Category: Ethics

2023 Elections, Ethics, Milton's Elections Project

Milton Herald Three Front-page Articles . . . Reshaped Election Report . . . Council Scammed

Posted on by Milton Coalition

(Alert!  Go to Bits & Pieces for latest post on Political Fringe Tantrum at Council . . . Welcome to the Political Farside.  Following is the link:  Bits & Pieces)

The Milton Herald and Amber Perry have done an exceptional job over 2+ years covering Milton’s election initiative, publishing over 4 dozen (often in-depth) articles and opinion pieces.  Following are 3 links to this week’s Milton Herald articles that provide a hard-to-believe story about Milton’s now thoroughly discredited Election Feasibility Committee (EFC).  Citizens, this stuff is really troubling.  Miltonites deserve much better than this.

Milton Herald: Election Feasibility Report Was Reshaped Before Council Presentation

Milton Herald: Mystery Surrounds Mark Amick’s Nomination to Milton Elections Panel

Milton Herald: Interactive Explore Differences in Draft Final Milton Elections Report

I was especially impressed with Reporter Perry’s interactive that shows what the partisan EFC members deleted and added to staff’s report to produce a poorly supported and highly biased final report.

I submitted the original Open Records Request (ORR) that uncovered this election misconduct.  On September 12th, based on that ORR, I published an in-depth post explaining the misconduct exposed by the City Manager in his email to the mayor.  Following is the link:  Elections Interference (Part 5):  City Manager’s Insider Perspective Reveals a More Deeply Flawed, Biased, and Dishonest Process Than Milton Coalition Investigation Uncovered. 

Led by Council Member Rick Mohrig, some partisan members of the Election Feasibility Committee (EFC) disrespected, marginalized, and eventually excluded staff from the committee’s work.  Staff’s risk analysis was deleted.  Some costs were excluded or underestimated . . . this includes costs for staff’s time devoted to elections design, planning, preparations, and conduct.  City Manager Krokoff has stated that biases of some non-staff committee members were such that the committee’s work resembled a “justification exercise” rather than a true feasibility study.  The final report was not provided to citizens for comment or input and was never put to a full committee vote.  It is unclear how and who finished the final report.  The final report was also not provided to council in advance of first presentation.  I strongly believe that the EFC’s final report was so flawed and biased that Council was thoroughly scammed and consequently made the wrong decision to proceed with running Milton’s municipal elections . . . a decision that has brought much shame on the city and one that will end up costing the city MORE of your tax dollars to self-run its elections than would have been the case if Fulton County ran Milton’s elections . . . higher costs at much lower service levels:  fewer voting locations; reduced voting days/hours; and only 1 early voting location.

These revelations come on top of many other damning revelations . . . including that the EFC initially met in secret and kept few/no records of these meetings.  After disbanding, some EFC members continued to exercise undue influence . . . mostly in the shadows . . . this includes forcing on the city manager an elections consultant who did not meet minimum qualifications and who was later terminated.  Considering all the egregious election misbehavior, I believe the city has no choice but to launch a full-scale and wide-ranging independent investigation of Milton’s wayward election experiment.

Once again, Rick Mohrig is at the center of a roiling scandal at City Hall.  Recall that just 2 weeks ago, the latest Rick Mohrig scandal focused on his meeting with poll workers and his hacking allegations.  And the week before that, Mohrig was circumventing the City Manager (in violation of the city charter) to direct city staff in his efforts to use government authority to suppress his political opponent.  (Following is the link to my blog post on this scandal:  Election Interference (Part 6):  Mohrig Alleges Computer Hack . . . Cover-up For Meeting With Poll Workers and His Misuse of City Resources? (Long Version))

New week, new Rick Mohrig scandal.  It is just one scandal after the next.  Following is a link to the Milton Herald’s article on Mohrig’s hacking allegations and meeting with poll workers:

Milton Herald: Claims of Hacking May Spark Second Milton Investigation

Advocating For Election Integrity,

Tim

2023 Elections, Ethics, Milton's Elections Project

Election Interference (Part 8): Citizen Exposes Mohrig’s Election Meddling & Calls For Resignation

Posted on by Milton Coalition

(News Alert! This coming week, the Milton Herald will be running a front-page, in-depth story about Milton’s Election Feasibility Committee’s flawed and biased report that conned city council into proceeding with self-running Milton municipal elections.  See details at Bits & Pieces.)

