1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,480 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,600 go to dpeakclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:33,719 your support. So Charlotte leaders through together a news conference 10 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:41,359 yesterday to announce we're not corrupt, we are not crooks, 11 00:00:41,799 --> 00:00:47,359 we are not engaging in immoral or unethical behavior. And no, 12 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,479 we are not going to give you any details about 13 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:52,600 a three hundred thousand dollars payout that we just gave 14 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:58,560 to the police chief because of unspecified reputational harm aka 15 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:04,799 hurt feelings. It's all above board. Obviously. I've watched the 16 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,040 press conference. One of the I will say, I have 17 00:01:08,159 --> 00:01:11,000 not seen this before, so I don't know if this 18 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:17,040 is standard fair for city government press conferences. Now maybe 19 00:01:17,079 --> 00:01:20,120 it is. I don't know, I have seen this kind 20 00:01:20,159 --> 00:01:25,799 of a format before. But they all got up and 21 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,159 made a statement. So it was the Mayor surrounded by 22 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:35,439 Ed Driggs. These are council members. Ed Driggs the only 23 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:43,519 Republican on the body dimple Asmira Malcolm Graham, the mayor 24 00:01:43,599 --> 00:01:49,640 pro Tim Dante Anderson. I think Marjorie Molina is her name. 25 00:01:49,879 --> 00:01:52,560 I think Marjorie is her first name. But Councilwoman Molina 26 00:01:52,719 --> 00:01:56,439 was there. Council Members Mitchell and Mayfield were not there. 27 00:01:56,719 --> 00:02:00,560 James Smudgie Mitchell and Luana Slack Mayfield, they they were 28 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,519 not there. They were sick, but they sent along statement 29 00:02:04,599 --> 00:02:06,840 saying that we would be here with you but for 30 00:02:07,239 --> 00:02:11,520 us being sick, and so they were standing in support also. 31 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:17,719 So that would be one, two, three, four, five, six, 32 00:02:18,599 --> 00:02:21,439 seven of the eleven council well seven of the ten 33 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:26,439 council members, because Tark Bacari is no longer in his seat. 34 00:02:26,479 --> 00:02:28,439 He took a job up in the Trump administration. So 35 00:02:28,479 --> 00:02:34,280 there's only ten ten seats open or sorry, ten seats filled. 36 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,039 There's one open, and there were three council members then 37 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,879 that were not present. One would be Renee Johnson, one 38 00:02:42,879 --> 00:02:48,400 would be a councilman Brown, I believe, and Victoria Wattlington 39 00:02:49,599 --> 00:02:56,479 whose campaign fundraising email that went out after the settlement 40 00:02:57,599 --> 00:03:02,319 vote basically behind closed doors to pay off the police 41 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:08,120 chief for this unspecified reputational harm. She sent out the 42 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:15,280 campaign fundraising notice on email where she made these allegations 43 00:03:15,319 --> 00:03:21,479 that the city and it's officers and it's elected officials, 44 00:03:21,479 --> 00:03:26,639 that she has witnessed all of this shady behavior basically corruption, 45 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,840 and that's what prompted this press conference yesterday. So they 46 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:38,159 were there to push back on this and to chastise leakers. 47 00:03:40,159 --> 00:03:43,840 I think if you are looking for the breakdown, like 48 00:03:43,919 --> 00:03:50,000 into the camps, like which factions exist, I think you 49 00:03:50,039 --> 00:03:54,319 can tell by who's not there, like those are the 50 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,520 three and if like I've been watching the city council 51 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:02,240 meetings since I returned to Charlotte, and it's something I 52 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,479 do on Monday nights, and I just have it on 53 00:04:04,599 --> 00:04:09,319 and I'm watching the city council meeting, and it is 54 00:04:09,439 --> 00:04:18,120 very clear that two of the members, particularly, they ask 55 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,560 questions in a way that make it difficult to understand 56 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:29,759 what exactly they're trying to get at, and they don't 57 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,040 get really they don't get really good responses, probably because 58 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,360 the way they frame their questions, but also I kind 59 00:04:36,399 --> 00:04:39,360 of feel like people don't respect them and that's not 60 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,199 entirely unearned, but I can see why that would rub 61 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,920 them the wrong way. I think that's the breakdown. That's 62 00:04:46,959 --> 00:04:49,639 and I have no inside information on this, just from 63 00:04:49,639 --> 00:04:53,079 my observation of the press conference and the city council meetings. 64 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:54,839 That's the way it looks like. That's the way it 65 00:04:54,879 --> 00:04:57,399 looks to me that these are very serious allegations that 66 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:02,680 Watlington leveled without any proof. So we'll play some sound 67 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:08,560 bites from the UH from the news conference yesterday. I 68 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,319 am looking here, hang on, so Bernie is telling me 69 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,279 that he has selected a new pope. Oh, I'm sorry, No, 70 00:05:15,399 --> 00:05:17,600 there is a new pope selected. 