “Fill ‘er up! And can you please tell me how to get back to the highway?”

The attendant puzzled a long moment, carefully studied the map and then answered sheepishly, “Mister, I’m afraid you can’t get there from here.”

This is our predicament. We are the traveler, the highway for lack of a better word is “normalcy” and we are off the map with no one who can tell us exactly how to handle this coronavirus outbreak.

People are afraid — more so even than after 9/11. No doubt some of this anxiety comes from facing an enemy even more unseen and insidious than Al-Qaeda. The uncertainty of just how bad things might get, our loss of freedom of movement add fuel to our concerns. There is perhaps so much information emanating from so many sources without rest that no one entity is deemed as the authority. Thus information mingles with misinformation breeding rumor and fear.

So how do we return to normalcy?

As for my personal decision to opt for normality, there's a good explanation here.

Normality and Normalcy, by Maeve Maddox (Daily Writing Tips)

Both nouns derive from the adjective normal.

normal: conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

The adverb is normally.

According to some speakers, normalcy is an abominable neologism to be avoided at all costs. This attitude is illustrated by this comment praising a writer for preferring normality over normalcy:

A Nobel in Literature to you for writing “return to normality” instead of the ugly neologism “normalcy,” first popularized by Warren G. Harding.

Actually, according to the OED, this particular “neologism” was around as early as 1857, nearly half a century before Harding used it in his campaign in 1920 when he promised “a return to normalcy.”

(snip)

Normalcy is not interchangeable with normality in some contexts. For example, in comparing an untypical condition to a typical condition, one would want to pair abnormality with normality and not normalcy. Although the form “abnormalcy” is showing up on the web and even in some dictionaries, it’s not in the OED, and it is not standard in American speech.

Bottom line: Normalcy is well established and acceptable in standard American speech, although it is not interchangeable with normality in some contexts. Normality, on the other hand, suits every context in which the sense “the state or condition of being normal” is intended.

Question: Did David Barksdale's support of the Reisz Mahal cost him re-election?

Now that the election is over, maybe I can finally start writing about what I REALLY think.

Or maybe not.

Either way, to kick things off with post-election analysis, a question for readers: Incumbent at-large councilman David Barksdale (Republican) lost his seat to newcomer Jason Applegate, a recent convert to the Democratic Party.

Last year Barksdale famously broke with his party and joined council's four Democrats to cast the deciding vote on the Reisz Mahal luxury city hall project.

Did this hurt him among fiscally conservative Republicans?

"I was very honored to be on the council for four years," Barksdale told the Tom May Evangel-Bune. "I voted for what I thought was best for the citizens. There is always another day."

Speaking personally, I thought he'd be forgiven, but after garnering 3,365 votes in 2015, Barksdale received 3,371 this year, a gain of only six. Meanwhile his Republican council colleagues Al Knable and David Aebersold added 704 and 386 votes, respectively. In short, the higher turnout in 2019 didn't help Barksdale at all, and his Reisz Mahal legacy might be one reason.

An interesting sidebar to Barksdale's loss: who will replace him as council's appointment to the Redevelopment Commission?

I'm guessing it will be Applegate, who stressed "smart growth" in his unsuccessful bid for county commissioner in 2018.

The Aggregate podcast: "Reconnecting with City Councilman Al Knable."

This is Al Knable's second visit to The Aggregate podcast (follow the link, scroll down), and he is the first candidate to appear since Nick Vaughn issued this "invitation" at Facebook on September 29.

Instead of spreading unsubstantiated rumors, I’d prefer if our elected officials and candidates would answer some questions:

• 1. What do you plan to do/what should the city do when/if the Sherman Minton Bridge closes (at least partially)? How will you help mitigate the economic impact?
• 2. Do you support public/affordable housing? What will you do to ensure people who want to live in New Albany are able to?
• 3. What are your budgeting priorities? Rank your top 4 budget priorities in order.
• 4. How do you plan to be accessible to those who elected you (or didn’t)? How will you respond to constituent questions and concerns?
• 5. Council members and candidates: how will you use your power as a co-equal branch of local government to curb executive overreach? Do you support council approval for mayoral appointments (where law allows)?

Anyone who wishes to address these questions will be given an hour on my podcast. Email me.

Previous candidate guests besides Knable have been Joshua Turner and Christina Estill, and Sam Charbonneau is coming next.

Which reminds me ...

Gahan predictably AWOL from Sherman Minton repair meeting as Republicans seek to avoid a total bridge closure.

One.

Only the passive and benumbed yes man, councilman Bob "Bail!" Caesar.

That's the total number of Democratic public officials choosing to attend an important meeting with INDOT officials, with super-duper Supreme Leader Payhan not among them; that's no surprise, because he would not have been allowed to commandeer the meeting to his own small-pond political aims.

Let's be blunt. INDOT's plans for the Sherman Minton repair timetable are the single major issue for New Albany for the next five years -- full stop, or whatever the kids say these days. I wish it weren't so, because I wish we were not almost 100% automobile-centric, but we are, and there it is.

Team Gahan has been almost completely silent about this fact, primarily because it represents the sort of challenge rarely glimpsed by the Wizard of Bling during his 16-year career in municipal politics. Pull back the curtain and behold the beached jellyfish.

As we see local Republican leaders step forward to lead, it's a good time to recall that Gahan's default knee-jerk as mayor these past eight years has been the pursuit of a virtual hermetic sealing-off of our city from GOP-controlled areas of higher governance -- in Indiana's case, this meaning all of them.

Isolationism might be a sound ideological strategy for partisan politics, but it makes no sense whatever as it pertains to efficiency. How much in deferred indebtedness has it cost us to go it alone?

Now watch as the all-powerful DemoDisneyDixiecratic Sultan of Swag sulks in the background as the adults in the room seek to lessen an overall community impact for which there is no good solutions, but maybe a few less awful alternatives.

In Gahan's mind, there is one central expression of petulance, because he almost surely reasons he'll be able to turn future bridge events to his partisan political advantage during an anticipated third term.

