Reign of Terror: Comedy of Error

THE REST OF THE STORY

January 4, 2010 Jane Murray's first day in office. When the heads rolled.

The following information is compiled from reports we received from several individuals connected to city government or city employees. The times listed are approximate, but the events occurred as described. We believe that the trauma these events help to explain the sudden departure of Mr. Mingus. For "personal reasons" according to Mayor Murray. (Yeah, right.)

TIMELINE OF MURRAY'S "SECOND STREET SLAUGHTER"

8:00 am. Mayor Jane Murray sent two axe men to terminate 5 City employees. Murray's two Chiefs of Staff, Pete Mingus and Alan Barlow left the municipal building armed with 5 sealed letters of termination signed by the new mayor.

8:15 am. The dirty work began. The Chiefs of Staff arrived at the Service Department garage. The men gave Service Director Chris Murphy an order to fire his assistant. Murphy called his assistant into his office, instructed her to pack her personal effects, and gave her the pink slip from Murray. All this occurred as two Chiefs of Staff coolly looked on. 8:30 am. Minutes later, after the deed was done, with the fired assistant still looking for empty boxes to fill, the Chiefs of Staff called Mr. Murphy into his own office. At this point, immediately after making him fire his own assistant, the Chiefs gave Murphy his letter of termination and ordered him to vacate the premises also, effective immediately. [Murphy had met with Murray in November 2009 to ask her about his continued employment. Murray stated that she would not be announcing any personnel changes until after she took office. At least Murray has kept one promise.]

It must have been difficult for Mingus, the paid Chief of Staff, and Barlow, the "volunteer" Chief of Staff, who are both military men, to terminate the employment of Mr. Murphy who also served in the military. But they were just following orders. 9:00 am. Mingus and Barlow, the men in black, leave the Service Department with their mission accomplished. Two heads have rolled. Three to go.

9:30 am. Chiefs of Staff, Mingus and Barlow, arrive at the Water Filtration Plant, with two of the remaining three letters of termination. They hunt down and isolate Sam Sutherland and Crystal Weghorst to begin the termination sequence.

First they give Mr. Sutherland his letter of dismissal. The stunned Water Works Director, with nearly one quarter of a century of faithful service to the City attempts to explain that his removal will leave the City without adequate supervision and subject the City to fines by Ohio EPA. The Chiefs of Staff confidently explain that Mayor Murray is quite familiar with the EPA's trivial concerns, and has a plan to cover the City's requirements. They tell him to never mind, and to pack his personal effects without delay. Her Highness will hear no appeals.

The next victim is Crystal Weghorst, Mayor Kalb's former assistant. Weghorst had been temporarily assigned to the Water Works by Mayor Kalb. Previously, she had been personally promised by Mayor Murray and by Mr. Mingus himself, the paid Chief of Staff, that she would be kept on with the City for two months to help with transition issues, such as budgeting, insurance, payroll, new hire procedures, council agendas, and other crucially important issues. Mr. Mingus could only lamely explain that the Queen had changed her mind and that promises made to Mrs. Weghorst were not going to be kept. [In other words, Murray forced Mingus to break his word on his first day on the job. As a military man, this act of dishonor must have been difficult.] [Ms. Murray's reign, since day one, has been a series of administrative SNAFUs (to use a military term that the Chiefs should be familiar with) and Murray may now regret her termination of Mrs. Weghorst, who would have been a wealth of information after 5 years of running Mayor Kalb's office. On the other hand, firing Weghorst eliminated any knowledgeable individual for objecting to the Mayor's crooked financial dealings, such as the unilateral termination of insurance contracts, which were switched to a son-in-law of one of her cronies, without City Council approval or review by the City Solicitor.] 10:15 am. The Chiefs leave the Filtration Plant. They do not deliver the fifth letter of dismissal because they need to return to the Mayor's office for her noon press conference. 10:30 am. The duo arrive at the Mayor's office and begin to prepare for Murray's press conference, where Mr. Mingus would be introduced to the Portsmouth Times and WSAZ, as Mayor Murray's official Chief of Staff. In the meantime, Alan Barlow, Murray's original Chief of Staff, the unpaid volunteer, who was previously promised a job in the Murray administration, was left to shuffle around in the lobby of the City Building until his boss completed her press conference.

[Apparently, the "girl" was Mingus's.]

