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April 20, 2008
How much can YOU borrow from the city, interest-free?
The Chattanooga Times Free Press — or Dave Flessner, to be exact — delivered somewhat of a bombshell report today on the cozy relationship between downtown condominium developers and the Ron Littlefield/Dan Johnson administration.
Yeah, it seems that former Littlefield campaign manager Dale Mabee is among those building that set of condos by Walnut Street. No harm in that, to be sure; but how the land came to be purchased, and the terms under which it was, sure bears questioning.
Not only did Mabee get a three-quarter million dollar loan from the city (aka you and me) free of interest, but he and his business partners also received an option to buy more land, just whenever (an option, by the way, that was not included in the publicized contract); and a free alleyway worth an estimated $96,000. Of course this firm outbid its nearest competitor by $105,000 or so. The giveaways more than make up for that. And Chief of Staff Dan Johnson is in the middle of it all.
As I was preparing to write this, I thought, "better check my feed reader to make sure Billy Blades hasn't put up something about this." There was nothing in Bloglines, but I hit the straight URL just in case. Sure enough: ol' Billy is on it.
Look, I could be convinced that the RiverCity crowd ain't exactly angels; but the sheer hypocrisy displayed by Littlefield, Johnson, and (now) their auditors, repeatedly, since the 2005 election cycle, strengthens my resolve to do everything I can to unseat this administration, and none too soon.
I guess I won't be moderating any debates among the mayoral candidates, as my bias is and has been duly declared; but that's a small sacrifice toward the much more important work ahead.
Government | By joe lance | 09:48 PM