Voters can preclude this by denying Slick Jeffie a third term. 

Local representatives urge INDOT not to close Sherman Minton, by Aprile Rickert (That Tom May Show)

Bridge closure could stifle Southern Indiana for a generation, leaders say

NEW ALBANY — Southern Indiana representatives are working to make sure area residents, students and businesses are not forgotten in the decision of whether or not to fully close the Sherman Minton Bridge for repairs.

More than a dozen local and state leaders met Thursday in New Albany to voice their concerns to Joe McGuinness, commissioner for the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). Among those at the table were representatives from New Albany and Floyd County government, state and federal government, along with local universities and business organizations.

"The purpose of the meeting was to kind of put a human face on all these organizations that have been sending letters, petitions saying 'please don't close us up,'" New Albany City Councilman Al Knable said after the meeting, which was closed to media.

The discussion, just one of many in recent weeks, comes as the decision looms for what will be done with the Sherman Minton Bridge during an estimated $90 million to $105 million in repairs INDOT says are needed.

Options for the Sherman Minton Renewal Project include full closure of the bridge for 15 to 23 months during repairs, or keeping it partially open or alternating open lanes between morning and evening. The latter options could extend the project out as far as three years or more. It's expected to begin in early 2021.

INDOT representatives are expected to whittle down the six options in the coming months, but those who met with commissioner McGuinness Thursday say the area can't afford a full closure for the amount of time that's been discussed ...

... Others in attendance at the meeting were New Albany councilmen Scott Blair and Bob Caesar; Anne Keller of One Southern Indiana; Rob Dunn of Develop New Albany; Dana Wavle, vice chancellor for Administrative Affairs at IU Southeast; Andrew Takami, director of Purdue Polytechnic; Josh Kornberg, director of development at Ivy Tech Community College; Floyd County Commissioner Billy Stewart; Jerry Finn, executive director of Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County; Brad Segal, general manager of Horseshoe Casino and Sarah Davasher-Wisdom of Greater Louisville, Inc.

SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS: Syndicates, elections and big fun with pots and kettles.

Over the weekend something unusual happened. After what seems like decades of non-engagement, suddenly a handful of Tricky Dickey's robotically programmed Democratic Party candidates veered from their scripts and began improvising on the digital hustings.

The ensuing scene wasn't pretty, although it was highly instructive.

Surely Squire Adam worried that one of them might actually slip up and be truthful, and sure enough a fair measure of testy bile oozed through the cordon. It appears the Democrats genuinely do picture themselves besieged in the sacred Alamo, with barbarian enemies steadily closing in, endangering Jeff Gahan's only true masterpiece during a career of consummate time-serving mediocrity: Slick Jeffie's Astroglide-Driven Pay-to-Play Political Patronage Viagra Superstore.

Hence the following exchange at The Book.

Let's get down to words. We see that at-large city council candidate Sam Charbonneau is using the world "syndicate" as a noun.

syndicate
sin-di-kit
noun

1. A group of individuals or organizations combined or making a joint effort to undertake some specific duty or carry out specific transactions or negotiations:

The local furniture store is individually owned, but is part of a buying syndicate.

2. A combination of bankers or capitalists formed for the purpose of carrying out some project requiring large resources of capital, as the underwriting of an issue of stock or bonds.

3. Journalism. An agency that buys articles, stories, columns, photographs, comic strips, or other features and distributes them for simultaneous publication in a number of newspapers or periodicals in different localities.

As an amalgam of the first two definitions, it isn't a stretch to suggest that any organized political party* functions as a syndicate of sorts.

After all, they're engaged in specific undertakings toward a desired end, and as we know all too well, large resources of capital are necessary to achieve their goals. To belong to one of these political party entities is to accept, whether implicitly or explicitly, a syndicate-like state of engagement.

Consequently, if incumbent councilman Al Knable is involved with a syndicate, so is Charbonneau. Taking it a step further, in purely municipal terms, Charbonneau's political party syndicate holds almost every lever of power in the city; if not through diminishing electoral performance, then through appointed board fiefdoms like the board of works, redevelopment, the sewer board, and so on.

Gahan has nurtured a highly effective syndicate, hasn't he?

Charbonneau seeks to become a cog in Gahan's syndicate, doesn't he?

Perhaps "syndicate" is a poor choice of words, after all, but it's fascinating to watch as Gahan's and Dickey's cash-infused machine is unfurled at high snark for all the world to see. It's an instance of rising pique as so many of us strive to #FlushTheGahanClique.

---

* "I'm not a member of any organized political party ... I'm a Democrat."
-- Will Rogers

Vote Al Knable and Christina Estill for New Albany City Council At-Large.

Call it an endorsement if you will, or think of it as my personal support, backing, seal of approval, recommendation or advocacy.

This 2019 election endorsement series began last week. Thanks to those who've read the picks in city council districts 1 through 6. Before looking at the at-large council field, a reminder:

Municipal candidates who are not endorsed in this space are welcome to offer their counterpoint. I will publish your statements in this space sans commentary of my own.

The entire city votes for three at-large city council seats. The three Republican Party incumbents are Al Knable, David Barksdale and David Aebersold (in descending order of vote totals in 2015). Their Democratic Party challengers are Christina Estill, Sam Charbonneau and Jason Applegate. Voters may choose as many as three candidates from this list of six -- or two, or one.

(As an aside, do independents and libertarians ever run for at-large seats?)

I intend to vote for Knable and Estill, and to leave the third slot blank.

---

Al Knable's record of service speaks for itself. Agree or disagree with him -- and I surely HAVE disagreed with him -- the conversation remains thoughtful and respectful. In addition, Knable is transparent and approachable. His work ethic as a council representative is exemplary.

In retrospect, perhaps the biggest mistake Knable made during his first term in office was trying to be non-partisan, and to cooperate with Gahan's Goons during 2016 and 2017. Through no fault of Knable's, it proved to be a phony detente, and bipartisanship served only to subject him to an attempted kneecapping by the Dickeyites.

