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The Mayor's Lunch Hour - 7-11-2006
I sat through the suspension of powers pending ouster hearing of Mayor Crosby on Monday,
almost 12 hours of testimony where person after person came forward to tell of intimidation,
threats, unlawful meetings and racial slurs.
The mayor will get to present his side of the story on Thursday, but there is no way everyone
who testified could be lying. The police officers were courageous to testify against the Mayor
knowing that their jobs were in jeopardy. Many of the citizens were intimidated but came
forward anyway. Their stories told of a pattern of abuse that will be hard to overcome.
I observed the Mayor during the course of the day. He was constantly directing his attorney
with questions to ask each witness. One of his objectives during the trial seemed to be to find
out who the “Coopertown Watchdog” was and also to find out who turned him in with the
State of Tennessee for using underage drivers in city cars. The Mayor appeared to remind
his attorney more than once to ask these questions of witnesses. When a witness finally
disclosed that they had heard who had called the State, and Mrs. Slawson’s name was
uttered, he got the biggest smile on his face.
I had lost my appetite by lunch after hearing testimony about the atmosphere in city hall and
episodes of the Mayor's intimidation of citizens. I just went home and sat in the quiet of my
den and wondered if this is the end of Coopertown.
I later heard what the Mayor did for lunch. He left the court room where witness after
witness was telling of unspeakable events and went back to City Hall where he was having all
the locks changed while everyone was at the hearing. He supposedly went into City Hall and
saw a city employee on the phone. He apparently thought she was on a personal call and
yelled loudly and repeatedly at her to get off the phone. When she did not immediately get
off the phone, he yelled again.
He then returned to the trial where he resumed his position of beleaguered mayor wrongfully
accused by political enemies. Everyone who sat through that testimony on Monday came
away changed, everyone it seems, but the Mayor.
Opinion by Alice Childs
I sat through the suspension of powers pending ouster hearing of Mayor Crosby on Monday,
almost 12 hours of testimony where person after person came forward to tell of intimidation,
threats, unlawful meetings and racial slurs.
The mayor will get to present his side of the story on Thursday, but there is no way everyone
who testified could be lying. The police officers were courageous to testify against the Mayor
knowing that their jobs were in jeopardy. Many of the citizens were intimidated but came
forward anyway. Their stories told of a pattern of abuse that will be hard to overcome.
I observed the Mayor during the course of the day. He was constantly directing his attorney
with questions to ask each witness. One of his objectives during the trial seemed to be to find
out who the “Coopertown Watchdog” was and also to find out who turned him in with the
State of Tennessee for using underage drivers in city cars. The Mayor appeared to remind
his attorney more than once to ask these questions of witnesses. When a witness finally
disclosed that they had heard who had called the State, and Mrs. Slawson’s name was
uttered, he got the biggest smile on his face.
I had lost my appetite by lunch after hearing testimony about the atmosphere in city hall and
episodes of the Mayor's intimidation of citizens. I just went home and sat in the quiet of my
den and wondered if this is the end of Coopertown.
I later heard what the Mayor did for lunch. He left the court room where witness after
witness was telling of unspeakable events and went back to City Hall where he was having all
the locks changed while everyone was at the hearing. He supposedly went into City Hall and
saw a city employee on the phone. He apparently thought she was on a personal call and
yelled loudly and repeatedly at her to get off the phone. When she did not immediately get
off the phone, he yelled again.
He then returned to the trial where he resumed his position of beleaguered mayor wrongfully
accused by political enemies. Everyone who sat through that testimony on Monday came
away changed, everyone it seems, but the Mayor.
Opinion by Alice Childs
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