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Dirty Doty
Analyzing Ralph Doty's Critique of JCI Critics

Budgeteer Nov 2, 2007

Oh Yeah?

School Board candidates Harry Welty, Gary Glass, Deb Anderson and incumbent Tim Grover are centering much of their election campaigns on their opposition to the Red Plan for long-range facilities planning.

1. The nastiest and most misleading campaigns are being led by Mr. Glass and Mr. Welty.

In addition to their bitter attacks on the Red Plan, Mr. Welty and Mr. Glass are viciously attacking Johnson Controls, the company hired by the school board to conduct exhaustive studies of every school building, and to organize hundreds of public community sessions to get input about their findings.

On June 17, 2007, at a meeting of the Duluth Heights Community Club, Mr. Glass criticized Johnson Controls for what he claimed would be a financial windfall (he called it a “plum”) for the company if it’s later hired to manage remodeling and construction of school buildings. Glass contended that Johnson Controls stood to get up to $33.4 million. The Duluth News Tribune reported on Mr. Glass’ comments the next morning.

 

2. But Mr. Glass was wrong. So, the following day, June 19, the News Tribune published a front-page story of clarification. It turns out that Johnson Controls got $250,000 for the study and follow-up activities, and could possibly earn another $4.5 million for managing projects. Undeterred by the fact he was $28.9 million off the mark, candidate Glass continues his reckless attacks on Johnson Controls.

For his part, Mr.Welty, a former school board member (1995-2004), authored an attack-filled op-ed piece in the News Tribune (Oct. 21), accusing Johnson Controls of treating voters like “that frog in a cooking pot that is slowly heated until it boils.” He also charged that the company found “loopholes that stripped us of our vote.” 3. (Fact is it’s not a loophole, it’s a state law).

Mr. Welty also recklessly alleges that Johnson Controls will “squeeze 4. profits out of any subcontractor who takes part [in the project], not to save money for the school district but to line their own pockets.”

5. I guess that’s what we might expect from a perennial candidate for many local, state and federal offices who, as a board member, in April 1998 publicly used a black needle to stab a voodoo doll to “exorcise the evil spirits” from the school board. (www.snowbizz.com).

6. Long-time board observers also remember Welty’s obscenity-laced diatribe at a board meeting at which he expressed anger on several issues. He later apologized. (www.lincolndemocrat.com).

7. A few days ago, I called the Ohio community college where I served as president for 13 years, and confirmed that Johnson Controls is currently working on a large project on my former campus. A long-time employee at the college told me, “The college chose Johnson Controls because of its reputation, as well as the fact that they are under an Inter-University Contract (IUC) with the State of Ohio.” The IUC designation makes Johnson Controls an approved vendor in the state’s higher education system, without requiring colleges and universities to go to bids.

8. Some folks think that Mr. Welty is walking on very thin ice. If I were the CEO at Johnson Controls — a company with 130,000 employees worldwide — I’d consider taking legal action against him for his libelous and slanderous remarks about the company. You see, during election campaigns, most attacks on political candidates are fair game even if they’re not true. But Johnson Controls isn’t running for elective office and should not be subjected to a candidate’s reckless allegations.

What the Duluth School Board needs in future years is responsible and reasonable board members who can make up their minds based on facts and not emotions. Duluth will not get that type of leadership if Gary Glass and Harry Welty are elected Tuesday.

 

*****

 

It is the oldest of all political dirty tricks: Campaign workers, sensing that their political candidate is in election trouble, write last-minute letters to the editor accusing their candidate’s opponent of dirty tricks and smears. The letter writers hope voters who have not followed the campaign will accept their word that smears are taking place, even when they’re not.

Last week, two letters from two different Duluthians appeared in the Budgeteer News and News Tribune. Both writers — supporters of incumbent City Councilor Laurie Johnson — accused her opponent, Todd Fedora, of “slinging mud” at Ms. Johnson. Both letters — eerily similar in tone — contained the same “mud slinging” phrase.

On Aug. 12, I quoted directly from a questionnaire Councilor Johnson filled out for AFSCME — her employer — before the union endorsed her for re-election. Many of the lawmaker's answers to AFSCME’s questions are cited, word-for-word, in Mr. Fedora’s campaign literature. That is surely not mudslinging. But Ms. Johnson's responses in the questionnaire could lead one to ask: Whom will she represent on the council if she's re-elected: the union, or her constituents?

We'll know the answer on Tuesday.

 

Ralph Doty can be contacted at rdoty71963@aol.com.

1. This is the nastiest thing I wrote about Johnson Controls: "...your right to vote is being purloined by a clever corporation and our naively pliant School Board." Read the whole column and see if you think it is nasty. 

2. One year later a new Tribune story  acknowledges that JCI stands to earn much more than $4.5 million although the total amount is yet to be determined. Gary Glass was right. Here are some excerpts:

"Just how much Johnson Controls stands to make for its work on Duluth’s long-range facilities plan has been the source of contentious debate. . . A. The exact amount the company will make on the plan, whether exorbitant or not, won’t be known until details are worked out for each individual project. What is known is that the company will make at least $5.7 million for its role as program manager on the long-range plan. It’s also known that the company’s earnings won’t stop there. . . B. Payment for several other services outlined in the company’s master agreement with the district, such as architectural and engineering services, also will go to Johnson Controls, at least initially. . .  Critics worry the buck will actually stop with Johnson Controls, C. because there is no language in the contract that prohibits the company from hiring its own employees to do the work. . . A glimpse at the contract agreement for work at Lakewood Elementary School — one of the schools with construction already under way — gives a sense of how Johnson Controls will be compensated for the rest of the work under the long-range plan. D. About 15 percent of the total $2.9 million construction budget at Lakewood, or about $442,000, will initially go to Johnson Controls to cover professional service fees.

3. Its a law that for 15 years was not understood to permit what it is currently being used for.

4. JCI is accused of pressuring mechanical subcontractors for information on a competitor to one of their own subsidiaries.

5. These observations are as relevant to the Red Plan as Ralph Doty's use of platform shoes to disguise his short stature.

6. The "obscenity laced diatribe" can be viewed here. I did say: "God Dammit" once in ten minutes of mostly thoughtful reflection. 

7. Anecdotal information is notoriously incomplete. What if a critic pointed to a major example of JCI corruption

8. Mr. Doty's demonstrates little grasp of libel law which requires proof of malice. My original critique of JCI is restrained. I've been getting more critical as of JCI on my blog www.lincolndemocrat.com as more evidence of its avarice and insidiousness becomes evident.

 

 

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