The leader of a union for retired firefighters has accused Metro Council President Jim King of threatening his group for not endorsing King's daughter, Katie King, in the district court race she won earlier this month.King's denial is flimsy at best. He sends a letter to the union complaining about their endorsement and he claims it wasn't an attempt to intimidate. King is the head of a government entity that can directly effect the union. Are they are supposed to believe he is just writing as a concerned parent? How naive would we have to be to believe such hogwash? These attempts at intimidation mean only one of two things. He is either incredibly stupid to not understand how the letter would be taken, or he is unbelievably arrogant that he thinks he can hoodwink everyone. Since he runs a successful bank, I am gong to have to assume it is the latter.
According to a letter made public this week, King wrote the Louisville Federation of Retired Fire Fighters a few days before the Nov. 4 election, saying he was "shocked" the group hadn't endorsed his daughter, and asked what could be done "to correct this situation before Election Day."
Responding in a letter of his own, the group's president, Greg Dearing, said it didn't like King's tone or the "very thinly veiled threat that was implied."
"Since you are in a fairly high position of authority ... and at times your vote and that of your peers may very well affect members of my group and also active firefighters, that veiled threat hit home very hard," Dearing wrote.
"I hate to think that your displeasure with any endorsements ... would in any way effect decisions that you might make in your position as president of the council," the letter added.
In an interview, King said there was no threat -- stated or implied -- in the letter, and in a follow-up letter to the union, King said "there never has been nor will there ever be any connection between my voting and your endorsement or lack thereof for me or my daughter."
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