I believe Knable learned a valuable lesson about the Bud Light Lime Mafia from this experience in early 2018.

ON THE AVENUES: Al Knable doesn’t lie, but the local Democratic Party is a flood-plain Pinocchio. Let’s censure it at the ballot box.

Christina Estill is a welcome rarity among local Democratic Party candidates in that she's genuinely working class and self-made, which is the sort of thing the gentrifying Gahanites can't truly grasp. She is who she is, and that's refreshing. As such, here is Estill's pitch in her own words.

My name is Chrstina Estill, and I am your candidate for New Albany City Council At-Large. I am the single mother of 3 sons, Anthony 21, Alexander 18, and Adrian 13. I am a social worker by trade, and a community advocate by passion serving on the Board of Directors of Let Us Learn, and Community Action of Southern Indiana where I serve as the boards Secretary. I am a graduate of Spalding University with two bachelor's degrees in Social Work and Psychology.

As a professional Social Worker, I use my training and experience in conflict resolution and effective individual group process to make change happen in the lives of my clients, and I will approach my job as your city councilperson the same way with a focus on embracing diversity, and seeking community input and involvement in decisions before us as a body. By focusing resources and time to issues facing all of our citizens, and advocating as a voice for social justice, I will bring my full attention to bridging the gap for a stronger, safer, and compassionate New Albany.

That means looking forward for sustainable development and infrastructure repair that keeps business owners big and small and taxpayers concerns and needs in mind, accountable and transparent service as your council person being your voice at the table, and being a good steward of taxpayer dollars with an eye on responsible governance. This is of the utmost importance to me because as an advocate for diverse representation in government we must also act with future generations social, economic, and environmental needs in mind.

Lastly, I will work to be a consensus builder. In these times of divisive rhetoric emerging nationally, I will never shy from bold and dynamic solutions while still working for the best result possible. Elections are debated on the campaign trail, but after taking office a true public servant works to lead. Strong and spirited debate is essential, but we must not allow that to be a roadblock to what is right for our citizens.

A lot has changed in the years since I came to New Albany, and great changes lie ahead in the years to come. My passion for people, our community, our environment, and future generations is always in the front of my mind in all that I do. We need leaders who represent the community they serve in all aspects. The city council is in need of a more diverse perspective, and I can provide that voice.

Knable and Estill; that makes two. For me, that's all. At this juncture, there are reasons why I cannot vote for any of the four remaining candidates, although to reiterate, they are welcome to contribute their rebuttals to this space. Maybe I can yet be convinced.

Charbonneau and Applegate are both interesting and personable fellows, and I've enjoyed chatting with them. I like them personally. However, because they've enthusiastically chosen to be joined to the mayor's duplicitous, catastrophic hip, I must rule them out as candidates. Politically they're on the wrong side of municipal history ... and I can't go for repeating the same old lines.

This leaves Republican incumbents David Aebersold and David Barksdale, and both are problematic in the political context.

Aebersold has lengthy experience as an independent small business owner, and of course that's a good recommendation in my world.

Unfortunately he also has proven to be an uninformed advocate of car-based urban infrastructure to the exclusion of other non-automotive users, and of course that's very bad. Truthfully, I'm on the fence with Aebersold, but unless new evidence surfaces I'm forced to refrain. It might be a last-minute decision.

Barksdale's lapdog support of the Reisz city hall project simply cannot be excused, especially his breathtakingly far-fetched comment to the effect that government workers situated in a plumbed, climate controlled City-County office building with elevators, cushioned seats and WiFi somehow are being subjected to "inhumane" working conditions.

There's no doubting that Barksdale has done many positive things for the city, and yet this comment is a singular nadir in local political history, and plainly it disqualifies him to represent residents, roughly 25% of whom exist south of the poverty line, whose working conditions really are physically and mentally demeaning in ways that Barksdale evidently cannot fathom.

---

Endorsement Compendium:

• Vote Stefanie Griffith for New Albany City Council District 1.
• Vote Scott Stewart for New Albany City Council District 2.
• Vote for Thunder the Wonder Ferret as a write-in for New Albany City Council District 3.
• Vote Cisa Kubley for New Albany City Council District 4.
• Vote Josh "JT" Turner for New Albany City Council District 5.
• Vote Scott Blair for New Albany City Council District 6.
• Vote Al Knable and Christina Estill for New Albany City Council At-Large.

Tonight's council action: R-19-08 Resolution in Support of Maintaining Access during Sherman Minton Bridge Renewal Project.

Courtesy of Al Knable.

I haven't been to a city council meeting in a while, primarily because previous experience has taught us that when elections draw near, the body's politicization reaches a fever pitch -- as it has with the fireworks ordinance hijinks and Payhan's veto.

However, there's a resolution on tap this evening that might prove to be genuinely useful, albeit non-binding.

R-19-08 Resolution in Support of Maintaining Access during Sherman Minton Bridge Renewal Project

It's always nice to see David Barksdale climbing down from the Reisz Mahal scaffolding to consider measures that pertain to human beings, as opposed to cornices.

At-large councilman Al Knable explained on Facebook.

I wrote this resolution and am presenting it for debate and hopeful approval at council’s September 5 meeting; 7:00 p.m. in the third floor assembly room of the City-County building (highlighted areas only show recent edits, not of greater or lesser importance). Resolutions are non-binding but I believe it’s imperative that we voice collectively to INDOT that this project, while necessary, will have major impacts upon our citizenry and economy. If you’d like to be heard on the matter I encourage you to come and opine- you’ll need to sign up prior to the meeting’s start.

Council Democrats have been instructed by their party "leader" Tricky Dickey to obstruct anything that comes to them from Republicans. The vote on this resolution should be unanimous in favor.

Will it be?

At The Aggregate: "A Quaint Discussion with New Albany City Councilman Al Knable."

Michael and Nick from The Aggregate sat down with at-large councilman Al Knable for an entertaining and informative chat about all things NA. It's an hour in length.

