(Alert! Go to Bits & Piecesfor 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.
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.
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:
(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.
Following are the relevant quotes from the AJC article that relate the events and commentary surrounding this scandal:
“Mohrig has said his email was hacked when an invite for a meeting with the poll workers was sent from his email address.”
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.)
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.”
“the poll workers . . . have since resigned.”
“The police and city council are looking into possible false allegations by Mohrig that his email was hacked.”
“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.
“The councilman did not respond to questions from Councilwoman Carol Cookerly . . . asking if he in fact met with the poll workers.”
“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.”
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:
(Before I get to main story below, please go to Bits & Piecesfor latest threatening texts to Mayor Jamison sent on September 21st. Following is a link: Bits & Pieces.)
The Milton Herald has published an excellent and detailed exposé on the latest scandal swirling around and sucking down Council Member Rick Mohrig. I previously reported on this story on September 17th; the links are provided at the end of this post. However, reporter Amber Perry informatively extends the story, providing new information and quotes from Mayor Jamison, City Manager Krokoff, and Rick Mohrig. Citizens, this is as BAD as it gets. Following is a link to the Milton Herald story, followed by my explanation and commentary:
Readers will remember that an email invitation was sent on September 5th from Council Member Rick Mohrig’s city email account referencing a September 7th “strategic planning” meeting at the home of two Milton poll workers in Crooked Creek. Such meetings are legal, but the optics (including lack of transparency) are absolutely awful . . . and lying about such meetings and diverting city resources for fake investigations is a much more serious and maybe even criminal issue. Sometimes, the cover-up really is worse than the crime. Read on . . .
Upon being questioned about the meeting, Mohrig claimed his email had been hacked.Mohrig even filed a police report on September 14th. From the get-go, Mohrig’s story was fishy. And no surprise . . . the City’s IT professionals and the city’s network vendor “concluded there had been no unauthorized access” (Milton Herald). Furthermore, as City Manager Krokoff has pointed out, the hacking did not fit any normal hacking patterns. I would conclude from these findings that Mohrig filed a false police report, which is a serious misdemeanor carrying up to $1000 in fines or up to one year in jail or both (O.S.G.A. §16-10-26). And I wonder if perjury charges might also eventually come into play. Perjury is a felony punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years, or both (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-70).
Suspicion has only grown with Mohrig’s refusal to directly answer a simple yes/no question about whether the subject meeting occurred, giving instead blatantly evasive non-answers. The answer to this question is dispositive in this matter. Afterall, if the meeting really occurred, why would anyone hack into a single email account to send a single email about a meeting that actually occurred? That makes absolutely no sense.
Here is where events get interesting. It has been verified by the City Manager thatMohrig DID ATTEND the meetingthat was the subject of the email invitation. In Perry’s article, City Manager Krokoff revealed that he surveilled Crooked Creek where the meeting occurred and witnessed the meeting. In an email to City Council (on September 22nd), Krokoff stated that he was an eye-witness to the meeting. See following passage from Milton Herald:
So what was Mohrig’s response? Surely, he realized the jig was up and he fessed up, right? NO. Rather Mohrig doubled down on deceit. When asked if he had organized a meeting with poll workers, in typical fashion, Mohrig gave yet another carefully parsed and stereotypical politican’s non-answer:
Mohrig clearly and transparently dodges the question. Even though Perry asks whether he organized a meeting “involving Milton poll workers,” Mohrig deflects the question with the word “specifically,” thereby responding to a question that was not asked . . . a typical politician’s trick answer. This is the cat-and-mouse game that has so infuriated Council Member Cookerly. In his deflection, Mohrig implies others were present at the meeting, raising more questions . . . who were these other people? Now that there is an active police investigation . . . it seems prudent to interview these people. I suspect this could get uncomfortable for certain local partisan activists and politicians that like to operate in secrecy.
When pressed further, Mohrig had the audacity to argue that “there are no restrictions on poll workers supporting any candidate.” Yes, Mr. Mohrig, but this goes beyond plain support . . . and in any case, the optics of a candidate meeting with poll workers to engage in “strategic planning” during an election campaign are horrific . . . especially a Council Member who made “election integrity” the primary argument for Milton self-managing municipal elections. Mohrig concludes his lame defense by doing what he always does . . . he plays the victim, whining that that the allegations against him are “purely driven by political motives.” This is a laughable charge, as it is Mohrig who is playing politics with his evasive and parsed non-answers to reasonable questions. The poll workers that hosted the “strategic planning” meeting have subsequently resigned.
