Bjorklund Sues Fair Board, Miller

[Conan71]

Well, Bjorklund's attorney, Gary Richardson made good on his promise, suit filed today.  Miller is being sued for defamation.  There's a whole lot of denying going on with this deal.

Richardson is sharp, he's going to wind up costing the county serious $$$.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080722_1__Forme50233

The "Peter Principle" seems to have caught up with Randi.  She has reached the level of her incompetence.

Her campaign flyer sure as heck shows she has no grasp of the truth.  I think even the most skeptical people might start believing the Bell's got screwed.  

I hope your resume is updated Randi, you are no longer fit to be in the public employ.  I'm betting she's out in the primary.

[inteller]

but if he is suing her personally...would it cost the county (and thus the taxpayers)?

however, this may be just the thing we need to avoid a grand jury investigation of county dealings.  I'm sure this suit will peel back the disgusting underbelly of the county and show everyone just how bad things were/are.

[RecycleMichael]

A week before an election is sure a bad time to be sued. I wonder if it will backfire and people will think all the bad stuff coming out is just election-related.

Bates has a story on his website that says Randi Miller failed to file her election reports today.

[Conan71]

Everything could point to a cohesive effort to trip her up.  Hopefully voters will see this as the culmination of her totally incompetent reign in office.

[Double A]

All in all, it's just another nail in Randi "Brain Candy" Miller's coffin. She's a dead woman walking. The real question is who's next in line for the firing squad?

[Wilbur]

Tulsa County ...... get the check book out.  It won't be pretty.

[cannon_fodder]

Frankly I don't care about the cost to the County.  I do, but not at the expense of ignoring injustice to him AND TO THE TAX PAYERS.  If it takes a lawsuit to uncover what has really been going on than I welcome it.  

$1,000,000 on a lawsuit is cheaper than more corruption in the long run (Bell's paid more than that each decade, for instance).

Also, I question his ability to collect from the County.  Not knowing much of anything about the case, it would seem his duty was to the County.  By following marching orders and hiding debts (as alleged) he was serving Miller, not the Tax Payers.   It would seem a bit of a breach of duty to do so, and then suing the tax payers for his misbehavior.  No clean hands, no collection.

I don't want to assume there was corruption, but it sure smells fishy.  Discovery is a beautiful thing.

[Double A]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Frankly I don't care about the cost to the County.  I do, but not at the expense of ignoring injustice to him AND TO THE TAX PAYERS.  If it takes a lawsuit to uncover what has really been going on than I welcome it.  

$1,000,000 on a lawsuit is cheaper than more corruption in the long run (Bell's paid more than that each decade, for instance).

Also, I question his ability to collect from the County.  Not knowing much of anything about the case, it would seem his duty was to the County.  By following marching orders and hiding debts (as alleged) he was serving Miller, not the Tax Payers.   It would seem a bit of a breach of duty to do so, and then suing the tax payers for his misbehavior.  No clean hands, no collection.

I don't want to assume there was corruption, but it sure smells fishy.  Discovery is a beautiful thing.

I'd prefer a grand jury, but I'll take whatever I can get.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Frankly I don't care about the cost to the County.  I do, but not at the expense of ignoring injustice to him AND TO THE TAX PAYERS.  If it takes a lawsuit to uncover what has really been going on than I welcome it.  

$1,000,000 on a lawsuit is cheaper than more corruption in the long run (Bell's paid more than that each decade, for instance).

Also, I question his ability to collect from the County.  Not knowing much of anything about the case, it would seem his duty was to the County.  By following marching orders and hiding debts (as alleged) he was serving Miller, not the Tax Payers.   It would seem a bit of a breach of duty to do so, and then suing the tax payers for his misbehavior.  No clean hands, no collection.

I don't want to assume there was corruption, but it sure smells fishy.  Discovery is a beautiful thing.

This is the Tulsa County Commission, of course there is corruption, it's just a tradition down here.  Bjorklund wasn't the best pick for his position.  I'd like to know if he was really lax and obtuse or if he was pretty much scape-goated.  Based on what all we know now of Randi's pathological lying tendencies, I'd say he was a typical bureaucrat and she's a typical politician.

I get where you are coming from but technically, he served at the pleasure of the Fair Board and County Commission, not the taxpayers.  We cannot hire and fire the Fairgrounds manager, but we can hire and fire the commissioners.  The commissioners are supposed to serve the tax payers.  

Yes, Bjorklund should have had enough character to have looked out for the taxpayer and blown the whistle when these conversations about rent payments supposedly took place.

Voters have an opportunity to cleave a cancer out of the commission.  Republicans get out and vote in the primary.

[waterboy]

A letter to the editor in the World (I recognize the name as a former local executive) alleges that Mr.B was not the choice of the committee charged with recommending candidates for this position. His former employers did not rate him well but the commissioners insisted on his hiring. That should say something to us. He was Murphy's guy from the beginning and the commissioners knew it. Who were the commissioners at his hiring?

[cannon_fodder]

So waterboy, the theory is they were in it together and now have had a falling out?  I wonder if that would/will come out in court.  Would either party benefit from in this by admitting to corruption?  If not, it's just so much BS in the courthouse.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

A letter to the editor in the World (I recognize the name as a former local executive) alleges that Mr.B was not the choice of the committee charged with recommending candidates for this position. His former employers did not rate him well but the commissioners insisted on his hiring. That should say something to us. He was Murphy's guy from the beginning and the commissioners knew it. Who were the commissioners at his hiring?

