30 responses so far ↓

• 1 Fake Jayne // May 12, 2010 at 1:43 pm

  This is so very stupid. Greg Fischer’s entire 32-pre financial report has been on file with the county clerk’s office for weeks — including his expenses. That’s inside the Urban Government Center, 810 Barret Ave. It’s on file there for public inspection.

  If you would get off your ass and crawl out of your spider hole once in a while, Jake, you might get the information you seek much more quickly. But then, I guess it is easier to just make up stuff and call people names while relying on others like Steve to do your work for you.

• 2 jake // May 12, 2010 at 1:57 pm

  Really? Make stuff up? Are you incapable of reading?

  Greg’s own staff refused to share the expenditure data from January to present – despite proclaiming transparency. Greg filed his KREF reports in a manner that prevented the general public from being able to review his expenditure data online.

  As I told Steve when he offered the data (which I could have had KREF fax me, duh), that’s not the point. The point is that Greg went out of his way to make it difficult for people to see the data… despite every other campaign doing the opposite.

• 3 Christy // May 12, 2010 at 1:57 pm

  Who cares? Really? You’re all riled up dude.

• 4 jake // May 12, 2010 at 2:00 pm

  You don’t care if a candidate proclaiming to be transparent is anything but?

  Yeah, that’s the ticket. Write it off as someone being riled up.

• 5 Steve Magruder // May 12, 2010 at 2:17 pm

  Greg Fischer talks about great customer service (his superficial idea of transparency), but not filing his disbursements electronically for this year, like he did last year, means he’s all talk.

• 6 Brad // May 12, 2010 at 2:36 pm

  Seriously, just because the guy wouldn’t fax or e-mail it to you doesn’t mean it WASN’T public knowledge. If it was, in fact, available at the clerks office then take 30 mins, drive down there and pull the files. Case closed. This is a prime example of why journalists are a dying breed. …yes, even internet journalists. Laziness.

• 7 Steve Magruder // May 12, 2010 at 2:39 pm

  This is not case closed in the least.

  This is a matter of transparency in the Internet age.

  Fischer released disbursement information to KREF electronically through the end of last year.

  For this year’s disbursements, he didn’t, and because of that, ordinary citizens cannot look them up on the KREF site as it was designed for.

  Fischer’s campaign surely knew this.

  How is this “great customer service”?

• 8 The Highlander // May 12, 2010 at 3:52 pm

  This whole ‘thing’ is troubling. IF that’s all it was, why in the world would Fischer make a decision to file it in a manner that wouldn’t allow for easy viewing? The only answer is that Fischer’s decision was A DELIBERATE EFFORT to obfuscate. Sounds even more like just another Jerrie Abramson — operating in a manner less than public and without regard to the public.

• 9 The Highlander // May 12, 2010 at 5:35 pm

  If, by chance, Christy is Christy Brown (a wealthy Fischer confidant from the very beginning) then she ought to be put out about this lack of campaign transparency of George’s young son. Because THAT Christy is very attuned to propriety and appropriate campaigning.

• 10 jake // May 12, 2010 at 5:36 pm

  It’s not Mrs. Brown.

• 11 tbrauch // May 12, 2010 at 5:41 pm

  Oh, so they are all available at the County Clerk’s office. That’s great for me seeing as I am away at school some 5.5 hours drive away from the nearest Clerk’s office. And, I got my absentee ballot in the mail today.

  So, Fake Jayne and Brad, how do you expect me to find a copy of this?

• 12 Brad // May 12, 2010 at 5:57 pm

  tbrauch – you’re not a journalist, that’s why I said Jake should make the trip, get the info then post it to his site for folks like you to read. Just because the guy did it differently last time doesn’t mean that he’s covering something up this time.
  P.S. I have no dog in the fight, as I live in Indiana and can’t vote for mayor anyway.

• 13 jake // May 12, 2010 at 6:21 pm

  I could have gotten the data any number of ways – primarily via a fax from the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, where the data is originally filed.

  But that doesn’t change the fact that Greg purposefully altered his reporting activity to prevent prying eyes. And it’s clear he did – because he spent THOUSANDS on NGP Software, used primarily for financial reporting purposes.

• 14 Steve Magruder // May 12, 2010 at 6:28 pm

  Jake nails it. The Fischer camp obviously had the capability of filing last year’s disbursements as recently as January, but then they couldn’t do it in April? That’s just not plausible.

  This change was on purpose.

• 15 Steve Magruder // May 12, 2010 at 6:30 pm

  I meant “filing last year’s disbursements electronically…”

• 16 Brian Simpson // May 12, 2010 at 8:06 pm

  Are the numbers being paid to members of the campaign in-line with past mayor races? Those seem awefully high even before the primary is over.

• 17 jake // May 12, 2010 at 8:08 pm

  They’re on-par with statewide races.

• 18 Jeff N Clifton // May 12, 2010 at 9:08 pm

  Christy: I care. Really. It’s about transparency and informing your electorate. It also smacks of evasion.

