At his press conference yesterday, Jim Suttle said he wanted to put the Matt Samp episode "in the history book" (and what chapter will that be exactly?) and get to work as Mayor.
That would have been a good idea, except that because Suttle screwed up his presser, he won't be able to do that just yet.
Why?
Because he left a bunch of inconsistencies hanging in the air, which until cleared up, will always remain.
To wit:
Suttle said:
"I have asked Matt Samp to separate himself from my Administration."Well, that's not what Samp said (and for what it's worth, that's not what KETV or KPTM are reporting).
Samp said:
"I will decline the position of Community Chief of Staff."Channels 7 and 42 each reported that Samp "resigned".
So which is it Mayor-elect Suttle? Did he quit or did you rescind the offer? There's a big difference.
The normal route here is that the offeree nobly rejects the offer "for the good of the City" etc. etc. But here there is a little twist.
Suttle can't exactly take that path because then people may say, "Hey, you kept your Chief of Staff position open to a suspected pedophile?" (to use the harshest argument).
So instead Suttle said that he rescinded the offer (apparently before Samp rejected it?) because,
"I expect my staff to lead by example."Huh. Interesting.
Now wasn't it just two or three days ago that Suttle said, he knew all about the allegations and rumors and he had heard them all and they were nothing but political vendettas?
So when did that all change? Does he have new info? Can he share it with us? With the parents of the supposed victims?
Sure there's Attorney General Jon Bruning's statements that Samp was calling some sixteen year old, but Bruning himself said that he can't legally act on that.
And Samp has said that all the allegations out there on him are not only "false", but also "untrue" (in case you weren't sure of the definition of false).
So just exactly what is it that Suttle believes Samp has done that is not "leading by example"?
So just exactly what is it that Suttle believes Samp has done that is not "leading by example"?
Well, we don't know. Because Suttle walked out of his press conference without answering questions. (And Joe Jordan and Tom Becka of course both tried asking anyway and Suttle brusquely marched onward.)
Suttle left plenty out there on Monday afternoon. And if anything, the History Books will show a shot of a frazzled Ron Gerard wondering why he ever got out of the weatherman biz.And if Suttle was hoping to lead by example, the example he has set is, "Don't ask. Because I won't tell."
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61 comments:
How does he regain any momentum? Why would any qualified person with other options want to be on Suttles staff? If things keep going this way a recall in 181 could be a possibility.
The city needs to look at a recall and election in the 2008 cycle to fill the seat.
It's time more than 31% of city voters decide who will be mayor.
sorry, 2010 cycle
KFAB said this morning they asked Suttle to be on their program, but he "refused." Ack, great. This city is DOOMED!
Suttle is arrogant, self-centered and a much more pushy and mean person than Hal Daub ever could be.
Probably because Suttle has no plans, no ideas, no understanding of how to fix the problems that were created by 8 years of Fakey and 4 years of Suttle on the City Council.
What are his plans? What are his ideas? What does he intend to do to restore our AAA bond rating? Lower crime? Gang Violence?
No one knows. How did this pea-brain get elected??
I know! And people were saying Hal Daub is mean and arrogant?!? I've actually met Hal Daub quite a few times and he is always the nicest, most open guy. I don't get it.
Omaha, you didn't get Hal Daub!!! Enjoy!!!
Also Pat McPhereson's artice on the editorial page was dead on target last week.
Guys, you can fantasize all you want about a recall but Suttle has done nothing to motivate people to vote for it. The alleged pedophile is not going to be calling boys on the taxpayer's dime. Omaha has a budget deficit. So what? The federal government has a deficit of 2,000,000 million dollars and no one cares. People just have no concept of what's going on and just aren't worried about it. So there will be no money for the pensions. So? It's just a few firefighters and cops who are SOL. Suttle does not need to have any plans because no one thinks they will matter anyway. People are on autopilot. A recall will fail.
Wait until a majority of the police and firefighters start retiring en masse within a week or two of Suttle's term. Mark my words. A little known part of their contract is going to be made aware...
Suttle's going to have a HUGE mess on his hands with no money to hire any new ones.
I agree with Macdaddy.
A recall? C'mon, the only reason a recall is even being mentioned is because Daub lost the race. This issue has nothing to do with Suttle. It is now an issue of Matt Samp's.
The people have spoken and apparently they would rather have Suttle's "no plans, no ideas, or understanding of how to fix the problems..." then to have Daub in as Mayor.
Its not like Samp fondled an underage chick in a Red Rooster costume or anything. Samp's no worse than Barney Frank, who still has his job. I thought liberal Democrats tolerated gay cats, even if they prefer younger men. Now Nebraska Dems look like hicks.
