The Fairhope Jester supports the Kant-Corte Apartments on Fly Creek, at the same time he is building his own home on Fly Creek. Surely you jest! The Jester supports the developer, who is responsible for the damage to the creek from the Publix project. The same developer is now building 230 apartments next to the creek. Jester neighbors are not going to be laughing.
It has been reported to The Ripp Report that the Jester is also spinning the Ethics Complaint against him.
Well it seems Mr. Jack Burrell is now worried about the accountability of school funds donated by the city, approximately $350,000 a year. He is demanding accountability or he no longer will support school funds for Fairhope.
Strange he never demanded accountability for the $500,000 the Airport gets for the less than 1% of the population. He made sure that when the appropriation was reduced to $350,000, that it covered the mortgage payment and that the Airport held the mortgage, not the city.
The Public Doctrine: Our government is a democracy which means the "people rule." At this time in our democracy it seems there are less people involved, which results in a serious challenge to the system, as politicians love it when the people "forget to rule" and are allowed to operate with impunity. The Public Doctrine is the often forgotten tenet that elected public officials are held to a slightly higher standard when it comes to scrutiny of their actions on behalf of the public.
Fairhope is at a crossroads and if the community allows Council President Jack Burrell to ban people from speaking during the city council meetings, at public participation, then we have chosen the wrong road.
Mr Burrell has orchestrated a campaign of obstructing the office of the Mayor from day one. He is complicit with leaking documents and fueling the Courier’s continued assault on the Mayor. He has convince the rest of the council to be in lockstep with his every move.
Jack, come fly with me, has more passengers. The Courier, editor “Chucky Cheese” is working hard for free flights. He has signed on with the pilot, "come fly with me” Jack to cover the most mundane of articles that amounts to cut and paste. The local AM station, it is hard to find, has also signed on to allow Jack all the time he needs to talk about anything but the airport.
Fairhope tossed out the Mayor of 16 years and ever since the sounds of rat traps are going off all over Fairhope. It is not uncommon for the new administration to discover past deeds of employees and elected officials that were unethical or criminal. The interesting thing is that it is usually the good employees who come forward with information once they do not have to fear retribution from a Mayor who covered and condoned such behavior.
Complaint Statement:
July 7, 2016
State of Alabama Ethics Commission
First let me say I have taken your online ethics course and it is pretty clear that elected officials should not be engaging in municipal contracts in their districts, particularly if said contract directly and positively contributes to the direct income of that official. Mr. Hubbard has just been convicted for doing the exact thing.
Senator Pittman has maintained debris removal contracts with the city of Fairhope since 2004, except for one period where his business partner Bob James held the contract.