A Quaint Discussion with New Albany City Councilman Al Knable

I'm having trouble imagining His Highness the incumbent relenting to an unscripted interview in like fashion, although Jeff Gahan's past record suggests that he's always willing to "take the test" just so long as the answers (or in this case, questions) are provided to him in advance.

Council Monday: No Sharpies for selective tire marking, and no answer for why tires are being selectively marked.

From Facebook.

There are depressingly few dull moments in the Hermetic Kingdom of New Gahania.

Two weeks ago ...

A bizarre election-year case of selectively enforcing the city's largely ignored 24-hour overnight parking ordinance.

 ... It's strange. If we succeed in convincing neighborhood residents to leave their cars parked for a while while walking or biking downtown, they'll return to their homes to find a ticket. Conversely, while understanding fully that we as a society have accepted (rightly or wrongly) the notion of using public property to warehouse private vehicles, it seems a modicum of fair warning might have been given -- although to do so would require the city to concede it wasn't enforcing ordinances previously, and as the embodiment of perfection, Gahan cannot make such a concession.

And so we get the usual politically-motivated cluster from the same usual suspects ...

On Monday evening, at-large councilman Al Knable led off council speaking time with a partial update on the selective enforcement of neighborhood parking, as detailed in NAC's previous post.

Apparently police chief Bailey took a few minutes away from his tireless work on behalf of the Gahan re-election clique to discuss one facet of the issue with Knable.

Seems that Chief Bailey was not aware that some NAPD officers are marking the tires of selectively targeted parking violators with indelible Sharpies and not chalk, and he said this practice will be addressed and rectified.

Now if we could just address the reasons for the selective enforcement in the first place ... but big thanks to Knable for following through and starting the conversation.

With Duggins' NAHA command bunker silent throughout, city council attorney Stein answers the question about public housing residents and political signs.

City council Democrats remain comatose, but we have an answer to a question that arose a month ago.

For background, first this on February 22.

Do New Albany Housing Authority residents enjoy freedom of speech as it pertains to political campaign yard signs?

The Green Mouse has learned that earlier this week a resident at the New Albany Housing Authority planted a David White for Mayor yard sign in his yard.

It wasn't as big as this one, but still.

Then this on February 23.

Political yard signs at NAHA? As DemoDisneyDixieDickeycrats doze, Al Knable seeks an answer.

Once again, Knable takes the first step on an issue pertaining to human rights and freedoms.

It isn't known whether noted human rights campaigner Greg Phipps had anything to say on Thursday about free speech on the New Albany Housing Authority campus, or if he was joined in his concerns by fellow Democrats Bob Caesar, Pat McLaughlin and Matt Nash.

Then again, not one of them has had the first coherent thing to say about NAHA since the inception of Jeff Gahan's hostile takeover of public housing in 2017.

At tonight's council meeting, Knable returned to the topic and queried council attorney Amy Stein, who revealed the results of her research: NAHA has the legal ability to decree that signs in common areas are either allowed, or not allowed. NAHA cannot allow some and prohibit others. However, as it pertains specifically to political signs, the private space of NAHA residents trumps the commons, and NAHA cannot prevent residents from placing political signs in their windows.

The same question was submitted to the Human Rights Commission, and it isn't clear whether it will or won't discuss the issue at the HRC's next meeting.

Thanks to Knable and Stein for their diligence.

Reacting to Mt. Tabor Road council sidewalk resolution, Deaf Gahan declares Monday as "High School Weight Room TIF-cake Day."

The Green Mouse received this from the citizen activists on Mt. Tabor Road.  

---

Mt. Tabor Rd. Residents (and all other concerned neighbors),

Please mark your calendar for this Monday, March 4th at 7 pm as the City Council will be discussing the Mt. Tabor Rd. project. Al Knable has drafted a resolution requesting the proposed sidewalks on the northern side of Mt. Tabor Rd. be removed from the plans. IN DNR told the City and its engineers to not build on the northern side of the road and residents have stated they don’t want the sidewalk. Since the administration has ignored all involved, the City Council is stepping in and making its request known.

If this resolution is passed it will be important to discuss this change with your attorney as the City will no longer need 10’ of land for a grass buffer and sidewalk. See Indiana Codes:

IC 32-24-1-15 Forfeitures; failure to pay damages or take possession

     Sec. 15. (a) If the person seeking to take property under this article fails:

(4) to take possession of the property and adapt the property for the purpose for which it was acquired not later than six (6) years after the payment of the award or judgment for damages, except where a fee simple interest in the property is authorized to be acquired and is acquired; the person seeking to acquire the property forfeits all rights in the property as fully and completely as if the procedure to take the property had not begun.

     (b) An action to declare a forfeiture under this section may be brought by any person having an interest in the property sought to be acquired, or the question of the forfeiture may be raised and determined by direct allegation in any subsequent proceedings, by any other person to acquire the property for a public use. In the subsequent proceedings the person seeking the previous acquisition or the person's proper representatives, successors, or assigns shall be made parties.

[Pre-2002 Recodification Citation: 32-11-1-11.]

As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.9. Amended by P.L.163-2006, SEC.13.

IC 32-24-2-17 Attorney's fees

     Sec. 17. If applicable, a landowner who incurs attorney's fees through the exercise of eminent domain under this chapter is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees in accordance with IC 32-24-1-14.

As added by P.L.163-2006, SEC.14.

IC 32-24-1-14 Costs of proceedings; litigation expenses

     Sec. 14. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the plaintiff shall pay the costs of the proceedings.

Attached are the minutes from the last council meeting as well as the proposed resolution.

Monday, March 4, 2019 At 7:00 P.M.
Regular Council Meeting
Third Floor Assembly Room
City/County Building

Political yard signs at NAHA? As DemoDisneyDixieDickeycrats doze, Al Knable seeks an answer.

Yesterday at NA Confidential:

Do New Albany Housing Authority residents enjoy freedom of speech as it pertains to political campaign yard signs?