Once again, the City of Milton is in the news . . . and once again, the news is embarrassing . . . and once again Council Member Rick Mohrig is at the center of a swirling controversy.  Last week, I and the Milton Herald reported on the scandal involving Rick Mohrig’s meeting with poll workers and his (so far unsubstantiated) allegations of computer hacking.  (Links to my and the Herald’s stories are provided at the end of this post.)  Today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the latest media outlet to expose Mohrig’s lack of integrity.  Following is a link to the AJC’s story published this morning.  A pdf of the article is provided at the end of this blog post.

AJC: Milton Councilman Under Fire For Privately Meeting with Election Workers

Following are the relevant quotes from the AJC article that relate the events and commentary surrounding this scandal:

  1. “Mohrig has said his email was hacked when an invite for a meeting with the poll workers was sent from his email address.”
  2. Mohrig “told his colleagues that he didn’t know anything about the meeting.”  “’Someone may have hacked my email,’” Mohrig wrote on Sept. 6. “’This was not from me, nor do I have any idea what the meeting invite is about.’”  (This was not true as you will read in bullet 8.)
  3. Krokoff said “the Milton IT department and a third-party network security provider found that neither Mohrig’s email address nor the city’s computer system were hacked . . . councilman’s efforts to hide it (the meeting) raises questions and concerns.”
  4. “the poll workers . . . have since resigned.”
  5. “The police and city council are looking into possible false allegations by Mohrig that his email was hacked.”
  6. “Mohrig declined to comment to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ‘while there is an active police investigation.’”  This is total nonsense and just more of Mohrig’s dodging the scandal and essentially pleading the Fifth.
  7. “The councilman did not respond to questions from Councilwoman Carol Cookerly . . .  asking if he in fact met with the poll workers.”
  8. “Krokoff told the AJC that Mohrig met with the poll workers on the date and time of the invite . . . he surveilled the poll workers’ subdivision entrance on that date and the time of the proposed meeting and saw Mohrig turn into the community.”
  9. Mayor Jamison said “elected officials are expected to hold high ethical standards.  Any appearance of wrongdoing can undermine the integrity that voters have in the voting process.”

For nearly two years, Council Member Rick Mohrig has constantly demonstrated a singular lack of integrity in his actions relating to design, planning, and implementation of Milton’s municipal elections . . . elections in which he is running!  Furthermore, his misbehavior has extended to the conduct of his campaign, including his circumventing the City Manager (in violation of the City Charter) to direct city staff in what Krokoff stated might be viewed “use of government authority to suppress a political opponent.”  The optics of Mohrig’s meeting with poll workers is positively awful.  Furthermore, significant city resources have been wasted in investigating his hacking allegations . . . unsurprisingly turning up ZERO evidence of outside intrusion.  Mohrig also continues to refuse to answer questions, or else he provides evasive or deflecting non-answers.  This fall, voters should Vote FOR Election Integrity by Voting AGAINST Rick Mohrig.

Advocating For Election Integrity,

Tim

Following are links to 1) my original blog posts about the meeting with poll workers and the unproven hacking allegations and 2) the Milton Herald’s September 22nd article about this scandal:

Election Interference (Part 7):  Milton Herald . . . Krokoff Surveils Poll Worker Meeting and Confirms Mohrig’s Attendance . . . Mohrig’s Weasel Worded Responses . . . Council Investigation in the Offing?

Election Interference (Part 6):  Mohrig Alleges Computer Hack . . . Cover-up For Meeting With Poll Workers and His Misuse of City Resources? (Long Version)

Election Interference (Part 6):  Mohrig Alleges Computer Hack . . . Cover-up For Meeting With Poll Workers and His Misuse of City Resources?   Mohrig Dodging Questions . . . What a Tangled Web He Weaves . . .

Milton Herald: Email Hack Inquiry Sparks City Interest to Launch 2nd Probe

milton-councilman-under-fire-for-privately-meeting-with-election-poll-workersDownload
Ethics, Milton Coalition

Alleged Ethics Violations Dismissed . . . A Victory For Clean Politics and Political Freedom

Posted on by Milton Coalition

GGT&CFC Dismissal
Letterhead and Main Body of GGT&CFC Cover Letter Dismissing Ethics Complaint

The above letter from the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (GGT&CFC) dismisses all ethics charges made against me and the Milton Coalition.  I was specifically accused of operating an “unregistered independent commission” that was attempting to influence an election.  The trigger for this complaint was $99 that I spent to generally upgrade my blog.  The original complaint was sent in mid-July 2017, so has taken nearly 4 months to process.