When once again asked whether he attended the subject meeting, Mohrig slunk back into his bunker, issuing yet another deceptive and deflective answer. Mohrig lamely and unconvincingly implies that the police hacking investigation somehow prohibits him from answering this question . . . it does not. I am relatively certain that Milton investigators would have no concerns about Mohrig compromising their investigation by answering a simple yes/no question about his meeting attendance . . . in fact, the answer to this dispositive question has already been answered by Krokoff, so Mohrig’s refusal to answer is seemingly driven by other motives . . . perhaps fear of criminality. Filing a false police report? Perjury? His refusal to answer just seems Mohrig’s indirect way of pleading the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and not self-incriminate. I think it might be time for Mohrig to lawyer up . . .
Mohrig is clever by half. With each dissembling answer and unconvincing denial, Mohrig is digging a deeper hole for himself with both city council and citizens. Council is clearly fed up with Mohrig’s non-stop and dishonest interference in Milton’s elections. A tipping point has been reached. City Council is now considering an investigation not just into the incredulous hacking incident, but more broadly into Mohrig’s elections actions over many months. Mayor Jamison says the latest incident was just the “last straw.”
Krokoff went even further (than the mayor) stating that an investigation would address “the totality,” and further stating “I don’t think it begins and ends with Rick.” This is encouraging. It seems Krokoff is advocating a broad-based investigation of elections design, planning, and preparations over the past two years . . . and that such an investigation might include more bad actors (than just Mohrig). Readers might recall that Krokoff pulled no punches in a recent email (to the mayor) about Milton’s dysfunctional and dishonest elections project. He was particularly dismayed by disrespectful treatment of his staff by Council Members Moore and Mohrig and the Election Feasibility Committee’s (EFC) appointed partisan members. (Following is a link to my article about Krokoff’s highly critical assessment of Milton’s elections project: Elections Interference (Part 5): City Manager’s Insider Perspective Reveals a More Deeply Flawed, Biased, and Dishonest Process Than Milton Coalition Investigation Uncovered)
The conclusion of Ms. Perry’s article provides some interesting insights into Milton’s steadily rising elections costs. The following is from the EFC’s final report:
Note the EFC estimate of 2023 costs: $72,254. Krokoff is now asserting that legal costs are driving costs even higher than the revised elections budget of $102,000 + 10% contingency. Three separate entities have issued complaints about Milton’s upcoming elections with the Georgia State Elections Board. Recall that the EFC removed all discussion of risks (including legal risks) from its final report. Costs will certainly exceed $112,200 . . . how much more is unclear. However, these higher costs do not yet include the cost of additional poll workers that are needed based on a mock election exercise that was recently conducted. Actual costs will be >55% higher than EFC estimates ($72,254) . . . probably much higher. And it gets even worse . . . staff costs are inexplicably not yet included in the 2023 elections budget. I have estimated these costs to be at least $100,000. Accordingly, it is likely the Milton’s election costs could easily exceed $220,000. Compare this to Fulton County’s estimated cost of $215,000 to run Milton’s election. It is now likely that it will cost Milton MORE to run its 2023 elections than under Fulton County!!!!!!!!
However, it is even worse than it appears . . . remember that Milton will offer much lower service levels than under Fulton County. Polling locations were reduced from 8 to 3. Voting hours, which were supposed to mirror Fulton County, were inexplicably reduced from the EFC’s recommended 208 hours to 149 hours. Voters can NO longer early-vote outside Milton; the only early voting option will be Milton City Hall, which does not fit well with traffic patterns in Milton and is especially inconvenient for voters in east Milton—notably District 3. IT IS BECOMING CRYSTAL CLEAR THAT MILTON TAX PAYERS WILL PAY MORE FOR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS (than under Fulton County) FOR MUCH LOWER SERVICE LEVELS. IT IS BECOMING CLEAR THAT COUNCIL AND MILTON TAX PAYERS WERE SCAMMED BY A HIGHLY BIASED ELECTIONS FEASIBILITY COMMITTEE.Council Member Rick Mohrig must be held responsible for Milton’s ethical and fiscal elections disaster. Election integrity and fiscal accountability demand it.
Note: I am in no way criticizing the poll workers hosting the Crooked Creek meeting. Council Member Mohrig is 100% responsible for the serious problems exposed by my investigation.
Milton Coalition 