Consequently I've been scolded by the Green Mouse for missing Thursday evening's city council meeting. According to at-large councilman Al Knable:

At last night’s council meeting I asked our (council) attorney to confer with city attorney and NAHA to at least obtain a stated policy and compare to existing statutes/precedents. Stay tuned.

Once again, Knable takes the first step on an issue pertaining to human rights and freedoms.

It isn't known whether noted human rights campaigner Greg Phipps had anything to say on Thursday about free speech on the New Albany Housing Authority campus, or if he was joined in his concerns by fellow Democrats Bob Caesar, Pat McLaughlin and Matt Nash.

Then again, not one of them has had the first coherent thing to say about NAHA since the inception of Jeff Gahan's hostile takeover of public housing in 2017.

Principle?

That's a transitory and malleable thing when you're a DemoDisneyDixieDickeycrat in New Albany.

It's a municipal election year in New Albany, and the GOP is serious.

I stopped by Kolkin Coffee today to observe the scene as the Floyd County Republican Party rolled out its slate of candidates for municipal elections in 2019.

Mayor: Mark Seabrook

City Clerk: none

District 1: Stefanie Griffith
District 2: Scott Stewart
District 3: none
District 4: Cisa Kubley
District 5: Josh Turner
District 6: Scott Evans
At-large: David Aebersold, David Barksdale and Al Knable

Therein lies an 800-lb incongruity, which is a concise way of saying something is "out of place or keeping."

Seabrook said during his short speech Friday afternoon at Kolkin Coffee shop in New Albany there needs to be more transparency in city government and that the Gahan administration has wasted taxpayer money on projects, singling out the current rehabilitation work on the old Reisz Furniture building for the new city hall. He also criticized Gahan for not working with county leaders during his two terms.

Standing four feet away from Seabrook was Very Incongruous Barksdale, who garnered nowhere near the level of applause given the others.

His presence proved a bit strange. If the GOP intends to cite the Reisz Mahal as a prime example of Jeff Gahan's debt-laden waste -- and this is entirely true -- then why did Barksdale, one of the party's three council incumbents, provide THE critical vote to move the boondoggle forward?

Just remember that when it comes to manipulation and money, the mayor can be trusted to exploit the weak and vulnerable by finding and tapping their jugulars. Gahan simultaneously milked Barksdale for a crucial fifth Reisz Mahal vote and neutered a Republican. The historian blithely handed the charlatan power on a silver platter.

Barksdale's abrupt collapse might be sad, except it's all hamartia and hubris to to me: "Hamartia is the (fatal) flaw, hubris is the behavior that does not acknowledge it."

Apart from Barksdale's capitulation to Dear Leader -- can he be redeemed? -- it's a fine and balanced slate, surely the deepest we've seen from the GOP since this blog's inception.

Seabrook officially announces bid for New Albany mayor, by Chris Morris (Tom May for Poet Laureate)

NEW ALBANY — The Floyd County Republican Party candidates for city offices in 2019 want residents to know they will always listen to their concerns. Their ears, and doors, are always open. That, they said, has been missing in the last eight years from Mayor Jeff Gahan and other elected Democrats.

"We will listen," Mark Seabrook said. "We will listen to every citizen. The days of a city administration going it alone will be over. We want the community involved and we want to make New Albany the best it can be. Being the best New Albany can be is what this campaign is all about."

snip

Floyd County Republican Party Chairman Shawn Carruthers said he is "very happy" with the slate of candidates, which can still grow before the filing deadline of Feb. 8.

"We have a diverse group of people who are talented in all aspects of industry," he said. "There is a lot of energy in the room."

Carruthers said Republicans enjoyed great success in the county-wide election last year, and he believes that momentum will carry over to this year.

Human rights commission? It's just a "vehicle" to stop criticism, says worst-mayor-ever Warren Nash.

"I felt like the city was being maligned back then and I thought this would be a vehicle to stop that criticism. The complaints against the city were all unfounded."
-- Warren Nash

Chris Morris has done us a great service by capturing this breathtaking quote, which reveals the politically-motivated, self-serving conniving that has characterized Warren Nash's whole career as a self-appointed mover/shaker in New Albany.

Plainly, the human rights commission means nothing to Nash in any sense of furthering the cause of human rights.

Rather, it's just a vehicle -- a purely cynical propaganda jalopy -- to thwart criticism, which at the time of Nash's single term as mayor almost 50 years ago (he was mercilessly crushed seeking a second term and never won another race) was criticism directed against Nash's own incompetence as the worst mayor this city has ever endured ... until Jeff Gahan, Nash's eager pupil, who subverted the current human rights commission and now has doubled down on the damage by appointing his unspeakably dull Svengali to serve on it, so as to perpetuate the do-nothing fix for a new generation, one that deserves far better than either Nash or Gahan allowed anywhere close to a decision-making post.

But it's plenty good for Gahan's campaign war chest, isn't it? In New Gahania, money has more rights than humans. Maybe we need a Campaign Finance Rights Commission.

Thanks, Chris.

The city needed to see exactly what Warren Nash is, and how he operates. In 2019, we can retire Nash by firing Gahan, and in the process, free ourselves from the reign of vendor cash and the stifling yoke of the C-Minus Clique.

New Albany's Human Rights Commission looking for fifth member (Tom May Escalator Duplex)

NEW ALBANY — For a commission that hasn't met in two years, there are going to be a few bumps along the way once that group reconvenes.

The rust was evident during the first 15 minutes of New Albany's Human Rights Commission meeting Tuesday night, the group's first meeting of 2018 ...

Do you have something to say about City-Hall-at-Reisz-Furniture? Come to a public input meeting on May 24 and sound off.

From Vicki Glotzbach, City Clerk:

The New Albany City Council Reisz Property Committee will hold a public information session to discuss and receive public input on G-18-06 refarding the City Hall Project at the Reisz Furniture Building. The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 24, 2018 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. in the third floor assembly room of the City-County Building. Should you have any questions regarding this hearing, please contact the City Clerk's Office at 812.948.5336.