Except for some brief comments at one council meeting, I have chosen not to dignify this complaint with any sort of response . . . until now.  I will not speak to the motives of the complainant.  All that I will say at this time is that the ethics complaint was false.  Furthermore, I intend to vigorously pursue all available legal avenues to achieve justice in this matter, including recoupment of my legal fees.

However, in this post, I will speak to the use of the complaint against me by others.  Unfortunately, my reputation was sullied for 4 months by certain Council Members and some private citizens.  Council Members Kunz, Lusk, and Thurman have all publicly asserted that I was “under investigation for ethics charges.”  Furthermore, emails have been disseminated to spread this assertion.  Following is an example of one such email from a citizen that forwarded a message from Mr. Lusk:

Message From Bill Lusk Forwarded By Citizen
Excerpt of email sent by a citizen, forwarding a message from Council Member Bill Lusk

Mr. Lusk’s message is a gross distortion of the facts.  At no time was I accused of operating an illegal political action committee.  Mr. Lusk’s use of “citing his misconduct” is also meant to create a false impression of wrongdoing.  And of course, I have not just “appeared on the scene” but rather have been advocating for citizens for two years.

Quite simply, a complaint was lodged against me.  The complaint was forwarded to me for response.  I responded and asserted that the complaint was false, providing evidence to substantiate my claim.  The GGT&CFC compared the complaint and my response.  It also collected its own evidence.  Based on the complaint, my response, and its own evidence, the GGT&CFC ruled in my favor, stating “Commission staff were able to determine that the alleged violations of the Campaign Finance Act were either unfounded or otherwise permissible under Georgia law.”

I believe that use of the ethics complaint by Mr. Lusk and others against me was meant to silence me and/or blunt my influence in advance of the election.  Of course, this strategy did not work, as Ms. Bentley won in a historic landslide victory, with 71.23% of the vote.

At this blog, I have always strictly focused on 1) policy and 2) how elected officials and politicians comport themselves in the conduct of city business and their campaigns.  These are legitimate topics for discussion, debate, and criticism.  I have never criticized or called out private citizens.  I have never delved into the personal or exploited trivial issues for political gain.

The exploitation of the complaint against me by elected officials was intended to distract voters from these politicians’ records and from their own misconduct.  It typifies the all-too-commonplace politics of personal destruction that so many of us abhor and reject.  These elected officials’ personal attacks underscore why I got involved in local politics two years ago and why I stayed involved.  I wanted to clean up politics in our city and to focus debate on policy rather than the personal.  No Milton citizen should have to hire attorneys and spend thousands to dollars to exercise his/her First Amendment rights.  No Milton citizen should have their reputations sullied by elected officials that exploit our ethics laws for political gain.

Rather, we should encourage and incent participation in our local government and local politics.  Thankfully, with the most recent election, our community rejected dirty politics by electing 2 council members, Laura Bentley and Peyton Jamison, who are both dedicated to clean, competent, and citizen-centric government.  Fortunately, the most recent election made it much less risky for citizens to freely and vigorously participate in local politics.  Power was shifted back to citizens, where it belongs.

Advocating For Clean Government,

Tim Becker

Addendum to original post (added on April 30, 2018).  Following is video from the December 13, 2017 meeting of the Georgia Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission wherein the Executive Secretary states that the complaint against me had “no merit whatsoever factually.”

Transcript of excerpt from Report of the Executive Secretary of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission:

“On our administrative dismissals, the authority to administratively dismiss cases that have no merit whatsoever factually or have no jurisdiction of the Commission has been granted to the Executive Secretary.  There was only one case that was dismissed.  We always report on these as a matter of courtesy so that people will know what they are.  This the matter of 20170171, the matter of Timothy Becker.  The complaint accused him of being an independent committee, which he was not per se based on his conduct.  Therefore, he was not prosecutable at all as an independent committee and was appropriately dismissed on that basis.“

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Council Member Bill Lusk, Election 2017, Ethics

Multiple Media Outlets Cover Lusk’s Misappropriation and Misuse of Citizen Emails

Posted on by Milton Coalition

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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.

Hello Fello Veteran
Screen shot of Lusk’s invitation to Cookout.  Note that it addresses veterans.

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:

 

Lusk Cease and Desist Letter
Letter provided to me by the City in response to Open Records Request.

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.

Email About Campaign Appeal To Staff
Provided to me by City in response to an Open Records Request.

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.

Guidance To Staff
Provided to me by the city in response to an Open Records Request.

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

Council Member Bill Lusk, Election 2017, Ethics

Lusk Is Unapologetic . . . Doubles Down On Deception

Posted on by Milton Coalition

October 21, 2017

First, thank you for your expressions of solidarity with my efforts to achieve good governance in Milton.  Over the past few days, your incredible outpouring of support has been both humbling and encouraging.  As you might imagine, taking on Milton’s deeply entrenched politicians and Special Interests is tough work.

