Category: Uncategorized

A group calling itself Save Morgan Street have put out a mailer that both attacks Saratoga Hospital and urges voters to cast ballots against Commissioners Michele Madigan and Skip Scirocco in this Tuesday’s (11/5) election.

The mailer itself is in violation of the New York State Municipal Law governing elections and campaigning. In order to spend money on activities that support or oppose candidates, New York requires a group to register with the New York State Board of Elections. If they spend less than $1,000.00 they must then report both the contributions they receive and their expenditures to the County Board of Elections. If they go over $1,000.00 they must report this information to the state. I have checked with the Saratoga County Board of Elections and the website for the New York State Board of Elections and this group is not listed anywhere as a committee.

This omission by them could be an oversight but it is emblematic of the carelessness reflected in the content of their attack.

Dr. David Mastriani has written an excellent piece for Saratoga Today to respond to the Morgan Street group’s mailer so I will not repeat his points. [JK:I was unable to get a link to the story so the image of the article appears at the end of this post. Saratoga Today can be picked up all over town]. I would just note as one example of the gross errors in this document that it alleges that the hospital wants to build forty-two homes as part of the project. In fact, the Comprehensive Plan’s designation for the parcels does not allow any structures other than medical offices.

Here are some additional points of clarification:

1. The letter urges votes against Commissioners Scirocco and Madigan because they allege these Commissioners voted twice in support of the Hospital. No such votes ever occurred.

The mailing refers to two events. In the first case, the Hospital had applied to the city to build their medical building as a Planned Unit Development. There was never a vote because both Mayor Joanne Yepsen and Commissioner John Franck abstained. Four votes were required to pass the resolution and since the abstentions left only three Council members eligible to vote, the vote never occurred. Similarly, a later attempt by Commissioner Chris Mathiesen to change the Comprehensive Plan so that an office building could not be built in the neighborhood failed to get a second from any of the other Commissioners. Again there was no vote.

2. The neighbors assert that the Hospital attorney used “a loop hole” to circumvent a requirement to notify the neighbors of a zoning change. This kind of allegation ignores how the city makes land use decisions.

The Hospital first tried to get city approval, as noted earlier, through the Planned Unit Development process. The neighbors had been notified of this and it was their opposition that required the super majority vote which never took place because of Yepsen’s and Franck’s abstentions.

The Hospital’s request for a change in the zoning of the land they wished to develop was next considered as part of the Comprehensive Plan process.

The process by which the city decides on the appropriate use of land within its boundaries is routinely done through the drafting of a Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan Commission is appointed by the Mayor. It crafts the plan through a process of meetings that are not only public but videoed.

In the course of their deliberations the most recent Commission approved a number of recommendations for changes in land use in addition to the area where the Hospital wished to build. The process was both very public and extremely contentious. The Commission failed to finalize the document due to the irreconcilable divisions in the group. The City Council under Mayor Yepsen then resolved the outstanding recommendations and unanimously adopted the plan which included the changes in the designation of the land where the Hospital wished to build.

While the decision to allow for the change the Hospital sought in the plan was done in an open meeting and passed unanimously there is no question that the neighbors were unaware that this proposal was being considered. There is no requirement in this process to notify neighbors of changes that are being considered throughout the city. This had nothing to do with some kind of loophole exploited by an attorney.

3. The flyer asserts that the city is promoting the Hospital project because there is a “…webpage on the City’s Official website with a ‘FAQ’ sheet for the expansion.” They are referring to the original 2015 Planned Unit Development application that failed but by law is required to be accessible to the public. To comply with the law the application was posted on the city’s website. This is a very old document that is no longer active. They also note that the PUD proposal refers people with questions to a representative of the hospital rather than to the Planning Department. This is because as a PUD the responsibility for the application rests with the applicant and not the Planning Department. These all fit within the requirements of how PUDs are approved or denied.

I have sympathy for the people in the neighborhood. People are understandably concerned about the impact of a large project. They do their cause no service, unfortunately, by making ill informed and inaccurate accusations.

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The voters receiving this flyer from Dillon Moran can be pardoned for believing it is a memorandum from the New York State Department of Health citing the city for a water quality issue. The word “Violation” appears to be stamped on it.

In fact this is a fake document created by Mr. Moran’s campaign. The city was not cited with a violation and this document did not originate with the New York State Health Department.

The purpose of this document is to make people fearful about their drinking water and to make people believe that Commissioner Skip Scirocco has failed in his responsibilities to protect the public.

