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Drunky Herb

I know I know, old news. Or actually, NO news. Why the hell isn't Duluth in a total uproar about this? Why is he still our mayor? He won't be able to do a damn thing for the rest of his term, so why hasn't the city set up a new election? Am I the only one totally befuddled by this?

Comments

Did you look at the post right beneath yours before you posted? Or the 2 others just a little lower? Nothing like beating a dead horse.

On the plus side, I just shoveled and I feel frickin' great!


...Yeah, I think you're the only one.


Who was saying what about a high horse now?


is there any way this could be rolled into the OTHER EXISTING POSTS?
good god


This photo is offensive - especially since the photo has already been published on here and there are two topics about this already - but to answer your question, ZB:

There is nothing in the city charter or state laws that says because he got a DUI that he can no longer be mayor of the city. I'm sure people are upset, but he has asked for forgiveness and admitted his mistake.

Quite frankly, IMHO, people get DUIs every day in this town and the neighboring towns - it's a non-issue for everyone else, so why not for our mayor?

So if we're not "reacting" enough for you, ZB, I suggest take your "befuddled" self over to the Duluth Citizens' blog - it seems like you belong there.


i said it bad cat & i'll say it again. get off your high horse! you know who you are. i can make it home...i'm not too drunk. i know i've done it. is he being held accountable? sure seems like it, especially by people OBSESSED that we all see his mugshot over and over and over again. you yourself even called it a "mishap" in a previous post. seems to me you ride the high horsey only when it's in vouge. get over it or run for office. i will be laying in wait, camera in hand, ready for you to fuck-up.


A-frickin-men, C-freak!

I love saying "frickin", obviously.


p.s.
i think he was a dumb ass & fucked up bad. i do not condone drunk driving.


Woah, C-Freak - I was not talking about you. The "high horse" reference was to ZB. His horse is so high, stargazers rent it to see super-novas without equipment!


i like that you said "woah".


Yea, when I re-read it, in my mind it made a "woah doggie" sound (with just a bit of twang).
Odd how I can misinterpret something I wrote a minute prior...


wait...i wanna see herb's mugshot ONE more time!!!


Herbies got no one to blame but himself.

Rule #1 of Politics: It is foolish to give ammunition to your enemies.

Plus the pictures funny.


Yes. This is an absolute mess. However, it's happened, it's done, and what he does next is going to be more important.

Why is he still mayor? Because Jim Stauber and the Coral Ridge Ministry folks in this town are just stamping their feet waiting to return to office to put Duluth back into 1986 again. I'd much rather have a mayor who made a very stupid choice - but be able to have the courage to apologize and learn from it - than have another jackass born-again bigot in charge. We had that for 11 years...we don't need that again. Ever. Those folks can go down to Mississippi or Alabama with the other religious nuts with 15 children.

I like the mayor as a person. I like that he finally has acknowledged groups of people in this city who have been long ignored and even publicly despised by the likes of Doty and Stauber. I do not like the choice he made last weekend, but I also know how certain individuals operate in this city (Doty chomping at the bit to inform the media how Fedo beat his wife or has had affairs, etc.). There is a terribly dirty group of so-called Christians in this city who are doing anything but Godly acts. Make sure you have all the correct information about this story before you draw your conclusions.


I heard that Marc Gartman was going to replace Herb (with a silent H) Bergson...is that true?


doesn't anyone LIKE that our mayor is a fun-lovin', partying-at-the-main, homeless people-helping, forgiveness-asking dude? i mean, driving drunk ain't no good but half the people i know have DUIs. seriously. get over it.


Mmm...yeah...Duluth in 1986....nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.


People get DUI's every day, no big deal? Usually they are either 1) not very educated or 2) an alcoholic. There is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol, but anyone over the age of 20 should know that you don't drink and drive. Is the mugshot offensive, yes, I agree it is. I'm glad my mugshot isn't out in the press. Oh wait, I forgot, I don't have a mugshot. I don't drink and drive - or commit other crimes for that matter. If he thinks it's ok to drink alcohol and then take off to Chicago, I don't want to trust him to be my ride home, much less make decisions for our city.


I heard that it is going to be reported in the next few days that there was an unidentified woman in his car and that he had gotten served papers of the divorce type last week!!!!!!