71 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:17,199 Speaker 2: So. 72 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,079 Speaker 1: I do not have to wear my glasses. Let's put 73 00:05:21,079 --> 00:05:25,600 the old spectacles on, and white smoke signals that a 74 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:31,279 new pope has been chosen. That seems kind of quick, Yeah, 75 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,759 it is crazy quick. Let's pull up the NBC feed, 76 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,839 because when I need news about Catholicism, I go to NBC. 77 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 2: Um. 78 00:05:41,879 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: No, it's the first thing that popped up in my feed. 79 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,639 Here Cardinals have chosen a new pope, indicated by white 80 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,800 smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel's chimney. Which did you 81 00:05:51,879 --> 00:05:54,759 know the chimney is not permanently affixed. They just put 82 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,279 it up there for the conclave, so the identity of 83 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,600 the next pot is expected to be revealed shortly when 84 00:06:02,639 --> 00:06:07,240 he appears on the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica. One 85 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:10,120 hundred and thirty three cardinals from around the world have 86 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,879 cast their ballots in three rounds of voting, so I 87 00:06:13,879 --> 00:06:20,360 guess this would have been the fourth round. Yesterday evening, 88 00:06:20,399 --> 00:06:23,560 after more than three hours, the first inconclusive vote was 89 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,759 signaled by black smoke, and this morning's pair of votes 90 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,040 was a repeat of that. See and this is really 91 00:06:30,399 --> 00:06:32,639 this is troubling to me because I didn't even get 92 00:06:32,639 --> 00:06:36,360 a chance to watch the movie Conclave before all of 93 00:06:36,399 --> 00:06:39,639 this went down, and so I have no idea what happened. 94 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,199 I'm not going to watch that movie. No, I'm not 95 00:06:44,199 --> 00:06:46,199 going to watch the movie. We'll give you the updates 96 00:06:46,199 --> 00:06:51,560 as they become available from the Vatican. They are barred 97 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,079 by the way. During the papal conclave, according to NBC, 98 00:06:54,439 --> 00:06:57,560 the cardinals are barred from leaving or having any contact 99 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,279 with the outside world. The electors can vote in up 100 00:07:01,319 --> 00:07:04,399 to thirty four rounds of voting until they select the 101 00:07:04,439 --> 00:07:08,519 next leader. Of the world's one point four billion Catholics. 102 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,319 But everybody has been watching the chimney. Black smoke means 103 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:18,199 nothing and no pope selected, and the white smoke means 104 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:23,160 someone has been elected. And I believe it takes two thirds. 105 00:07:23,879 --> 00:07:27,759 You need two thirds of the cardinals voting for a 106 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:32,120 single candidate. And my understanding also is that they're not 107 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,079 doing like horse trading and like lobbying and stuff while 108 00:07:36,079 --> 00:07:39,920 they sit around and pray, and they just sit there 109 00:07:39,959 --> 00:07:43,360 and then they vote, and it's just like we'll see 110 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,759 whose name rises to the surface, channeling the Holy Spirit 111 00:07:46,839 --> 00:07:51,240 to work through them and arrive at a at a 112 00:07:51,279 --> 00:07:56,240 consensus candidate. And it only took three votes or well three, 113 00:07:56,519 --> 00:07:58,959 you know, three inconclusive votes and then a fourth one. 114 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:04,000 So are celebrating. The crowd is gathering now because obviously 115 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:05,759 they're going to come and announce the new pope soon 116 00:08:06,079 --> 00:08:08,759 and we'll let you know who that is when we know. 117 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,160 Here's a great idea, how about making an escape to 118 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,720 a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina. 119 00:08:15,839 --> 00:08:18,480 Just a quick drive up the mountain and cabins of Asheville. 120 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,360 Is your connection. Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon. 121 00:08:22,439 --> 00:08:24,680 Maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get 122 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,600 family and friends together for a big old reunion. 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I'm assuming it's going to get widespread coverage, 142 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,519 so we could probably just rip off any old television 143 00:09:36,519 --> 00:09:40,200 station and bring you their their their live feld. Okay, 144 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:43,720 maybe we should probably go with Fox. Okay, yeah, that 145 00:09:43,759 --> 00:09:48,960 sounds like that sounds like Vatican City. Be good cheering, 146 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:59,960 just non stop cheering. Right, So the white smoke billowed, 147 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,399 and a new pope has been uh has been selected, 148 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,639 uh elected, has been picked, and they will announce who 149 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:11,159 that is soon. I have now since got onto the 150 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:17,080 feed of Vatican News, the Vatican News Twitter feed, which 151 00:10:17,639 --> 00:10:19,799 I feel like is probably gonna be a little bit 152 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:25,399 more you know, credible than NBC. But I I I 153 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:32,679 don't know. I mean, I want to believe to Okay, yeah, 154 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:34,639 so nothing new yet, but we will we will bring 155 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,600 you the We'll bring you the breaking news as it breaks, 156 00:10:37,639 --> 00:10:40,120 even though I mean, I am here, so okay, I 157 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,879 did tell people don't break anything while I'm gone, but 158 00:10:42,919 --> 00:10:45,120 I am here, so I guess this makes sense, all right, 159 00:10:45,159 --> 00:10:49,279 So I can't be mad now because this whole hour 160 00:10:49,399 --> 00:10:51,200 was supposed to be and when I was drawing it up, 161 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:54,240 it's supposed to be about how the Charlotte City Council. 