The whack-a-mole process between the Louisville Metro Council and its longest-serving member is off the radar for now. Last month, council colleagues told Dan Johnson to resign his seat or they’d remove him. Alleged sexual harassment is the elephant in the room.
Democrats typically refuse to acknowledge elephants so maybe this one will fade away without further action. No one is talking about whether the mayor or five council members will launch court proceedings to remove the beleaguered official.
Councilman Johnson returned to my radio studio on August 1st, the deadline imposed by his peers. Bottom line: he’s not leaving…at least without a costly legal battle.
In the interview, Johnson says that the mayor won’t act to remove him and he feels that no court action will be taken by his colleagues. Johnson sent personal apology notes to all 25 members of the council asking to move forward in peace.
Johnson also spoke publicly about head trauma from a car accident in the 1970s and how it could affect his memory. He said he was in a coma for two weeks and this could very well be a reason for his sporadic memory losses.
Johnson also declared that he will ignore a request from the LMC president that he give a one hour advance notice before entering city hall, and that he will not limit his movements around the building as colleagues requested.
Taxpayers wound up paying over $200,000 in court costs and legal fees for two previous removal proceedings against other metro council members. Johnson says he will fight to the finish if he is put on trial and “sadly, the taxpayers will have to pay the bill.”
End of story? No one knows for sure but, for now, Smilin’ Dan is grabbing headlines.