The reader will note that the document which is unsigned is dated September, 2017. What is most disturbing is that the chart that appears to be part of this memo was actually from a document issued by the Department of Public Works in May of 2018.

I have written to Mr. Moran asking where I can find the document he has put on his campaign mailer but so far he has not responded.

A little history and a little science is required.

The chemical Trihalomethanes (TTHM)is a byproduct of Chlorination as is indicated on the chart on the Moran flier. The chemical is formed when Chlorinated water sits for a sustained period while in contact with organic matter.

The incident Mr. Moran is highlighting occurred in 2017 when this chemical was detected in water on the Skidmore Campus. Apparently, when the water in some storage facilities there sat idle during the summer, TTHM was produced. In a notice to students on December 20, 2017, Skidmore official Michael D. West advised students that water samples taken in August of that year tested positive for the chemical. In his notice he wrote:

“Skidmore administrators are working closely with officials from the City of Saratoga Springs water department and the New York State Department of Health to learn more about plans to minimize formation of the byproduct when water use is low.”

No further incidents have occurred.

The reader will note at the bottom of the flyer with a bold red background, there is a quote from Mr. Moran that states:

“Over use of a known carcinogen because it is cheap, to treat our water is reckless.”

As the reader can see, the city is not treating its water with TTHM. I think the term reckless might be better used in characterizing this flyer with its inflammatory allegations and its deceptive depiction of a document as though it were issued by the New York State Health Department.

In an article published in the October 31 edition of the Gazette, Kendall Hicks denied receiving letters from prison from a woman convicted of child pornography involving her daughter. Mr. Hicks told the reporter that he was on active duty and that the woman he was then living with failed to forward the letters to him.

The problem is that he was stationed locally not oversees at that time. In fact the envelopes show that neither letter was sent to his home address where his then partner was living. Letters were sent to his post office box in Saratoga Springs and to an address in Johnstown. Mr. Hicks owns apartments in Johnstown where presumably the correspondence was sent.

Steve Williams has written an excellent article on the nasty nature of this year’s campaigns in Saratoga Springs. 

The Gazette article in today’s (October 31) edition, which I link to here, reports that Scott Solomon, the owner of Siro’s, has sent a complaint to the state Board of Elections regarding Commissioner Michele Madigan.  According to the Gazette, in his claim he asserts that Commissioner Madigan “bullied constituents” and was guilty of a “clear abuse of power.”

Mr. Solomon had sought the Commissioner’s support in opening his restaurant.  Apparently he specifically asked her for and received assistance in his application for a liquor license. 

In early October, upon learning that Mr. Solomon was planning a fundraiser for Ms. Madigan’s opponent, Patty Morrison, she wrote two emails to him.  In one of them, the Gazette quotes her as having written:

“You can get in line like everyone else, I’m sorry I considered you a friend. I hear you have a lot of code violations by the way. Enjoy.”

When questioned by the Gazette regarding her emails she told Steve Williams that she had apologized to Mr. Solomon and she believed that he had accepted her apologies.  She told Williams:

“I got angry. I am human and I lashed out.  I called him and apologized.”

Most us would have found Mr. Solomon’s behavior in this affair a source of anger.  Commissioner Madigan had gone out of her way to assist him and it would only be natural to experience his actions as a kind of betrayal. 

Having said that, it is no excuse for Commissioner Madigan’s response.  Being in public office requires elected officials to display self control.  In this case Commissioner Madigan’s email was egregious.  In spite of the fact that her office has no control over the enforcement of building codes, her email could be interpreted as a threat.

There is simply no way to excuse this behavior.  The problem is that in this election we are reduced to choosing between two candidates for an office which is at the center of our city’s operation. 

As reported on in previous posts Ms. Morrison’s attitude toward the administrative duties of the Finance Office is more than disturbing.  She appears utterly cavalier about how that office works.  At one point in her debate with Commissioner Madigan she said she would maintain a 4% fund balance.  Commissioner Madigan pointed out to her that this number was grossly inadequate and would prompt an audit exception from the state Comptroller.

It was apparent that Ms. Morrison is unconcerned about the challenges of administering the Finance Office and assumes mistakenly that others will handle the duties of running that office.

In addition the literature that Ms. Morrison has been distributing  in this campaign continues to make false and misleading statements about her qualifications, actions by Commissioner Madigan, and various issues facing the city. One of her most recent pieces of literature repeats the false narrative that the city has been remiss in collecting taxes on properties.  This accusation has been thoroughly debunked.  This is emblematic of either her lack of interest in the complexity of tax collection or of her willingness to cynically exploit public ignorance regarding the matter.

