Problem solving; in the dark, or in the daylight

Given that the APS has problems, and given that there are
people who will be working very hard to solve those problems;

the most important remaining question is;

Will they do their work in the dark or in the daylight?

Who cares? What difference does it make,
as long as the problems get solved?

The problems came about, as a direct result of the lack of
transparency in the APS. Every problem, every failure to
solve every problem, happened in the dark.

APS is a dark institution.

Darkness creates problems. Darkness exacerbates problems.

The overriding interest in maintaining the darkness cannot
be explained,

except by an overriding interest in protecting those whose
record of public service cannot survive the light of day.

If the problems get solved, it will be only coincidently.

The problems, the solutions to the problems, should be
the number one priority.

For as long as the true priority is cover good ol' boys asses,
the problems that are caused by corrupt and incompetent
good ol' boys, will remain unsolved. There will continue to
be corrupt and incompetent public servants who are
promoted to positions of great power, simply because they
are good ol' boys.

No one in the leadership of the APS has ever gone on the
record and denied that the APS is run by good ol' boys.
No one ever will. It would like standing up and denying
the existence of gravity.

Tom Savage was the king of the good ol' boys in the APS.
Brad Winter is the new king.

Peanut Butter Gate; the public corruption and criminal
conspiracy in the leadership of the APS (police dept)

was a direct report to Tom Savage.

The current scandal in the APS Finance Division;

• the failure to write financially sound policies and procedures
• the failure to enforce the policies and procedures they did have, and
• the failure to keep records complete and detailed enough to send anyone to jail

were direct reports to Tom Savage.

Tom Savage was never held accountable for any of it.

Per Paula Maes orders; Tom Savage's name never came up.

He, like Beth Everitt, was retired with honors.

Brad Winter will not stand on the record and explain why
he canceled fire safety inspections in schools and then
spent the savings on a completely unjustifiable new
school board room.

Brad Winter will not even surrender a candid, forthright
and honest accounting of the spending; either on the
board room, or at 6400 Uptown Blvd.

Brad Winter was just promoted.

So were the good ol' boys; Gina Hickman and Michael Kimbrell,

• who worked in the APS Financial Division,
• who were or should have been aware, of the problems that were only revealed in the Meyners Audit, and
• who did nothing.

Gina Hickman is now the Chief Financial Officer.

Michael Kimbrell is now the Director of Internal Auditing.

Nobody, not APS, not Meyners, will answer simple legitimate questions;

1. were laws broken, and
2. were millions of tax dollars lost or stolen?

You ask the question, they refuse to answer.

How can public servants simply refuse to answer legitimate
questions about the public interests?

For as long as the top priority is to protect good ol' boys,
to except them from honest accountability to meaningful
standards of conduct and competence;

the problems will never really be solved.


Does it make a difference whether Winston Brooks intends
to work in the dark, or the daylight?

What do you think?

More importantly, what are you willing to do about it?