Cabarrus Cheap Seats

Update: For the full summary of the “Juba Scandal” - click here.

Do you remember the first time you heard “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, or Lou Reed’s “Take a Walk on The Wild Side”? It’s sort of a surreal, strange, yet oddly mellow feeling. A sort of three minute excursion from reality. The past three posts from Harold Smith have been a lot like that. You can’t help but get the feeling that he’s run out of ammo and now he’s just throwing the gun.

The first one recounted his conversations with John Day and Carolyn Carpenter via e-mail. There’s no real point to consider; but I thought inserting visuals might bring a different perspective:

Harold Smith - Published “Alert # 5: Juba’s Conflict of Interest”. If you did not read this, you can read it on my website; http://www.goharoldsmith.com/

John Day’s Response - “What if you told the truth for a change?”

Harold Smith’s Response - I would not have to speculate on Juba’s conflict of interest if she would fully disclose the conflict of interest and if the Commissioners reconsider the construction manager without Commissioner Juba’s involvement. I have nopreference who the construction manager is. But I am very troubled about the process. I can issue alerts every day if that is what it takes to get my messahe across to you and Chairman Carpenter. If I don’t get the appropriate response soon from Chairman Carpenter, my next step is the NC AttorneyGeneral.

Commissioner Carpenter’s Response - “Thanks you for your remarks, but please get your facts right.”

Harold Smith’s Response - “Do you really think this simple statement excuses your actions in the selection process for a construction manager for the new jail. ‘The voters are not as dumb as you think.’ You are getting some bad advice. This sounds like something that John Day would say.”

John Day’s Response - “Attached is something I did say.What excuses you from all the misleading information you spread and all thelies you tell?”

Harold Smith’s Response - Making Harold Smith the issue is an old trick to devert voters from the real issue. Is that the best you can do? The real issue is Commissioner Juba’s admitted conflict of interest and Commissioner Carpenter’s failure to provide leadership and integrity to the Board of Commissioners.

John Day’s Response - “No trick, I just revealed the truth. Of course, you wouldn’t know anything about that.”

Harold Smith’s Response - You sound like Jack Nickolson in the movie “A few good men, “You can’t handle the truth!” It must be tough on you when you have so much to hide from the public.”

John Day’s Response - “You just don’t get it. I don’t have anything to hide. What kind of strange, fantasy world do you live in?”

Harold Smith’s Response - “This brings us full circle to Commissioner Juba’s admitted conflict of interest. Why not start there by fully disclosing the conflict of interest in the selection process of the construction manager for the new jail. Whendid commissioner Juba instruct you to select Turner Construction Company as the construction manager to the new jail?”

John Day’s Response - “I think you mean you’re going in circles. Every issue you raised or lied about was addressed in my email. Perhaps you’re not capable of comprehending the truth.

Harold Smith’s Response - “Just answer the question, ‘When did Commissioner Juba instruct you to select Turner Construction Company for the construction manager for the new jail?’”

John Day’s Response - “She never did.”

Harold Smith’s Response - “Come on John. Confession is good for the soul.”

John Day’s Response - “I addressed that in my earlier email. Didn’t you read it.She gave no instructions.”

Harold Smith’s Response - “I read it, but I don’t believe it.”

Pictures have the value of a thousand words…let’s move on.

The Son of Your Father

I’ve found that when an argument gets to the end of the facts, someone makes it personal. People who don’t like George Bush usually point to his struggle with alcoholism or his speaking style. The facts simply aren’t on Harold’s side. What does he do? He brings this:

The plot thickens!
It was revealed at Thursday Commissioner’s meeting that Bob Carruth‘s son worked at Juba’s Aluminum Products during the period of the selection process for the construction manager for the new jail. Did Bob Carruth have a conflict of interest? 

The rest of the post goes on with the “Juba has a conflict of interest”.

Here’s the real story. Bob Carruth’s son is an 18-year-old summer intern at Juba Aluminum before he started at RCCC. He did meet Joni Juba because of her and Bob’s involvement on the BOC; and Bob’s son got the position after interviewing and all of that.

It’s called networking.

If Harold is going to connect the dots using someone’s kid - he better bring something stronger than insinuation.

All of Harold’s Men

This year, Mark Felt, came out as the Watergate informant commonly known as “Deep Throat”. If you’ve never seen the movie All The President’s Men - I highly recommend it. What’s interesting is that the anonymous sources in that movie lead to hard evidence. That because the testmony alone of an anoymous source doesn’t hold up as hard fact. “Woodstien” spent most of the movie following clues which brought them to hard evidence.