HHHHMMMMMMMM


I heard that it is going to be reported in the next few days that there was an unidentified woman in his car and that he had gotten served papers of the divorce type last week!!!!!!


HHHHMMMMMMMM


well mary. let's have a look see, shall we? # 1. not very educated. yup. i'm a high school drop out. #2. an alcoholic. hmmm. that's a hard one. i like to consider myself more of a soak. but sure. check me off.

dwi? yep. now get on your high horsey, call the villagers & get the pitchforks. just come early before i fuckin pass out, mmmkay?

i think the picture is funny to the candidate. re: misfortune of others.


I cannot believe that ANYONE would consider a DUI as anything less than attempted murder.


Thank you to c-freak for the response. I think my point is made:)


i know enough serious alcoholics with demanding jobs that i think even a fairly heavy drinking regimen doesn't interfere with one's ability to work. in fact, it may enhance it. mary, how many of your favorite writers were drunks and druggies?


I cannot believe that ANYONE would consider wrongly quoting the law as anything less than malpractice.


oh wonderful virgin mary on high, seeing how you know my sitiuation so well... please! i implore you, step over me whilst i lay in the gutter covered in my own urine & vomit. don't step on me. it makes my liver hurt more. i know you don't chew gum or talk with your mouthful and your way better than me. oh, i don't need your spare change either, because i am a hopless fba (that's full blown alcoholic to you) whose stoopid & unemployable ass is probably on the dole.


maria, please tell me more about these writers...you see i'm a illiterate fba who can't read. i actually have a pet kinkachoo named glennda, that takes my dictaion and types all this shit in. but glennda can't speak, so i need to hook-up with you to learn about these writers. cozy???


Maria, I'm not judging anyone for drinking or doing drugs. Sure, alcohol could enhance someone's creativity or ability to do their job depending on what it is. But I've never heard of any evidence that drinking improves your driving skills.

And c-freak, you are funny, so don't be so hard on yourself - you do have some talents. I still wouldn't want you to be my ride home though.


I feel for the guy, I really do.

Its just such an astonishing display of poor judgement that I think we're entitled to marvel.

Straight out of greek tragedy or Shakespeare.

Theres nothing funny about it playing into the hands of local right-wing wackjobs like Stauber.

I heard he has to be in court the same day as the state of the city address.

To quote the late great Sammy Davis Jr-

"Ouch."


Zac Bentz(ZB) what a good idea! Let's go round them up and throw them all in jail for attempted murder.

Mary, since you know so much about other people, that they are usually either uneducated or alcoholics if they drive after drinking, maybe you should let everyone know who you are, since you seem to know who they are, before you insult other people and then attempt to play nicey nice.


mary, even my drunk uneducated ass knows what sarcasm is. they must not teach that course at finishing school.


Mary-

I think you should re-adjust that halo of yours. It seems to be a bit skewed...

I think you'd feel much more comfortable here, with the other folks that bitch and complaint endlessly, all the while commenting and condemning all sorts of subjects, of which they have no first hand knowlege and poor second hand knowlege: http://www.duluthcitizensblog.com.

Thank you for your contributions to this blog. Your presence here is no longer required, requested or desired.


Wait, wait--to clarify, the Mary previously posting on this comment section is NOT the same as me, the Squirrelfire-loving, Chuck-Norris revering, former Ricky Martin Appreciation Club Vice President Mary you (sort of) know and (possibly?) love. (You can tell because I always link to my blog from my posts.) Me, I got no problem with Herb--he did something stupid, but if I was going to start hating everyone with a DUI I'd have to start hating about 50% of my relatives.

I still think his shirt in the mugshot looks like a Garth Brooks reject, though.

Someone who knows better than to throw stones in glass houses,
Mary


Not that I'm want to defend Mary, but I think telling her to take a permanent hike away from PDD may be a bit overreactive.
I think Mary's first post wasn't intended to be a personal attack. True, subsequent posts were just ammo in the flame war, but who hasn't gotten a bit carried away when in the middle of a flame war?
My god, think of the children!
(There's actually no children that need thinking of, I just always wanted to say that)


P.S. And to Maria & c-freak--next time I'm in Duluth, martinis are on me. Well, one or two, anyway, but if I have a job by then, maybe more. Bring Glennda!


