Nothing like the mayor waiting to announce he is going to put his name on the side of the indoor tennis facility (which just received half-million in public funds) on a Friday afternoon before a 3-day holiday weekend. Hopefully all will be forgotten when Tuesday rolls around, uh, not so fast Mike. I haven’t forgotten, oh, and it is Tuesday.
Though Huether admits he started the discussions about donating to the tennis center in April, he waited until last Wednesday (May 21) to request an ethics hearing on his proposed donation. Apparently his question was so important (Sooper-Dooper Ultra important) that they scheduled the meeting the next day, to occur the following day. It must have been important, because the mayor was able to attend, so was his wife and only child (Sanford must give time off for ethics hearings, especially when daddy is looking to boost his ego).
One has to question though if the Huethers were planning to give money to the facility before the city council approved the donation of OUR money? How would that have changed the council vote or public perception of public funds going towards a facility to be named after a sitting mayor, especially since 99.9% will never use the facility.
That’s where the ‘former’ Christian in me would like to give some ‘Jesus’ advice to our very merry Christian mayor. And yes I will be using the teachings of the man/prophet that our mayor says he follows. When giving advice to a Christian, it important to use a book they are ‘familiar’ with, and NO I am not talking about another Dale Carnegie edition.
First let’s start with what Mr. Huether did in his previous life as the marketing manager and head employee tormenter at a sub-prime credit card company (not a bank). He was in charge of selling credit cards to the most fiscally vulnerable of our society (now that is prudence). In fact the practice was so scrupulous and infamous that the FEDS made some of the things Premier Bankcard was doing to their consumers illegal.
‘And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons and subprime credit cards. ‘ Matthew 21:12
The shady marketing aside, what about Huether lying about what he did at First Premier during his first campaign. He said he was a banker. I guess that would be like me saying I am an auto mechanic because I change my own washer fluid. The closest thing Huether got to banking was calling up his sister company and asking for his checkbook balance.
‘Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets and credit card salesmen have gone out into the world.’ John 4:1
But preying on the poor and lying are the least of my concerns about Mike, like I said, I am a ‘former’ Christian, I don’t worry too much about pigeons, prophets and petty campaign promises.
It’s this whole ‘naming rights’ deal that has stuck in my craw. Do I think it is great that Mike is throwing away his daughter’s inheritance on the indoor tennis facility, sure.
‘In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give free tennis lessons than to receive them.’† Acts 20:35
Never had an issue with Mike’s charitable giving, give away Robin Hood (was he in the bible?) It’s the precedent our city is setting by allowing a sitting mayor to put his family name on a facility that has received public funds.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, don’t plaster your name on the side of buildings, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’ Matthew 6:1-4
I guess maybe Mike has gotten to the New Testament yet in all of his praying and bible reading. It’s good stuff, especially the stuff that Jesus guy says about charity, money and lying. He also has some dark advice for rich peeps;
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.†Mark 10:25
But, hey who am I, as a former Christian to tell a practicing Christian what advice to follow? Plaster your name all over town for all I care, after all, we need something else to look at besides Sanford signage. Just don’t combine my tax dollars with your name, could care less what that Jesus dude thinks of it, I just think it is really egotistical and honestly quite tacky.
I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite low-brow artists, and pinstriping pioneer, Von Dutch (who wasn’t a disciple, but a damn good artist) and probably didn’t have any kids that wanted to play tennis.
“I make a point of staying right at the edge of poverty. I don’t have a pair of pants without a hole in them, and the only pair of boots I have are on my feet. I don’t mess around with unnecessary stuff, so I don’t need much money. I believe it’s meant to be that way. There’s a ‘struggle’ you have to go through, and if you make a lot of money it doesn’t make the ‘struggle’ go away. It just makes it more complicated. If you keep poor, the struggle is simple. “
Oh, Dutch, our mayor is anything but ‘simple’