Political Posturing and Conflicting Interests

By Jeff Jobe
Community Publisher

Judge-Executive Micheal Hale and his personal choice to “horse around” is proving to be costly for us all, and the community must be protected.

Political posturing is a dangerous aspect involving elected officials and especially those trying to find allies or political cover. Hale is the master of pushing others in front of himself when the heat is coming his way.

Before I traded my shotgun for a camera, I witnessed the same when hunting a big buck.  I remember getting out before the sun came up, spending hours setting up a tree stand, and finding myself knowing the buck I wanted was right in front of me inside a thicket.  Soon realizing he knew I was there, too. I watched as he pushed others between us and him slipping out the backside. This is what Hale is attempting to do.

If you disagree with him he encourages your business to be boycotted, has friends roast you on social media, shares one-sided commentaries on the county government sites, belittles you in open meetings and manipulates gullible media to discredit you.

He has no respect for our magistrates. He isn’t honest with them, he says he doesn’t have to update them and has more than once signed legal documents without disclosing the contents or altering them from actual motions approved.

Sadly, because of his most recent error with the healthcare worker premium pay, the magistrates are having to hold off processing anymore of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding because they aren’t certain what he has cost the county this time.

He took a man’s horses, closed his three generation family business and had the audacity to take one of the horses home. There is no difference in a sheriff seizing your car and taking it home with him.  I’ve written about sheriffs doing this and going to prison.

A wise man would stop isolating himself in battles where he is clearly wrong, but he doesn’t.  He has suited up again this week because of a political ally Glasgow City Councilman Patrick Gaunce.  We saw Gaunce throw him under the bus by having him try to push hundreds of thousands to his special interest from the ARPA funds.

It now seems, Gaunce has him out on a limb again fighting against the magistrates and helping bully the Glasgow City Council members to vote against the Property Development Boards (PDB) decision for Site E.

Gaunce has his loyal “yes-men” votes on the city council and even though the PDB meetings are closed to the public and we don’t know where Site E happens to be, he and two private citizens with interest in the site do know and are making their rounds to pressure elected officials.

Honestly, I’m not sure Gaunce has the ability to understand him voting on this particular issue will be an ethics violation.  Sadly, the special interest pushing him and Hale doesn’t care how silly this is making them look.

The moment Gaunce offered his building on the west side of the square as a possible location for the Judicial Center he removed his ability to vote on any site involving the Glasgow City Council because it would indeed be a conflict of interest.

Keep reading the Barren County Progress because the weeks ahead are promising to be very interesting.

Jeff Jobe is founder and CEO of Jobe Publishing, Inc. His commentary reflects his personal views and does not reflect the views of personal or professional associations and affiliations. Reach him at jobe@jobeinc.com. Read his previously published commentary at www.sckentucky.com