162 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:54,279 Speaker 2: And the. 163 00:10:55,799 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: And the city leaders are, you know, very obs set 164 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,120 at Victoria Watlington's allegations about corruption and stuff. So they 165 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:06,399 did a news conference to announce that they are not corrupt, 166 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,879 which is what you know, people who aren't corrupt do. 167 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:12,799 But also, I guess people who are corrupt we do that. 168 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,080 So okay, doesn't really tell us anything on that score. 169 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,120 But I have some audio. Let's start with the mayor. 170 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:23,600 Here's Mayor Viylyles kicking off the series of statements that 171 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,279 were presented yesterday. Oh and I forgot to mention this 172 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:28,279 that they the format was kind of odd and that 173 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,720 they all made some statements, and then they were like, 174 00:11:32,279 --> 00:11:34,759 if you to the media, if you want to do 175 00:11:34,879 --> 00:11:38,120 one on one interviews, we'll do that now. Rather than 176 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:42,200 allowing the media to just start throwing questions to all 177 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,879 of the leaders that are standing up there at the mic, 178 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,919 they just broke off and said we'll do one on ones, 179 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,679 which does occur, don't get me wrong. One on one interviews, 180 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,000 especially TV people love the one on ones because it 181 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,799 makes it look like you got a story that nobody 182 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,480 else did, and you get to, you know, get right 183 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:02,679 up on the person and ask them some questions. And 184 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:08,679 it's a different kind of visual. But there's a benefit 185 00:12:08,799 --> 00:12:12,600 when you have the pack of journalists that are there 186 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,879 all peppering questions because you get to hear what other 187 00:12:15,919 --> 00:12:18,799 reporters are asking and then you can piggyback off of 188 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,480 a question that they asked and maybe the person, like 189 00:12:22,519 --> 00:12:26,519 the mayor, didn't answer it, or maybe her answer raises 190 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:29,279 another question, and then everybody can kind of work together 191 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,000 in the press pool. But by breaking up the press 192 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:36,440 pool and just doing one on ones, it eliminates that function. 193 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:39,879 I don't know if that was the intent. Here's the 194 00:12:39,879 --> 00:12:40,879 mayor kicking it off. 195 00:12:41,919 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 2: This is always a difficult thing that you have to 196 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,639 do that really kind of just strains you in the 197 00:12:48,639 --> 00:12:52,159 way that we should behave and act and perform. But 198 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,120 I could not let it go. With the allegations made 199 00:12:56,120 --> 00:13:01,720 by council Member Watlington against this organization, they are serious 200 00:13:02,159 --> 00:13:07,440 and they damaged the repute reputation with this organization. To 201 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:13,080 be clear, these allegations are unfounded and she if she 202 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,559 has any proof, she needs to provide that to the 203 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:23,120 City Attorney's office, who is duty bound to investigate. You know, 204 00:13:23,159 --> 00:13:26,679 we have a legal and ethical obligation in this community 205 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:31,559 and this organization to follow the law, and part of 206 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:35,000 my job as mayor is to lead with the facts. 207 00:13:35,879 --> 00:13:38,159 Speaker 1: To lead with the facts which I cannot tell you 208 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,519 because privilege. 209 00:13:40,639 --> 00:13:41,039 Speaker 3: Okay. 210 00:13:41,919 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: After the closed session meetings that paid off the police 211 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:51,080 chief to the tune of reportedly three hundred thousand dollars, 212 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,639 Wallington sent out a campaign email that said, I'm extremely 213 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:58,399 concerned with the level of unethical, immoral, and frankly illegal 214 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,799 activities occurring within government. I have seen enough over the 215 00:14:02,879 --> 00:14:04,879 last five years, five and a half years, I have 216 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:08,919 witnessed the brazen disregard for dissenting opinions and the rule 217 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,720 of law. Never, however, have I seen such an egregious 218 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,759 example as what has occurred in the last week. It 219 00:14:15,799 --> 00:14:22,639 is time for a change now. The mayor also yesterday 220 00:14:22,879 --> 00:14:26,240 after she kicked off the statements, she also then apologized 221 00:14:26,639 --> 00:14:29,639 to Police Chief Johnny Jennings. 222 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,639 Speaker 2: I want to address Chief Jennings. As I've said before 223 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,320 and often, I believe Chief Jennings to be the best 224 00:14:37,399 --> 00:14:40,919 police chief in this country. He has dedicated more than 225 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,840 thirty years of his life to serving this community, and 226 00:14:44,879 --> 00:14:49,559 he's led, what I believe, with dignity, honesty, and integrity. 