In light of recent events concerning the Mayor’s judgement, we decided to take a look at Mayor Megan Barry’s choices of who she surrounds her self with in her office. Looking at who she hired onto her staff in the Mayor’s office – and what kind of background they have. What we found is that the people that Mayor Barry has decided to surround herself with, may not be the people that you’d expect. Did the Mayor use her best judgement when choosing her staff?
Among her Senior Advisors & Assistants, we found:
- 10 criminal charges
- 13 civil lawsuits
- Totaling $12,456.66
- $1400 pending suit “can’t find defendant” (works daily for the Mayor)
- $895 Cash Advance Still Outstanding
- 5 Evictions
- 5 Cash Advance non-payment lawsuits
As they are employees, and not elected positions, we have redacted the names for privacy, but here are the aggregate details of the civil and criminal charges of people in the Mayor’s staff:
Criminal Charges
These are the past criminal charges found in the Mayor’s current staff. The smallest salary of anyone in the list below is $103,000/yr, yet there are still hundreds of dollars court costs and fees owed to Metro, according to the court clerk records available online to the public:
Civil Suits
These are the past & currently pending civil lawsuits found in the Mayor’s current staff. The smallest salary of anyone in the list below is $87,000/yr, and all these people work at City Hall every single day – yet there are still pending suits where the defendant “can’t be found to serve” or they have gotten judgments and simply not paid them.
Here’s an example of just one of the affidavits, where a (now) Senior Advisor was speeding, lying to MNPD, smoking weed while driving, and possession:
The defendant was stopped for speeding (70 in a 55 , laser 727.9 ft) on I 40 E near I 24 E. Upon approaching the vehicle I noticed an obvious odor of what I believed to be marijuana. The defendant stated that he had not been smoking marijuana. When I returned to the vehicle I noticed the odor again. I asked the defendant to exit the vehicle. I asked him again if he had been smoking marijuana. He stated yes I smoked a little joint about 10 mins ago and then I tried to smoke a cigarette to cover up the smell, because I don’t like to ride like that. I had the defendant perform the standardized field sobriety tasks. The defendant showed some clues of impairment. A search of the vehicle revealed a small amount of a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana. I placed the defendant under arrest and read him the implied consent law. He stated that he understood and refused a blood test.
Some of these greatly pre-date employment in the Mayor’s office, and others are currently pending. The important part is that these are the backgrounds of some of the people that Mayor Megan Barry has chosen to put her trust into. This is an example of her judgment and decision making in action.
Good reporting! Thank you.