OK, I changed it to Mary 2 so as not to confuse. I don't hate anyone, and I'm not sure where anyone would have gotten that idea. As to who I am, not sure what you want to know but I'm a liberal (never voted for a republican in my life, and to date don't see any reason to change that). I worked to put myself through college - no rich parents, no trust funds. I've worked since I was 16 - over 20 years. I drink alcohol, and I don't have anything against getting drunk and having a good time. But if I'm going to do that, I don't drive, and I wouldn't let my friends drive themselves or me if they were drinking. This is an issue of judgment and decision making. Everyone agrees that drinking and driving is a bad idea - don't we? I don't know the mayor personally, but I'm sure he's a nice person and I think he's done some good things. But while on city business, he was drinking and driving. If he were a city employee he would be fired. Why is the standard different? Do you really want this man being the leader of our city? So far, I've seen lots if sarcasm towards my postings, but nothing of substance to say why he should have a different level of expectation set on him than every other city employee.


Though he was driving to an official meeting, I'm not sure that the driving part would be considered "city time". Probably similar to a regular city employee who gets a DUI on his way to work in the morning. Still bad, but is it a firing offense?


Here's what the city attorney said:

Brown noted that other city employees have been terminated for alcohol use while on duty. Official city business trips are considered on duty, Brown said. The law states that any alcohol use while on duty, or while an employee may be perceived to be on duty, or while on break before returning to duty, is prohibited and subject to discipline including termination, Brown said.

Really, are my only choices for mayor the "jack ass born again bigots" or Bergson?


I was reluctant to enter this conversation, but I do have to take Mary2 to task. You've made some valid points since, but remember why people were originally upset with you -- your comment about people with DUIs being "not very educated" was completely asinine and self-righteous.

You don't know anything about the personal histories of the thousands of people who have received DUIs. Your presumtion shows a flawed and self-absorbed view of the world, and makes all of your (admittedly worthy) opinions less valid.

If you had begun your argument with rational and intelligent discourse, people would be debating now instead of arguing. They wouldn't have a problem with you personally, they would simply agree or disagree with your statements.

Please don't try to dodge the criticism of that stupid remark with tangentially related facts about Bergson's case in particular.

No one knows the circumstances under which people commit crimes, and I don't think it's a good idea to judge those who do commit crimes based on my personal bigotry -- which we all have by the way. Its easy to make assumptions, get emotional, and call for a witchhunt like Mr. Bentz is with his "attempted murder" comment.

But I think it's better to try to be civil about these things.


that particular law does not apply to "elected officials".


I'm wasted. And I'm going to go shovel while intoxicated.


keep an eye out. c-freak passed out somewhere along 3rd st.


Exactly.Mary 2 what people have had a problem with is that you said, "Usually they are either 1) not very educated or 2) an alcoholic."
That is asinine. And that is what you are being taken to task for.


If you want to address anything address that.


I guess I need to apologize for the first posting. Poor choice of words. I'm not trying to dodge that. You're right, I could have made that (any) point much better.

What I was trying to say was that if you know that drinking and driving is a bad combination (which I think we're all in agreement on), you don't get drunk before going on a road trip to Chicago (which is a planned event on your calendar - not some last minute sitation) representing our City - unless you have an alcohol problem or you have really bad judgment. That's not self righteous, that's just common sense.

I'm not criticizing people with alcohol problems either - I would rather HB had said that was what it was, because alcoholism is a disease and people who are alcoholics have a completely different ability to make judgments in this regard. They are no longer in control, the alcohol is. I could understand and make sense of that.

I'm not calling for a witchhunt. I was responding to the person who said dui's are no big deal. Tell that to the people in Duluth whose children have been killed by a drunk driver. Risking human life is a big deal, regardless of who you are. Maybe I'm just looking for some way to make some sense of this, but honestly, I'm just not seeing it.

I'm not suggesting we stone the man or exile him to the Cities, I'm just saying that he asked to be put in a position of trust and he violated that in a way that could have cost lives. His reputation has been tarnished by what he chose to do. He has become the story for Duluth, and there is no way that can be good for our city.

You said that my message was less valid because the words I chose. I agree. Don't you think his message is/will be affected by his mugshot all over the country? The jack ass born again bigots now get to say that's the best we can come up with.



