After suffering a blistering attack on her credibility Monday, former Jackson Deputy Public Works Director Mary Carter fired back at her former superiors yesterday in federal court. WLBT's Anthony Warren reported:
The former deputy director of water operations is suing the city for allegedly firing her after she spoke out about conditions at the city’s main water treatment plant in an interview with WLBT. Carter says after speaking to 3 On Your Side, she was alienated by city staffers, and told by the mayor not to air the city’s “dirty laundry.” She also claims that she was kept out of meetings after the state took over the city’s water system during the 2022 crisis and let go on September 9, the same day she fired off an email to the acting Public Works director, Jordan Hillman, expressing her concerns. She responded to claims made by Hillman, who testified on Monday that Carter was fired for being incompetent and answered testimony from former Public Works Director Marlin King as to why some invoices went unpaid for years. “They were bringing in $72 million when I first came. When I left, they were bringing in $48 million,” Carter said. “A lot of stuff was not getting done. A lot of equipment was not being worked on because it was too expensive. Then, we had the consent decree... Things needed fixing at the wastewater plant, pump stations, all of this.”... “When you do your own finances when you only have a certain amount... this many bills and this much, you’re going to pay what you can until you can do better... Or you’re going to rob Peter to pay Paul,” she said. “We paid what we could and other stuff we couldn’t pay because the city didn’t have the funds to pay it.” Deputy City Attorney Sheridan Carr, meanwhile, highlighted Carter’s work history, asking about her past performance and a demotion by former Public Works Director Kishia Powell. According to a memo admitted as evidence, Powell demoted Carter in December 2014 due to her “limited ability to fulfill the role and responsibilities of the position.”... Rest of article U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson denied the city's motion for summary judgment.
9 comments:
Apply this same standard to Chowke: “...limited ability to fulfill the role and responsibilities of the position.”
Dear Mayor: Dirty water does make for dirty laundry.
"limited ability to fulfill the role and responsibilities of the position.”
So, she was a DEI hire. Then this little episode is a glimpse into this nation's future.
I applaud her firing. Normally, gubment employees languish in these positions for years, then suck off of the retirement system until death.
No city has to tolerate poor performance from lazy help.
Get rid of them.
I don't know anything about Mrs. Carter's work ethic. I do know however, that based on an objective assessment of basic undisputed facts, e.g.inadequate staffing,insufficient funding, laying the justification for Mrs. Carter's termination solely on incompetence rather than lack of adequate tools to perform effectively, is unfair. However, given how Mayor Lumumba's administration operates, his and their defense/offense is to "circle the wagons". This tends to be the strategy in all corporate vs.individual litigation. It will be very difficult for Mrs. Carter to disprove their claims of incompetence when they (administration) develop the paper trail and corrobate each other's accounts. Unless there is a smoking gun, the outcome will likely not be a win for Mrs. Carter, unless all information is looked at in context as well as the motivation for positions taken by all parties. In my opinion,the credibility of the Lubumba administration does not trump Mrs. Carter's. I believe her.
Now y’all stay with me! You bring in a new boss, I’m alienated from meetings and pertinent conversations and in that short time I’m incompetent! Then you fire me!
Now where is the paper trail of my incompetence?
You just arrived!
Sounds like the average government bullshit firing!
The whole freaking administration is incompetent I’m just the scape goat!
The phrase “blistering attacks” on Mary Carter accomplishes one thing and only one thing: Clickbait. This trial is just getting underway. Don’t fall for the Liar-in-Chief’s sleight of hand. O.B. Curtis clung to a life-support tether that Chokwe tried mightily to conceal. Mary Carter did not pull the plug.
Oops, my bad, the defense has rested and the case is headed to the jury. I thought the “blistering attacks” were cross examination in the plaintiff’s case in chief. Nevertheless, I’m team Mary. If I’d been there for years and put in yeoman’s hours at Curtis and Newell while the whole city was going to shit, I’d damn sure have a bad attitude. And it’d be made worse after every single one of Antar’s lying ass Monday “press conferences.””
At one point - during one crisis or another - but before 'People With Good Sense' were sent down from Yankeeland, to fix things - there was mention of various parts and chemicals which had not been ordered. Things were falling-apart, because appropriations and orders did not happen, for relatively cheap items.
Long ago, back before people who worked hard and cared about their jobs, were run out Jackson, it was not uncommon for employees - of both public and private concerns - to dig into their own pockets, to pay for crucial supplies, when approval could not be gotten for their purchase (or would just take too long). There was a whole body of wisdom, about NOT doing that. But everybody did it.
Plenty people effectively worked for Minimum Wage - or less - because they put in two or three hours of work, for every hour on their timesheets. Again, people scolded each other for doing it, but in many industries (particularly as we were rising in the ranks), that's HOW YOU KEPT YOUR JOB.
But such people are long-gone from Jackson (some moved to Madison, but many, to Austin or Seattle or Atherton) - replaced by people who do as little as they possibly can, and who will allow their workplaces to fall-apart, because they can't bring themselves to personally pay for items costing less than what they normally pay, daily, at Popeye's drive-thru window.
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