For some “evidence”, Harold posts this:

September 3, 2005: Alert #10: Juba’s Admitted “Conflict of Interest”
The anonymous letter below was distributed to all commissioners prior to Thursday commissioners’ meeting. The letter was referred to and discussed during the commissioners’ meeting. Therefore, the public needs to see the letter. The credibility and the integrity of the leadership of the Board is at a all time low!

Anonymous letter faxed to the commissioners
“FACTS OF JUBA’S CONFLICT OF INTEREST
“1.) FN Thompson/ Turner Construction Company: team up together on construction projects. Juba Aluminum under contract dated since or before last November. JOB: Mecklenburg County Courthouse“2.) Bovis Construction: Juba Aluminum under contract - 1year +: JOB: Duke Library“3.) Bob Ferguson, President of FN Thompson Construction Company( John Juba’s close friend and business associate.) verified by former employees and business associates in Charlotte, NC“4.) Institute of Government:
Confirmed that jabu did in fact talk to Freda Bluestein. Freda failed to mention or (maybe Juba failed to mention) that the Code of Ethics for the NC Board of County Commissioners may have been violated. This will be sent for review to NC Board of Commissioners.“5.) Construction Contracts. Former employees maybe be called to the meeting tonite to confirm while they worked at Juba Aluminum, no one ever knew Juba to review a construction contract.“6.) NC Attorney Generals Office:
Contacted Deputy Attorney Moore on 8/31/05 will be provided documentation for review.
All of the following is available for public record. All documentation will be provided at tonites meeting. Former employees of Juba Aluminum may be present and asked to speak.Please make sure Carpenter & Freeman get a copy of this fax.
Copies of this fax will also be provided for attendees tonite.
Thank you!” Anonymous 

The Leadership of the Cabarrus Board of Commissioners need to restore the credibility and integrity of the Board.
The solution is simple.
The board needs to review the selection process for the construction manager for the new jail and make a decision on the construction manager without any involvement by Commissioner Juba.
And
The Board of commissioners need to adopt a “code of ethics” and assure the citizens that no “conflict of interest will occur in the future.
Restore the credibility and integrity of the Board of Commissioners

This is the most cryptic and senseless thing to ever show up on http://www.goharoldsmith.com - which is saying something. Let’s try to tear some facts out of this thing. First, there is no such thing as “The NC Board of Commissioners”. There’s the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (which Joni Juba has just been named to the Board of Directors of) which is an advocacy group for issues related to NC Counties’ interfaces with Washington and Raleigh. The Insitute of Government is part of the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill…it’s not some extra layer of goverment between Raleigh and the counties. It advises Board members - that’s it. It doesn’t “investigate them” as this fax would suggest.

All of the information in this mythical “fax” could be surmised by running Google searches. There’s nothing there to substantiate a claim of impropriety on the part of Joni Juba. In addtion to that, it’s not signed. If I were one to wager, I would imagine that the fax was one of the gang that Harold and Coy run with. At any rate, without hard evidence to back up any of that - there’s nothing that the fax means. Sorry, Harold try again.

And now, for something completely different

I started this blog largely to act as Newton’s Third Law (the covering actions and reactions) to the madness that finds its way to www.goharoldsmith.com. I let him post there and I comment on it here. It wasn’t until recently that he discovered my humble little blog (after I sent an e-mail to all of the candidates). Now that I realize he reads my blog from time to time, I can address him and know he’ll see it. I didn’t want it to come to this, but things have gotten to a pretty ugly level. So, here’s a something of an “Open Note To Harold Smith”

Mr. Smith,

Your Alerts have accused everyone but your allies on the Cabarrus County BOC of improper behavior regarding the selection of a CM for the new jail. I have three questions that I would like answered clearly:

First, if Joni Juba did not vote on the selection of the CM, she is prohibited from accepting a sub-contract from any CM on the jail by law (NCGS 14-234), and all three candidates for CM were her clients at one time or another - how is it possible for her to have a financial interest in who gets the contract? Please give us a scenario where she would benefit from any one of these companies being selected. You have not done that…you just state that she has a conflict of interest; but you have no evidence.

Second, what is not being revealed from this selection committee that Commissioner Juba served on that you would like to find out?

Third, given that Joni Juba did not cast a vote on the selection of the CM and that Juba Aluminum cannot be a sub-contractor by NC State law, what does Bob Carruth’s son working as an intern at that company have anything to do a conflict of interest on his part?

Mr. Smith, I spent enough of my education in Missouri to develop a need to be shown and not simply told. All you’ve done is told people that Joni Juba has some conflict of interest. I want you to show us exactly how she has this conflict, I want you to point out which part of the NC General statue was violated (Chapter and Article, please), and I want you to bring evidence. Otherwise, I doubt all by you and the rest of Coy’s gang are going to be the only people who buy this.

Justin Thibault