A haiku for Herb

Our down and out mayor
Bandaged face, bruises and all
Still has hairy chest


Rock like Chuck Norris he does not.



i guess i need to chime in... i don't think there's much of an argument that driving while drunk is a Bad Thing or even sometimes a Very Bad Thing (because once again i will remind how very relative a BAC is versus a regular drinker's sense of zirself). his action was wrong and even dumb. but just about everyone who's ever gone out on the town over the age of 30 has driven drunk at least once (legally speaking, i mean). maybe some of you here can call yourself pristine by saying Never, and i congratulate you. but there are an awful lot of otherwise fine upstanding, educated and employed people who have DUIs. i consider my own clean record one that merely reflects my extraordinary luck and (sometimes) lack of car.

regarding political ability to serve, i'm from Chicago--you know, that place just down the way where politicians do all kinds of crazy things like take bribes and kickbacks, create fake jobs and are just generally a bunch of crooks. the fact that this man has had a mugshot plastered all over the fuck for drinking is an indication of just how hungry for dirt we all are. is it winter? are we bored? and no matter how much all the fuckheads howl, it isn't going to make me not want him for my mayor.

i've spent a little time with the man, and i find him to be a true man of the people (maybe in this case a little tooo much man of the people, but okay). he's a good person who appears to me to do what he thinks is right, no matter what the political consequences, which is the kind of politician i want. you know, someone who actually Listens to constituents. he rides the bus, he cares about the issues of poverty, he isn't a Big Fat Liar, like just about all the other politicians i've ever met. he may not be brilliant, and i sometimes cringe at his lack of political polish--but i do know that he's better (and by that i mean Working for the Public Good) than any mayor i've ever had anywhere i've lived. and i really like the fact that i can email the guy, and he'll email me back. (Doty didn't even know how to USE email, and he didn't care one whit what you and i thought.)

the fact that right-wingers are howling for his blood and others dismiss him out of hand for this does not surprise me, but i do think it's disgusting. it reminds of the Monica Lewinsky thing: a president can get impeached for lying that he got an extramarital blow job, but repub presidents can start wars based on lies, give kickbacks and sweet deals to all of their friends worth BILLIONS and we all just shake our heads and say, "well, that's what they do, you know. nothing you can do about it."

if he loses political power, it's because the bastards and some other people with no sense make it/allow it to happen. i've seen outright criminals serve just fine as public servants until the day they were carted off to jail. if we can't take Herb and support his office because we believe in him politically, then maybe we do deserve someone like Doty who will Never Drive Drunk or do just about anything that makes the little christians cry.

because after all, who gives a damn if those damned bleedin heart libruls are bawling their eyes out when the lake goes poisonous, our downtown turns into Disneyland and the suits disappear the homeless. soon enough, if the Righteous Brigade wins out, we'll be right back where we started, with those Citizen Bloggers kicking sand in our faces, and Darth Vader running the place.

and while i'm ranting. can someone please tell me how we got from Christians complaining about the commercialization of Christmas to boycotting stores for not doing ENOUGH commercializing of Christmas.?i think my head's gonna explode. again.


evil jeff and i think there's a larger Christmas Conspiracy going on here...

It's the christian's war on FESTIVUS!


Well said hbh, I spent 45 minutes with Herb last week discussing issues that were very important to myself and the native american community in Duluth. He asked to meet with me in response to an email I sent him. Past Mayors would have swept me under the rug. I think this is extraordinary. He made every effort to meet at my convenience and listened most attentively and gave good suggestions for pro-active solutions. I don't like the dui either, but Herb's going to be someone who works very very hard to regain our trust and to prove that he's more than a dui. It's not fair to tear down all that he's doing and done, for one admittedly serious mistake.


if a person says he doesnt have a drinking problem he does. if a person says he does have a drinking problem he's on his way to getting help.
a drinking problem is a sickness. blaming someone for being sick is like thrashing dad for having diabetas.
herb is in good hands. all he has to do is help himself.
he's a good man. just had a belly-full of the bad stuff. cld happen to anybody, & usually does.


Y'know, Herb may not be an alcoholic, I'll grant that. BUT anyone who crashes a car with a .161 BAC I believe, by definition, has an alcohol problem.


GARTMAN for Mayor...he wont drink..I tried...he wont get naked with men...i tried...wait sounds like doty...cept I got naked with him...I'm all confused


I don't have a drinking problem.
honestly.


i do


i do tho


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