Let me repeat that I find Commissioner Madigan’s behavior in her dealings with Mr. Solomon inexcusable.  I do not believe that her email to Mr. Solomon was a threat but an example of a pattern of intemperate behavior that she can be rightly criticized for.

Hopefully the voters of this city will be sophisticated enough to weigh the capabilities of the two candidates and not base their decision on who to vote for on this very unfortunate set of events.

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[JK: I received the following statement from Commissioner Madigan]

Over the last nine months, as I’ve campaigned for my fifth term as our city’s commissioner of finance, I’ve encountered both the highs and lows of seeking public office:  the pleasure of interacting with thousands of my fellow citizens, listening to their ideas for what they want their city to be in the months and years ahead; and the on-going frustration of having my opponent’s campaign disseminate misleading information and flat-out  falsehoods on a number of topics throughout this election season. 

Recently, in a personal conversation on my private email account, I let those frustrations get the better of me.  I used language that was regrettable. I’m sincerely sorry I said it, even in private.  I am sincerely sorry for that. I have since apologized to the recipient of that email and I apologize to my supporters and our citizens for my use of poor judgment.

It is unfortunate that, now more than ever, it is politically fashionable to never admit a single mistake and to present yourself as wholly infallible at each and every turn.  But my time as a city official has taught me that true leadership requires more. A true leader is thoughtful and reflective. A true leader holds him or herself accountable even in the face of political discomfort.

All elected officials help constituents navigate bureaucracy; it’s part of the job. Most people feel betrayed when they discover that a friend is actively working against them, it is part of being human. As Finance Commissioner I have no power or authority over any business this man is doing with the city, and I regret that I made it sound like I did. I do not, have not, and will never use my office for any other purpose than to benefit the city.

WAMC has a new story out regarding Kendall Hicks, candidate for Commissioner of Public Safety, regarding a woman who went to prison for child pornography with whom he was associated.

This is a link to the WAMC story. This is a link to the letters from the woman associated with the WAMC story.

More information on the tentative agreement to secure land for a new Fire/EMS station in today’s (10/31) Saratogian. Francine Grinnell’s interview with Mayor Kelly and Commissioner Madigan gives more details on the background and current status of the agreement. Here is a link.

[JK: Link to video fixed]

In our form of government, the Commissioner of Finance is the chief financial officer of the city.  This job involves:

 

• the responsibility for 8 different City budgets every year
• working closely with the other Council members and all the city departments to balance and prioritize their needs within the limits of estimated revenues, the New York State 2% tax cap, and the interests of the taxpayer
• overseeing the implementation of the budget
• maintaining a  balanced budget
• making budget adjustments as the year progresses
• making borrowing and investment decisions

This job requires many skills. For instance:  

• attention to details
• a mind for numbers
• an understanding of the regulations that determine how money is raised and how it is spent in a municipality
• the ability to hire skilled staff to assist in managing all these responsibilities.  

 

When we vote for a candidate for Commissioner of Finance we are, in effect, hiring a person to do this job.

 

There is no question that there are issues to consider outside of the skills required to manage the city’s finances.  In our form of government the person holding this office will also, as a City Council member, be in a position to vote on important issues facing the city such as the hospital expansion, how the city should grow, bike trails, etc.

I am concerned, though, that many voters may underestimate how much damage a person can do if they are put in charge of the Finance Department and lack the necessary knowledge and skills to manage it.

At the League of  Women Voters forum last week, voters were  finally given the opportunity to compare the two candidates running for Commissioner of Finance this year: the current Commissioner, Michele Madigan, and Patty Morrison. The contrast between the performances of the two candidates was striking.  Ms. Morrison seemed completely at sea when she had to address questions  about the Finance Office.  It appeared that she saw no need to prepare herself for this event by learning about the responsibilities and workings of the department she seeks to head. Instead she relied on pushing vague sound bite type issues about

the alleged unresponsiveness of government which she promised to remedy.

In contrast, Ms. Madigan talked in detail about what the Finance Office does and the many things that she has done to both make that office more efficient and to utilize that office in forwarding the progress of the city. 

Voters need to get away from indulging in focusing on personality when assessing candidates. Elections are about choosing the most competent person to do a job, not on choosing who you would like to invite to a dinner party or who you would like to have a beer with.  

