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Friday, July 19, 2019

Don't let Orr mislead you: Truck deal stinks

BY D. REED ECKHARDT
Cheyenne’s ethically challenged mayor, Marian Orr, wants you to believe that all is well at City Hall with her and her spanking new truck.
It’s not. 
And she knows that.
But rather than just admit that she was wrong to accept the “gift” of a loaner truck from Cowboy Dodge’s Dealin’ Doug and then simply return it, she has doubled down in an
Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr, Dealin' Doug and the disputed truck.
effort to both mislead and disregard you, her constituents. This is how it goes in this current political environment where politicians believe if they tell a lie often enough it becomes truth.
Wrong.
For example, Ms. Orr says she “cleared with legal” this acceptance of a loaner of a white truck, emblazoned with her name and office as well as the city she is supposed to be representing. Well, “clearing it with legal” means nothing when “legal” works for you. 
“Clearing it” with the city attorney goes something like this: “Please find me some way, any way, to do what I want to do.” This “clearing it with legal” baloney has been a standard tactic at City Hall for years. The mayor does what he or she wants, claims it is legal and dares someone to challenge them.
Similarly, Orr wants you to believe this is just “a gift” with no commercial value. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether or not the city pays for gas – the mayor wants you to know it isn’t doing so – is not the issue here. 
First, there is the value of the use of a vehicle for two weeks. Try getting a sparkling new Dodge Ram from a local rental car agency – or even from Dealin’ Doug – for free. Right. Estimates are that will cost you more than $1,000. 
Nothing is “free,” mayor, except maybe for you.
But there also is the economic benefit to Dealin’ Doug himself. If you think this car dealer is providing vehicles to Cheyenne Frontier Days out of the goodness of his heart, I’ve got a bridge over Dry Creek that I’d love to sell you. 
Certainly, Doug might love CFD. But there is real monetary value to him to have his trucks rolling down the streets of Cheyenne in front of thousands and out at Frontier Park. The advertising and marketing benefits of this “gift” are immense, and they should be considered when Orr tells you there is noeconomic value in her accepting this vehicle.
The mayor also wants you to believe that because Doug always intended to provide vehicles for the CFD chairmen and women, it’s OK for her to get one as well. 
Wrong again. 
Frontier Days is a private organization. What it does – or does not do – with Dealin’ Doug is solely its business. But Orr is a public official. She represents the city of Cheyenne and its voters, and she is responsible to them, not some businessman who wants to make hay off her use of his vehicle. Would Orr, as mayor, do a TV ad supporting Cowboy Dodge? You certainly would hope not. But how is driving this car in CFD parades any different? It’s not.
Which brings us to the biggest point of concern, and one that the local newspaper failed to ask the mayor about in its fluff piece that provided her with a platform to spout her propaganda unchallenged. That question: Madam Mayor, regardless of legal, “free” gifts and no commercial value, how do you respond to the charges that this represents an appearance of a conflict of interest?
Orr waves that away by saying city purchasing policy does not apply to her, implying she only is governed by state statute (which she may be violating as well). 
Baloney again. 
It is the job of the mayor to enforce city policy, which says employees should never take actions that “might influence or appear to influence purchasing decisions.” So what is good for the goose (city employees) isn’t good for the gander (the mayor)? And how can she expect her employees not to try to find ways around policy when she is brazenly doing the same thing right in front of their eyes? 
It is Orr’s job to set high standards for her employees, not lower the bar for herself or adopt a “do as I say, not as I do” approach. 
City Council President Rocky Case makes just the right point here. He says the “optics” of this “gift” are bad, and public officials always should be focused on “optics.” The most obtuse of public official understands that it is the responsibility of public officials to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
The people of Cheyenne clearly know that. Hundreds of comments have been posted by city voters urging the mayor to return the truck because her acceptance of it is sending the message that the city and its mayor are for sale.
All of Orr’s words about legality and “free” gift and policy not applying to her and blah and blah and blah are designed to do one thing: Turn your eyes away from the fact this truck fiasco has – at minimum – the appearance of impropriety
By the time you read this, there is a good chance Orr will have been in first parade of 2019 CFD. She will wave to the crowd from her shiny vehicle, and the people will wave back, and Dealin’ Doug will be on the way to getting thousands of dollars in free marketing. 
With Orr’s stamp of approval.
The mayor could have returned this truck. Instead she chose to double down by trying to create a sense of propriety where there is none. It is only her arrogance that causes her to continue down this path.

D. Reed Eckhardt is the former executive editor of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

3 comments:

  1. I remember the big stink when Cheyenne, Light, Fule, and Power company tried to enter and old timey electric car that had the CLF&P emblem, small as it was, on the side of the green center steer car. No no way! But of course that was years ago and my dad was involved with trying to get it in the parades. But the frontier committee said no commercial emblems of any kind, so back to Denver it went...
    I guess they didn't grease enough palms of the committee!

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  2. "She says she is only using the truck for Cheyenne Frontier Days events and the dealership is paying for fuel." if this really is the quote from the Casper tribune then she is indeed taking a kick back not for the truck but the fuel for that truck for a week is over 250$ and plus its a huge security risk to know what the leader of the capital of your state is driving #mayororr think before you do not only thats she is promoting a business with the kickback!
    Section 4. Acceptance of Gifts.
    It is the policy of the City of Cheyenne that employees and members of their immediate
    families shall not accept personal gifts offered because of the employee’s duties, functions or
    responsibilities as an employee of the City. This prohibition does not apply to gifts of a general
    advertising nature having a nominal value or to food and drink consumed by the employee at the
    time of receipt at an appropriate social or business occasion, meal or other event which other
    employees are also attending, and are also being offered food and drink.

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  3. Anyway way it is looked at it is a conflict of interest. State of Wyoming needs to be investigating this whole matter. Ethics department needs involved. Hope everyone in crowd shouts "give it back!!"

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