Randi Miller, Dilbert Collins, and Dirty Bob Dick.

Explains everything right there.

I had also read somewhere before the Big Splash deal pulled the plug on Bjorklund that there was a long-standing relationship w/ the Murphy's via Fair Park in Wisconsin and perhaps one of the other venues he worked at.  Rick struck me as a typical well-paid bureaucrat stroking a paycheck.

[Friendly Bear]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

A letter to the editor in the World (I recognize the name as a former local executive) alleges that Mr.B was not the choice of the committee charged with recommending candidates for this position. His former employers did not rate him well but the commissioners insisted on his hiring. That should say something to us. He was Murphy's guy from the beginning and the commissioners knew it. Who were the commissioners at his hiring?

Randi Miller, Dilbert Collins, and Dirty Bob Dick.

Explains everything right there.

I had also read somewhere before the Big Splash deal pulled the plug on Bjorklund that there was a long-standing relationship w/ the Murphy's via Fair Park in Wisconsin and perhaps one of the other venues he worked at.  Rick struck me as a typical well-paid bureaucrat stroking a paycheck.

Being an At-Will employee like all Tulsa County employees, Mr. B had to do what he was told, or else get fired.

If there were no witnesses to the Miller - Bjorklund exchange, then it will just turn into a He-said, She-said argument in court, absent a paper trail or eyewitnesses to the conversation.

Nonetheless, apparently Mr. B. chose to not cash the one-half 2006 Big Splash rent check, and also not demand the very past due 2007 Big Splash rent.

And, the accountant working under him did what he was told, too.

So, Mr. B. did probably need to get fired for falsifying the Fairgrounds financial statements.

And, I suspect that his former Boss Ms. Miller will likewise be fired by the voters by November at least.  

The local power establishment has figured that her "brand" appeal has about worn out, and they've groomed Karen Keith waiting in the wings to replace her.

They don't want Mrs. Bell, however, because she'd probably not under their control, due to her separate sizeable accumulation of wealth, and Mission-from-God zeal over her family business of 52 years being ruined by the Fairground Board acting as catspaw for the Murphy carnies.

So, the local power establishment have helped Ms. Miller financially in the GOP primary.

And, if she's defeated in the July 29 primary, or in the November General Election, they have a government sinecure of a job waiting for her when she leaves office, for prior services rendered, and to also keep her quiet and under their thumb.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by Friendly Bear


The local power establishment has figured that her "brand" appeal has about worn out, and they've groomed Karen Keith waiting in the wings to replace her.

I agree with about everything else you said with the exception of this gross mischaracterization.  

That makes no sense for your oligarchy to pump money into a loser's campaign in the primary.  They could just let her wither on the vine and dumped all their money into Karen's coffers.

[Friendly Bear]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by Friendly Bear


The local power establishment has figured that her "brand" appeal has about worn out, and they've groomed Karen Keith waiting in the wings to replace her.

I agree with about everything else you said with the exception of this gross mischaracterization.  

That makes no sense for your oligarchy to pump money into a loser's campaign in the primary.  They could just let her wither on the vine and dumped all their money into Karen's coffers.

TOO risky for them.  They can't take the CHANCE that Mrs. Bell might win the General Election.

These are the same people that that have rigged the system to game it for their financial benefit every way possible.  They just LOVE No-Bid, Sole Sourced Contracts, for example.  That is, City/County Contracts for THEM.

They like control.  They made money to acquire power, and are using their power to protect and grow their money.

Observe, there's a reasonable CHANCE that Sally Bell might beat Ms. Keith in the General Election.  

They don't want anyone at the Fair Board or the Jail Authority or the County Commission that they don't control.

Bell is running as a Republican. GOP candidates have generally fared better than the Democrats for several decades in our City and County, including Miller's Commissioner District.

I repeat:

The local power establishment just can't take the chance Mrs. Bell might win.

They'd rather get rid of her in the GOP Primary, than run the risk she gather momentum and could win the General Election.

They remember that almost happened with outsider Tom Quinn when he ran for Mayor back in 1986.  

He defeated the INCUMBENT Democrat Mayor in the Democrat Primary, and the local Power Establishment then pulled out all the stops to elect Dick Crawford as a one-term Mayor.

That was TOO close of call for them.

We recently saw how they similarly operated during the last mayoral election.  

The local ruling establishment could NOT take the chance that City Councilor Chris Medlock MIGHT have defeated Mayor Bill LaFortune, and POSSIBLY gone on to win in the General Election.
Unlikely, but POSSIBLE.

So, they pushed Ms. Miller into the race to force a three-way split in the Winner-Take-All GOP Primary, where Miller could triangulate Medlock's base which was centered in the same West Tulsa and ORU constituency as Ms. Miller, and ensure a Win-Win for them.  

If LaFortune won re-election, they won.

If Taylor defeated LaFortune, they won.

Win-Win.

They are only giving Miller enough to get past Ms. Bell.  The amounts are chump change to that group.  $2,500 is a rounding error for Mr. Kaiser's purported net worth.

My suspicion is that they will wholeheartedly back Karen Keith as the "fresh face" in this Fall's election.

She served them so very well to help promote Vision 2025.

Remember?  

Super-Saleswoman after 20 years as experienced, well-polished, former local TV reporter and news anchor.

So polished, she could sell Ice Cubes to Eskimoes.