Citizen's Advocate Sets Record Straight

We have received a request by citizen Valla Ann Bolovschak to print an account of the events that transpired prior to her presentation at last Thursday's City Council meeting. We are granting her request in the spirit of cooperation and truthfulness, as well as the appreciation we have for her as one who truly had the best interests of the citizens of New Albany at heart with her actions.
As most folks already know, and for those who don't, Ms. Bolovschak spent her own time and her own money, out of her own fortitude, to obtain a copy of the recently released 2004 State Audit of the City's finances.
She spoke at the meeting about several points of concern contained in the audit, and subsequently supplied a copy to every Council Member present.
Since the meeting, and even a bit during the meeting, false accusations have been made about certain members of the Council working in tandem with Ms. Bolovschak in an effort to embarrass or humiliate the Mayor by producing the Audit.
The key words here are FALSE ACCUSATIONS.
We provided a link to Freedom of Speech where CM Schmidt submitted a written response to the allegations against him. We encourage everyone to read CM Schmidt's letter, and to consider why a particular group of citizens constantly slander and attack select Council Members that they commonly refer to as "the gang of four".
If there are "agendas" to be found in the actions and words of anyone, those agendas are becoming clearer by the day, and they are being advanced by the progressives who are laying the groundwork to discredit the "gang of four" CM's they want to see unseated in the next election.
Yet, it is these same Council Members, along with a handfull of concerned citizens who have done a great job trying to protect the citizens of New Albany from a dreadfully incompetent Mayor who weasels his way out of every bad situation he creates by blaming everybody and everything but the phases of the moon for any negative outcomes.
I expect soon we'll even hear that as well because he's running out of folks who are willing to take the hit for him.
Because of the increasing severity of the ramifications of Mayor Garner's incompetence, I am more than happy to help in the efforts to "set the record straight", so folks can recognize the likely potential that, left unchallenged, our current Mayor will take this town apart at the seams and leave us all swimming in sewage muck while he runs off with pockets full of our money.
Therefore, what follows is the series of events that led to Ms. Bolovschak's actions at last Thursday's City Council session, as well as other instances that were adulterated with political spin which led to misunderstandings, mis-information, and flat out misrepresentations of the facts and truths of the matters:

Laura
As you know, I am not a blogger, but appreciate you printing this as I am disgusted to see the never ending blame game being played out again, accusing others of being behind my actions.
I returned a phone call to Mark Seabrook late Thursday afternoon about the “State Street Live” item on the agenda, and asked him if he’d seen the 2004 audit and he said he hadn’t. I also ran into Dan Coffey that afternoon downtown, passing on Main Street, heading in opposite directions in our cars, and asked him if he’d seen it and he told me that he had heard it was not pretty. That is the complete extent to which I “discussed” what I had. I didn’t. I acted on my own with regard to the audit presentation and I trust the council was honest in their response to my question, Have you seen it? Nobody said they had and they all appeared to be as shocked as I was when I read it. I have no reason to think otherwise since the mayor claimed not to have seen a copy either. Why would he think that any of them would have been able to get a copy of it before he did and why does he forever blame an elderly person or weaker person with health problems for his errors and/or my doings? I expected this reaction from him because he uses this cowardly method to deflect attention away from himself consistently.
The following examples I have on tape:
--I wrote the “Good Grief” e-mail he blamed on Anna Schmidt and I spoke up and took responsibility for it. The person that sent it to Tony Toran knows that it came from me and me alone and so did the mayor and Tony Toran because Tony Toran called me about it that same day. Knowing full well the e-mail came from me, he blamed it on Anna Schmidt anyway, like the coward he is.
--When I brought up the matter of malfeasance and misappropriations it was directed at the mayor and he turned that into some grand attack on Mrs. Garry who was NOT the object of my discontent. The mayor was the reason I asked for an audit, and the 2004 audit certainly supports the dire need for one. However, acting in his normal cowardly fashion, he shoved the burden of this condemnation onto Kay. Any man that would allow those people, with enough problems of their own, who are doing what they are told, and force them to shoulder the burden of his problems is a real chump. You don’t throw your soldiers out in the path of an oncoming bulldozer. You should be man enough and skilled enough, to stop it yourself, because that is what noble, successful leaders do. Watching Mrs. Gary’s husband and daughter standing up to speak for her was one of the most depressing experiences I have had at council and it speaks volumes as to the sort of character he has.
--Rather than face the fact that the people’s finances are a complete train wreck, he once again chooses some innocent soul and pushes the matter off on him. Had the audit come from Mrs. Crump or Jeff Gahan, perhaps out of fear for upsetting their leader, that might have even made a little sense, but blaming it on Mr. Schmidt, when it is already known he wants an audit, why wouldn’t he just make copies and hand them out himself? I didn’t get it from Mr. Schmidt nor have I had any conversations with him about it other than the gracious “Thank you” he extended the other night and my response that he was welcome. It’s a sad state of affairs when a person is targeted as guilty for something because he acts respectful and grateful to a citizen.
But this has nothing to do with logic or reality. It’s about never accepting the blame for anything. It’s about a severe lack of courage, lack of skill, lack of compassion for people and a whole lot of other ugly dynamics that some blogs are focusing on exposing.
Valla Ann