"Portsmouth Ohio is the meanest and most corrupt city anywhere and how dare they vilify me with a recall. I will not resign!"UPDATED INFORMATION:
In case you didn't see it yesterday, Madame Mayor Jane Murray put on quite a show on WSAZ. She proved once again that she truly is the "Queen of Denial."
Here is the report from the WSAZ website:
In case you didn't see it yesterday, Madame Mayor Jane Murray put on quite a show on WSAZ. She proved once again that she truly is the "Queen of Denial."
Here is the report from the WSAZ website:
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WSAZ) -- "They’ve been gunning for me from the start."There is just so much we could say about Murray's ridiculous and arrogant comments. If "she wouldn't change a thing she's done," does that mean she would still vote "NO" on the A-Plant Expansion project? Would she still hire an un-qualified, un-licensed, so-called engineer with no engineering degree, and offer him a salary not authorized by City Council? Would she still fire Sam Sutherland and Rick Duncan, only to offer both of them their jobs back two weeks later? Would she still demand that the police chief, police officers, and the Third Ward Councilman refer to her as "Madam Mayor" instead of Maam? Would she still re-install the traffic lights and then leave them covered with garbage bags for eight months, despite the ODOT study that said they were not needed?
That’s what defiant Portsmouth Mayor Jane Murray says about the recall effort underway to possibly remove her from office. Murray has refused any comment on the recall -- until now. The mayor says she was elected last November to make changes in the troubled river city. She says she wouldn't change a thing she's done, except may slow it down some.
She blames the anti-Jane Murray sentiment on misinformation, city corruption and just plain meanness. But it looks like Portsmouth voters will decide on the mayor's future in office this November.
We asked Murray about the challenges she's faced since taking office. She said the citizens of Portsmouth don't know the truth, saying they've been fed politically slanted misinformation from the underground Internet -- even the mainstream media.
And she proudly stands 100 percent behind her tumultuous tenure as mayor. Murray says she stands by everything she’s done. She added that she's never seen more corruption and meanness in any place she’s been and she says she’s not used to that.
If and when the recall petitions are certified (possibly as early as Wednesday), Murray will have five days to resign. The mayor says she's not a quitter and will not resign.
But, no, she said it herself: She wouldn't change a thing.
What really strikes us is her statement that she is "not used" to the level of "meanness" she has been subjected to in Portsmouth! Really, Jane? Meanness?
* How mean was it to fire five people on January 4, your first day in office, people with bills to pay and families to provide for, without any notice or hearing? (Did you know she didn't even meet with the employees she fired? She sent her two "hit men" to do the dirty work?)
* How mean was it to go on WSAZ-TV and accuse Water Works Director Sam Sutherland, a man of excellent reputation and standing in his profession and his community, of criminal acts with no justification? "Murray says (Sutherland) may be the subject of a reopened investigation into water department mismanagement. 'The statute of limitation has not expired,' she said. (Murray) also said she's consulting on union contracts with former city employee Roy "Bubb" Payton who was convicted last year on felony charges involving city property. Murray said her probe shows Payton was the victim (of wrongful termination by Sutherland)." WSAZ-TV, 1/4/10.
* Finally, if the Mayor thinks it is MEAN for citizens of Portsmouth to exercize their constitutional right to recall a public official who they are not satisfied with, then what does that make Jane Murray? As we said in April of this year, Jane Murray got her political start in Portsmouth by starting a recall campaign against then- President of Council Howard Baughman. (Click here for story.)
Jane Murray: Queen of Denial, Queen of Mean.
The slanderer-in-chief has struck again. As it so often happens, it seems the intrepid Frank Lewis and the Portsmouth Daily Times has said it best with 
