NorthIowaToday.com

Founded in 2010

News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region

Marquardt Opinion: John Lee got punked by a bartender from KIMT

John Lee on November 7 at the county courthouse, waiting for his huge “YES” victory – which he knew was coming. (John Lee video)

John Lee got punked.

No way around it. A part-time bartender at a downtown wine bar who also happens to report news at the local TV station played the Ward 1 Councilman – bigly.

John Lee recklessly and with apparent forethought handed over a highly-confidential memo about Mason City Fire Chief Al Dyer to a TV reporter. Men that get paid six-figures told him to keep it secret, to protect us, the citizens. John Lee deliberately ignored that sound advice.

“I take full responsibility,” John Lee told the Globe, which is trying to catch up on this story that NIT has been on for nearly a week. “I don’t want anyone else to be blamed … it was just a major screw-up on my part. Call me ignorant and trusting, I guess.”

Al Dyer

The truth is, there is no one – yet – to hold John Lee accountable for his action but himself, so he will get away with it.  That’s how Mason City works when you are in the club he belongs to.  That is, if and until a lawsuit is brought by Mr. Dyer for possible harm done to his “career” – a career that started in his beloved Michigan in a city of 37,000 and then for some reason made its way to rural Mason City, Iowa, population 27,000. A consultant with no web site and no phone number listed anywhere on the Internet made the recommendation to hire him, and the council took the bait. I’d call this sketchy to start with. It might turn out to be a big mistake and reckless, too. But that’s another discussion we will have.

Brian Tabick, a bartender who happens to report news at KIMT, clowning at the courthouse with John Lee on election night. (John Lee video)

Now, I’m not blaming Brian Tabick from KIMT for any of this. The kid is smooth – at least, way too smooth for John Lee.  I really have to wonder, what is the nature of their relationship? Have you seen the video of Tabick chumming it up with John Lee on election night at the courthouse?  (Some of it is viewable, below.) It was like a nephew with his favorite uncle after a couple of Keystone Lights. Making funny faces, giggling, cracking jokes while serious election personnel counted ballots. I was waiting for Ole John to give Brian a noggin’ burner or something right there in the hallway. The city’s future hung in the balance, some would say, that night. The “YES” crowd that John Lee practically calls family (he refers to anyone skeptical of his downtown project as “naysayers”) certainly took it that way. But John Lee didn’t show a care in the world that night; he knew the outcome. He and – as he calls them – the “positive, can-do circle” of “YES” folk put in the time and thousands of dollars to make sure things went right. It was all a matter of how high was the ceiling – it was 75% for YES.

John Lee got his tsunami victory that night, and he was riding high. Some say he was beginning to think of himself as the “Big Cheese” in town – untouchable, unbeatable. He taught those evil, dumb “naysayers” a lesson. He and his trusty sidekick Brian Tabick of KIMT were bonding, big time, and John Lee was on top.

But, the invincible John Lee let his guard down.  First, he got giddy. Then, he got holier-than-thou. Then he got sloppy. And in the end, he got burned.

Maybe John Lee didn’t know Tabick has other friends – like Al Dyer.  They’ve been spotted in a downtown bar getting cozy.  Tabick served the drinks and Dyer – well, let’s just say he was there.

Maybe John Lee didn’t know that.  I have to wonder, what does John Lee know.  What could have possessed him to agree – allegedly in a grocery store – to voluntarily hand over such a confidential memo on a high-ranking city employee to a TV reporter?  What was John Lee trying to accomplish?

After the Globe reported that Lee admitted to turning over the memo, I asked Brian Tabick a question: “Brian, got a question for you. I understand you asked John Lee – at a grocery store – for the memo on Fire Chief Dyer. Good work. At what point did John Lee, then, turn over the memo to you? In other words, how much time passed between your question, and him actually handing over the memo to you?”

See, that’s relevant, because unless John Lee had the memo in his pocket, he would have had to retrieve it and give it to Tabick.  So, how much time passed between the question and the hand-off?  How many hours did John Lee have to contemplate this action?  Did he ever think to himself – “Gee whiz.  This might just be a bad idea.  Even though I want Brian to be my friend, I should probably not – no, I definitely SHOULD NOT – hand this memo over to this TV station reporter.”

He did.  And now, the damage is done.

And that brings me back to the whole accountability issue.  I bet John Lee holds his students and athletes accountable when they mess up.  There is a price to pay for wanton negligence that results in harm.  We don’t know, yet, if Al Dyer will take action due to John Lee’s ignorance and reckless behavior that could impact his career.  But, judging from the fact that the man is suspended from his job, things don’t look too rosy for him moving forward in Mason City.  John Lee said he would accept responsibility for his actions.  Therefore, he should resign immediately from the City Council before he does more harm.  Furthermore, if Mr. Dyer brings a lawsuit, John Lee should hire his own attorney for his defense and leave the citizens out of the mess he created.

Opinion from Matt Marquardt, citizen of Mason City


Send your letter to the editor to NorthIowaToday@gmail.com

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

76 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Even more news:

Watercooler
Copyright 2024 – Internet Marketing Pros. of Iowa, Inc.
76
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x