One of the Seven Signs

LPIN State Chair Mark Rutherford advised me long ago that I will know that I am gaining traction on something when someone gets personal about me or brings up the national LP's platform position on drugs.

This one is personal.

It seems that emails have been circulated to a variety of media outlets alleging that I was fired from my job with the Hamilton County Surveyor's Office for ghost employment. Among the outlets to receive the email was Abdul Hakim-Shabazz at WXNT 1430-am. Abdul has asked me to discuss the allegations on his radio show Monday morning at 7am, which I will do to clear my name.

For the record, I left on the most amiable terms with Kent Ward, Hamilton County Surveyor. I left his employment so that I could start my own business. As a courtesy to Mr. Ward, I stretched the customary 2-week notice into an 8-week period, so that he could take his time and find a suitable replacement. I even sat in on the interviews of prospective replacements. I was never disciplined for any infraction while a county employee, much less fired.

Seems the effort could be purely malicious. It certainly has nothing factual going for it as regards me or my employment history.

The email was signed "JQFR". This is an acronym for "John Q. Fishers Resident," an anonymous blogger who has posted comments on this blog many times, in favor of the Town of Fishers' attempt to forcibly annex the Geist neighborhoods north of 96th Street. I am a staunch defender of the Geist residents, and their right to self-determination.

I expect that some people will take issue with my positions. Some will even write that I'm an idiot. That's politics, and I can take that in stride. What I cannot and will not tolerate is defamation of character. Emails and website IPs are neither invisible nor untraceable. I will investigate these emails to learn who sent them. I will be eager to sue the originator for defamation of character.

Update: I appeared on WXNT's Abdul In The Morning show to respond to the allegations. I said many of the things you just read, above. A retratction statement was posted on this entry by JQFR shortly thereafter.

That was gratifying to a point, but once out of the bag, sometimes an allegation starts to take on a life of its own. My former boss Kent Ward called me this afternoon to let me know that Norman Cox of RTV6 called him to inquire about the allegations- after the retraction was posted. Mr. Ward indicated that the allegations were false, and Mr. Cox called it a non-story. It's great that this is a non-story on RTV6, but what kind of impression of me does Mr. Cox have now? Will I be treated with suspicion in the future should he interview me?

Moreover, Mr. Ward has better things to deal with than having his Office called into question. Did his reputation take a hit? I had to apologize to Mr. Ward for his having to deal with this thing. Imagine! I had to apologize!

I'm delighted that I'm having the kind of impact that makes some uncomfortable, but I'd like to see some of the other seven signs, thank you very much.