Second, I want to thank the Milton city government for its swift and serious response to the misappropriation and misuse of citizens’ personal data.  The City Manager, City Attorney, and Communications Director seem to be taking the right steps to reassure citizens and to make necessary changes to ensure there are no future data breaches or misuse of citizens’ personal information.

Over the past few days, several news organizations have been covering the data breach scandal in Milton.  My understanding is that WSB will air a story on Monday and the Milton Herald will likely run a story in next week’s newspaper.  Articles have already run in Saturday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution (front page of Local section B) and in The Alpharetta-Milton Patch.  Both articles are excellent.  Following are links to those articles:

Councilman Used Emails For Veterans Program To Promote Campaign Event

Milton councilman improperly used email addresses from city

Please take careful note of Mr. Lusk’s responses in these articles.  Lusk’s strategy seems to be one of deceive, diminish, and dismiss.

  • Deceive – Mr. Lusk doubles down on his deception by telling more lies to excuse his behavior.
  • Diminish – Lusk contends that compromising the personal data of hundreds of citizens is no big deal.
  • Dismiss – Lusk contends this controversy is all about scoring cheap political points.

Let’s start with the deception.  Mr. Lusk states that his use of the city-generated veterans email list was “honest oversight on my part” and “I used my complete contact list to send out invitations to my campaign events.”  This is a lie . . . plain and simple.  Here’s the truth:

Mr. Lusk began his e-mail solicitation with “Hello Fellow Veteran”.  Following is a screenshot of part of the actual invitation.

Hello Fello Veteran

In the next paragraph, Mr. Lusk explicitly references being a veteran and the veterans’ memorial marker initiative.  See the following screenshot of the next paragraph of his invitation:

Invitation Second Paragraph

The above paragraphs make it very clear that Mr. Lusk was using a specific e-mail list—i.e., the city-generated memorial markers list—to send invitations, NOT his “complete contact list” (which he claims incidentally had memorial markers e-mail addresses mixed in).  It is not coincidental that Mr. Lusk even references the memorial markers initiative.

It is incredible that Mr. Lusk claims his misuse was an “honest oversight” when Lusk used the same e-mail distribution list after—that’s right . . . after—the City alerted him to the issue of his use of a City-generated e-mail list.  The City alerted Mr. Lusk about the issue on October 13, 2017.  Nevertheless, using the same distribution list, Mr. Lusk blasted out another campaign email invitation on October 16, 2017 to a second event at Little River Farms.

Lusk Little River Farms Excerpt.png

Why would Mr. Lusk continue use the city-generated veterans list even after he was made aware of the seriousness of the issue?  Arrogance and desperation.  Arrogance, because Mr. Lusk has typically gotten away with such acts in the past.  He did not expect the City to issue such a strong response . . . he was wrong.  Desperation, because his opponent, Laura Bentley, is running a very strong campaign against him and has Mr. Lusk worried.  At this point, Mr. Lusk seems willing to break any and all rules to win.  That is why he planted many dozens of illegal signs in Crabapple the night before early voting.  And that is why he took a risk in using a city-generated email list.  Fortunately, both schemes have backfired on him, with citizens increasingly disposed to vote against him.  Mr. Lusk cannot get out of his own way.

Finally, note that Mr. Lusk had a golden opportunity to explain himself at last Monday’s City Council meeting.  However, he said nothing.  No explanation.  No apology.  Nothing . . . stone cold silence.

And Mr. Lusk has yet to apologize for the data breach that compromised the personal data of hundreds of Milton citizens and has shaken confidence in our local government.  Mr. Lusk thinks he has nothing to apologize for.  Mr. Lusk thinks the data breach issue is minor and being exploited for political purposes.   This contention highlights the other part of his strategy:  diminish and dismiss . . . more about that tomorrow.

Advocating for Clean Government,

Tim Becker

Council Member Bill Lusk, Election 2017, Ethics

Data Breach and Email Scandal . . . Mr. Lusk Should Resign and Withdraw

Posted on by Milton Coalition

securitybreachdatabreach_825877

October 19, 2017

In one fell swoop, Council Member Bill Lusk has managed to disgrace the City (and a tax-exempt charitable organization) while also taking politics in the City to a new low.  How did Mr. Lusk manage to accomplish such an incredible feat?  Mr. Lusk misappropriated a city-generated database containing personal information of citizens, including email addresses.  This database was provided to a charitable organization, Milton Veterans Memorial Markers, that honors fallen veterans . . . the markers (mostly white crosses) that you see planted along roads on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.  Mr. Lusk misappropriated this information for political purposes:  to create an email distribution list for political solicitations.

