The Tides Continue To Shift

It began with the Commercial Appeal's reporting of the credit card "crisis" at the upper levels of the County government -- first Number One aide to the Mayor, Tom Jones, and then the Mayor himself. Even though the bad charges came to light back before April, the CA for some reason elected to wait until late August to report it. One upshot of the whole thing is that Tom Jones, once a sure lock for the new Wharton administration, is probably out.

Now, today, comes yet more in the unfolding story. John Trusty, the Director of Administration and Finance for the County, and the man who was quoted in the previous stories as stating that the usages of the cards made by Jones and Rout were never "acceptable," has now suffered his own career slap. Go read the story first.

Back? It is, to use Trusty's words, "jockeying among high-ranking political appointees...." And it is despicable. An unnamed personnel official for the County, however, provided the reporter with this background:

But personnel officials say just hearing about such behavior forces their hand - they must investigate, even when victims don't want to come forward.

You and I know that this most definitely isn't true -- just ask former Sheriff A.C. Gilless. Trusty is right and he had his career stained so that he could be shoved aside. It would be interesting to know who he thinks is responsible and why. But I somehow doubt the CA will ever investigate this like it's going after the credit card story, even though it's far more salacious.

Does this rate front page, above-the-fold, headline coverage? Of course not; its buried back in Metro. Political maneuvering is standard operating procedure, as the Sages of the Glass Fort of News will tell you, piously nodding their heads. At least in this case, as they see it.

I wonder if Susan Adler Thorp will even deign to notice this.

Until next time,
Your Working Boy