This time Cranley and his minions decided to undertake a coordinated effort (COAST and Mary KKKuhl were on board too) to smear Qualls. Well after a press conference and an email exchange with the Ethics board Cranleys was proven wrong.
What is so troubling about this latest instance is the Cranley should have known better. He should have know that the actions Qualls was taking were fully within the ethics rules. He knows what idea that the articled quoted:
“It would be unreasonable to hold that lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, and other professionals have an interest in the contracts of their business clients.John knows this. He was a lawyer while working on council. He has not come forth with any documents saying that the business deals he worked on as a lawyer were clear of ethics violations. Additionally, the information on the property sales, are public documents. His claim of her hiding these actions is preposterous. He's the one who keeps his business dealings in private, hidden from the public.
More to the point, he only came forward with one document, after sitting on it for months, that covered the company for which he as an owner and that he was working on getting funding from a TIF entity that he help create and voted to enact, all of this while being a sitting member of City Council. Instead of being investigated, he appear to think it over, waited nearly six months and then resigned. No one ever fully and officially reviewed his actions in office and John never came forward to demonstrate that none of his prior actions violated the ethics rules.
As long as John wants to champion transparency, why doesn't he submit to questions from an enterprising journalist and answer about his past. Here are few questions that could be asked: Did John ever vote on zoning in any area of East Price Hill? Did John vote to recognize the Incline District or did he leave that to his associate, former Council member Cole? When did John begin conversations about joining the company he later resigned from Council over, was it before or after he introduced the motion to establish a TIF entity for East Price Hill? How much money did John have to invest in the company in order to become an owner? How much money has John's business partners donated to his political campaign?
John has gall, I give him that, but he's a dishonest and hypocritical politician. That's often assumed in politicians, but in John's case he is acting out that dishonesty. It is a small victory that he is being called on the carpet for it. The problem is that he and his surrogates won't back down. I expect to hear these same claims repeated over and over again, likely via word of mouth on social media. Each time they are repeated, they are clear lies, especially when they come from Cranley's supporters who are current and former elected officials. They know better, but will backing up John's say anything to get elected mantra.
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