This is a data breach not unlike the data breaches that have become all too common these days—the most recent being the Equifax data breach.  However, in this case, the hacker was not a gang of North Korean, Chinese, or Russian cyber-criminals.  Rather, the “hacker” was our own Council Member Bill Lusk.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.  This fits into a pattern of bad behavior from Mr. Lusk that I have witnessed over the past 23 months of my involvement in City government.  This is the same Bill Lusk that promoted a developer’s project and re-zoning in advance of a judicial hearing on that developer’s re-zoning application.  It is the same Bill Lusk that planted dozens of illegal signs (that he refuses to take down) all over Crabapple on the night before early voting at the Milton City Library.  Citizens have been witness to such reprehensible acts from Mr. Lusk on a regular basis.

To its credit, in this matter, the City has taken swift and decisive action.

First, the City issued an email to potentially affected citizens about the unauthorized use of their personal information by Mr. Lusk.  The City took responsibility for the lapse, apologized, and committed to taking corrective action to ensure citizens’ personal information is protected in the future.  I applaud the City for its leadership in this matter.

Important Message - Part 1

Important Message - Part 2

Second, the City issued an unequivocal reprimand and cease-and-desist order to Mr. Lusk.  In no uncertain terms, the City expressed its displeasure with Mr. Lusk and directed him to refrain from all uses of the city-provided e-mail addresses.  Following is the letter issued to Mr. Lusk.

Lusk Cease and Desist Letter

In the coming days, I will provide additional information on this scandal, including additional documentation.

I want to make clear that this violation of the public trust is a very personal issue for me.  I am a veteran, having served nearly 8 years as a nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy.  My wife is also a veteran, having served nearly 12 years as an officer in the U.S. Navy.  My grandfather, father, and brother all served in the armed forces.  We are saddened and troubled to see such a noble initiative to honor fallen veterans sullied in this fashion.

Given the serious nature of this ethics violation, I am calling upon Mr. Lusk 1) to immediately resign from City Council and 2) to withdraw from the race for the District 2 Council seat.  Resignation and withdrawal is the honorable course of action.  Mr. Lusk would spare the City and citizens from having to endure long, painful, and expensive ethics hearings on this matter, which seem inevitable.  Following are 1) my comments before Council this past Monday night and 2) Council Member Longoria’s subsequent comments on the matter.

Council Member Longoria’s comments follow.  Joe gets it.  Notice Mr. Lusk’s feigned disengagement from the discussion.  And notice Thurman and Kunz’s lack of any contribution to the discussion.  Do they care about ethics?  (Rhetorical question.)

Advocating for clean governance,

Tim Becker

Council Member Bill Lusk, Election 2017, Ethics, Good Governance

Mr. Lusk’s Grand Miscalculation . . . Overlooking the Citizen X-Factor

Posted on by Milton Coalition

IMG_5233
Sign Placed on Alpharetta Government Property On Night Before Early Voting

October 17, 2017

Yesterday, I published a post about Mr. Lusk’s assault on Crabapple under the cover of darkness.  On the night before early voting, Mr. Lusk plastered Crabapple with many dozens of illegal signs.  Let’s be blunt . . . this is cheating pure and simple.

So cheaters never prosper, right?  Well, I would like to think so, but that is not always the case, particularly with the campaign signs.  The City of Milton will certainly remove signs on city property (and there were some) and signs in the right-of-way.  However, signs that are properly located on private property are off-limits . . . the city has no way of knowing whether the sign placement was authorized by the property owner or not.  And Mr. Lusk knows this . . . and accordingly he will continue with his cheating . . . that is, unless we can change the calculus.  The calculus?  Yes, calculus.

You see, Mr. Lusk is an engineer.  To Lusk, politics is an equation . . . benefits on one side and costs on the other.  (BTW, integrity counts for nothing in this calculus.)  Every decision he makes is based on benefits vs. costs . . . to Mr. Lusk (not to you, the citizens).  The benefit of illegal signs are more votes.  The cost of illegal signs is perhaps—a big perhaps—a penalty (mostly likely a small fine) from the city.  This is a no-brainer for Mr. Lusk.  The benefits, more votes, outweigh the costs, a small fine (that is, if you can prove the infraction . . . a big IF).