227 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:55,759 The chief was publicly attacked by a former council member 228 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:00,519 who stated his intents was to damage his reputation and 229 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:05,639 end his career. I owe the chief an apology for 230 00:15:05,759 --> 00:15:07,519 not publicly supporting him. 231 00:15:07,559 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: Then wait, did you know did the mayor know that 232 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:20,000 Bakari had texted that he was going to call for 233 00:15:20,039 --> 00:15:22,440 his resignation and he was going to apply all sorts 234 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:27,600 of pressure for his campaign to get police officers' vests. 235 00:15:28,039 --> 00:15:30,039 That's remember what this is all about, is that he 236 00:15:30,159 --> 00:15:34,519 wanted cops to have better protection and better vests, and 237 00:15:34,559 --> 00:15:36,720 the chief said no because he didn't like the look 238 00:15:36,759 --> 00:15:41,799 of them esthetically displeasing to the eye, because it presented 239 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:46,159 this image that was too militaristic because the vest was 240 00:15:46,159 --> 00:15:48,399 on the outside of the uniform. That's what it came 241 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,279 down to. That was literally what he said. So was 242 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:55,600 the mayor aware that Bakari had said this stuff? I 243 00:15:55,639 --> 00:15:59,399 would be surprised if she wasn't, But she didn't say 244 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:04,120 anything at the time. So they let Jennings be the 245 00:16:04,279 --> 00:16:12,440 face of the no vest's position. And I suggested this 246 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:16,000 yesterday when we were kind of spitball in different theories 247 00:16:16,039 --> 00:16:18,480 of this case here, and this was one of the 248 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,080 theories that I threw out, which was, is it possible 249 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,360 that the council did not have the money or did 250 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,600 not want to allocate money for new vests because the 251 00:16:27,679 --> 00:16:31,919 council thought that the vests didn't look good. That the 252 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:37,919 council didn't like those vests. Therefore they let Jennings make 253 00:16:37,919 --> 00:16:44,120 the argument and then they all just clammed up and 254 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,519 let him take all the heat. And that kind of 255 00:16:47,559 --> 00:16:51,480 makes sense now that the mayor makes her comments about 256 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,279 how she regrets that she didn't stand with him on 257 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,919 all of this. But also it kind of makes sense 258 00:16:57,919 --> 00:17:03,320 as to when Harry raised the money for the vests privately, 259 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:08,160 that Jennings then caved and allowed his officers to voluntarily 260 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,079 request the vests and he would allow them to wear 261 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:15,440 them if it wasn't something Jennings really wanted to do himself, 262 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,240 but he was doing it at the behest of council 263 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:23,359 members who did very much want to block the vests. 264 00:17:24,039 --> 00:17:27,319 Speaker 2: I also support the men and women of CMPD who 265 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,839 put their lives on the line every day. They too 266 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,119 have taken an oath to uphold the law and protect 267 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:38,920 our community. This Council has worked with and will continue 268 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,200 to support the men and women who protect this community. 269 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:48,079 Speaker 1: Here's another question. Was an apology from the mayor part 270 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:52,519 of your settlement? Oh, we don't know that because you 271 00:17:52,559 --> 00:17:55,079 won't tell us what the settlement was about, right, you 272 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:58,440 won't tell us how much, You won't tell us any 273 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:03,039 of the reputational harms that he alleges. So was an 274 00:18:03,039 --> 00:18:06,559 apology part of the settlement deal that council had to 275 00:18:06,599 --> 00:18:08,920 come out and say they were sorry the mayor specifically 276 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:10,960 had to do this. I don't know, and we won't 277 00:18:11,039 --> 00:18:14,240 know unless we actually get to see the terms of 278 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,759 the settlement. All right, if you're listening to this show, 279 00:18:16,799 --> 00:18:18,319 you know I try to keep up with all sorts 280 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:20,359 of current events, and I know you do too, And 281 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:25,240 you've probably heard me say get your news from multiple sources. Why. Well, 282 00:18:25,279 --> 00:18:28,000 because it's how you detect media bias, which is why 283 00:18:28,039 --> 00:18:31,200 I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app 284 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,640 and it's a website, and it combines news from around 285 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,079 the world in one place, so you can compare coverage 286 00:18:37,319 --> 00:18:40,039 and verify information. You could check it out at check 287 00:18:40,279 --> 00:18:44,519 dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link 288 00:18:44,519 --> 00:18:47,640 in the podcast description too. I started using ground News 289 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,400 a few months ago and more recently chose to work 290 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,440 with them as an affiliate because it lets me see 291 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,319 clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind 292 00:18:56,319 --> 00:18:59,119 spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the 293 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,920 left and the right. See for yourself check dot ground, 294 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,799 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 295 00:19:06,799 --> 00:19:10,000 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 296 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,480 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 297 00:19:13,599 --> 00:19:16,279 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 298 00:19:16,319 --> 00:19:19,559 ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. 