[Barlow, who had worked tirelessly for Murray throughout the campaign, was consistently introduced by Ms. Murray as the man who would be "Chief of Staff" in her administration. Barlow kept that title until a new Chief of Staff named Peter Mingus appeared after the November election. At Murray's swearing-in ceremony at the County Court House in December, the new mayor introduced Barlow, without a title, as just another unpaid member of her "volunteer cabinet." (Barlow was also the only minority member of her volunteer cabinet.) Newcomer Mingus was introduced as her actual Chief of Staff and her only paid administrative staff member, relegating Barlow to the back of the bus.] 12:00 noon. At the press conference, Murray introduced three new employees: 1. Jeff Peck, her "Commissioner of Engineering and Public Service" (a title which, like "Chief of Staff," does not exist in the city's payroll ordinance and was not been approved by City Council). Peck, an engineer who is licensed to work in the state of Kentucky, is from Lexington, a city where Murray once worked and left a long legacy of failure. (Click here, here and here for more information about Murray's Lexington failures.) Coincidence??? 2. William Beaumont, her "Assistant Commissioner of Engineering and Public Service" (yet another fictional, unauthorized position). Beaumont is a disgruntled former city employee who had been fired by Murray's predecessor. 3. Pete Mingus, her paid Chief of Staff, who Murray brought into town from Detroit.

At the press conference, Murray announced that she had fired the heads of the Water, Wastewater, and Service Departments (Rick Duncan, Sam Sutherland, and Chris Murphy) for "gross mismanagement" and "neglect of duty." Peck and Beaumont would now be responsible for all three departments AND the Engineering Department. [Mr. Duncan had still not been notified of his termination.] Murray went on to assure reporters that the water and wastewater plants would be operated by qualified operators according to a "contingency plan" which was acceptable to the Ohio EPA. (This fictitious plan was rejected by the EPA.) 1:30 pm. Wastewater Director Rick Duncan, who was unaware of the press conference and Murray's decision, arrived at City Hall for his first meeting with his new boss. This meeting never occurred. After the conclusion of the press conference, Murray remained in her office. As WSAZ reporter Randy Yohe and his cameraman left the Mayor's office, Mr. Yohe informed Mr. Duncan that the Mayor had announced his termination. 2:00 pm. Mr. Duncan returned to his office to pack up his personal effects.

3:00 pm. Chief of Staff Mingus arrived alone at the Wastewater Plant to complete the mission that he and Barlow had been assigned that morning. Mingus handed Duncan his letter of termination and instructed him to give his city vehicle and office keys to a Class 2 Plant Operator, who would be taking over Mr. Duncan's responsibilities.

3:10 pm. With his mission accomplished, Peter Mingus, the white, paid Chief of Staff returned to City Hall after an exciting and satisfying first day on the job!

Chief of Staff Pete Mingus in "Five Heads in a Duffel Bag"

Considering the treacherous duties that Mingus was required to perform on Day One of his job, the lies he has had to participate in, and Murray's displays of incredible ineptness it is no wonder that he left his new job after one week! The only questions is...if Mr. Barlow values his dignity and honor why is he still working for the Mayor.

During the election campaign, Barlow was consistently introduced as the Chief of Staff for her new administration. We believe he was told he would be employed by Murray as Chief of Staff in a paid position, if she won the election. But more likely, Barlow was useful to Murray in attracting black voters in Portsmouth.

Shortly before or after the election Murray decided to make Mr. Mingus her actual Chief of Staff. Barlow had delivered the black vote and was no longer needed.

Barlow was good enough to tag along with Murray throughout the drudgery of a long campaign, but not good enough to be paid? Now that the election is over, Barlow was left to play Mingus's sidekick. Now with resignation of Pete Mingus, Murray has announced that she will be advertising to hire a replacement for Mingus as Chief of Staff. This is yet another slap in the face of Alan Barlow, and we wonder why he agrees to remain associated with this administration.

In other words, Barlow was just a useful token who gave Murray the appearance of being a supporter of diversity and inclusion, and helped deliver black votes.

We wonder who will be smart enough to file their lawsuits first? The slandered ex-department heads or the shafted token Chief of Staff. (Or maybe "Commissioner" Peck who moved to Portsmouth based on a fraudulent promise of a $70,000-plus annual salary, who is likely to receive almost $20,000 less--only to become tangled up in an ongoing freak show of monumental proportions.)

We close with this picture of Mingus and Barlow in Jane Murray's basement.