Fortunately for citizens, Mr. Lusk has made many miscalculations over the past 2 years.  He has often gotten the calculus wrong.  The costs of many of his decisions have exceeded the benefits.  Why?  Because Mr. Lusk left out one critical variable in his cost-benefit analysis.  It is Milton’s X-factor.  What is that X-factor?  It is you . . . citizens.  Long ago, Mr. Lusk forgot about you and cast his lot with Milton’s Special Interests, aka developers.  Mr. Lusk became arrogant and entitled.  However, for the past 2 years, more and more of you have been showing up, standing up, and speaking out.  And that has made all the difference.  The citizen X-factor has turned Mr. Lusk’s calculus upside-down.  Mr. Lusk has increasingly found himself on the losing side of many issues.

So citizens, let’s turn Mr. Lusk’s yard-sign cheating to our advantage.  Let’s take the high road and leave Mr. Lusk stranded on the low road.  Here’s the plan:

  • Do NOT uproot Lusk’s signs. Leave that to the City and to private property owners.
  • Do NOT erect illegal signs—e.g., put signs on city property, in the right-of-way, or on private property without the property owner’s permission.
  • Report immediately any sign violations to City code enforcement.
  • If you see any Lusk crews erecting illegal signs on private property (also known as trespassing), immediately contact the Milton police. Ensure that Milton police trespass the perpetrators.
  • If you live in a subdivision where Mr. Lusk has planted signs on your subdivision’s borders (usually at the front entrance), immediately contact your HOA to request expeditious sign removal. HOAs should lodge a complaint with the City, so that Mr. Lusk is cited for a violation.  HOAs should also contact Mr. Lusk and demand that he cease-and-desist from illegal sign placements on HOA property.  Lusk’s city e-mail is bill.lusk@cityofmiltonga.us
  • Ensure your own yard signs are in good shape—that is, erect and perpendicular to the road. Those displaying signs on the open road should ensure their signs are out of the right-of-way.
  • If you don’t have a Bentley sign, get one.
  • Email Mr. Lusk to express your dissatisfaction with his blatant disregard of Milton’s sign ordinances. Here is Mr. Lusk’s e-mail address:  lusk@cityofmiltonga.us
  • Most importantly, educate your neighbors, friends, and family about Mr. Lusk’s attempts to subvert democracy in Milton.

If enough citizens take the above actions, we will once again upend Mr. Lusk’s political calculus.  He will stop the illegal sign placement.  Citizens, you are the X-factor in City politics.  If enough citizens are informed and engaged, we will oust Mr. Lusk and usher in an era of good governance in Milton.

IMG_5244 (1)
Lusk Signs on backside of Alpharetta’s St. Michelle Subdivision.  Note Milton Library in Background

The above photo shows some of Mr. Lusk’s signs on Mayfield Road.  Note the Milton Library in the background.  This is the sole location for early voting in Milton.  These 4 signs were placed on the night before early voting, along with dozens of other illegal signs in both Milton and Alpharetta.  The four signs in the photo are actually in Alpharetta.  The board fence is on the backside of Alpharetta’s St. Michelle neighborhood.  It is doubtful that the residents provided permission for these signs . . . or even know about them.  Code enforcement in Alpharetta will not remove these signs.  Removal requires tracking down the property owner and convincing him to take down the signs.  This example of Mr. Lusk’s sign placement is a metaphor for his record on Council . . . always bending, breaking, and changing the rules to his advantage and the advantage of his patrons.  Milton, we deserve better.

Advocating For Clean Elections,

Tim Becker

Council Member Bill Lusk, Election 2017, Ethics

Massive Sign Deployment Shamelessly Flaunts Rules . . . Typical Lusk

Posted on by Milton Coalition

October 16, 2017

Last night’s mass deployment of unauthorized/illegal signs by the Lusk campaign is yet another example of how Mr. Lusk has operated for 12 years as a Council Member . . . bending, breaking, and flaunting the rules for himself and the Special Interests he represents.  It is yet another egregious example of dirty politics perpetrated by Mr. Lusk in our City.

For weeks, this blog’s readers have been urging me to weigh in on the issue of campaign signs.  With some justification, readers have contended that the Lusk campaign is breaking/skirting Milton’s sign ordinances.  Lusk’s placement of signs around last week’s Crabapple Fest were especially egregious, prompting some citizen complaints to the City.  However, I decided to steer clear of this fight, as I believe—or believed—that the election focus needs to be on substantive issues of policy and how candidates comport themselves in the conduct of government business.  My sense was that the Lusk campaign was baiting its opponents on the sign issue—that is, creating a distraction from  substantive issues and attempting to drag Ms. Bentley’s campaign into the mud.  However, last night, the Lusk campaign crossed a line and made sign placement a substantive campaign issue . . .

