Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Vaughn Bounces Scales From Committee For Refusing To Support Approval Of ACS Parking Meter Lease

I've been telling you for quite some time that CCC President Ryan Vaughn (R-Barnes & Thornburg) has been ordering his fellow Republican councilors to make unpopular votes to support an agenda that larges benefits his law firm's clients. His unethical behavior reached a new low this week after he removed Republican Councilor Christine Scales from the Public Safety Committee after she refused to support the 50-year parking meter lease for Vaughn's client, ACS, and earlier indicated reluctance to support the Public Safety budget put forward by the Ballard administration due to legitimate disagreements with its spending priorities. Scales was the only Republican councilor on the committee to ask tough questions of Public Safety Director Frank Straub, such as why he had money spent on remodeling his offices. Vaughn told Scales his decision to remove her from the community resulted from "communications issues" between the two of them, but she knows it is retribution for her refusal to vote down the line with the agenda he sets for the caucus that often aligns with the interests of his law firm's clients. Scales believes the 50-year lease agreement for the parking meter asset is a bad deal and urged Vaughn in an e-mail earlier this week to table the proposal. Vaughn responded in kind by bouncing her from her favorite committee assignment. Vaughn is replacing Scales with Councilor Aaron Freeman, who like Vaughn is an attorney. If Vaughn thinks Scales has been too independent in her judgment in the past, he ain't seen nothing yet.

While Vaughn may not be able to count on the vote of Scales on controversial issues in the future, he can always count on lapdog Councilor Angel Rivera (R-I Want My MBE Contract). The IBJ has a puff piece on Rivera in which it describes him as a "political neophyte." Not so fast, Mason King. Rivera's political activities date back to his student years at IU where an IBJ commenter reminds King of a scandal that enveloped Rivera's student government ticket that lost their elected positions due to campaign violations. The party ticket on which Rivera was elected as student body vice president, Big Red, was found to have falsified campaign finance reports and disqualified from holding student office. Rivera had claimed 600 t-shirts he purchased in support of his party's ticket emblazoned with the party's logo did not represent a campaign expenditure. Interestingly, another member of his Big Red ticket, Jason Sondhi, has done quite well winning MBE contracts for his minority-owned business, Sondhi Solutions, from the Ballard administration. Rivera works for another MBE, The Consultants Consortium, which is a government subcontractor for ACS. Notwithstanding his employer's business relationship with ACS, Rivera, like Vaughn, sees no conflict of interest in participating in the vote on ACS's 50-year lease agreement with the city for the parking meter assets. Marion Co. GOP Chairman Tom John is a registered lobbyist for Rivera's firm. John engineered Rivera's appointment to the council earlier this year after at-large councilor Kent Smith resigned his seat. John's law firm, Ice Miller, is being paid by the City at least a half million dollars for legal work on the ACS lease.

7 comments:

Had Enough Indy? said...

Please make it stop.

Marycatherine Barton said...

I wish one of us was the Marion County Prosecutor of the U.S. Attorney assigned to Marion County. Would we ever use Christine O'Donnell's broom and go after those who violate their public trust!!!

Paul K. Ogden said...

Wanna guess how the Star treats the retaliation against Scales by Vaughn?

a. A legitimate news story
b. A blurb in Behind Closed Doors
c. Ignore it completely.

I'm guessing "b," though "c" is a possibility. Of course, for most newspapers it would be a slam dunk "a."

dcrutch said...

I've run into Ms. Scales at a couple of North side public events over the years and have corresponded with her. She seems to be genuinely conscientious, trying to do the right thing even when the choices aren't easy (and I don't agree with every one of them). However, I'd take her in a heartbeat instead of MY councilman: Ryan Vaughn. What on Jupiter's far moon is the difference between Monroe Gray's conflict of interests and Vaughn's except Vaughn's elicits less turmoil and he seems more unabashed about it? It's a public shame to have any ideological similarity to a Republican in this county. Moe, Larry, and Curly are taking notes in the hereafter from Johns, Vaughn, and Ballard.

Tell me we'll have a Libertarian (a real one- Please) running for mayor. I've definitely had enough of the Barnes & Thornburg party and would not like to vote for the Baker & Daniels party. To hell with Shane- Come back, Fred Peterson! Come back!

M Theory said...

Christine Scales is a saint. I don't even think she keeps her salary. I think she uses it for charity.

This is sad. People should write to Christine to offer her our moral support and thank her for standing on principle.

artfuggins said...

Ryan Vaughn = conflict of interest

chocolatecherries said...

Blow it out your ***. Advance Indiana? Lol...we could not be anymore backwards if we tried. We are a punchline on late night TV at best.
In this town I live in alone, the mayor made a mockery of the police dept. that pulled him over and knew he was drunk. His son, a reserve officer was caught with 25 pictures of a 14 year old girl on his cell phone. He did no jail time, and does not have to register as the sex offender he is.
My bi-racial daughter was abued all through school. She was actually chased down the road by a truckload of redneck idiots. There were witnesses, but nothing happened. Yep....Indiana is great alright...if you know the right people. Stupid republican leaders with no heart, and lots of racism....HOME OF THE KLAN.