Last week we featured, YOU DON'T KNOW JACK, this week we peel back the onion a little more. What we do know is that a lawyer paid a lawyer to write a letter to lawyers, Ethics Commission, for an advisory ethics opinion { no. 2016-04} that would allow a lawyer— who is also a member of the Fairhope Airport Board, to enter into a lease with the same airport authority, whose partner is the Municipal Judge for Fairhope. The opinion is 6 pages. For simplicity sake we will address page 1.

I have followed four Fairhope city councils and one thing I can tell you is with each new council several things became abundantly clear. The new members of the council are usually influenced by longer serving members. However, the newer members are usually kept in the dark as to the backstory involving long-term issues concerning the city. Another observation was the utter lack of transparency and accountability. I give our previous Mayor full credit for using the aforementioned tactics.

Fairhope celebrated the election of the first woman Mayor of Fairhope with a fantastic swearing in ceremony. Hundreds attended and the atmosphere was positive. Mayor Wilson addressed the attendees and promised to represent them to the best of her abilities. She was humble and appreciated the trust the citizens had in her ability. Mayor Kant did not attend the ceremony. Also, he never cooperated with the transition of power or city information nor did he attend any pre-inauguration functions. This will be his legacy.

The City of Fairhope has three days before it swears in a new Mayor and begins another chapter in its history. It is past due time to turn the page. In the recent City Sketches, the centerfold article “if they build it they will come” is a glowing tribute to Mayor Kant’s accomplishments. This city magazine has been a propaganda tool of the Mayor, paid for with tax dollars, and supported by a disingenuous editorial staff of one person. The publication is outdated and the content is not truthful. Many people will read the magazine and be misled, for the first time, while visiting Fairhope, as well as citizens who are not politically aware or connected to the city. The Ripp Report has had several complaints from long term residents. Some of 30+ years, take offense to the many false claims by the soon-to-be former Mayor. Mayor Kant said in the article that in 1983 that the “the town was dying,” and he was “equipped with his marching orders.” In fact, the town was nowhere near death; in reality it was a self-sufficient community of 7,268 people with over 80 businesses from car dealerships, restaurants, drugstores and grocery stores.

The Ripp Report and Baldwin County Legal Eagle had a record posting: BALDWIN COUNTY FAMILY COURT - A COTTAGE INDUSTRY A total of 48,200 people reached through 112 shares, 109 likes, 28 comments and 9 phone calls. Those are powerful numbers and converted into votes can unseat unethical judges and expose cottage industry attorneys. Those are accurate stats. What I cannot identify is the number of children who were victims of a corrupt system that fails to protect their best interests while attorneys fleece their clients.

For years we have been critical of the family court, especially the rulings of District Judge Michelle Thomason. Complaints lit Facebook up like a Christmas tree. They were so plentiful and consistent that it was obvious to anyone that the good Judges' court was a malfunction junction in the legal system. Her 50/50 decisions on custody were an easy way out of tough decisions and caused many a family unnecessary hardships. Thomason has had as many as 6 complaints filed against her in the last 18 months; all were dismissed by the Judiciary. Guess they were busy with Judge Roy Moore.

The BP oil spill was an accident that claimed eleven lives and adversely affected millions. BP has had to pay BILLIONS of dollars in damages spread among four states Alabama Louisiana, Texas and Florida. Three of the states used their funds to correct environmental damage done by the spill and to invest in future projects related to environmental issues. Alabama choose to rob and plunder their money on pet projects of Mayors Councils and even the Governor.

CORRECTION Mayor Kant was not in California until Wednesday, he and Jennifer just skipped the planning and zoning meeting Monday night for no legitimate reason. Several employees have called the Eagle and informed us that the dynamic duo was in hiding. WOW what leadership. An America in Bloom vanity award in sunny Southern California was the reason Mayor Kant and Public Works Director Jennifer Fidler were conspicuously absent at this week’s planning commission meeting entertaining the controversial Fly Creek Apartment deal for the sixth time. While Kant and Fidler, Sherry Sullivan did not make this trip, were wining and dining with the fawning politicians of coastal Arroyo Grande, the Fairhope Planning Commission sealed the fate of the dubious high-density project with a 4-2 vote. Their two votes, in lieu of Commissioner Fogarty’s absence, were crucial. However, the fact that the mayor turned his back on the citizens, the developers, and property owner, at the eleventh hour of this costly, tortuous ordeal speaks volumes about his character and even more about the near future of Fairhope politics. What is the mayor thinking? Fairhope came in second for the same award last year, out of three entries, think about it.