Mayoral candidate Larry Grohn at Thursday's press conference
Mayoral candidate Larry Grohn said Thursday he has learned that a top aide to Mayor Andy Berke prepared two calendars for him - for two different top posts away from Chattanooga.
He said Stacy Richardson, who is now the Berke chief of staff, compiled a 2016 calendar focusing on a Berke run for governor in 2018 and another in a federal post.
Tyler Yount of the Berke campaign said, "Everyone on our team had a good laugh today as Larry Grohn proved again that his campaign’s lack of relevance and imagination are limitless. The first presentation he found on the internet was a long since discarded campaign plan for the Mayor’s re-election campaign that Stacy Richardson prepared on her time off. The second was a presentation she drafted as part of her Master’s program at the University of Southern California where she is currently enrolled. Everyone on our team would like to offer a big thanks to Grohn for the laugh and for the feedback that Stacy’s homework was both thorough and detailed. We are also happy to report that she not only made an A on the assignment, but also in the class.
"While Mayor Berke doesn’t have an agricultural background, he is certainly celebrated in his “field” and believes in the old adage, 'don’t put your hand to the plow unless you plan to finish the row'. While this is a funny distraction “planted” by the Grohn campaign, I can assure you that Mayor Berke is focused on how to continue 'sowing the seeds' of prosperity over the next four years -- right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee."
The Grohn campaign countered, "The truth is, Andy has an ugly secret to hide. That secret is that he cares more about his own future than the future of Chattanooga and its people. Andy Berke is desperately seeking higher office and is using Chattanooga as a stepping stone. Our city isn’t a stepping stone, its home.
"The conclusion our campaign has drawn from the Berke’s administration’s documents created by Chief of Staff Stacy Richardson was confirmed to our campaign by a source close to the Berke administration. If these documents are what the mayor claims they are, why have they been immediately pulled offline?
"Our campaign asks this to the people of Chattanooga: if Andy doesn’t have anything to hide, why did he order his staff to communicate through secret text messaging apps to flout Open Records laws? Why did he encourage the public to attack the media when journalists pressed him on the results of the VRI? Why does he continue to stall Open Records requests at every level? Also, why did Ms. Richardson complete these documents on city time?"
Councilman Grohn said entries on the gubernatorial calendar included fundraisers in Memphis and Knoxville.
The plans "highlighted his first 200 days in office," it was stated.
The gubernatorial strategy for 2016 was titled "Making 2016 the Best Berke Year Yet."
City Councilman Grohn said a second calendar prepared by Ms. Richardson related to Mayor Berke expecting to land a top position in the U.S. Agriculture Department under the administration of President Hillary Clinton.
He said it outlined a number of planned improvements in the Agriculture Department. "It was a very detailed plan," he said.
President Trump recently named former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to head Agriculture.
The Berke plan for transforming the Agriculture Department - titled "Peak Performance" - focused on steps to eliminate backlogs in the department.
The goal was to have the department address all complaints within 200 days of their filing.
Councilman Grohn said the two calendars "show that Chattanooga is not the top focus for Andy Berke. It is his third choice."
He said, "Mayor Berke's attention is not on Chattanooga and that may help explain the failed Violence Reduction Initiative, affordable housing program and reading program."
The gubernatorial effort last year was to include "build statewide brand through media/outreach." It involved "pitched media" and "drafting the campaign plan."
The "first fundraiser" was listed for June and putting "new campaign assets in place."
On the agenda for December was "declaring victory on homeless vets."
A number of calendar entries were marked "mayor travel."
Click
here to see the calendar.
Click
here to see the Peak Performance plan.