• 19 steve // May 12, 2010 at 10:53 pm

  Jake, as Fake Jayne said, it was in the County Clerk’s office. Why didn’t you do the investigative journalist,s work and find the info. That is what reporters who care about their city do. Find the info, analyze it, and query it. Tranperency is not about providing info to people who are out to destroy you.

  You go out of your way to slam Greg. If I were in his shoes, I will do the same thing. There is more to life than meet than hating people. If you have any genuine policy issue that you want to contrast Greg with other candidates, then do it. When you blantantly elevate King (who has a proven dishonest and botherline illiegal record) above Greg then something is wrong with that picture. I guess, what I am trying to say is if you continue on this path, no one will take you seriously. Just a friendly advice!

• 20 steve // May 12, 2010 at 11:04 pm

  Steve Magruder, did you see any irregularities with the report? If not, you are just grasping for straws to keep your campaign alive. While Greg can choose to file his report online, it is the state’s responsibility to make sure it is available online – not Greg.

• 21 steve // May 12, 2010 at 11:07 pm

  The Highlander, really??? What is troubling is your assumptions! What has he done wrong or illegal?

• 22 Steve Magruder // May 12, 2010 at 11:38 pm

  steve, I wasn’t aware I was running for mayor.

  I stand by what I said. It can’t get any clearer.

• 23 jake // May 13, 2010 at 8:15 am

  Mr. Concern Troll (or is it Miss?): Because I’m – wait for it – not a journalist and have publicly eschewed that term for years.

  Every other candidate in every other race has been forthcoming to the public – not me – with their campaign finance reports. But Greg Fischer filed in such a manner that hid his expenditure data from easy public view and his own campaign staff obfuscated when confronted. You can’t tell me that’s transparency.

  This isn’t about me getting my hands on information – which I can clearly get. Not from the County Clerk, but from the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance and in a much quicker turn around time than the Clerk could provide via facsimile.

  Are you Fischer staffers now admitting that you didn’t electronically file expenditure data because you were afraid of what I would say? Maybe Will Carle is bitter that people know what he’s paid? Or maybe Rande?

  I hit Greg Fischer with facts – often provided by his own campaign – and I love that it’s getting so deeply under your skin.

  What I love the most is that Will and Lisa go out of their way to act like I’m supporting Jim King, who I obviously am not. You folks saw the Tyler Allen advertisement – the only one I accepted this cycle from a mayoral candidate. And you’ve seen me publicly say I support Lisa Moxley because she’s the only candidate who isn’t a full-on embarrassment.

• 24 tbrauch // May 13, 2010 at 11:00 am

  Uhh… so Brad, your response to me was irrelevant. Are you saying that only journalists care about finance reports? Are you a journalist? If not, you must care about them enough to comment on this story.

  I’m a voter. I care about finance reports. I want to see who the candidates owe favors when they get in office. Being at school over 5 hours away means that I cannot see Fischer’s finance reports, even though I do get to vote.

  So is Fischer trying to be transparent to ALL people, or only journalists?

• 25 Steve Magruder // May 13, 2010 at 12:13 pm

  tbrauch, I totally agree. After all, journalists and quasi-journalists can’t and don’t catch everything. In these times, everyone has (or should have) an opportunity to spot issues using public information provided in a transparent manner.

• 26 Christy // May 14, 2010 at 9:07 am

  Ok, ok, a lot of people care! Sorry! Sheesh! And I GET the whole point is about the hypocrisy of saying you’ll be transparent and then not. Full disclosure, I AM a Fischer supporter. I AM embarrassed about all this. I AM embarrassed about the campaign’s reaction. I AM embarrassed about their response, their emails to Jake/The VilleVoice and the hypocrisy of their so-called dismissal of the VV as inconsequential and then their self-contradicting defensive attitude. My “who cares” line is a reflection of how jaded I am. They are POLITICIANS. All of them. Period. You pick the best one you can or you sit on the sidelines.

• 27 jake // May 14, 2010 at 9:12 am

  Christy: THANK YOU!

  Your comment should serve as an example for all readers who disagree with me/this site/other commenters.

  There’s no reason you can’t disagree and still get along. And there’s no reason you can’t explain what you think, folks, just like Christy did. THAT is political discourse.

• 28 TallGuy // May 14, 2010 at 9:32 am

  Evidently the Fisher campaign has something to hide. They prohibited me from attending their rally 2 nights ago at the Olmstead. Why? Because some parking lot gestapo agent saw the two Heiner stickers on my car. Talk about having to “show your papers”. When I protested a little, they then demanded I hand over $ 50 for an entry fee. I wonder how many attendees paid $ 50 that night? Their rally invitation did not mention an admission fee or I would not have shown up at all. All of this occurred on the front porch. When I complained to the Fisher campaign by email, Greg’s sister replied that I was denied entry because I “might be scoping out the Fisher campaign”. So much for freedom of attendance; It’s not like I’m a jerk who was going to cause trouble.

• 29 Christy // May 14, 2010 at 10:35 am

  TallGuy, I think the same would happen at any rally. Think about it.

• 30 Chip // May 14, 2010 at 10:52 am

  I’m glad the travel expenses were low.
  The $258.02 spent indicates that the Fischer caravan went to the West end maybe once, from the Olmstead and Temple parking lots.

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