I know that the readers of this blog are busy people but I urge them to take the time to watch the approximately twenty-five minutes of the League of Women Voters’ Candidates’ Night during which Ms. Madigan and Ms. Morrison were questioned and decide for themselves who is best suited to take on the responsibility of managing our city’s finances.

The segment where the two debated can be found here At 1:25

[JK: I received this press release from Mayor Kelly’s Office]

EAST SIDE FIRE/EMS STATION 3 IS ON THE MAP!

Mayor Meg Kelly, City of Saratoga Springs, is thrilled to announce that she has secured a tentative agreement for a third FIRE/EMS station. Mayor Kelly is negotiating a land-use agreement for a parcel located on the Oklahoma side of the Saratoga Race Course, after years of unsuccessful efforts spanning numerous administrations. This station will serve “District 3”, including the ‘eastern plateau’, a region that has been advocating since its considerable growth for improved response rates.

“Finding the right location to meet this critical need has been my top priority,” states Mayor Kelly. “My administration has been steadfast in its efforts to make improved FIRE/EMS service a reality for our citizens, and it is happening.

Thanks goes to the Franchise Oversight Board for its thoughtful consideration of an excellent solution to this longstanding issue. I would also like to thank the New York Racing Association (NYRA) for supporting and facilitating this important public safety matter.”

The Mayor believes that the long-awaited FIRE/EMS Station 3 will be huge asset to the people of the City of Saratoga Springs.

“I appreciate all of the many efforts that have gone into and will continue to go into the completion of this essential building and service. We will see this through,” states the Mayor

Our city faces some critical questions about the future of Saratoga Hospital. Resistance by its neighbors to its acquisition of property for a planned medical office building has been ferocious. It is understandable why the neighbors who abut the property fear its impact, but the coverage has confused some key issues which need to be addressed because many are unaware of just how important the Hospital’s plans are.

An Essential Institution For Our City

In 2015 the city adopted a Comprehensive Plan that acknowledged the importance of the Hospital to Saratoga Springs. In the section titled “3.1 Economic Strength and Stability” item 3.1-3 recommends:

Support the viability and growth of the community’s unique institutions (e.g. Skidmore College, Saratoga Hospital, SPAC, Saratoga Spa State Park, and the race tracks)…

In fact the 1960 Master Plan and 1970 Comprehensive Plan also address plans by the Hospital to expand and the need to plan for future expansions.

The Hospital contributes critically to the health (pardon the pun) of the city. Obviously it provides critical healthcare but it is also a major employer in the city. The spinoff of the incomes it generates are an important element to the vitality of our downtown. It also has an impact on property values. Having a top notch hospital within the city is a consideration for people deciding to live in this community.

The Viability Of Our Hospital Should Not Be Taken For Granted

This year news stories reported that Glens Falls Hospital’s financial condition had deteriorated to the point of crisis. A story in the March 3, 2019, edition of the Post Star Newspaper led with “Glens Falls Hospital is in dire financial trouble…” In a rapidly changing environment in the health industry with the costs of equipment and care constantly rising, maintaining the viability of a large and complex institution like a hospital requires skilled management. This community would be reckless to simply assume that our Hospital will always flourish. That explains why the city’s Comprehensive Plan asserts that the city must be proactive in supporting “the viability and growth” of Saratoga Hospital.

To set a context for the proposed Hospital expansion, consider its recent meteoric growth as shown by the following statistics: In 2005 physician visits at the Hospital were 116,899. In 2018, thirteen years later they had risen to 304,930. They basically tripled. Between 2005 and 2019 net revenue rose from $109,884,412.00 to $369,110,417.00. These numbers reflect a stunning rate of growth.

Probably the best way to dramatize the Hospital’s growth is to compare the following pictures. The first was taken some time in the 1950’s. The second is a recent image. It is important to note that these only show the structures that face Church Street. They do not include the many other offices at other locations. In fact, in order to address the critical need for space, some of the offices now located at the main site are going to be moved to the Wilton Mall.

 

I know that the critics of the Hospital expansion will seize on the Wilton Mall location to further their argument that the Hospital has other options for growth but that misses the fundamental point. It makes common sense to focus critical care in a single location. Yes, ancillary activities can be farmed out to other locations but critical care needs to be centralized.

The area proposed for the medical office building not only makes sense today but perhaps more importantly allows the Hospital to have options to address future needs. A responsible management team must be thinking long term. These parcels are the last pieces of undeveloped land contiguous to the Hospital and have too much potential for the Hospital to have passed on the opportunity to secure them.