Last night, many of dozens of signs were plastered on properties in and around the Crabapple area.  As you know, early voting for city elections begins today.  The signs were placed to cover all approaches to the Milton City library, which is Milton’s only polling location for early voting.

All of these new signs seem to have been installed by a single group of individuals, as they all appeared last night and all seem to have been installed in similar fashion–deeply planted and perfectly perpendicular to the road.

Most/all of these signs appear to be unauthorized/illegal–i.e., were installed without property owners’ permission.  Given the timing (on the evening before early voting), the rapid deployment, the large quantity of signs, and the clearly illegal placement of the signs (discussed below), these signs represent a serious threat to the integrity of our local elections. 

I cite as evidence of illegal/unauthorized sign placement:

  • Signs are placed on the property line between 2 homes, making it ambiguous if either homeowner (and likely neither) authorized/placed the signs.  (We have seen such suspicious placements elsewhere in the City.)
  • Many signs are clearly and purposely in the right-of-way
  • Signs are placed on city property–Alpharetta (e.g., Alpharetta Government Center) and Milton (e.g., Broadwell Pavilion)
  • Signs are placed on HOA property (e.g., Kensington Farms and Six Hills).  It has been confirmed that at least one of these placements was unauthorized.
  • Placements are generally not in front of homes/businesses, but along the fence lines of  neighborhoods, on empty lots, etc.

Concerned citizens have verified with one property owner that placement of a Lusk sign on her property was not authorized.  Concerned citizens are currently verifying other unauthorized placements.

I hope and trust that the City is going to take prompt and meaningful corrective action regarding this situation.  Expeditious sign removal and resolution of this matter are needed to ensure the integrity of our local elections.  Given the magnitude of this sign deployment the night before early voting and previous infractions, the Lusk campaign should be made to provide an explanation.

Given that this is not the Lusk campaign’s first sign offense, it concerns me that the Lusk campaign is showing a pattern of disregard for local regulations about placement of campaign signs.  Lusk has been in office for 12 years.  He knows the rules and is purposely flaunting them.  Lusk has obviously calculated that the ramifications of this breach of Milton’s sign laws are outweighed by the benefits of exposure conferred by such a large deployment of signs on the first day of early voting.  This is the Bill Lusk that I have come to know over the past two years.  Lusk holds himself up as a paragon of virtue while shamelessly flaunting the rules.  Lusk’s callous disregard for principles of good governance has caused much dysfunction in our City.  Citizens, Mr. Lusk has given us yet another reason—as if there weren’t enough—to unceremoniously remove him from office.  Milton deserves much better than this.  Early voting begins today . . . Vote Today For Bentley.  And please forward this post to your friends, neighbors, and family.

Advocating For Clean Elections,

Tim Becker

Council Member Bill Lusk, District 1 Redistricting Scandal, Ethics, Good Governance

Mr. Lusk Was Chief Accomplice in Redistricting Scandal

Posted on by Milton Coalition

Vote-Denied

October 10, 2017

Council Member Bill Lusk has pooh-poohed Milton’s recent redistricting scandal as much ado about nothing.  The Milton Herald wrote about Mr. Lusk that he felt “the request was a minor change and he didn’t think it required a public discussion.”  Furthermore, Mr. Lusk was the only member of Council that complied with Ms. Thurman’s request for a letter supporting legislation to change the district.  Mr. Lusk made minor modifications to a form letter provided to him by Ms. Thurman.

I strongly disagree that the district change was minor.  As I have discussed (in more detail) in previous posts, Ms. Thurman should have vacated her seat when she moved outside her district.  Changing District 1’s boundaries meant that all of Milton’s voters—every one of them (as voting is at large)—were disenfranchised.  Furthermore, the one third of Milton voters that live in District 1 were denied the opportunity to run for the vacated seat.  So the redistricting was actually a major change that impacted all voters.  Furthermore, with this district change, Mr. Lusk’s actions revealed his propensity for non-transparency, even when changing Milton’s Charter.

Unfortunately, there is an even darker side to this story.  It is a story that Mr. Lusk would prefer that citizens not know.  You see, Mr. Lusk was the one person, other than Ms. Thurman, that most directly benefited from the redistricting.  By moving the district lines, Mr. Lusk eliminated a potential competitor for his seat.  Had the district lines not been changed, Ms. Thurman would have found herself in Mr. Lusk’s district and might have challenged him.  Additionally, Mr. Lusk and Ms. Thurman have been political allies since the founding of the City, so the district change kept their alliance intact.  So you see, Mr. Lusk was Ms. Thurman’s primary accomplice in clandestinely changing the district lines in Milton, so that he could eliminate a potential competitor while also keeping his voting bloc intact.  Mr. Lusk aided and abetted in the thwarting of democracy in Milton.

