Tip O'Neill supposedly first, or at least most famously, uttered those words and no doubt the wards of Massachusetts have had their share of interesting political stories. But I doubt they would top what appears to be happening in of all things a park district board in Troy, Illinois. The Tri-park Township Board seems to have had some issues in the past, including a new member who defeated an incumbent in April elections. While Mary Kmetz is new as a commissioner, she is not a stranger to the Park Board. In the past as an employee of the Park Board she filed seven discrimination charges with the EEOC. Although she made two settlement offers, both were rejected by the Board, and the charges ended up being dropped and she ended up being terminated.
But now following her election, the Park Board President announced that the State Attorney is being asked to consider perjury charges against his new colleague based on her sworn statements to the EEOC. According to a story on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website, it is related to the approximately $10,000 in costs the Board spent in defending itself. According to the Board President's statement:
It is the park district's position that taxpayers should not have to bear the expense when disgruntled employees perjure themselves in an attempt to influence management decisions.
Would love to be present at the next Commissioner's meeting.