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Is Mayor Miller Purposely Creating Controversy Over the AAG Health Care Issue For Political Purposes?

Listener: Dick H.
Category: Lubbock City Politics
Date: 28 Apr 2008
Time: 09:34:31 -0700
Remote Name: 68.91.16.225

Comments

Several months ago within a few days of the time when Tom Martin declared himself as a candidate for mayor I saw Mayor Miller on a news broadcast and Mayor Miller stated that "some information" would come out that would cast doubt on Tom Martin's character and ability to be mayor. Now shortly before the election Mayor Miller makes accusations that Tom Martin acted inappropriately in dealing with the AAG health care issue when he was on the City Council. Now Mayor Miller realizes that his only chance to get re-elected is to cast his opponent as not being ethical during his tenure as a city councilman.

Mayor Miller claims that Mr. Martin blocked an audit of the AAG controversy and cost Lubbock at least a couple of million dollars or more. It is interesting to note that Mayor Miller has had plenty of time to get an audit performed by a disinterested third party CPA but he chose a firm out of California that advertises they will take a biased sample that will get money back for their clients. In other words they guarantee they will find results that favor their client. Using the California firm has caused a dispute between the City and AAG. I agree with AAG's position of getting an independent CPA to perform the audit. Mayor Miller's timing of getting this issue before the public is very suspicious since Mayor Miller full-well knows that it could not possibly be resolved until after the election. It would seem to me that several months ago he could have brought this controversy before the public but waited until a few days before the election. Mayor Miller has been in office for nearly two years and has had plenty of time to resolve this matter but seems to have chose not to resolve the matter for purely political purposes.

It would seem more than fair to me that if Mayor Miller gets re-elected mainly because of the doubt that he has raised about the AAG issue then if the issue is resolved in a manner that shows the whole issue was mainly smoke and mirrors Mayor Miller should resign from office and a new election be held.

Dick Hudgens
Lubbock

Pratt responds:

You get it right. A good bit of evidence pointing to this planned behavior was Miller's claim that the FBI told him he could tell the public about their investigation. All along he knew that the FBI policy is to neither confirm or deny any investigation. Thus, free reign to mislead all he wants with the knowledge that the FBI will not contradict him.