Some are suggesting that the quick abandonment of support for Councilor Patrice Abduallah (D) in the face of irrefutable evidence he did not reside in his district is proof that it was all part of a conspiracy to seat U.S. Rep. Julia Carson's grandson, Andre Carson, into his seat to bolster his chances of succeeding her when she retires, which is likely to happen next year. What people propagating this conspiracy theory fail to understand is that questions about Abduallah's residency have been no secret among council Democrats long before candidates filed for city-county council this year. Abduallah was questioned directly about the issue by his fellow Democrats, and he assured them he lived in the district. Abduallah, of course, was not speaking truthfully to his colleagues, and it was not the first time other councilors had problems with him on that score. Council members weren't concerned about the Warman Avenue address. The question was whether he actually lived with is wife (?), Helen, at an address in Councilor Duke Oliver's district, or at the Sheffield Avenue addressed claimed on his voter registration form.
Sources also tell me that Democratic election board members did not communicate to the Democrats on the council the discrepancy they discovered in Abduallah's residency when he filed his statement of candidacy in January. That upset some Democratic council members, who feel they should have been told. Democrats would have preferred to have dealt with this issue prior to the primary and not less than 90 days before the election. I also heard from a number of sources that Andre Carson had planned to challenge Abduallah in the primary, but the challenge didn't materialize. As Abdul Hakim-Shabazz reported at the time, Council Democrats put out a press release early on indicating that the caucus was pledging to support the re-election of all sitting Democratic members, including Abduallah. Carson could have just as easily put someone up well before the primary to raise the issue and gotten Abduallah tossed from the ballot. And let me be clear, nobody from the Carson camp communicated anything to me on this subject, or otherwise encouraged me to pursue the residency question. I am convinced that the Carson camp was content to allow Abduallah to stand for re-election; otherwise, this shoe would have dropped many months ago.
When the news of his residency problem broke, embattled Council Democrats were in no mood to defend the indefensible, particularly when Abduallah had already misled them on the issue. Their only real choice was to put the issue behind them as quickly as possible. And that's what they are now attempting to do. The damage is already done though.
17 comments:
Corruption is...as corruption does.
-The Democrat Machine
See the start of the end....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PCgOd-1wT0
The character of an individual or a group is not measured by what they do when forced, but what they do when no one else is aware of the issue. I guess the Dems failed on this test. Unfortunately, the GOP does as well. We are in a two party mess.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could get away from the two labels and merely elect "individuals" on their own merits and stands.
There was no damage. There was no deception. The only confusion that existed stemmed from people not understanding the difference between a permanent residence and a temporary residence. Councillor Abduallah was living in temporary quarters while his permanent residence in the 15th District was under renovation. Councillor Abduallah did not mislead anyone. His resigned only because he thought it was the most expedient resolution that would benefit his constituents specifically and Marion County generally.
Um, Dina,
Abduallah allegedly lived in his "temporary" residence for four years.
Didn't the scribe tell this one just last week. He is the all seeing-all knowing all mighty scribe!!
You should give him credit for the fact that you can even post here.
8:20--how true. An old proverb told me by my parents, and never more true than now.
Dina: this post by Gary is spot-on, and I know it for a fact. He has never lived in his district since he first ran. Whether he is estranged from his wife or not, altho a source of great speculation among many, concerns me not one whit. ALtho she does seem to reside outside the district, and has apparently done so for quite some time.
Patrice scammed his colleagues four years ago. He scammed his constituents for almost four years. Ask anyone who confronted him on the residency issue. He'd immediately start squirming and became obviously uncomfortable.
Gary, you'e largely right, but: the one who put his foot down was the Mayor. He met with council Dems Tues. afternoon, and when he heard the depth of the issue, which he'd not known entirely, he insisted it be fixed pronto.
It was.
Only King Ro staunchly defended Patrice. Which says something about his character. But waddaya expect from a guy who demanded an important job for his unqualified wife? He leads by intimidation.
Looks like Dina has the wool of the Machine so far over her eyes it is starting to distort her view of reality. If you buy Abdullah's excuses, I've got some oceanfront property in Montana I'd love to sell ya!!!!
Dina, Abdullah is dishonest...you cannot even purport to present a credible argument that he was living in a "temporary" residence for 4 years, without completing renovations. A person can construct a house from the ground-up in much less than that time.