From Al Knable, city council president:

Please note: all meetings of this committee-excluding a brief organizational meeting with Council Attorney present (at which committee shall not receive information, deliberate nor make recommendations), will be public in accordance with “open door” law requirements.

Knable says he hopes to have one or two additional public committee meetings at different days and times before returning for a vote on the City Hall relocation plan. The council committee members include Knable (Republican), Bob Caesar (Democrat) and David Barksdale (Historic Preservation at Any Cost).

Floyd County Democrats reveal council president Knable's responsibility for brush fires, potholes and a mistaken school lock-down. He may have voted for GOP candidates, too.

Party chairman Adam Dickey's really been on a roll lately.

Here's Dickey's statement about the Axis of Evil: Honest, Able and Knable. As loyal Gahan flunky Pat McLaughlin once said, "This resolution is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen -- and I wrote it."

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Republican Al Knable distorts truth to advance political agenda

Councilman spat chewing gum on public sidewalks and did not separate recyclables from household waste

Did you see the week's headlines? There was one that was just too important to miss. The crux of it - Republican City Councilman Al Knable keeps doing things to advance his political agenda.

The story began in 2015, when Knable and two other Republicans were elected to at-large council seats, defeating the Democratic Party's three genetically superior candidates -- except John Gonder, who we had to knee-cap because he kept thinking independently, but we won’t talk about THAT.

Knable stated to the News and Tribune that he recently prepared for work by breakfasting on a banana, brushing his teeth and leaving the house, but the banana Knable claimed to have eaten never happened.

Speaking on behalf of Gahan4Mayor personnel Friday, New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey cleared up the incident:

“After an extensive investigation into Knable's household trash bin, including the building inspector’s inspections of his house’s wiring and HVAC, we learned President Knable ate an apple, not a banana, as he previously claimed.”

Bailey went on to say that there was no record of a Gahan4Life campaign donation coming from the location in question, and that the state fire marshal and Democratic national Committee have been contacted as a professional courtesy.

The fact Knable insists on having heretical viewpoints of his own in contrast to a proper reverence for Dear Leader is disturbing enough, but to use them in support of a political party that threatens the Democratic Party’s monetization machine is more troubling. It illustrates Knable’s willingness to lie and distort the truth to advance his political agenda in spite of what is in the best interests of the Mayor and his only true, right, Christian and shopworn political entity, which Knable should be deferring to, as has been customary for city residents since the sainted FDR called the shots.

If Al Knable is willing to lie about something as important as a banana, can we really trust him to cook the pork chops to 145 degrees?

We’re confused. Does McLaughlin's censure climbdown mean he isn’t a mayoral contender any more, or is he the front runner now?

(Thanks to Jeff Gillenwater for today's header.)

There were somewhere around 80 people at the city council meeting on Monday night, and perhaps in direct response to Pat McLaughlin's censure resolution, management of the City County Building (it's owned by the county) decided to remodel both 3rd floor restrooms, which were closed.

Feeling the effects of pregame cocktails, I sneaked a peek at the men’s room.

It was in such a state of demolition that for a moment there, I thought I was privy to one of David Duggins’ wet dreams about the future of public housing.

On the topic of poo, irresolute thinking as muddled as McLaughlin's should disqualify him from consideration for any future office, but this is New Gahania, not Birdseye, and by noon today the DemoDisneyDixiecratic Party's resident Machiavelli in Knee Pants (A. Dickey) will have transformed McLaughlin's clueless farce into another great propaganda victory for Dear Leader.

How the AdamBot spins this abysmal train wreck is a mystery, but so it goes here in the land of congenital political underachievement.

For the best council coverage you can steal for 600 words at a 3rd-grade level of comprehension during two minutes' reading time, visit the newspaper.

Chris Morris also reports the outcome of the latest zoning imbroglio, in which a development proposed for the corner of Green Valley Road and Daisy Lane was defeated.

Following are five points I learned amid the straining bladders.

1. Clearly, the cynically fabricated hue and cry over Knable's statement to the News and Tribune has had far less to do with his actual comment than seeking to deflect any rational discussion of a combined 9-1-1 call center for city and county -- although if there were a few stray points to be scored by attacking Knable's character, the DemoDisneyDixiecrats are happy to take them. There weren't many, and overall, it's hard to imagine a bigger public relations misfire.

2. Given that there is a rational case to be made for a combined call center (as well as a corresponding argument against it), and seeing that the sliming of Knable was meant to derail anything that might resemble "truthful dialogue," we're compelled to consider the call center issue from a different angle: who currently wets their beaks from the dual call center organization as it presently stands? In short, it's time to follow the money, especially when the upper echelons insist that it's about safety, not cash.

Speaking for myself, I'm pro-union and anti-unigov, but the presence last evening of a spokesman for the call center/dispatcher union provides one clue; another might be found in a detailed examination of the mayor's campaign finance records.

3. Police chief Todd Bailey is planning to run for office. Granted, he hasn't said as much, but since this contrived controversy first reared its nasty, snarling, Gahanesque head, no public appearance by Bailey, as ostensibly devoted to defending the integrity of his unfairly maligned officers (heavens; spare us the melodrama, please), has come without the earnest recitation of his personal curriculum vitae. Bailey currently is jostling with Greg Phipps to determine which of the mayor's hips will be a target for attachment, but of the two, I suspect only the former has the requisite ambition.

4. Speaking of Phipps, the single greatest political disappointment of the current generation, who is fond of bragging about his Olympian detachment when it comes to decision-making, but unfortunately tends to embrace reasoning that mimics the circuitous gibberish of the Delphic Oracle rather than Mr. Spock's Vulcan logic, he was spared from casting a "yes" vote on Monday by virtue of McLaughlin's disintegration. However, Phipps hurriedly reminded the chamber that when it comes to cooperation between city and county, he is opposed to any measure that involves space aliens outside city limits.

Gahan himself couldn't have said it any better, and this is the point. Sycophants, unite -- you have nothing to lose apart from your dignity.

