Jeff Sykes reports:
"The Greensboro city attorney Mujeeb Shah-Khan resigned today, ending a tumultuous week in which his decision making was called into question.
The Greensboro City Council met in closed session at 4pm on Friday. After emerging from closed session without taking any action, a statement announcing Shah-Khan's resignation was released about 6:30 pm."
It's certainly good to see Mr Sykes working as a journalist again. Mujeeb may find getting employment as a lawyer for anything more than fixing traffic citations to be rather cumbersome.
Jeff Martin writes in The Right Guy for the Wrong Reasons:
"Mujeeb Shah-Khan fell on his sword when he agreed to accept the risks of approving a $750K check to the ICRCM without a signed contract, which they desperately needed by 11-1-13. With this act, Mujeeb trusted that council would want the ICRCM funded, even if their Byzantine demands had yet to be codified and signified.
So, here we stand: with a city manager who broke the rules before leaving to give the ICRCM a chance to carry on. And now we have a city attorney leaving in disgrace because he acceded to the same greater good. Wherever Roth or Shah-Khan go from here, some of us will remember the price they paid to keep this particular dream alive."
In The Greensboro City Attorney's "Resignation"': Zack's Ping-Pong Ball and the Fall Guy, JoeyG writes:
"We learn over at Billy Jones' site that the city council had ample reason to know months ago that the check was being sent to the museum without a contract. There were at least a couple of representatives of the city who were supposed to be serving on the museum board. It is also doubtful that Turner-Roth and Shah-Kahn would have proceeded unless that were the clear intent of the mayor and city council. Finally, Roch Smith revealed an e-mail from the city manager addressed to the city council that revealed the check was being cut even though the agreement had not been finalized.
Mujeeb Shah-Khan did the wrong thing; but he now serves as the fall guy or scapegoat on behalf of city council members who bear much greater responsibility. He is the sacrificial lamb whose blood atones the sins of past and current city council members who have spent all or part of their respective political careers representing the Simkins PAC. This includes Robbie Perkins, Nancy Vaughan, Zack Matheny, Yvonne Johnson, Jim Kee, Nancy Hoffman and Marikay Abuzuaiter.
We are witnessing quite a charade. Are these politicians going to accept responsibility publicly for what they have done, and for what they failed to do?"
And Eric Robert says, Buy Local:
"Being a good human being and being a good city attorney should not be mutually exclusive.
While exotic and somewhat rare, I believe that such individual is already working for the city, its leadership and its citizens."
In Not so fast, pally; Council shares responsibility, Roch Smith Jr states the facts:
"That second paragraph, records show, was actually included in Roth's email at the suggestion of Shah-Khan. So it may have been a bonehead move to issue a three quarters of a million dollar loan without a contract, but Council cannot pin it all on city attorney Shah-Khan. They were informed what was happening and either did not understand what Roth's email was telling them, did not read it or were okay with it. But they were informed and only because of Shah-Khan's recommendation."
Let there be little doubt, if Council wasn't complicit then Council was most certainly negligent in their fiduciary responsibilities to the taxpayers of the City of Greensboro and the supporters, fans and users of the ICRCM. The Greensboro City Council owes us a public apology at the very least. Some may even owe us time behind bars depending on the answers to the questions they continue to avoid.
It's true that each and every one of us wanted to see Roth and Shah Khan gone but the reason we wanted them gone was because they were covering for crooked politicans. Now they're gone and the crooked politicans remain-- where's the good in that?
It's long past time honesty was again considered a virtue in government employees. For too long now those at the top have only been there because they were willing to lie to protect those in power. S. Mujeeb Shah Khan just learned where it got him-- ruined in the prime of his life with a very expensive house and a wife and family used to lots of expensive things. I've been there, I know what it's like to give it my all and get screwed to save my boss's sorry hide. Mujeeb will never fully recover. Roth was just lucky she got out when she did.
And the Mayor and City Council still ignore my questions days later-- why? I think Jeff Sykes, Jeff Martin, JoeyG, Roch and Eric answered that question above.