Don't anyone be fooled Dina has another screen name: Wilson46201
Deputy Mayor Campbell might be wrong in the assessment he was provided that votes in "good faith" won't be challengable.
Mr. Abdullah seems to have intentionally misled not only his former constituents, but the City CLerk's office and his former Council members. That might seem to indicate "bad faith" in that it was a deliberate attempt to illegally maintain his former position on the City-County Council.
All of Mr. Abdullah's votes from the date of his last installation into office might well be challengable, no matter what the Council attorney might beleive.
The Council's attorney is a FOOL!
Abdullah's votes need to be questioned in court! He was on the council by fraud, and NOT in good faith, therefore, his votes on Consolidation, TAX INCREASE, etc must be nullified!
The Ghetto Mafia will come down, and is falling at this time...just wait until the election: Most Ghetto Mafia members didn't pay taxes...yet they Tax & Spend our money, Abdullah is a fraud, Township Trustee is charged with Official Misconductstealing Fire Dept money for his apartment rent (why isn't the Fire Dept part if IFD???), Council Pres is partner in a bar with Airport Authority board member who acquired the Township building, Council Pres has a make-work, do-nothing job making executive salary and driving a city car...what is GHOST EMPLOYMENT? How about Greeson's "aiding and abetting?"
What is Vermouth Vern's responsibility on the Fire Dept, he also has a make-work, do-nothing job & city car.
Democrats are corrupt and The Machine is falling....
Where are the feds? We need them to implement "Operation Circle City" and put these crooks in prision!
It is to bad that members of this blog will never know the real reason he was oustered.
His committee on cps reform made to many nervous, but the good news is that the committee lives on.
The forums shoed a wide pattern of abuse statewide by cps and the courts.
He stood his ground
It is too bad the bloggers will never know the truth
Riiiiiiiight, 10:35. That's the exact reason this lying, manipulative councilman was pushed over the edge. Had nothing to do with his own miserable actions.
CPS, former Judge Payne's stewardship of the Juvenile facility, and misplaced priorities--that's a great subject for us to discuss.
But this is about Patrice and his four-year-plus residency lie.
Try to pay attention.
Abu Henderson is a precinct committeeman and black democrat. He's the guy that stood up at the council meeting on July 23rd and stated that Patrice Abdullah did not live in his district. Abu knew this because Patrice lived on his street which is on the other side of town...not 20 feet from his district!
I knew by Abu's outrage when he publicly called out this fraud, so I knew he had told someone before and been ignored.
Abu was on the radio a couple times since Friday and stated that he told Monroe Gray about the Abdullah's residency issue back in January. Monroe Gray acknowledged he knew of the fraud, but did nothing for months.
Abu is a credible witness. He holds a master's degree, has spent years doing community service work, is a precinct committeeman, and black democrat.
The community must call for the resignation of Monroe Gray immediately for knowingly refusing to protect the integrity of the council. Instead it appears that Monroe Gray held Abdullah's residency secret over his head in order to extort votes.
Gray has already been found guilty of ethics violations and received nothing but a reprimand. This act of betrayal to the public is the last straw. The people will not have this liability in public service any longer.
Accept nothing less than Monroe Gray's resignation or termination and make sure the rest of the city knows about this by protesting at next Monday's meeting on August 27th.
Nina,
For a married candidate, the law states; your residency is where your immediate family resides. His wife resides in Mr. Henderson precinct which is located in Mr. Oliver's council district on the near eastside of Center Township in the Brightwood Neighborhood.
Two [2] reasons why the Carson/Ghetto Mafia faction did not challenge Mr. Abdullah's residency before the Primary.
1. Mayor Peterson's agendas had to be voted on quickly and without interruption of a 15-14 vote margin on the council.
2. Andre Carson lives around 25th and Alabama which is located in Fall Creek Place and district 15, but maybe he didn't meet the 2 year residency requirement yet to take the seat in January.
If he had been qualified at the time, I would bet you 1 wooden nickle, grandma Carson would have put him on the ballot in the Primary. When did Andre Carson register to vote from his address in the district?
If he did not have the 2 years in the district, he would not be eligible to run. The Mafia was waiting until after November Election to challenge Patrice Abdullah. He was not suppose to leave office prematurely. So much for political schemes.
Sorry to disappoint the uninformed gossipmongers but André and his wife have owned, lived and voted at his current address for five years now...
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