5. Answering Phipps' expression of disdain for perfidious county reactionaries (psst, Greg ... Democrats live there, too unless your implying that ... ), Knable reminded the room that county government recently came into an inheritance, this being the proceeds from the sale of the hospital -- and maybe, just maybe, this is a good sign as it pertains to future cooperation.

Speaking only for myself, sometimes when the facts change, one must recalibrate his opinions. County government no longer is the self-starving mechanism of old, and the closing of JeffBoat assures Clark County of a 20-mile-long development (and redevelopment) corridor from Charlestown and River Ridge to the South Clarksville project at the former Colgate. I may or may not like it, but this is the case. Unfathomable heaps of money are roosting there, and more is coming. If our plan is to bask in the backwash, it would be helpful to have a coherent niche. Right now, we don't.

A luxury dog spa nestled atop a Native American sacred area just might not be enough for New Albany and Floyd County to cope with the ramifications. Instead of wasting everyone's time with a resolution of censure derived from the reeking DemoDisneyDixiecratic swamp of petty and limiting self-interest -- those great big fish in this curbside puddle by the handicapped ramp -- perhaps a genuine commitment to the as-yet purely euphemistic "truthful dialogue" might help us move forward in the coming years.

A final takeaway: The usual DemoDisneyDixiecratic bait and switch -- gestures and signalling about social justice as intended to provide cover for the grubby excesses of the local party's patronage machine -- bears no similarity to the words "truthful dialogue" except as an expression of brutal irony, and as we know, they don't do irony. If there is any lasting value to be derived from McLaughlin's idiotic censure resolution, it's the appearance of these words, "truthful dialogue" within it.

Consequently, if anyone sees "truthful dialogue" emanating from a local ranking Democrat, please let us know. It would be a veritable holiday from the prevailing malice.

How would Pat McLaughlin know what "truthful dialogue" means when his local Democratic looters so very seldom participate in it?

Tonight's the night. If you're a fan of sleazy, slimy, self-serving seediness, you'll want to be at this evening's council meeting as Pat McLaughlin (D-Fantasy Island) introduces a politically-motivated resolution to censure council president Al Knable.

“Resolution to Censure the Council President for Misstatements to the Council and Media Concerning New Albany Public Safety and the 911 Emergency Telephone Service.”

To be sure, it's no use assembling a political patronage machine if the elders can't periodically lift the jalopy's leg and spray Bud Light Lime-scented urine around the room, but even by the barren, subterranean intellectual standards of Gahanism, this resolution is a sham, one that closes with what surely are the most hypocritical words every uttered in Councilpalooza.

“THEREFORE, We the Common Council of the City of New Albany adopt the censure and encourage truthful dialogue in all matters.”

LOLWRP (laugh out loud with rusty pitchforks).

These pitiful Democrats now piously stipulating truthful dialogue – how often have they collaborated in denying it, or telling whoppers themselves? Here are a few occasions that spring to mind in my personal experience.

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Truthful dialogue? I attended a Tree Board meeting in May of 2016 and asked to see minutes of previous meetings. Two years later, I've received nothing.

Truthful dialogue? Was there even five minutes of public discussion about the plan to gift Flaherty and Collins with sewer tap-in waivers, a freebie without precedent, and one never previously offered to non-profits and educational entities?

Truthful dialogue? I famously asked Bob Caesar to provide the Bicentennial Commission financial records. He delayed me for two whole years, then flat refused; I made an information request from the city "corporate" attorney, who informed me these records of a formally chartered municipal entity, one that spent taxpayer money over a period of several years, don’t exist.

Truthful dialogue: We created the storm water board to be self governing and independent -- until it acted independently, then mayor-in-waiting Gahan mounted the lawsuit to strip it of independence, this being a precursor to City Hall annexing the Urban Enterprise Association and the New Albany Housing Authority.

Truthful dialogue? Develop New Albany, another taxpayer-supported organization, refuses to answer questions about the cultural appropriation encouraged by its own governing board during last year’s Taco Walk.

Truthful dialogue? Has anyone outside the mayor’s immediate circle seen financials from the water park's operation? Anyone? Bueller?

Truthful dialogue? Speaking of parks, has evidence yet surfaced of a single word in Gahan's 2011 campaign platform suggesting that just a few years later, he'd have split the county parks department and added almost $3 million in annual budget outlays to a new city-only "quality of life" want?

Truthful dialogue? Jeff Gahan, who as council president angrily refused to allow minions to speak at council meetings on behalf of the mayor at the time, has himself sent a minion to represent him at council meetings almost every time since day one in 2012.

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The preceding are just the first vivid examples to come to mind.

Until a local DemoDisneyDixiecrat shows the first sign of a weak, labored pulse with regard to the concept of "truthful dialogue," it's the same old bait and switch: Indulge in endless “for show alone" gestures and signaling on social issues to avert eyes from the machine-led pillage being conducted by Dickey, Gahan, Gibson, Duggins and their merry crews, who'll go to any length, however nasty, fetishistic and depraved, to remain the biggest bottom-feeders peddling influence in this shrunken pond.

I encourage you to attend tonight and use your three minutes. Message me and I'll tell you how. 

Previously:

Ethically challenged local Democrats can't find a single friend as public opinion weighs in on the party's toxic Knable censure resolution.

More profiles in cravenness: "McLaughlin did not want to make a public comment until Monday's meeting."

ON THE AVENUES: Al Knable doesn’t lie, but the local Democratic Party is a flood-plain Pinocchio. Let’s censure it at the ballot box.

Gahanism is gangsterism, and Pat McLaughlin's nonsensical resolution censuring Al Knable is the best example yet of the local Democratic Party's utter depravity.

Did you miss the headline? The crux of it - DemoDisneyDixiecratic chairman Dickey is up to his eyeballs in fake facts, not to mention male moo cow feces.

The politics of diversion: "Chief Bailey is playing a losing hand, but then, they're not really his cards."

Ethically challenged local Democrats can't find a single friend as public opinion weighs in on the party's toxic Knable censure resolution.

Cricket's chirping? That's their swamp music.