299 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,119 Let's head over to the phones and chat with Adam. Hey, Adam, 300 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:23,880 welcome to the show. 301 00:19:24,599 --> 00:19:26,200 Speaker 4: Hey, how you doing, man, I'm good? 302 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:26,799 Speaker 1: What's going on? 303 00:19:27,519 --> 00:19:27,759 Speaker 4: Hey? 304 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:28,079 Speaker 2: So? 305 00:19:28,279 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 4: I actually I'm born and raped in Charlotte. I've lived 306 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:38,200 here my whole life, and I'm just really disappointed in 307 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:40,640 what has happened now. This settlement has came to a 308 00:19:40,759 --> 00:19:44,640 par and I'm actually happy whoever did release the amount. 309 00:19:45,039 --> 00:19:46,880 I'm more than happy that they did it, because I 310 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:49,160 don't think our city council would have ever even told. 311 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:54,880 Speaker 1: Us yeah, And I think I heard a clip during 312 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:56,839 the newscast at the top of the hour, and I'm 313 00:19:56,839 --> 00:19:58,359 trying to remember who it was, but it was Brett 314 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,000 Jensen from WBT that was asking I think it may 315 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,200 have been the city attorney, Anthony Fox, asking him, uh, 316 00:20:06,599 --> 00:20:08,599 you know, when would you have or would you have 317 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:10,960 released any of this information? And he's like, I'm not 318 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,079 talking about that, so like, to me, that's a no. 319 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,759 I'm with you. I don't think that council would have 320 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:22,240 ever disclosed any of the information about the settlement or 321 00:20:22,279 --> 00:20:25,720 even the existence of such a settlement had it not 322 00:20:25,759 --> 00:20:29,079 been for the leaks, which is honestly one of the 323 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:33,359 reasons why you would leak if you were on that council. 324 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,759 And yes, there's risk involved, right, but that's why you 325 00:20:35,759 --> 00:20:36,319 would leak. 326 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 4: It, absolutely absolutely, and I'm more than happy that they did. 327 00:20:40,039 --> 00:20:42,720 And I'm just you know, I'm just more shocked that 328 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,119 the mayor came out. I mean, you are a mayor 329 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:47,920 of the City of Charlotte and you are supporting someone 330 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,640 doing your council. It's just unheard of. I've never heard 331 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:53,960 of this, and you know, just I feel like there's 332 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,720 a failed leadership on the Charlotte Council and even our mayor. 333 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,960 You don't see her. She makes no public appearppearances. She 334 00:21:01,039 --> 00:21:03,400 will only make a public appearance when the cops gets 335 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,680 killed or something catering to her own kind. Other than that, 336 00:21:06,759 --> 00:21:08,599 you will never see her. And I just wanted to say, 337 00:21:08,799 --> 00:21:11,960 I'm really happy that that information got out. And she 338 00:21:12,079 --> 00:21:14,599 will not be getting my vote when it comes to 339 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,119 a reelection, and so will the chief. He would not 340 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:18,279 if I have a control with. 341 00:21:18,319 --> 00:21:21,319 Speaker 1: It, right, And to me, this is the odd thing 342 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,599 is that if the point was that he has suffered 343 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:30,160 reputational damage because of a former city councilman's campaign to 344 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,759 get vests for cops, what do you think this does? 345 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:37,680 Like this, Yeah, this is far more damaging to his 346 00:21:37,759 --> 00:21:42,200 reputation and his legacy than anything that tark Bacari said 347 00:21:42,319 --> 00:21:46,559 or did during that campaign. Most people have already forgotten. 348 00:21:46,079 --> 00:21:48,640 Speaker 4: About it, and I will leave it off with this. 349 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:51,359 I have two or three friends who are in CMPD 350 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,400 and I voiced my frustrations to them, and all of 351 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,920 them have said, my friend, more than ninety eight percent 352 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,359 of the police department agrees with it. They are not 353 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,079 in favor of him winning it. And I think he 354 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:04,400 should hear it from his fellow officers of how they 355 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,640 actually feel. But I don't think he cares. And everyone 356 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:09,240 has done this for personal interests. 357 00:22:09,319 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 1: Yeah now here, Adam, I appreciate the call man, not 358 00:22:12,079 --> 00:22:13,880 thank you for taking me. Yes, sir, all right, take care. 359 00:22:15,559 --> 00:22:19,119 Got an email from our news director here at WBT 360 00:22:19,319 --> 00:22:24,000 Mark Garrison. He says, the FOP Board, the Fraternal Order 361 00:22:24,039 --> 00:22:27,880 of Police, the FOP board voted no confidence in Johnny 362 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:34,599 Jennings after his council payoff, which really steamed the FOP membership. 