Monday, August 01, 2016

Russ Meyer wasted taxpayer money buying a hole in the ground and overpaying friends to fill it in

Embattled incumbent Democrat State Representative Russ Meyer of Nicholasville already faces a stiff challenge by Republican Rob Gullette thanks to Meyer's bad votes this year against Gov. Matt Bevin's repair of the ObamaCare disaster, but then there is a little matter of a hole in the ground on Main Street.

Meyer was the Mayor of Nicholasville from 2007 to 2014. In early 2007, Meyer conspired with some friends for the city to purchase lots 717 and 719 North Main Street at a quick $177,000 profit for one of the conspirators, supposedly to construct a new city hall. Meyer then broke state law KRS 424.260 by contracting for construction services in the amount of $37,025.66 and circumventing the competitive bidding process by splitting the work up into two invoices sent on the same day from the same address.

Nine years later, the lots still sit empty.

"ObamaCare fans like Russ Meyer have generally demonstrated little to no respect for taxpayers' hard-earned money," Kentucky Progress publisher David Adams said. "The Meyer's Mugging on Main Street episode here should at the very least result in him being run out of office."