For those just tuning in for today's sad installment of Local DemoDisneyDixiecrats of the Formerly Black But Now Very Greenback Lagoon, two pivotal local election cycles are approaching, the soulless pretend-left political machine is on the ropes, and that bleakest of functionaries, Pat "How High, Sir?" McLaughlin has channeled his inner Adam Dickey into a resolution to censure city council colleague Al Knable for an entirely imagined offense -- or to be brutally frank, for performing the task of council president far better than Paddy Mac ever did.

These are the depraved depths to which Team Gahan has plunged, whether the News and Tribune's deficient management team can bring itself to admit the obvious, or not.

McLaughlin's resolution serves as convenient and compelling proof that our local Democrats have left the rails. The only viable alternative to more of the same is to vote against them at every opportunity.

But first, let's take a brief glance at some of the reactions to our coverage of the ongoing travesty.

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Did you miss the headline? The crux of it - DemoDisneyDixiecratic chairman Dickey is up to his eyeballs in fake facts, not to mention male moo cow feces.

Jeff Gillenwater (junior editor): "This (Democratic Party Fb post) is a lie to advance a political agenda. Members of both parties have been discussing the possibility of a call center merger for nearly a decade. Bailey and the rest of you affiliated with this ridiculous smear attempt ought to be ashamed but, as so many have learned and are learning the hard way, you all don’t really recognize shame amongst the cheap shots, half-truths, and innuendo. The number of people swearing off the local party and its candidates because of abominable behavior like this is growing. They do not see the party as a vehicle for progressive ideas and humanitarian concerns precisely because it’s not. Those still clinging to “local leadership” are likewise losing the respect of many. Keep it up.

D: "The conflicts we Democrats face at the national level require we take the high road at the local level. This (Democratic Party) article and what lies behind it do the opposite, and threaten everything the Dems should be standing for."

B: "Wow. That’s incredibly dishonest, even by local standards ... This has been thoroughly discredited in other threads and forums. The censure is complete partisan nonsense of the worst kind."

K: People know better than to believe that crap, don’t they? I believe Al at his word - a mistake ... This is going to backfire on them.

Billy Stewart (county commissioner): "We can have disagreements about policy and what we believe in how things should be but there is never a reason to try to destroy someone over partisan politics. I don't always agree with other elected officials but I respect their views. I'm truly saddened by the actions of a few City officials trying to smear the reputation of a good person. The only way we can change things is through the ballet box. Remember who did what and vote accordingly."

A: "So, does Pat's Resolution invite us all to write our own Resolutions? Whereas, we can encourage truthful dialogue from he, Jeffrey, and other city officials? That sounds like a fun game! Pat's Resolution could be used as the template and we just change the words and subject to expose real liars. It could be a competition. All participating have their first reading on Monday under Pat's agenda item, and all who participate win because standing up to bullies makes you a winner! ... I hope Pat doesn't become chicken at the last minute and pull his resolution from the agenda. That would spoil all the fun."

BC: If this is the best the Dems can do, then they are in major trouble in Floyd County. They are dying on the vine already and this is simply an extreme stretch to TRY to be noteworthy. Knowing Al as I do, he is an upstanding member of the community and is a straightforward guy who wants the best for New Albany.

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Gahanism is gangsterism, and Pat McLaughlin's nonsensical resolution censuring Al Knable is the best example yet of the local Democratic Party's utter depravity.

R: "Mclaughlin is my council rep. I haven’t seen him in my neighborhood since Baron Hill was running for re-election more than a decade ago. I’m vacillating between whether anger or appalled embarrassment better describes my reaction to this idiocy. Al Knable may have some views with which I differ, but he’s not averse to listening and actually hearing what citizens say."

D: "What a waste of time and money... to attempt to discredit someone you are working with for the greater good of your city. It’s an embarrassment. I’m sorry Al Knable ... keep doing what you’re doing. Posing questions and getting the answers for your constituents. Representing their best interests with integrity. It’s in your job description. What I’m SURE is not there is when something you don’t like comes to light, you strike out at the credible people. Stay the course and do the right thing, always."

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More profiles in cravenness: "McLaughlin did not want to make a public comment until Monday's meeting."

S: "Not sure what to make of this world when Dan Coffey is the voice of reason."

M: "Think I have figured it out. It’s just his way of announcing that the price will be high for him to flip. And he will, if the price is right. Have seen him make 180 turns before."

P: "I’ve known Al for around 40 years, both personally and professionally. I will continue to trust and support him. This is what happens when a good person tries to get into to politics to make a difference, and it greatly saddens me."

W: "This is a total waste of the city council's time. I want to know how the $5 million is going to be spent on the city. I want to know what’s going to happen to the NAHA residences. I want to know about cleanup in the city parks department. I want my city to have a combined efficient 9-1-1 center."

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ON THE AVENUES: Al Knable doesn’t lie, but the local Democratic Party is a flood-plain Pinocchio. Let’s censure it at the ballot box.

Reverend Mike Becht: "I am certain that if Mr. Baylor and I sat down to discuss issues and politics, we would find ourselves holding opposite points of view on many areas of public concern. However, it is telling that we appear to be 100% in sync with respect to one pressing matter - the current tempest enveloping Dr. Al Knable.

Having known Al for more than 35 years, I can personally vouch for his honesty and integrity. That is not to say we always agree on every topic. I'm sure we do not; but I have NEVER once found him to be less than candid, respectful and fair, even when we find ourselves landing at opposite positions on a matter. To suggest that he would lie for political gain is patently absurd, and reveals more about the character of the ones who are making that claim than about the good doctor, himself.

"I am never surprised by the ugliness and mudslinging that goes on in politics. But I am surprised that some in power have calculated that their best course of action is to engineer a public attempt at character assassination.

"Some question the provenance of the quote attributed to Edmund Burke, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Regardless of who originated the thought, there is no escaping the truism it propounds. I, for one, am not willing to stand by and watch a good man pilloried. And if you have any sense of decency, neither should you."

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Following are comments posted here and there in support of the censure resolution.