Saratoga County’s continued growth and the expanding nature of healthcare require that management think not only about current needs but also the needs of our community for decades to come.  Such was the view of planners more than half a century ago when they wrote the 1960 Master Plan and the 1970 Comprehensive Plan. We are the beneficiaries of that foresight. 

A Dose Of Reality

In her Readers View piece in the Saratogian, candidate Patty Morrison describes the area where the Hospital wants to build in bucolic terms. An innocent reader might think that the expansion is a threat to the greenbelt. In fact the land is actually zoned for residential development and currently allows for the building of single family homes on quarter acre plots. This is not a fight over the greenbelt.

Final Thoughts

Anyone who has followed my blog over the last few years knows that I have been a fierce defender of neighborhoods threatened by inappropriate development. Decisions by the land use boards in the past were heavily weighted against the wishes of residents and in favor of developers whose upscale housing projects intruded on neighborhoods and served the interests of profits for the developer rather than the public interest. To my mind, there was extensive abuse, particularly by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

I believe this Hospital proposal is  different, however, from the conflicts over development projects such as Downton Walk on Jumel Place. The Hospital is a not for profit institution that provides service to the community and maintaining its “viability and growth” as our Comp Plan states is in the interest of the community at large. This is not a project designed for the benefit of a wealthy few.

It is essential of course that the city’s Planning Board rigorously insist that the design of the Hospital’s project take into account the quality of life of the residents who will be impacted. Issues of buffering, lighting, runoff, traffic, etc. need to be rigoously addressed. I have enormous respect for Mark Torpey who chairs the Planning Board, and Mayor Kelly has made new appointments to the land use boards who are independent of the development industry. To the extent possible, I believe the impact of the project on the neighborhood will be mitigated.

We live in a culture with an ethos of “take the money and run.” Long term planning is too often the victim of short term needs. Later people wonder as to why no one earlier saw this disaster or that coming. This Hospital is going to continue to grow. The question we, as a community, must ask is “will it grow smart?”

We need to think about the future of our city and the key role we will want our Hospital to play. I encourage people to support the Hospital’s proposed expansion.

 

[JK: This is a revised post from one I put up earlier this evening. When I originally read the Hicks website, I failed to notice the buttons beside their text. These were links to two affidavits from witnesses to the original incident that led to charges. The original post was badly tainted by my ignorance and required me to rewrite the post. While it was only up briefly I felt an urgency to correct the record with all speed. My editor is in Europe on holiday so I am sure this version will suffer but that is the price I must pay for my sloppiness.]

Kendall Hicks’ campaign has posted a document that purports to have “cleared [him] of false allegations” in the Gloversville incident which resulted in his arrest for allegedly assaulting a woman he was associated with.

The reality is that the Hicks Campaign made a series of claims for which they provided inadequate documentation. This new documents they have posted not only fail to establish with any definitiveness what happened, they contribute further to raising questions about the events that led to his arrest.

A Little Background

Mr. Hicks has asserted on a number of occasions that he had documents that absolved him of any wrongdoing in this police incident. At the recent forum on immigration, he told the audience that he had the papers to prove his innocence in his car.

With that in mind I emailed Mr. Hicks and his campaign manager, Ellen Egger- Aimone asking him to provide the documents to me. I suggested that if they were unwilling to provide me with the documents, that they post them on their website and Facebook page. While they did not respond to my email, on the following day they posted a number of documents on their website along with a link to them on their Facebook page.

Along with the document they posted a narrative of what they say happened in the incident and made a series of claims.

They claimed that :

* there are “multiple sworn statements negating the charge, including the victim, herself…”.

* “the allegations were proven to be false…”

* an investigation by the army (he was driving an army vehicle when the incident occurred) cleared him of all charges.

* “Though Hicks’s girlfriend disputed the allegations, the Gloversville officer filed a misdemeanor anyway, which was reported in Gloversville’s Leader-Herald’s daily police blotter.“

* That the victim of the assault provided a sworn statement withdrawing her original allegations.

* That the victim disputed the charges against Mr. Hicks.

* “His girlfriend [the victim] remained with the other two passengers” [JK:They never left the original site of the incident]

What The Documents Reveal

* Mr. Hicks was charged with misdemeanor assault in the third degree

* Mr. Hicks was charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment in the second degree

* In a plea agreement with the Fulton County District Attorney, Mr. Hicks accepted an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACOD).

* Mister Hicks’ misdemeanors were dismissed six months after his hearing having complied with the terms of the ACOD

* Two persons who witnessed the event signed affidavits defending Mr. Hicks and challenging the narrative in the police report. One of the witnesses was in the military vehicle driving with Mr. Hicks to Syracuse.

