At first, I thought she might have gone so far negative because she couldn't get any traction on her own. While that probably did play a large part of it, the real reason turns out to be that she was trying to keep everyone's attention diverted from her own major scandal. This scandal sounds like something that is the cross between a Jerry Springer show and Judge Judy.
Even though it's been going on for several months, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Mary Spicuzza and Dan Bice finally got around to covering a lawsuit filed against Dennis Hughes, Myers' live in campaign manager. The lawsuit was filed by Myers' then boyfriend and Hughes' former lawyer, Roger Merry.
The gist of the lawsuit is that Hughes did not pay Merry for legal fees from Merry representing him in a lawsuit against the Janesville School Board, which Myers sits on. But as I am prone to point out, there's more. There's always more (emphasis mine):
Starting in 2015, the messy legal battle involved Myers' now-campaign manager, Dennis Hughes, and her then-boyfriend, Roger Merry.
Critics say the case presented a clear conflict for Myers. They suggest Myers was improperly forwarding school board information to Merry and siding with Hughes in his open records dispute.
"This is a disgrace to the school board and is deeply concerning to me as a former elected official in the First Congressional District," said former Kenosha County Supervisor Leah Blough, a Bryce supporter.
In 2015, Hughes was a union representative for AFSCME who sued the district over its refusal to release records. Merry, an attorney, agreed to represent Hughes in the lawsuit. And Myers was living with Merry in his Janesville home.
Hughes was also a friend of both Merry and Myers, and had lived with them in their large Janesville home.
Before he went to court, the school district took the unusual step of getting a temporary restraining order against Hughes. It was later dismissed.
Hughes eventually won the records lawsuit and got a $15,000 settlement agreement from the district.
But the money still sits in a trust account overseen by Merry, who has declined to turn over the cash to Hughes. Merry has sued Hughes, saying the money is owed to him for legal fees, even though there was no written contract. He and Myers are no longer together.
So we have Myers who sent emails from the board, including closed meeting items, to her live in boyfriend. Said boyfriend became the lawyer for Hughes, who was living with both Myers and Merry at the time. Eventually, Merry was able to use the information in these emails to get Hughes a $15,000 settlement.
As for the restraining order, Hughes said that it was completely unjustified. This is not true. Hughes has already a record of being convicted for disorderly conduct.
And Myers does not deny sending the emails, despite the glaring conflict of interest:
Myers agreed, saying she felt that the former Janesville administration was hiding things from the public. She offered a succinct explanation as to why she forwarded a note about the order to Merry from her public account. Merry was not representing Hughes at the time.Myers tried to further justify her unjustifiable behavior by saying she wouldn't personally benefit from the $15,000 settlement pay out:
"I thought it was bullshit," Myers said. "I felt an injustice was happening.
"There was an injustice going on, and there were attempts that were being made by the administration to cover it up and conceal things that shouldn't be concealed," she said. "They were using a harassment restraining order in order to do that, and I thought it was wrong."
A Janesville constituent first raised concerns about Myers' conduct in the case several years ago.While she might not have benefited directly from helping to push the settlement through by sharing the confidential information, it would benefit her campaign manager. This is still against every ethics code ever written. Why she has not been brought up on charges yet is beyond me.
"I want to know why it would not be a conflict of interest for you to have inside information on all school board matters, including closed-door meetings. And then be in a position to tell your live-in boyfriend, Roger Merry, all of that information," Barbara Cullen wrote in a September 2015 email. "This seems wrong. Can you inform me as to why this is OK with your ethics?"
At the time, Myers defended herself by insisting she would have to "have substantial financial benefit in order for it to be a conflict of interest," citing the district's attorney and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Myers forwarded the email exchange to Merry.
"I will not profit by this at all. Roger and I are not married," she wrote back to Cullen. "We do not have a shared bank account."
Cullen responded by calling her a woman "lacking integrity."
It also should give one pause to wonder what she would do if she were elected to Congress. If they passed a bill or policy that she disagreed with, or if she wanted to benefit herself or someone close to her, would she again think she is above the law and do whatever she felt like, despite however unethical or illegal it might be? That strong possibility alone should make any rationally thinking person reconsider any support for her, either in this race or any future races.
Clearly, Myers is not fit for any office, including the one she holds now.
You hit this right on the spot. Maybe we need to leave people know the truth and post her story from Milwaukee newspaper. Wake people up.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could tell your readers what the lawsuit was about, or do you, like the Journal-Sentinel, wish that not to color your readership's impressions?
ReplyDeleteHahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMyers and I do have several Investments together. We are as financially intertwined has any married couple. I sued her last week because she owes me over $100,000. Once again Cathy Myers lies. Her ethics will fit in quite nicely in Washington, in a Trump kind of way.
ReplyDeleteGreat taste in men, Cathy.
ReplyDelete