363 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:41,240 See again, like, if the whole point was that you 364 00:22:41,319 --> 00:22:44,240 were angry or hurt, or you feel like you have 365 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:50,720 suffered reputational harm because you didn't want the vests because 366 00:22:50,759 --> 00:22:55,319 they look too militaristic, this has done far greater damage, 367 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,519 and not only to him, but to all of the 368 00:22:58,559 --> 00:23:04,559 city council, the city management, and the City of Charlotte brand. 369 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:11,359 This is bad. It's bad. And I understand that the 370 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:14,519 city Council is limited in what they can say because 371 00:23:14,519 --> 00:23:20,200 of personnel statutes, personnel privacy statutes. I understand that, but 372 00:23:20,319 --> 00:23:27,680 you know who can talk. The chief. He can talk, unless, 373 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:31,119 of course, a non disclosure agreement was part of the deal, 374 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,200 but it wouldn't have to be, and the city could 375 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:40,240 release him if he asked for it. City Attorney Anthony Fox. 376 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,279 He then spoke briefly at yesterday's press conference and said 377 00:23:46,319 --> 00:23:49,440 that the council is obligated to comply with privacy statutes. 378 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,680 They can go into closed sessions for specific reasons. I 379 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:58,000 went over this yesterday, things like real estate deals, personnel 380 00:23:58,079 --> 00:24:00,480 matters obviously, and mitigation. 381 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 3: The law also provides that when you go into closed session, 382 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,359 that that information is confidential. It's not to be shared, 383 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:13,000 and it actually imposes criminal sanctions against any divided any 384 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,759 individual that's found to have violated that law. 385 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,839 Speaker 1: Yeah, so he instructed, he said, he instructed council not 386 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,920 to speak about the matter that everybody's talking about. You're 387 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,240 not allowed to talk about it. But again, Jennings could 388 00:24:28,279 --> 00:24:31,680 if he wanted to, they could find a way to 389 00:24:31,839 --> 00:24:42,920 disclose what occurred. Note the deflection there is the core 390 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,319 issue of this settlement of why the city council would 391 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:50,839 pay it. That's the root of this issue. Why would 392 00:24:50,839 --> 00:24:56,319 the city council pay an employee three hundred thousand dollars, 393 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,160 which is like a little bit more than his his 394 00:25:00,319 --> 00:25:04,079 annual salary. So basically they're giving him a free year's 395 00:25:04,079 --> 00:25:08,319 worth of a salary and they won't tell us the 396 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:12,640 terms of that, why they're doing it. They won't talk 397 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:16,880 at all about any of it, just that he was attacked. Okay, 398 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,720 but what was the harm done? He's claiming some damage. 399 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,960 What was the damage? What was the harm did he 400 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,480 like he had to go to therapy or something he 401 00:25:25,519 --> 00:25:28,480 got like he had to run he ran up medical bills? 402 00:25:28,599 --> 00:25:31,079 Is that the personnel issue? And that's the privacy issue 403 00:25:31,079 --> 00:25:34,519 they don't want to have to go into or whatever, like, 404 00:25:34,559 --> 00:25:36,079 you don't have to go into all of that. You 405 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:40,119 can just say he suffered you know, distress, emotional distress 406 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:42,799 or whatever like. You can word that in a way 407 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:49,960 that explains what the harms he's claiming were. Because they 408 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,079 obviously convinced you guys to spend three hundred thousand dollars 409 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,720 to make him whole, right, But instead now we're getting 410 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:03,759 the because Watlington's campaign email, we are now getting this 411 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,240 argument over how dare you call us corrupt? This is 412 00:26:07,319 --> 00:26:09,640 damaging to the city, right, So now they're focusing on that, 413 00:26:10,039 --> 00:26:13,279 and they want you to focus on the leaks, like 414 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:18,039 as if these are bigger issues, I understand the branding 415 00:26:18,079 --> 00:26:21,279 of the city of Charlotte, that's an important thing. What 416 00:26:21,319 --> 00:26:28,039 Watlington did jeopardizes what many many, probably thousands of people 417 00:26:28,279 --> 00:26:32,119 have been working for decades to build, and what she 418 00:26:32,279 --> 00:26:38,680 did jeopardizes that brand. I get that, totally understand. But 419 00:26:38,759 --> 00:26:40,519 the core issue is still the same thing. It's why 420 00:26:40,559 --> 00:26:42,640 are you paying out three hundred thousand dollars to an 421 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,559 employee when he didn't even sue you. He just said 422 00:26:45,559 --> 00:26:50,640 he was considering it. He's considering a lawsuit because of 423 00:26:50,759 --> 00:26:54,400 unspecified harms, And you're like, here, take my money. Well, 424 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:59,480 actually take this other person's money. You owe us an explanation, 425 00:27:00,559 --> 00:27:04,680 You owe us more detail than your giving as a taxpayer. 426 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,519 You owe us all right, So spring is here a 427 00:27:07,559 --> 00:27:12,480 time of renewal and celebrations. You've got graduations, weddings, anniversaries 428 00:27:12,599 --> 00:27:15,079 and the special days for mom and dad. Your family's 429 00:27:15,079 --> 00:27:17,079 making memories that are going to last a lifetime. But 430 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,200 let me ask you, are all of those treasured moments 431 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,680 from days gone by? Are they hidden away on old 432 00:27:22,759 --> 00:27:27,720 VCR tapes, eight millimeter films, photos slides? Are they preserved? 