We can still be friends
Six months ago, on March 1, in the inaugural post for this blog and at the Council meeting, I reported Charlotte had made personal use of her Parish credit card. The rest, as they say, is history - revelations of a DPW director using Public property for his personal gain, a $5.3 million debt incurred to protect a cow pasture, an aborted general obligation bond slush fund, and a demoralized Parish workforce, and an apparent reluctance on the part of those with authority to do something about it.
The idea for this blog began after months of futile attempt on my part to get uncensored public records from Charlotte Randolph's Administration. After the revelations last fall of George and Charlotte's wreck of a Parish vehicle, while George was driving, and Charlotte's payment of overtime to salaried employees, I decided to investigate whether these were isolated incidents or a pattern of abuse of the Public trust. Sometime in late November 2005, I started submitting public records requests for Charlotte's expense records. Prior posts detail the Administration's reaction - censored documents, a failed attempt to raise public record copy costs, and a lawsuit that taught Charlotte Randolph's Administration public records couldn't be censored.
That first day of the blog's existence saw about 4 or 5 hits. Then we settled in at about 30 per day after we started using the counter on March 13. The generator story in late May sent it through the roof. Thereafter, we have been averaging over 100 hits a day.
Charlotte Randolph's Administration is in shambles, her credibility is gone and, although she continues to delude herself otherwise, her political career is over.
This little hobby of "[p]roviding information our public servants would prefer we didn't know and the traditional media won't, opinion, news and a little taste of South Lafourche culture", while fun, has taken too much of my time. Although I will not be going away, I will be devoting alot more time to my law practice and alot less time to investigating the Charlotte Randolph administration and reporting my findings, partly out of necessity and, to a greater extent, due to the fact that it's time for the Hamlets with the legal authority to decide whether they will enforce the law or not.
The success of this blog would not have been possible without all the information, moral support and feedback provided by countless people, both inside and outside Lafourche Parish government, and whose identities will remain secret. I thank you for your help. You know who you are.
The coverage provided by the traditional media was a mixed bag. The Lafourche Gazette's reporting and editorializing came as a shock because it has traditionally not published stories critical of public officials or bodies, with few exceptions. While the Comet covered the news part of the story, for the most part, its editoral page remained missing in action. Maybe they are still hungover from the "Council 5" and/or have too much invested in Charlotte Randolph. KLRZ's Talk on the Bayou was not the critical instrument it was in the days of the "Council 5". Emilie Bahr of the Comet, Alces Adams stringing with the Gazette and Kirk Cheramie of KLRZ deserve special recognition.
It has been a fun ride. I doubt that any government has been subjected to this degree of relentless scrutiny by someone with so little authority to do anything about it as this passed six months have seen. Charlotte and her bumbling band of bozos made it so easy to find damaging information that they have made me seem to be a far better investigator than I am. No telling what a little deeper digging would have uncovered. And that, my friends, is the scary part!
I will see the George wreck lawsuit out to the end.
Many people have asked me what they can do about this mess. Attend Council meetings in mass and speak at the meetings. Call KLRZ, especially when Charlotte is on.
Talk to Cam and Craig Weber. Ask them whether Charlotte's Administration is above the law. Write letters to the editors.
Now, you're on your own. But, we can still be friends.
Six months ago, on March 1, in the inaugural post for this blog and at the Council meeting, I reported Charlotte had made personal use of her Parish credit card. The rest, as they say, is history - revelations of a DPW director using Public property for his personal gain, a $5.3 million debt incurred to protect a cow pasture, an aborted general obligation bond slush fund, and a demoralized Parish workforce, and an apparent reluctance on the part of those with authority to do something about it.
The idea for this blog began after months of futile attempt on my part to get uncensored public records from Charlotte Randolph's Administration. After the revelations last fall of George and Charlotte's wreck of a Parish vehicle, while George was driving, and Charlotte's payment of overtime to salaried employees, I decided to investigate whether these were isolated incidents or a pattern of abuse of the Public trust. Sometime in late November 2005, I started submitting public records requests for Charlotte's expense records. Prior posts detail the Administration's reaction - censored documents, a failed attempt to raise public record copy costs, and a lawsuit that taught Charlotte Randolph's Administration public records couldn't be censored.
That first day of the blog's existence saw about 4 or 5 hits. Then we settled in at about 30 per day after we started using the counter on March 13. The generator story in late May sent it through the roof. Thereafter, we have been averaging over 100 hits a day.
Charlotte Randolph's Administration is in shambles, her credibility is gone and, although she continues to delude herself otherwise, her political career is over.
This little hobby of "[p]roviding information our public servants would prefer we didn't know and the traditional media won't, opinion, news and a little taste of South Lafourche culture", while fun, has taken too much of my time. Although I will not be going away, I will be devoting alot more time to my law practice and alot less time to investigating the Charlotte Randolph administration and reporting my findings, partly out of necessity and, to a greater extent, due to the fact that it's time for the Hamlets with the legal authority to decide whether they will enforce the law or not.
The success of this blog would not have been possible without all the information, moral support and feedback provided by countless people, both inside and outside Lafourche Parish government, and whose identities will remain secret. I thank you for your help. You know who you are.
The coverage provided by the traditional media was a mixed bag. The Lafourche Gazette's reporting and editorializing came as a shock because it has traditionally not published stories critical of public officials or bodies, with few exceptions. While the Comet covered the news part of the story, for the most part, its editoral page remained missing in action. Maybe they are still hungover from the "Council 5" and/or have too much invested in Charlotte Randolph. KLRZ's Talk on the Bayou was not the critical instrument it was in the days of the "Council 5". Emilie Bahr of the Comet, Alces Adams stringing with the Gazette and Kirk Cheramie of KLRZ deserve special recognition.
It has been a fun ride. I doubt that any government has been subjected to this degree of relentless scrutiny by someone with so little authority to do anything about it as this passed six months have seen. Charlotte and her bumbling band of bozos made it so easy to find damaging information that they have made me seem to be a far better investigator than I am. No telling what a little deeper digging would have uncovered. And that, my friends, is the scary part!
I will see the George wreck lawsuit out to the end.
Many people have asked me what they can do about this mess. Attend Council meetings in mass and speak at the meetings. Call KLRZ, especially when Charlotte is on.
Talk to Cam and Craig Weber. Ask them whether Charlotte's Administration is above the law. Write letters to the editors.
Now, you're on your own. But, we can still be friends.
posted by Carl A. Chauvin at 7:48 AM
1 Comments:
Now Mr. Chauvin that you are going
away Mrs. Randoplh might get the idea
that she has won. I looked forward to your
contributions to these matters of our elected officials. Now as a watch dog to inform the public of wrong doings you will be gone, the citizens of Lafourche parish will be at their mercy.
Please for the citizens Mr. Chauvin do not go away. Please try to find some time to keep up the work you have been doing. I for one wish to thank you and appreciate your work.
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