October 25, 2017

Author:  Tim Becker

Mr. Lusk, Integrity Counts!

On October 11th, Council Member Bill Lusk sent an email inviting veterans to a cookout at Scottsdale Farms.  The emails referenced Milton’s program for recognizing fallen veterans with markers on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.  Immediately, I began receiving emails from concerned citizens who were not veterans, but had registered through the City government for markers for relatives who are deceased veterans.  These citizens were concerned that their personal information had been compromised and was being used for political solicitations . . . and they were right. 

On October 12th, I alerted both Mr. Lusk and the City about the issue.  The problem is that Mr. Lusk was using a city-generated e-mail list that was provided to a veterans charity for the singular purpose of communicating with citizens about markers for their deceased relatives.  It was never intended to be used for political solicitations, but that is exactly how Mr. Lusk used it. And his behavior is reprehensible.

Mr. Lusk claims that his use of the memorial markers list was an “honest oversight on my part.”  However, Mr. Lusk’s later actions belie this explanation.  Despite being made aware of the seriousness of this issue, Mr. Lusk continued to use the memorial markers email list.  Four days after sending out his initial invitation to the cookout at Scottsdale Farms, Mr. Lusk sent another invitation on October 16th for a second event at Little River Farms.  Honest oversight . . . I don’t think so.  This story has now been reported in a number of new media outlets.  Following are links to various stories on this email scandal:

Milton Herald: Milton Issues Apology for Improper Use of Emails

WSB: Longtime Councilman Using City-run Database to Solicit Votes

The Patch: Councilman Used Emails For Veterans Program To Promote Campaign Event

AJC: Milton Councilman Improperly Used Email Addresses From City

These news stories are pretty damning in their assessment of the situation.  However, the reporters failed to discern and report on certain key points that highlight the issue of Mr. Lusk’s integrity.

• Mr. Lusk continued to use the veterans email list AFTER he was made aware of the privacy issue.
• The initial invitation addressed recipients as VETERANS.  The list used was not Mr. Lusk’s general contact list, as Lusk asserts.  And in fact, citizens on his general contact list have confirmed that they did not receive an invitation.

Citizens, this misappropriation and misuse of emails is a serious violation of the public trust by an elected official.  It is so serious that the The City of Milton sent Mr. Lusk an admonition and cease-and-desist letter.  Following is the letter:

 

However, the story gets even worse.  Some city staff were also inappropriately sent campaign appeals from Council Member Lusk.  Such solicitations to city staff are highly inappropriate, and I believe, unethical.  City staff should be free to operate, free from any political pressure.  Following is a letter sent by the City Manager to City Council alerting them to this issue.

This issue was considered serious enough that the City Manager sent out the following to City Staff.  This aspect of the story was also not covered by the local press.

And following is City Council’s discussion of the email controversy.  Notice that Mr. Lusk says nothing . . . just like he avoided WSB’s cameras . . . hiding instead behind a prepared written statement.  Mr. Lusk had a golden opportunity to explain his actions, but said nothing.  No apology . . . no explanation . . . silence.

Citizens, this data breach was NOT an “honest oversight”.  This misuse of your personal information fits into a pattern of misbehavior and malfeasance from Mr. Lusk that many of us have witnessed over the past 2 years.  Citizens, we deserve better than Mr. Lusk.  We deserve elected representatives that will serve citizens with integrity.

Advocating For Clean Government,

Tim Becker