3 Questions Jane Murray MUST ANSWER (Part 3)

OUR THIRD QUESTION FOR JANE MURRAY This question is for the candidate. But if she wins the election tomorrow and becomes the Mayor of Portsmouth, despite the information we have uncovered and shared on this website, it will become a question for the citizens of Portsmouth. The citizens are the ones who will have to live with, for better or worse, the results of their selection.

* We have revealed that in 1993 Jane Murray (Jane Vimont, at the time) formed a private corporation (Jane Vimont and Associates) of which she was the sole owner. She formed the company while still a key staff member for a US Congressman from Kentucky. She used secret insider information, gotten as result of meetings held in violation of Kentucky sunshine laws, to gain a lucrative contract for herself in 1995, worth several hundred thousand dollars. She left her client in shambles with a major museum project, her own brainchild, that went bankrupt a few years after the museum fired her for three years of poor performance. (http://p-townunderground.blogspot.com/search/label/ukbbmuseum) * We revealed the credit card abuse scandal that tarnished her reputation and the career of her employer, Mayor Scotty Baesler of Lexington. In 1995, a major Kentucky newspaper exposed her extravagant use of the cards for travel and gifts and the state auditor's determination that she failed to provide receipts. * She left behind broken promises and unfinished (or un-started) cultural projects all over the Lexington area when she left government. Late in her public career, as her development failures began to catch up with her, she cultivated self-beneficial relationships with consultants specializing in cultural centers and museum development, particularly Lord Cultural Resources of Toronto, Canada. The very services Portsmouth will "need" as Murray pursues the promises she has made to her supporters and the citizens of Portsmouth. OUR THIRD QUESTION FOR JANE MURRAY IS: If elected do you promise that you will not financially benefit from your position as Mayor beyond the salary and benefits provided by the City?

If she is elected it will be up to City Council and the Citizens of Portsmouth to safeguard the city's financial interests from Ms. Murray.

GRANDVIEW LAWSUIT

City Council should not agree to and the Citizens of Portsmouth should not accept any settlement or court-ordered penalty that would benefit Ms. Murray beyond her documented damages. As mayor she should not materially benefit from her own lawsuit.

But she appears to have purposefully positioned herself to do so. On 9-30-08, Jane Murray announced her effort to recall Fifth Ward Councilman Howard Baughman, and to try to fill his seat, via her committee "Citizens For Change In The Fifth." (http://portsmouthcitizens.info/blog/?p=494) In November, Baughman resigned rather fight the recall. Murray applied to City Council to be appointed to the seat. When another applicant was chosen, and she announced her intention to run for mayor. All of this effort was concurrent with Murray's filing of a lawsuit against the City. Conflicts of interest appears inevitable. Citizens should monitor any financial settlements proposed or agreed to by either the plaintiffs or City administration--since Murray will be both, if elected. 2) LORD CULTURAL RESOURCES Murray should also commit that she has not and will not make any personally beneficial financial arrangements with consultants or developers hired or recruited for any city projects? On multiple occasions, Jane Murray has pushed strongly for various museum and other cultural projects to be initiated by the City. The video at the following link (http://portsmouthcitizens.info/Council/Highlights/8-25-08/8-25-08(1)JMurray.wmv, at about the 2/3 mark) is just one of many requests by Murray on the issue Here she addresses City Council, 8/25/08:

"I did want to speak to you about larger issues about this government. Since I moved back in 2002 and bought a home, I have tried to bring my expertise to the table over and over to assist the City. I suggested we build a children's museum. I suggested that we look at building a vision of the future of the City of Portsmouth and all the planning that would go into that."

Considering Murray's past dubious relationships with Lord Cultural Resources of Canada and other consultants and the fact that she has yet to be closely associated with any successful museum or cultural center, we suggest that City Council scrutinize any similar proposal by Murray with great care, if she is elected. The citizens should demand it.

And, definitely, do not give her a credit card!