Honorable Government in Reno? Honorable Government in Reno?
This is a verbatim response to more attempted flapdoodle... from Reno councilman Tom Herndon... who seems to have recently attended a course in grammar, but continues to be in need of more inculcation concerning honorable government and ethics. 10 Oct, 1997.
[ The report also can be found on the internet at http://www.renocitizen.com/diatribe.htm ]
Herndon:
Heated criticism? Sam, in his comments about the mayor controlling the
Airport Board conveniently ignores the fact that the Council must
approve of the appointments. The mayor has the right to make the
appointment, subject to Council approval, but has not chosen that route
prefering to have appointments submitted by all members and then voted
upon. Sam has, in effect, attacked me personally as one of those who
voted for those appointments and, by inference, has influenced the
awarding of a contract by that board. I would say that under the
circumstances my response was terribly restrained.
Dehné:
This flapdoodle makes no sense... and certainly does not explain the mayor's violations of the most basic code of ethics that any government official should be ordered to adhere to... Nest Feathering by elected officials.
It does not matter how many people on the council appointed how many people at the RENO Airport Board. They ALL serve at council's pleasure and are an intricate (albeit amateurish) part of the city of Reno.
THE CITY CHARTER SAYS: "COUNCIL MEMBERS SHALL HAVE NO DIRECT OR INDIRECT CONTRACTS, LEASES, OR AGREEMENTS WITH THE CITY." AS IN... NONE, ZERO, NADA, ZIPPO... PERIOD!
What part of kickback don't you understand? If you feel guilty about your participation in this mess, we are not surprised... you should.
Restrained? Your flapdoodle was more like... inane.
Herndon:
Your response to the public apathy issue begs the question of how do
we get people involved. Sam rails about our P.R. budget, not noting that
a significant portion of it is used to support the neighborhood councila
which we created and to disseminate information about what is going on
to the general public with the idea of informing and, hopefully, involving
more of them.
Dehné:
Citizens would like to see how much of the city's Brainwashing Propaganda Budget is wasted... inculcating the citizens against the railroad, or trying to convince citizens what a "great" job city hall is doing. If city hall was doing its job of sounding and honoring the will of the people, it would not have to spend huge sums of tax dollars brainwashing them.
Many of your APPOINTED surrogate-cronies on the neighborhood councils are pure huff and fluff... with the prime example being Sue Camp, who claims the crown of being Reno's appointee queen.
By the way, we are PROUD of Reno's rank-and-file workers. It is more than amazing... that they can accomplish as much as they do... with THIS upper management overseeing them.
Herndon:
Sam, in his infinite wisdom and truthfullness, has either failed to
investigate lthe facts or is just stupid regarding the contract to the
mayor's company. The mayor's company has been working for some
years with the airport authority on getting us more involved with foreign trade.
Dehné:
Are you trying to make our point... and support our observations? You, yourself, admit that "the mayor's (private) company has been working for years with the airport authority"... with previously no success. Within days of appointing cronies to the airport board, those political subordinates clandestinely (with absolutely no "disclosure" in the document) voted to pay off the mayor's private company with that plush kickback contract he had been seeking... for years!
Herndon:
His company is the local expert in the field.
Dehné:
Being the local expert (even if true) does not justify disregard for the city Charter and the Laws of Nevada.
Herndon:
A $27,000 contract is a drop in the bucket for his company and, in any case, his profit from it
would be minimal. Sam would sugest that Mayor Griffen would sell his
soul and personal integrity for a couple of thousand dollars and I find that
personally offensive because it implies that by supporting those Board
members that we appointed I have compromised my integrity for nothing.
Dehné:
This is one of THE most bizarre attempts at a rationale. It is so lacking in logic that it is hard to respond to. Let's see, you say the mayor would not accept a kickback contract of "only" $27,000... obviously implying that there IS AN AMOUNT OF MONEY that would get his attention. How much money do you think it would it take for the mayor to "sell his soul"? (Tom would also naively believe that the mayor is accepting this kickback contract for humanitarian reasons... not for personal profit. Sure!)
AND if you, as you state, would not compromise your integrity for "nothing", how much WOULD it take to compromise your integrity? Something is even more fishy than usual with your disjointed logic.
Actually there might be a disjointed point here. The mayor is not "selling his soul" for a "drop in the bucket". You see, this is only seed money for the mayor's private company to eventually try to create a multi-million dollar monopoly in northern Nevada... with the citizens being stuck with the bill. (This is a scheme that will not only feather his nest... but will also add to the Reno Airport's already out-of-control danger and blight.)
Herndon:
The ethics law specifically references amounts which would be
espected to influence the vote of a person. I would suggest that
perhaps $50.00 would influence a mind as small as Sam's, but not an
ordinary person.
Dehné:
Anybody who understands what Tom is trying to say here please let us know. It sounds like a slam... but with his awkward perspective of government (and honor), it is confusing.
Herndon:
Sam does have the right to complain and does so at virtually every
meeting we have. We listen to him because he does have that right.
Dehné:
This is the first, and only, time any sense is made in this entire quibbling mass of diatribe.
By the way, Tom, I have been making a concerted effort to find something positive to comment on at city hall. I promise to keep trying until I am successful.
Herndon:
What he does not have, to my way of thinking, is the right to personally
attack me, or to indirectly attack me or my integrity unless he can back it up.
Dehné:
Sounds like a guilty conscience trying to alibi for something...
Herndon:
When facts or testimony are presented which refute Sam,s
positions he dismisses them as part of some conspiracy.
Dehné:
Yes... a conspiracy of silence... at city hall.
You folks seem to think that if you don't talk about the mess, it will go away. You think if you don't address Reno's airport malaise, or out of control development, or the quagmire of a military buildup in the middle of Reno, or break-in cover-ups at Reno's airport, or attempted theft of millions of tax dollars, or the ludicrousness of a $680,000 city hall propaganda machine, then you therefore cannot be held responsible. Sorry... NOT!!!
Herndon:
I try to fairly evaluate all issues before us based upon the most credible information
we can get. Sam has, so far, proven himself to have no credibility. I will
continue to listen to him and his diatribes because he is a citizen and has
the right to speak out...my family has served in virtually every war this
country has fought dating back to revolution to guarantee that right.
Dehné:
Citizens admire your ancestors for fulfilling their patriotic chores.
I am sure there wasn't too much credibility lost (with citizens) when I led the exposé of city hall's attempted $3,000,000 gouging during the Parking Meter fiasco... which you claim to have known nothing about when confronted with the evidence. Tom, everybody would agree that a person might be compelled to "sell his soul" for THAT kind of money. But then, you are lucky... since you profess not to have known about this plot to gouge the citizens. Thus leading to only one conclusion... if corruption was not involved, then incompetence was the rule of the day down there.
Herndon:
Sam may be a great guy in person, but the person that I see publicly is an
opportunist who tries to use issues to advance some persoanl agenda.
Perhaps at some point he can convince me otherwise.
Dehné:
OOPS, you are right again... that's twice. There is a personal agenda: to expose incompetence and corruption.
Signed: Sam Dehné, editor,The Reno Citizen [Click to write your comment.]
Note: To read an up-to-date Herndon Watch, click here.