* One of the affidavits was signed by a person riding with the victim in Mr. Hicks’ car. Her statement asserts that she never saw Mr. Hicks physically abuse the victim and when the victim returned, the victim told her that all she and Mr. Hicks did was yell at each other.

* In contradiction to the narrative offered by the Hicks Campaign which asserted that the victim remained at the original scene of the incident, the two affidavits state that the victim climbed into the back of Mr. Hicks car when he drove off.

What is an ACOD?

Wikipedia describes an ACOD as follows:

In criminal procedure, an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD or ACOD) allows a court to defer the disposition of a defendant’s case, with the potential that the defendant’s charge will be dismissed if the defendant does not engage in additional criminal conduct or other acts prohibited by the court as a condition of the ACD [JK: My emphasis added]. 

It should be clear that ACOD does not address whatever criminal conduct may have occurred precipitating the arrest. It is, as the first document shows, a plea agreement. It sets as its condition that if the defendant does not violate its terms that after a certain period of time (in this case six months) the charges will be dismissed.

What The Documents Do Not Tell Us

1. Mr. Hicks did not provide the terms of the ACOD. We do not know what he was required to do to meet the terms of the agreement. It could have been as broad as requiring that he not participate in any unlawful behavior that would bring him before the court again. It could have been more specific and related to what precipitated the original arrest. Without the terms, we do not know.

2. Mr. Hicks does not provide the affidavit of the victim exonerating him as asserted in the campaign’s narrative.

3. Mr. Hicks campaign claim that the victim “disputed the charges” against Mr. Hicks are contradicted by the police report in which the victim declined to pursue charges expressing a fear of retribution from Mr. Hicks.

3. Mr. Hicks alleges that the army cleared him of any culpability in the incident. He provides no documentation for this.

What Do We Now Know As A Result Of The Newly Released Document?

Two witnesses disputed the charges in signed affidavits

The campaign provided no affidavit from the person who brought the criminal complaint that withdrew the charges.

There is no affidavit from the victim exonerating Mr. Hicks as claimed by his campaign.

For some odd reason, the narrative from the campaign claims that Mr. Hicks drove off leaving the victim at the site of the incident while the affidavits state that she jumped into his vehicle as he drove away.

While the affidavits appear credible, they conflict with other witnesses and with the police report. Unfortunately for Mr. Hicks, the conflicting statements make any definitive determination of what occurred problematic.

The fact that the Fulton County district attorney did not dismiss the case but insisted on a plea agreement for an ACOD raises concerns.

We know that the charges were indeed dismissed but only after he had complied with the terms of the ACOD. We know that Mr. Hicks has not provided the documentation for the terms of the ACOD.

Without More Information, The Public Is In No Position To Determine Mr. Hicks Culpability

The release of the terms of the ACOD might help us better understand what happened. It would be helpful if Mr. Hicks would release this very important document. It is unclear why he has not but there is time before the election in November.

It would also have been helpful to learn from the victim the full history of her relationship with Mr. Hicks.

In fairness to Mr. Hicks, his agreement to a plea deal with an ACOD is not an admission of guilt. Assuming that the requirements of the ACOD were not onerous, it makes sense that he would agree to it. A trial would have been very expensive and the result of the ACOD while less determinative than a trial still resulted in the dismissal of his charges.

The Folly Of Running For Office

In the end, I fully admit that I do not know what happened. What I do know is that it was ill advised for Mr. Hicks to run for Commissioner of Public Safety. Was it naïveté or poor judgement that he did not realize that in the age of the internet the story of his arrest would become public? Did he think that the documents he had would really convince the voters that nothing happened? Did people try to dissuade him from running and he ignored their advice?

As the old saying goes, life is not fair. The fact remains that there is a cloud over Mr. Hicks that, at least based on his documents, he is unable to free himself of. If he is innocent of the original charges it is very sad, but his decision to run for Public Safety Commissioner knowing that the charges would become public demonstrates a lack of judgement in itself that I do not believe he can overcome.

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Here are images from their website with their narrative and a court document (Link To actual web page)

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Court Related Documents

Here is a fuller set of court documents (the document on their website displays the page labeled “Certificate of Disposition.”)

The first document is from the Fulton County District Attorney’s office recommending to the judge a reduced plea. The third documents establishes that Mr. Hicks adhered to the terms of the “Adjournment In Contemplation of Dismissal” and on August 14, 2013 the charges were dismissed.