Many times, I sign up to address the council.
To be honest, more often than not, I use my time to
criticize a policy or a proposed ordinance. I root my arguments in facts and do
not make personal attacks against the City Council or the Mayor.
No, I am critical of Mayor Yenni because of his actions, his
proposals and his thoughts (or lack thereof).
The same cannot be said for Mayor Yenni and members of his
administration.
Here’s the back story:
At the December 20th council meeting, I discussed
Kenner City Events, Inc., their promotion of the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfasts, and
their claims to donate the proceeds of this event to the Kenner Food Bank. According
to Kenner City Events tax records, it appeared that they were not donating
anything to the Food Bank and were instead using the proceeds to increase their
bank account. I also questioned the considerable expenses incurred by the
Prayer Breakfast. Over 80% of the money raised from ticket sales (at $30 a
plate) and sponsorships went towards expenses.
When I asked Mayor Yenni how much money was donated from the
Prayer Breakfasts to the Kenner Food Bank, the Mayor sat there silently.
At the council meeting on January 3rd, which I
did not attend, Kenner CAO Mike Quigley made several inaccurate comments
regarding my December 20th comments and personally attacked me. Mr.
Quigley stated that the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast was a “spiritual event” and
never intended to make money and that money earned from one Prayer Breakfast
was simply rolled over to support the next Prayer Breakfast. This contradicts
Mayor Yenni’s own statements that the Prayer Breakfast was designed to support
the Food Bank.
At the most recent council meeting, I spent my 3 minutes
addressing Kenner CAO Mike Quigley’s personal attack against me at the last
council meeting, and correcting Mr. Quigley’s inaccurate comments (the text is
below).
After I spoke, Mayor Yenni and Mr. Quigley, again felt the
need to go on the attack. Mayor Yenni said that he was tired of me coming
before the council and making “fraudulent accusations”.
Mayor Yenni then went on to say that since the Prayer
Breakfasts have not raised the kind of money that was expected and that “has
contributed to us having to use that money for the next event.”
So, now the proceeds from the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfasts didn’t
go to the Kenner Food Bank because there wasn’t enough to give but there was
enough to put in the bank and use for the next event? Wasn't that what I said? What am I missing here?
Since I used Kenner City Events tax records and Mayor
Yenni’s own words to show that Kenner City Events did not donate the proceeds
from the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast to the Kenner Food Bank and Mayor Yenni just
acknowledged that, how could the Mayor deduce that I was making “fraudulent accusations”?
After Mayor Yenni finished his spiel, Mr. Quigley started
again.
Mr. Quigley stated that the reason for the high expenses at
the Prayer Breakfast was because “Everybody eats a tremendous breakfast. That’s
the point of the whole thing.”
Really? Here I thought people came to support the Food Bank.
And $30 a plate is a lot of money for breakfast, especially
when the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfasts are held at a venue that Mayor Yenni’s wife
manages and is owned by his father-in-law. You would think that they would give
the Mayor a discount, not charge him triple.
I can eat a “tremendous breakfast” like Mr. Quigley, for
about $8 at Golden Corral and still have $22 left to write a check to Kenner
Food Bank. At Golden Corral, I can eat all I want and, it’s not just breakfast.
If you go there in the late morning, they start serving lunch too – for the
same $8! But, I digress.
But, that wasn’t all.
After more speakers discussed other issues, Kenner City
Attorney Keith Conley took to the microphone.
Mr. Conley said, “During the week, someone gave me
information about Mr. Bennetti and he has 3 open violations” at the Ethics
Board and that I owed “thousands” of dollars.
On this, Mr. Conley is partially correct. I did file three
campaign finance reports late. One was filed on paper when it should have been
filed online and two of them had no activity from the prior period and I was
unaware that I was required to file.
That’s right. Mr. Conley felt the need to tell the world
that I filed some campaign reports late. Of course, he didn’t say that. He
said, “violations” and the late fees total $840 (a far cry from “thousands”).
Of course, I could have done worse things.
No, my ‘crime’, that Mr. Conley felt compelled to publicize, was
filing a form late.
Now, I take full responsibility for my actions in filing the
reports late. The Ethics Board did assess me some late fees and we are
discussing a resolution of those fees.
But why would the City Attorney receive and then disclose confidential
information about a private citizen at a televised, public meeting? Was this
supposed to intimidate or embarrass me?
