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March 30, 2008
Littlefield Takes On Corker's Legacy. Good Luck With That.
I guess I'm not the first to tell you, but the 2009 Chattanooga mayoral race is already underway and Ron Littlefield's first tactic has been launched.
It's clumsy and cheap, but Ron Littlefield, Chattanooga's Worst Mayor Forever and Ever Amen, has launched a public letter-writing campaign against former Mayor Corker. [Yes I know he's a US Senator now and that would make a foolish target in your mayoral campaign, but I'll unpack the whole case in a sec, trust me.] Thanks to my amazing team of WorstMayorEver.com field reporters, I've got the scoopage.
If you're an involved Chattanoogan--and face it, if you're reading this, you are--you've probably seen these letters to the editor on John Wilson's Chattanoogan.com.
On March 26 Renee McIntosh wrote the following:
Waterfront Was Completed In Time For What?
In reference to the 21st Century Waterfront project, Ken Hays, who was President of the River City Company at the time of the construction of this project, was credited in a recent Chattanooga Times editorial as “coordinating the unimaginable complex task of finishing the riverfront and related civic projects on time.”
My question is on time for what? The end of Bob Corker’s term as mayor? On time for Mr. Hays to promote his assistant at the time, Ann Coulter, as the one responsible for completing this project in her bid for mayor?
We are now seeing the results of fast tracking this project in terms of construction repair costs.
Renee McIntosh
Renee's just a tax-paying citizen, like you or me, right? Why wouldn't she resent Corker for working his ass off to accomplish a decades work in three years? How dare he. She just hates that gorgeous waterfront of ours and preferred when it looked like a loading dock on the Jersey shore. So what that Corker spent months and months making the civic rounds raising much of the money from the private sector? Renee resents that kind of thing, as would any right-thinking person, ya know? I mean that's what moved her to write a letter about $150 grand in cracks in a $120 MILLION dollar project, yes?
No. Renee's not an average, unconnected citizen. Renee McIntosh is Lanis Littlefield's best friend.
On the same day, another watchdog hero among us was similarly compelled to write this fact-deprived missive:
Questions On The Sinking Slabs
Sizable money is being spent to repair defects in the construction of the 21st Century Waterfront Project that was to be completed before the end of the Bob Corker mayoral administration. One defect cited was the sinking of concrete terrace steps that required an $80,000 repair.
I was amazed to read in a Times newspaper account that Jeff Pfitzer, who was the director of capital planning under that administration, was quoted that this was "an anticipated expense".
If it was anticipated that the steps as designed and constructed were going to sink, why didn't he and/or others in charge of the project step in and make the necessary corrections before construction? With this level of project management ability, I can now see why the 700 Market St. project that Mr. Pfitzer has been heading, as the River City Company's director of special projects, has yet to become a reality.
Ben Brychta
Hixson
Such righteous indignation! Such engineering knowledge! Such total BS! Because Ben Brychta is a certified Friend of Ron and you can check it out for yourself a couple of times a month when they can be seen at the IHOP enjoying a short stack of pancakes while concocting a giant stack of crap.
Notice all the names listed in the letters. This wasn't about the waterfront so much as it was about denigrating Corker-era works.
You see, Ron's team of evil genius' (Hi Dale!) have decided that one election tactic that will be really hard to fight is when a competitor picks up the theme from this Web site and points out how poorly this administration has performed when compared to the last one. And the one before that. (Actually, you can keep going ad infinitum. That's what being the worst ever means.)
You would think they'd have learned about the foolishness of the staged letter of outrage by now.
So Ron Littlefield thinks that if he can smear Corker for having the audacity to work hard and quickly to make big, bold civic improvements that will benefit this community for decades, he can lower the public sentiment about Bob Corker enough that he won't look so bad in comparison. And then of course they can start in on people who might actually be running against them next spring.
First of all, with or without cracks, the Waterfront is a thing of beauty and it's been embraced as Chattanooga's front yard. Just go down there on any Friday night or sunny Saturday. Secondly, the investment in the waterfront has already had a positive return on investment, and you can ask anyone at the CVB or a south shore business owner. Engineers will fix whatever's wrong and kids will be hoppin' around in the water in no time. Really dumb tactic. I'm sure worse is coming.
Ron, it's not gonna happen this time like it did last time. When you pull dirty tricks, we're going to expose them. The tricks may still work, but people are going to see behind the curtain and understand the depths you'll plumb to stay in power.
Oh, btw some people in Guy Fawkes masks asked me to deliver this message:
Hello Littlefiend. The past was prelude. The Internet has come for you.
Love, Anonymous.
Comments to:
Posted by Billy Blades at 9:25 AM | TrackBack
March 20, 2008
Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Ron Loves Ya, Tomorrow!
[WorstMayorEver.com responds to the Ron Littlefield's State of the City speech in song, to the tune of Tomorrow from the musical Annie.]
The jobs'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That Tomorrow
There'll be jobs!
Just thinkin' about Tomorrow
Helps avoid The Awkward
That there's nothing
Going on!
When I'm stuck with a mayor
That's lame,
And sleazy,
I just stick out my finger
And linger
To say,
Oh!
Not a thing will come out
Tomorrow
Not a train to Georgia
Or new Downtown retail
Hear what I say?
Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
Ron loves ya Tomorrow!
You're always
An election cycle a-way!
Comments to:
Posted by Billy Blades at 10:12 PM | TrackBack
March 10, 2008
Yes Ron, It's Exactly The Same. Except Totally Different.
Well, the Homeless Hilton project is falling apart around his ears and Ron is trying the oldest trick in the book (the book of double-talking politicians, that is)--the talking cure.
Today's Times Free Press story had a lot of interesting information. Like Councilman Pierce saying that he gives up trying to work with the Mayor on the project because when dealing with Ron, it's "my way or no way."
The most outrageous bit was when Ron "compared the homeless project to the three-year, $120 million waterfront revitalization effort overseen by his predecessor, Bob Corker. He said the riverfront endeavor required extensive preparation, and so will this one."
Uh. Where to begin. Littlefield's homeless debacle is to Corker's riverfront project as Britney Spears is to responsible motherhood. How can Ron be foolish enough to compare his hairy turd of a project to Corker's shiny riverfront diamond? Wow. Can he be so clueless as to believe he can spin his Homeless Hilton crap into Waterfront gold just through the power of his words? Sorry Ron, the whole thing was ill-conceived and poorly executed and someone will soon be using it (and the suspicious financing and favors-for-friends related to the land acquisition) against you during the upcoming mayoral campaign.
In Michael Davis' excellent story, Ron Littlefield, Chattanooga's Worst Mayor Ever, admitted that there's no plan to make his homeless complex actually happen, but that he hoped that if he bought the property an opportunity would come along to bring his unformed dream to reality. That's the kind of mayor we have folks - a wing and a prayer. Except the wing cost Chattanooga's taxpayers $775,000. Good news though--prayers are still free.
Comments to:
Posted by Billy Blades at 11:58 PM | TrackBack