433 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:31,559 Because over time, these precious memories can fade and deteriorate, 434 00:27:31,839 --> 00:27:35,400 losing the magic of yesterday. 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Mail orders are accepted to 444 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:10,039 get all the details that create a video dot com 445 00:28:10,079 --> 00:28:13,240 if you're just joining us there. They have elected a 446 00:28:13,279 --> 00:28:17,000 new pope, but we don't know who it is, and 447 00:28:17,039 --> 00:28:19,640 we will tell you who it is when we find out. 448 00:28:19,759 --> 00:28:24,359 We are monitoring the situation from Rome from the Vatican. 449 00:28:24,759 --> 00:28:27,319 There are a lot of people hanging out waiting to 450 00:28:27,319 --> 00:28:31,680 see who emerges on that balcony, and I did not 451 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:37,680 My cardinal trading cards did not arrive from Amazon yet, 452 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:40,400 so I don't actually have all of the stat sheet 453 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:47,680 on all of the potential candidates. So let me read 454 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:52,960 a couple of messages. This is from Well I will 455 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:58,920 withhold her name. She says, I have friends whose child 456 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,759 went to high school with Johnny Jennings's child, and they 457 00:29:03,839 --> 00:29:06,039 said he and his family were wonderful people, and they 458 00:29:06,039 --> 00:29:08,759 were very happy when he was made police chief. They 459 00:29:08,799 --> 00:29:12,839 actually said he was a very reasonable person and not 460 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,000 wildly conservative or liberal. It's a shame that this is 461 00:29:16,079 --> 00:29:21,680 hurting his reputation so badly, and I would submit that 462 00:29:22,119 --> 00:29:25,400 the next person he needs to sue is himself, because 463 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,359 he has caused way more damage to his reputation than 464 00:29:28,359 --> 00:29:36,279 his original opposition to the vests. That's I never had 465 00:29:36,319 --> 00:29:40,680 any negative opinion of Chief Jennings before all of this. 466 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,640 I thought he was a perfectly capable acceptable I heard 467 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,839 his interviews on BT over the years. Brett Jensen has 468 00:29:47,839 --> 00:29:50,519 talked with him numerous times, and I agree. I found 469 00:29:50,559 --> 00:29:53,480 him to be reasonable. He didn't seem like an ideologue, 470 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,720 seemed like he had the best interests of his officers 471 00:29:56,759 --> 00:30:00,160 in mind and stuff. He was deeply sad and and 472 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:04,160 moved at the you know last year's homicides of the 473 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:08,039 four law enforcement officers on Galway Drive any Charlotte, when 474 00:30:08,039 --> 00:30:10,119 they were serving a warrant. I mean, I never had 475 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,720 any bad opinion of him. That's why this is so surprising, 476 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,200 Like this move is shocking, and then it makes me 477 00:30:17,279 --> 00:30:18,880 wonder what was real? 478 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:19,119 Speaker 2: Then? 479 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 1: I was one thing, an image of public persona, and 480 00:30:25,319 --> 00:30:30,559 was something else going on behind the scenes. Yes, it's disappointing. 481 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,279 John says, apparently there is a new pope, but nobody 482 00:30:37,319 --> 00:30:39,759 has called me, so I assume they did not pick me. 483 00:30:39,839 --> 00:30:43,240 That is correct. This has really hurt my feelings and 484 00:30:43,319 --> 00:30:46,759 damaged my reputation and possibly advancement in the Catholic hierarchy. 485 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,559 Does anybody know who Chief Johnny's lawyer was? I think 486 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:55,839 I have a case. Well, how close are you to 487 00:30:56,319 --> 00:31:01,200 the to the College of Cardinals, because you might not 488 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,400 even need a lawyer. You might just threaten a lawsuit 489 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:09,000 and then get paid. Jay wants to know is the 490 00:31:09,039 --> 00:31:13,920 three hundred thousand dollars payoff net or gross? I believe 491 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:20,279 it's gross, and it's also gross, so yeah, It's part 492 00:31:20,279 --> 00:31:23,160 of the problem here is we don't know the details. 493 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,400 Terry says, I have no sense of the thoughts and 494 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,279 feelings of Charlotte City Council. I do know the council 495 00:31:30,319 --> 00:31:33,519 a solid Democrat. My theory is that the council did 496 00:31:33,519 --> 00:31:35,799 not want to fund the vests, but did not want 497 00:31:35,839 --> 00:31:38,279 to have an on the record vote. They used the 498 00:31:38,359 --> 00:31:41,400 chief as a frontman to oppose the vests, and when 499 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,839 he delivered but got dinged by his stance, they thanked 500 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,200 him for taking the flack by awarding him a juicy 501 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,279 bonus for hazardous duty and for not ratting them out. 502 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,000 I think it's that simple. Very well could be terry. 503 00:31:55,039 --> 00:31:57,559 This is one of the theories that we kicked around yesterday. 