I thought that the role of the City Attorney was to defend
the city in legal matters. Is the role of the City Attorney in Yenni
Administration to intimidate and embarrass private citizens?
Between his allegedly full-time position as City Attorney,
his part-time position as a Personal Injury Attorney, and his possible lawsuit
against the city to overturn the vote of Kenner residents who overwhelmingly
supported a ban on political activity by unclassified City of Kenner employees,
doesn’t Attorney Conley have enough on his plate without worrying about me?
Shouldn’t citizens have the right to discuss issues publicly
without being harassed and attacked by elected officials and unelected
employees who are paid by the citizens that they are attacking?
Next week, is Attorney Conley going to call a Press
Conference to alert the media that, due to Hurricane Isaac, I renewed my
driver’s license late?
This is not the first time that opponents of the Yenni
Administration have been publicly criticized at a council meeting. Many private
citizens have been personally attacked simply because they voice their
opposition to Mayor Yenni.
It is troubling that citizens are attacked when they
disagree with Mayor Yenni and his administration and the continued
unprofessional attitude of City Attorney Conley should not be allowed to
continue.
Here are my comments to the
Kenner City Council on Thursday, January 17th 2013 along with links
to the Tax Forms of Kenner City Events Inc. You can decide if my claims are “fraudulent” or not. Mayor Yenni said they were but then he confirmed them. Certainly not the first time that he's flip-flopped on an issue and I'm sure it won't be the last.
“At the Dec
20th Council meeting, I discussed Kenner City Events and their
sponsorship of the annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast to benefit the Kenner Food
Bank.
I discussed
the fact that, according to their tax records, in 2010 Kenner City Events
raised $14,000 from the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, had $11,130 in expenses and
finished the year increasing their bank account by $4,000.
In 2011,
Kenner City Events raised $12,525 from the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, incurred
$10,435 in expenses and ended the year increasing their bank account by $839.
The tax
records show that for both years, expenses averaged 80% or more, which is
surprising.
From their tax records, it would appear that
Kenner City Events is not using the proceeds from the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast
to benefit the Kenner Food Bank.
At the
January 3rd Council meeting, which I was unable to attend since I
was in Florida visiting my mom for Christmas, Mr. Quigley took to the
microphone to answer a question from Mr. Morella, regarding my comments.
Mr. Quigley
went on to discuss the event “Sipping With Santa” and how much that event
raised. I never discussed “Sipping With Santa”. Mr. Quigley further stated that
the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast was a spiritual event and never designed to raise
money. In fact, Mr. Quigley stated that the money raised from the proceeds of
the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast were simply rolled over, “seed money” I think he
called it, for the next year’s prayer breakfast.
Mr.
Quigley’s assertion contradicts the tax records of Kenner City Events. There
are also other contradictions.
According to
an article published by Nola.com on October 22nd, 2010, “More than
400 people attended the breakfast and proceeds will go to the Kenner Food Bank,
according to Valerie Waguespack, an executive assistant in Yenni’s office.”
In an
article dated November 12, 2012, written by Mr. Broach in the Times-Picayune and
discussing the plaque listing elected officials that Kenner City Events was
contributing money to, Mr. Broach writes, “Kenner records say the rest of the
money is coming from Kenner City Events Inc., a charity run by Dan Kelly, a
close associate of former Mayor Ed Muniz. Kenner City Events finished 2011 with
$17,299 in the bank, after sponsoring one event to benefit Laketown Park and a
prayer breakfast to benefit the Kenner Food Bank, according to its tax
records.”
In the
November 2012 issue of the Kenner Star, in Mayor Yenni’s own column, Mayor
Yenni writes:
"The
traditional Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, which benefits the Kenner Food Bank, is
sponsored by Kenner City Events…”
Mayor Yenni
goes on to write:
“The common
theme among the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, Sipping with Santa and the city of
Kenner’s 2012 Food Drive, is the effort to support the Kenner Food Bank,…”
Since I made the same statement that Ms. Waguespack, Mr.
Broach and the Mayor himself made, would Mr. Quigley like to tell them that
they’re wrong or would he like to apologize?”
Kenner City Events Inc. 2010 Tax Form:
http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2010/260/516/2010-260516596-07dbc657-Z.pdf
Kenner City Events Inc. 2011 Tax Form:
http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2011/260/516/2011-260516596-0879c2a2-Z.pdf
