MAJORITY CAUCUS
LOUISVILLE METRO COUNCIL

July 24, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

An Open Letter to the Media from Metro Council Democrats

Last week, in an anonymous letter, someone accused Councilwoman Judy Green of trading her vote on an internal caucus matter in exchange for a summer intern position for her daughter with Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh. In that same letter, Council President Rick Blackwell was accused of seeking to terminate our former caucus staff and a claim was made that Councilwoman Vicki Welch was intimidated by her predecessor with hate mail in an attempt to influence her votes on the same internal caucus matter. In separate communications it has also been implied that voting with Councilwoman Ward-Pugh on any issue should be the exception and not the rule due to her sexual orientation.

Although we hesitate to dignify anonymous lies and bigoted attitudes with a response, we do believe the personal nature of these attacks demands our collective repudiation.

Councilwoman Green’s daughter is a recent graduate of Harvard University and who needs no help obtaining gainful employment. In fact, she will be leaving Louisville for a post with an investment banking firm in Philadelphia in a few weeks. It is Louisville’s loss that she is leaving us and it defies any credible logic that her mother, Dr. Green, a highly respected dentist, would trade a vote for any reason, much less for a minimum wage temporary position for her daughter.

With respect to Councilman Blackwell’s motivations for seeking the reorganization of caucus staff and Councilwoman Vicki Welch’s votes being influenced by hate mail, we as Democrats denounce these accusations as untrue and intended to plant seeds of dissension within our Caucus. Our Caucus will not bend to such hateful rhetoric.

Councilwoman Ward-Pugh is a principled, intelligent legislator who has also been hurt by these thoughtless allegations. The mere intimation that she would participate in vote buying is just not consistent with her character or her legislative conduct these last eight years. For the record, she did not hire Councilwoman Green’s daughter and trying to draw a connection between her legislative duties and sexual orientation is reprehensible and unworthy of further comment.

The Democratic members of the Metro Council hereby declare their unanimous support for our colleagues who have been falsely accused and we reject the politics of personal destruction advocated by the party or parties who have promoted these lies and innuendo against them.

Signed this 24th day of July, 2007 by Majority Leader Jim King and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair David Tandy on behalf of the Democratic Caucus and each of its members who have unanimously consented to be associated with this letter.
Majority Leader Jim King D-10 Vice-Chair David Tandy D-4

Dr. Judy Green, D-1 Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9

Dr. Barbara Shanklin, D-2 Pres. Rick Blackwell, D-12

Mary Woolridge, D-3 Vicki Welch, D-13

Cheri Bryant-Hamilton, D-5 Bob Henderson, D-14

George Unseld D-6 Marianne Butler, D-15

Dr. Tom Owen, D-8 Dan Johnson, D-21
Madonna Flood, D-24