And to think we could've had Brinker Harding. Sigh.
None of this would have ever happened if we would have just elected Mort Sullivan.
Well, if anything good comes from all this mess, it's that hopefully more parents will think twice before letting Matt Samp "mentor" their young teenage boys!
No one ever makes false claims of abuse!!!
Some of these posts in the past few days are atrocious.
If you think that because a person is a public figure they can't sue under false light or defamation actions your mistaken.
What if Samp and/or Osborne is cleared?
People use some common sense!!!
Well said 2:04 PM June 2nd. Well said.
And we would ask that if you see a particularly offending comment, please point it out here or via email and we will take a look.
-Ed.
Btw,
Since we regularly point out where the OWH rips us off, I'd like to note that I JUST read Michael Kelly's column -- where we both had similar concluding comments.
Kelly wrote:
"His idea of addressing a serious accusation apparently was a pronouncement, no questions asked. Or, at least, none answered."Once again, I read Kelly's column 6 hours AFTER this post was written. Honest.
Sweeper, as I'm sure you are aware, that would not be the first time the OW-H *cough - Kroeger - cough* lifted someone else's copy.
Just sayin' . . .
In any case, I'm certainly not claiming Kelly copied L. St. It was published about 9 hours before our post went up.
Separated at Birth!!
Street Sweeper and Michael Kelly!
Ron Gerard looked like a cat trapped in a tree.
Hey, how about Jim Suttle fire Ron Gerard next and then hire Ron Burgundy!
"You stay classy, Omaha!"
Just to be safe, the authorities should investigate Mr. Samp's recent activities ivolving "mentoring" or working with young people on the campaign trail.
If he is innocent this will help clear his name a little if not, it could protect some innocent boy(s).
Has the Democratic Party provided enough protection and safeguards for its young workers and volunteers?
This is an ugly episode.
Ron Gerard looked about as clueless as his boss.
I oppose a recall. With all that's going wrong and about to go wrong in city government, especially financially, we're going to need something to laugh at the next four years. Might as well be the mayor.
You both copied Becka who had it right after the conference.
Today forecast calls for a 70% chance of indecisiveness followed by a period of incompetent management. As we look towards the weekend we may encounter problems caused by Sunday world herald hit piece passing through causing extensive damage to the 3rd floor of city hall.
How did I miss that Steve Oltmans, Mr. "I never saw a water dam that didn't make sense," end up in Suttle's campaign? This is news to this long-time Omaha dem. I really have no problem with Samp unless he's been charged with a crime, but Steve Oltmans? How can I sign the recall petition?
Well I'm glad P.J. Morgan decided not to run for mayor this time. I mean, there were similar allegations made against him. To all of you who think it was proper to report on these allegations, would it have been alright for the w-h to rehash the similar allegations made against him?
Let's move on, folks. Suttle has announced what he wants to work on in the first two weeks of his office: this year's budget, next year's budget, and the pensions. And you guys thought he wasn't into details!
9:36
This was some mother and father's child. Your guesses on why he did what he did do nothing to further the discussion.
Think of something else to say.
Anon 9:36
You are clearly not a parent and don't know the first thing about family.
Dear 9:36 p.m.,
What the F planet are you from? "Dignity" tarnished by sleeping with a 14-year-old boy. You're talking about a sick human being preying on a vulnerable young boy. Convicted or not, a troubled young man killed himself over it. Get it? KILLED HIMSELF. Creep back under your rock. This blog is about politics, not justifying despicable actions. You sound too close to the problem, way too close. LSS doesn't need you.
Okay Anonymous 9:36 PM
Let me get this straight. You think it's okay if he had sex with a 16 year old? Seriously? Is NAMBLA okay too?
It sounds like you are grasping at straws and making conjecture about every possible scenario.
THAT is a horrible thing in and of itself. The issue with Suttle is that he knew about it long ago, there was far more than just hints, and yet HE DID NOT INVESTIGATE IT. In fact, according to his statements the first day, he didn't think it was an issue that should concern him. He didn't think illegals were an issue either, but we got a good example of why it was an issue on election day no less. The point is, his judgement is so insanely bad that he should not be running a city. Some people know this far better than others, but I guess we are all getting a vision of that now. I tried to warn people.
What more do people want from Jim Suttle? He hasn't even taken office and faced with a crisis he took care of the situation immediately. It's not like this was an easy thing for him to face.
Dear 10:18: How about responsible leadership, backbone, common sense, intelligence, values and qualities befitting a mayor. Huh?
