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Delaplane: “No, I
will not be resigning”
Opinion by Bob Robinson
My congratulations to Tina Chalmers and her staff for the interview the
Advocate published recently with Melody Lucas. When I questioned why
there was no attempt to get feedback from the Commissioners in what was
a fairly hefty condemnation of the Board, specifically Mike Rhoades and
retired Commissioner Terry Haworth, Tina’s response was simple.
“We heard their side. We wanted to give her a chance to tell her side.”
Not sure I totally agree, but she is the editor and I respect her
decision. What the article did was reinforce my gut feeling that there
is untold information that we will likely never see, and unanswered
questions that will likely never be answered.
Diane Delaplane was part of that decision process in 2009. If I’m
reading this correctly she was also the only one of the three to speak
directly to Lucas. Lucas indicated that Delaplane at least made an
attempt to convey information regarding the process and reasoning… and
that was what got her into trouble and cost the County (ie the
taxpayer) $60K.
While she felt that Delaplane was more helpful than her two
counterparts, Lucas also used the information to win her claim… noting
it was not about the money.
Altruism is hard to find in today’s world. If she sincerely meant what
she said, I applaud her. If not, well… we’ll leave it at that.
Several people had questioned the timing of the announcement: the day
before the Primary election. My question was the relevance of the
timing. Delaplane’s name was not mentioned until after the election.
That would seem to make it an irrelevant issue.
Lucas, however, said that her attorney told her that the Commissioners
said an agreement had to be reached the Friday prior. She didn’t say
why and the Commissioners offered no plausible explanation. After all,
this had been going on two and a half years… what was another week?
One question that bugged me was how there was any breach of trust since
the official email from County Business Administrator John Cook simply
said what’s “discussed inside the walls of the Commissioners office
shall remain inside the walls of the Commissioners office.”
I beg to disagree. By state law, anytime anything is discussed by a
majority of Commissioners – in Darke County’s case, any two
commissioners (read: ANY discussion whatsoever) – anywhere, office or
otherwise, it’s a public meeting.
Rhoades said at a recent meeting that it was in Executive Session. So
why didn’t Cook say that? Also, would Delaplane really divulge
information from an Executive Session? Historically, my dealings with
her don’t make that sound very plausible.
Once again, in response to questions directed specifically to her,
Delaplane said upon attorney advice she was not making any comments.
“I’m doing what’s good for the County and the Board.”
Taking one for the team?
Finally, why was there no gag order on the agreement between Lucas and
the Commissioners? Surely, they would have understood that with no
requirement to keep quiet, this whole thing would come out… and it
would result in a condemnation of Delaplane? The very individual who is
doing what’s “good for the County and the Board?”
Makes no sense to me.
Ever since this fiasco started one thought has occurred to me and stuck
with me the entire time… “Something’s rotten in Denmark.” I know.
Trite, but I believe appropriate.
Still can’t get past that. Unavailable information. Unanswered
questions.
There was one call for Delaplane’s resignation. I’m not surprised that
it happened, however I’m a little surprised at the direction from which
it came. One person did it, supported by his son… the same one who had
been defeated by Delaplane in the Primary election a week earlier.
That’s probably the only thing I understand out of this whole mess. It
was certainly their right, as it is the right of any citizen. In this
case it came across as simple politics… except for the timing (the
election is over), it was not at all unusual.
Almost forgot. There’s one other thing that has been made abundantly
clear. The call for Delaplane’s resignation, a call to which she never
responded… I asked her, specifically, if she had any intention of
resigning.
“No, I will not be resigning,” she said.
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