We’ve covered the ongoing stories of 2 good examples of how not to behave in political hack Scott Walker of Ocean Springs and executive director Butch Brown of MDOT and there is news regarding both men here in the local press we must highlight for the Slabbed Nation.
Let’s begin with Brown, who was found sleeping at a slot machine at the Beau Rivage last July after a hard night of drinking. More recently he made a king size ass of himself at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials conference held last week at the Beau directing an expletive filled tirade at Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. The Mississippi Business Journal’s Magnolia Marketplace blog broke the story so it with their coverage we begin as it also adds color to Brown’s July arrest in Biloxi (H/T Yallpolitics):
Back in July, Mississippi Department of Transportation Executive Director Butch Brown attended the meeting of an economic development group at the Beau Rivage on a Thursday night, and got arrested early the next morning for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
The Beau Rivage, where Brown was arrested, quickly dismissed the disorderly conduct charge. Brown will answer to the public intoxication charge — which was filed by the Biloxi Police Department, after its police report said Brown was combative and uncooperative with officers on the scene — later in November at his trial.
A whole lot of people thought the Beau Rivage dropped the disorderly conduct charge so quickly because Brown is the president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, whose annual meeting was at — you guessed it — the Beau Rivage. More than 1,000 people were scheduled to attend. At the time, a Beau Rivage spokesperson adamantly denied Brown’s position as AASHTO president had anything to do with the dropped charge.
The annual meeting ended Monday. And Brown’s behavior is an issue again.
Early this afternoon, Magnolia Marketplace obtained a letter Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez wrote to Brown and copied several others on. It’s only two sentences long, but it packs quite a punch.
The full text of the letter, which was dated Nov. 3 and addressed to Brown: “Your remarks as a public official were highly offensive, inappropriate and unprofessional. Your behavior was shameful and brings discredit to your department (the Mississippi Department of Transportation), the citizens of the great State of Mississippi and your peers at AASHTO.”
This story ended up in the Clarion Ledger and Sun Herald` this week as the press once again has the sad task of covering the miscreant in charge at MDOT. For those in Mississippi wanting change nothing will happen to change MDOT, even with the passing of the northern district commish. MDOT has always been a 2 on 1 proposition and it was the coast who was the red-headed transportation stepchild for many years. Until Mississippi leaves the dark ages and joins the rest of the country with an appointed transportation commission the graft and infighting will continue.
Clay Chandler at Magnolia Marketplace has filed updates here, here and here. Brown’s cancer has evidently resurfaced so he has a ready-made excuse for his serial bad behavior. If he is going to die hopefully he’ll do everyone a favor, resign and die with some dignity. Then again dignity and Butch Brown just don’t get mentioned it the same sentence much so I bet we’ll be having more on him. And yes folks I believe Brown has been able to last at MDOT for so long despite being an embarrassment to the state because he has “pictures” on the powers that be.
Next up is South Mississippi’s favorite drunken domestic abuser, former Ocean Springs Mayoral candidate Scott Walker. Our readers will recall Walker had 2 run ins with the law last spring, the first when Ocean Springs PD found him passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle. He beat that rap on a technicality when a police clerk did not title an affidavit. Within the same week he was arrested for the DUI he was arrested in Washington DC for assaulting a staffer for Senator Wicker. Prosecutors dropped that charge yesterday.
The Sun Herald checks in with two stories on the latest twist which can be found here and here. The street talk is Walker’s family paid off his victim. The comments to Marie Recio’s stories tell how the public views Walker as the word dimly fits. Walker, meantime, skips away acting as if nothing has happened, kinda like State Farm after Katrina.
Finally it was not lost on us that Walker evidently played a major role in Steven Palazzo’s campaign, who he may end up working for in the end. My own opinion is that he is better suited for David Vitter’s staff, given Vitter’s amicable disposition when it comes to employing men who slap around the fairer sex. One man’s opinion anyhow.
sop
I heard prosecutors dropped charges because the girl is a head case
You’d almost have to be NBD to hook up with a person with Scott Walker’s problems.
sop
Good to see Brown is doing better. He’s mayor of Natchez now. And I hear Scott Walker is on a new diet, a liquid one.