It didn't need to be a crises. Better judgement would have prevented it. Furthermore, he would have ignored it unless there wasn't public outcry. THEN he avoided answering questions about it until, once again, there was public outcry. It was public criticism that handled this situation.
RECALL... RECALL... RECALL
HOW MANY REASONS DO WE NEED??????
HAVEN'T WE ALREADY SEEN ENOUGH?????
HOW MANY MISHAPS CAN HE GET AWAY WITH BEFORE HE'S RECALLEd?????????
HOW MANY CAN WE AFFORD????????????
LOOK AT HIS campaign... LOOK AT HIS COVER-UPS... LOOK AT HIS NOT ANSWERING SIMPLY STRAIGHT FORWARD QUESTIONS... LOOK AT HIS INTENT!!!
So far, I have posted 2 comments naming prominent omaha individuals accused of doing the same thing as Mr. Samp. Sweeper has deleted both comments. Why sweeper, is it ethical for you to talk about allegations of a democrat who is accused of child sexual assault, but not okay for me to name other prominent Omahans accused of THE VERY SAME CRIME? Please explain the difference. Without an explaination, the only explaination that I see is that Samp is a democrat, while the other two are Republicans.
11:20,
Since you've posted as "Anonymous", and haven't noted a time, I really don't know which comment you're referring to.
In any case, the accusations about Samp were made in the OWH. If you post some uncorroborated rumor here on L. St., odds are were going to delete it.
There are lots of other places to go for you to further your rumors, if that's what you need to do.
G'nite.
If you are going to remove my blogs, I may as well not blog HERE and blog elsewhere. Now, what was wrong with what I said ? It was a FACT!!! Not that I am against any one who is gay, whatsoever!!! But, I am against hiring friends JUST ---BECAUSE--- when it comes to running our city!!!
OH HEY, 11:20 blogger:
I know what your're saying he just deleted one of mine too. Pisses me off!!! Come Back
Cathy,
What you stated may or may not be a fact. But unless you want to put a link to a reputable source, it's just your opinion that can find another place.
But the main reason for the deletion is your spouting that "Suttle is an *******!"
This is a blog to discuss politics, among other things. Take the yelping someplace else.
Again, Suttle and Samp are good friends and that is why he hired him for the position... and, now what is wrong with what I said? And, this is NOT a new aquaintance for new friendship they have been friends for a long-long time.
Now, I'll see if you remove this blog, and then, only wonder why and leave your site!
Dear Sweeper,
It was a fact, as a matter of fact, they were together as pals (friends - didn't say LOVERS) but, that they are pals and they were hanging (meaning chuming) together last year down town at the court- house. KNOWN FACT !!!
NOT, spreading rumors buddy!
Love,
Cathy
To 10:18 PM Anonymouse:
WHAT ???
Cathy - time for bed.
Cathy, Samp and Suttle may be good friends.
Do you not think that elected officials hire people that worked on their campaigns to work for them when they do get elected?
From what I understand Matt worked very hard on Suttle's campaign. When you are dedicated and work on a campaign the hope is to get a position for that person.
Okay Omaha, the GAME has begun, or, has it? Is mayor Suttle about to begin 'playing mayor?' Or, not ? OR, is he going to begin 'playing mayor' (major man) at the end of his 4 year term?
Atleast, he can write it down in his scrapbook !
Looks like he's off to a very BAD start ! And, we are off for a long toboggan ride !
If that is the case, then Hal Daub should hire me !
Bonnie, you're right !
As pointed out to me earlier today from a friend (that is gay), what did just happen here - was that Simple Suttle got ALOT of votes from the gay community as well, because of Matt. Suttle did his marketing, way in advance. AND, that is the only way he got in as mayor, he hit the right markets !
He hit UNO first of all - the energetic one's. He hit every market so to speak.
Another thing Bonnie, just thought of - just because he hit the right markets doesn't mean he is going to be good as a mayor... I think we ALL know that, already by now... and it hasn't even began. It's going to be troublesome for Omaha... I just know it... gut level, as well as, thoughtful...
Prepare !!!
Oh good we can expect still more piling on for the good purpose of
what?
Hey, as long as your boy Suttle keeps talking and giving a different answer each time, we'll cover it.
Hope that works for you.
Has the Democratic Party taken any steps to protect its many young campaign staffers, volunteers?
There are always a lot of young people helping on campaigns and party functions, how are these kids being protected?
As a parent, I'd think twice before letting my kid volunteer with the Democratic Party & its candidates after this relevation.
alarming.
revelation
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