First of all...there goes Matt Naugle getting all our press again...But really, how pathetic is this piece by Columbus Dispatch / Ohio Democratic Party hack Joe Hallett?
Sure...it really is difficult to defend kicking a woman when she's down, but let's remember that this woman filed false time cards. You don't have to be an alcoholic to do that. She lied to investigators when called on to tell the truth. You don't have to be an alcoholic to do that either. All of that you can talk about without making it personal, but let's not pretend that this woman is angelic...
The real story comes at the end of the Hallett piece:
Alcoholism may be an explanation, but it cannot be a justification for Mrs. Coleman's behavior in a job for which she should not have been hired. Once she took the position, she had an obligation to show up and put in a full day's work. But despite her ascribed excitement for the job, she was absent the second day. She came and went as she pleased, imparting an impression with co-workers that the mayor's wife enjoyed special treatment.Where are the stories about this, Joe? Why don't you write a few hundred words on this subject instead of burying it at the end of a column that does more to sling mud at Bob Bennett and Matt Naugle than it does to actually describe the real story.
Fisher, who heads the Development Department, ignored red flags and erred by hiring Mrs. Coleman. He said he had not been told about her previous absentee problems when she was a well-paid member of Gov. Ted Strickland's transition team and admitted he had qualms about her drinking before hiring her.
Despite the excuses and mitigating factors, Mrs. Coleman's hiring does not pass the smell test: It was cronyism, pure and simple. Politicians never seem to learn the peril in using state resources to take care of their friends.
By hiring Mrs. Coleman, Fisher put her in a position that made his own words sadly prophetic: Someone's life got lost in the big picture.
Or is that too objective of an assignment for you, hack?
UPDATE: Matt Dole weighs in as well over at LincolnLogsBlog.
Mark's Remarks
I just want to go on record as saying to Matt, how can she be a victim for filing false time cards, unless she was too lazy to file them herself? I mean, come on Mr. Hallett, there is chivalry in defending a woman when she is down, and then there is out and out stupidity. This woman, regardless of her alcoholism or whatever addiction is being used to gain sympathy for her, is responsible for filing the bad time cards. All the while you are defending Ms. Coleman's honor, what about the injustice done to her supervisor, who followed good ethics and procedure in not accepting the time cards and was fired for their trouble? Where is your defense of them? No, sir, the issue here is that the Strickland/Fisher administration is just as crony friendly, it appears, as the previous one. If this were Taft, you would be screaming your head off for his flogging. However, it is Teddy, so you just ho hum and wipe the malfeasance under the rug.....Where is the integrity here, sir?