504 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:03,279 Was he working on behalf of council members who did 505 00:32:03,319 --> 00:32:06,720 not want to have that vote, Because that's when this 506 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:10,119 that's when it all kind of started getting traction was 507 00:32:10,519 --> 00:32:15,200 during the budget process straw voting last year. Straw voting 508 00:32:15,279 --> 00:32:18,200 is when they kind of go around the table and 509 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,119 they do a show of hands for like individual line 510 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,039 items and programs and stuff, and they're like, all right, 511 00:32:24,039 --> 00:32:25,880 are we keeping this in, are we taking this out, 512 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:27,920 or we're going to keep it at current funding, increase 513 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,319 a decrease it whatever, and they do the straw votes 514 00:32:30,359 --> 00:32:32,759 and it's not a binding vote, so you can change 515 00:32:32,759 --> 00:32:37,559 your vote later on during the budget workshopping process, and 516 00:32:37,599 --> 00:32:41,880 it was during that was it May thirtieth straw vote, 517 00:32:42,079 --> 00:32:46,319 and that's when Bakari sort of laid down the gauntlet. 518 00:32:46,359 --> 00:32:48,319 I'm going to be doubling down on this because he 519 00:32:48,359 --> 00:32:52,359 didn't have the votes on council, so he pulls it, right, 520 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:56,440 He pulls it rather than force his colleagues to vote 521 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,279 on it, so they get to hide behind the lack 522 00:32:59,319 --> 00:33:02,680 of a vote so they can claim that they liked 523 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,880 the idea. But you know, Bikari pulled it himself or whatever. 524 00:33:07,079 --> 00:33:10,200 That's politics, man, And so did council members or the 525 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,519 mayor did they like, Hey, Chief, you need to oppose this. 526 00:33:14,559 --> 00:33:18,200 You know you'll be a better spokesperson for your officers 527 00:33:18,759 --> 00:33:21,319 than any of us could possibly be on council. So 528 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:22,960 you should do this because we don't want to be 529 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,519 the one saying we can't afford five hundred thousand dollars 530 00:33:25,599 --> 00:33:29,640 for vests out of a two billion dollar budget. Right, 531 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:34,359 so you make the case. And I don't know who 532 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:40,039 came up with this, this argument that they're too militaristic looking. 533 00:33:41,519 --> 00:33:45,039 It was a weak argument to say the least, but 534 00:33:45,079 --> 00:33:48,359 that's what he went with. It wasn't persuasive and it 535 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:52,519 also sent a message that he was putting style over 536 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:58,640 substance or esthetics over safety, and his officers saw that. 537 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:03,200 The FOP saw that. And maybe the problem was that 538 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:05,920 they believed him. They took him at face value when 539 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:09,119 he made those arguments. They believed that those were arguments 540 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,960 he himself was making. He believed those to be true, 541 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:17,920 and that's still possible. I don't know. But now you 542 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,639 have this other element because of all of this settlement 543 00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:22,840 and the payoff and all of that. Now it raises 544 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,239 this other element of well, wait a minute, did he 545 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:28,960 actually believe that? Was he simply the frontman for this 546 00:34:29,039 --> 00:34:31,599 position to oppose the vests. They did not want to 547 00:34:31,599 --> 00:34:36,000 give Bikari a win, right because he had alienated members 548 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,519 of the council. People didn't like him. He had argued 549 00:34:38,559 --> 00:34:42,679 with them before, and he can be abrasive, obviously, So 550 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,639 there's that element. There's the element that we don't want 551 00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:51,840 to be seen voting against the vests, and so you 552 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:54,639 do it. And then they just let him take all 553 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:59,119 the slings and arrows, and he thought he was going 554 00:34:59,199 --> 00:35:01,920 to have their back, and maybe he reached out to them. 555 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,840 I've seen no messages that indicate he did. Maybe they 556 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,239 had conversations or something, but like, hey, I'm getting nailed here, 557 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,599 can I get a little backup? And nobody gave him 558 00:35:11,639 --> 00:35:17,559 any backup. But yesterday at the press conference yesterday, there 559 00:35:17,599 --> 00:35:21,320 were I think two or three different members including the mayor, 560 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,000 who apologized for not standing up stronger for him last year. 561 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,440 And that's what makes me think that maybe there's some 562 00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:33,599 apology requirement as part of the settlement. Maybe not. Again, 563 00:35:33,679 --> 00:35:36,360 I have to keep saying this, I don't know what 564 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,280 the terms of the settlement are. Nobody does except the 565 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:44,159 council jennings and the city staffers that worked on it, 566 00:35:45,079 --> 00:35:47,639 and everybody is like, no, sorry, I can't talk about it. 567 00:35:47,679 --> 00:35:52,119 Personnel matters. It's private. So it leaves us in this 568 00:35:52,159 --> 00:35:55,000 position of having to spin out theories as to what 569 00:35:55,039 --> 00:35:58,920 the freak is going on. All right, that'll do it 570 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:01,599 for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I 571 00:36:01,639 --> 00:36:03,760 could not do the show without your support and the 572 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,840 support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, So 573 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:08,960 if you'd like, please support them too and tell them 574 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:10,960 you heard it here. You can also become a patron 575 00:36:11,039 --> 00:36:15,239 at my Patreon page or go to dpetecleanershow dot com again, 576 00:36:15,519 --> 00:36:18,039 thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything 577 00:36:18,039 --> 00:36:19,760 while I'm gone.