Recently, Mr. Lusk went on the offensive regarding the Redistricting Scandal.  I urge all citizens to watch the above video of a nearly 7-minute rant by Mr. Lusk during a Special City Council Meeting called to extend qualifying period for the District 3 Council Seat.  Note the following when watching the video:

  • Mr. Lusk incredibly claims that the redistricting was “perfectly transparent.”  Quite the opposite was true.  At the time, not a single citizen was made aware of the redistricting.  No opportunity for public input was provided.
  • Mr. Lusk claims that all of Council participated in the redistricting.  This is false.  Notice Mayor Lockwood shaking his head in response to this assertion.  The truth is that Mr. Thurman worked with a state representative for 2+ months to change the district lines.  Ms. Thurman only apprised Council of the redistricting as the bill to change the district was being introduced in the Georgia State Assembly.  Only Bill Lusk submitted a letter supporting the change.
  • Mr. Lusk likens the redistricting to extending the election qualification period.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  No less than 5 times, the City Attorney advised Council that the qualification period extension was mandated by state law.  Contrast that with the fact that the City Attorney was kept entirely in the dark about the redistricting.  He likely would have advised that the redistricting be added to a Council agenda for discussion and approval.
  • Mr. Lusk asserts that the City’s issues stem from a personal agenda . . . yes, Mr. Lusk’s personal agenda.  Other than Ms. Thurman, Mr. Lusk had the most to gain from the redistricting, as described above.
  • Note Mr. Lusk’s use of the word “lynch” to describe citizens’ actions to expose malfeasance in our city government.  Such incendiary language has no place in our public dialogue, particularly coming from an elected official.  Rather than excoriating citizens for exposing corruption in our city, Mr. Lusk should be congratulating citizen watchdogs.
  • Mr. Lusk accuses his critics of “taking down the City.”  Unfortunately, he chose the wrong adverb . . . citizens are rather taking back the City . . . taking it back from the Special Interests and their agents on Council, like Mr. Lusk.

After watching Mr. Lusk’s rant, ask yourself:  Is this the best we can do in Milton?  Is Mr. Lusk really the best choice to represent me on Council for the next 4 years?  As someone who has attended nearly every city council meeting for the last 2 years, I can confidently assert that we can do better . . . and must do better.  I am voting for Laura Bentley.

(I have re-published some blog posts from the Redistricting Scandal.)

Advocating For Good Governance,

Tim Becker

Council Member Matt Kunz, Ethics, Good Governance, Smart Land Use

Councilor Kunz Unashamedly Joins Forces With Developers Against His Constituents

Posted on by Milton Coalition

August 19, 2017

The old cliche is that a picture paints a 1000 words.  The photos below were sent to us by a citizen.  They clearly show where Council Member Kunz’s loyalties lie.  It is crystal clear that Mr. Kunz has unabashedly joined forces with developers.  Mr. Kunz has long been a shameless advocate for developers in Milton, helping them bend, break, and change the rules for their benefit.  Citizens, if the photos below cause you concern, then please consider becoming engaged in local government.  Write to City Council.  Come to a City Council meeting and express your dissatisfaction with the influence of Special Interests.  We need to take back our city government from the developers and other Special Interests that exert far too much influence over our City Council.  Please get involved.

Following is an advertisement for a January 2017 event where Council Member Matt Kunz was the guest of honor/VIP.  He delivered a speech and swore in members of the Board of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA), which engages in significant lobbying on behalf of developers.

Matt Kunz AHBA Speaking Engagement

Following is a photo (taken in January 2017) of Council Member Matt Kunz swearing in the Charlie Bostwick, the new president of the Greater Atlanta Home Builder’s Association.  Disregarding his duty of judicial impartiality, Kunz aggressively and publicly promoted Mr. Bostwick’s proposed subdivision in the Spring/Summer of 2016.  Was this speaking and swearing-in gig payback for his strong advocacy on behalf of developers?

Kunz Swearing In Bostwick

Following is a photo of Council Member Kunz hobnobbing with executives of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association.  At the time this photo was taken, Mr. Ellis was a long-time registered lobbyist for the GAHBA.

Kunz at GAHBA Meeting

Tim Becker