"Portsmouth Boy": James R. Saddler, II [reposted]

[In January 13, 2011, I posted the following opinion piece on Richard R. Saddler, II, following his appointment as the council member for Ward Two. The doubts I expressed about Saddler’s appointment then have been confirmed in the two years since. Austin Leedom tells me that our “Portsmouth Boy” outdid himself in assininity at tonight’s council meeting. The record of those who first got on the council by being appointed is a sorry one, but what else can we expect when drug-dealing pimps, drunken drivers, deadbeat dads, and bankrupt failures are shown preference as appointees?]

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 “There are some issues with some of our local roads and infrastructure, things like that that might be easily fixed.” Richard R. Saddler, II, Portsmouth’s new city councilman (shown above taking oath of office), as quoted in the 11 January 2011 Portsmouth Daily Times story headed “Council gives Saddler 2nd Ward seat.”

“Give” is the right verb to describe the city council’s action in regard to Richard R. Saddler, II. When a member vacates a seat on the city council for any reason, the other members give the seat to the applicant of their choice. One of the last persons to be given a council seat, prior to Saddler,  was the notorious Mike Mearan. The list of of council members who were first given rather than elected to council seats is long and reflects a serious problem in Portsmouth’s city charter. The four-year terms for all elected officials invites recalls and political shenanigans.

Like Mearan before him, Saddler has never run for city council or attended city council meetings or shown much interest in city government. This is often the case with those who are given seats on city council. Unwilling or too lazy or too chicken to run for a seat,  they are only too happy to be given it, usually with the blessing of the unelected crooks who control the city.  Having been given the seat, they have an advantage in future elections because they are  the incumbent, which helps them remain in office, though in Mearan’s case incumbency was not enough to get him elected. Portsmouth has sunk very low but not that low.

When Saddler told the Daily Times, “There are some issues with some of our local roads,” what was he referring to? Was he referring to the issues of traffic lights and vehicular safety, which Mayor Murray had given a high priority to but which Police Chief Horner had spitefully opposed. (Horner’s ideal would be a Portsmouth that is completely free of traffic lights and farting.) Traffic lights were probably not one of the issues Saddler referred to when he spoke of “local roads,” because the traffic lights issue will not be  “easily fixed,” to quote his words. You don’t have to be a member of the traffic committee to know that. In mentioning “local roads,” Saddler might have been referring to  potholes, or something like that. [I feel fairly sure one of the issues he is not concerned with is drunken drivers.]

The Son of Hell-on-Wheels Bihl

But since he mentioned roads,  rather than the deficits, drugs, or traffic safety,  I would say that if Saddler  is no better as a councilman than he is as a driver, then we’re in for a hell of a ride. From 1992 to 2008, Saddler  had twenty-one traffic violations, many of them  for  speeding and not using a seat-belt. (See his rap sheet below.)  In not wearing a seatbelt, he was not only breaking the law; he was  endangering his own life. In  speeding, he was not only breaking the law, he was also endangering the lives of others. If Saddler had  twenty-one moving violations in sixteen years, how many times was he not caught speeding and driving without a seat belt? Is Saddler “The Son of Hell-on-Wheels Bihl”? Saddler is just the kind of driver who is all the more dangerous the fewer traffic lights there are in the city. And he would be even more dangerous if he was driving while under the influence. But in  none of Saddler’s  twenty-one traffic violations is there any mention of alcohol. It’s hard  to believe that someone would  drive above the speed limit without a seatbelt as many times as Saddler has, and in every one of those instances be cold sober. It’s possible he never drinks and drives, and it’s possible he doesn’t drink at all. It’s possible, also,  that former Police Chief Tom Bihl, when he totaled  two parked cars on Offnere Street back in 1998  was cold sober,  as he later claimed he was. But how  can we be sure since he was  not given a breathalyzer test, which Saddler apparently wasn’t given either in   any  one of his  twenty-one moving violations.

I have been driving for twenty two years in Portsmouth and have never received so much as parking  ticket, but that’s probably because I  drive much less than Saddler. The only driving I do is the couple of miles of day on round trips to the Life Center.  But you don’t need to drive much to be at risk on “local roads,” especially since the number of traffic lights has been reduced. On my way to the Life Center one day  several years ago I was slammed into by a young woman racing through a stop sign at an otherwise  quiet intersection on Findlay Street, not far from the notorious pain clinic.

Since city  traffic lights were unwisely covered up during Kalb’s incompetent and corrupt administration, driving has become even more nerve wracking. Crossing Route 52 in particular has became a heart stopper, and about six months ago I saw a very serious accident at a Route 52 intersection where the light was covered.  One night just several months ago driving south on Chillicothe Street I was sideswiped by a car going over the speed limit. I tried following  the compact white sports car to get the  license plate, but the young male driver sped away. I had to replace the driver’s side rear view mirror. Since I didn’t get the license number, I  didn’t report it to the police.  I also didn’t report to the police another time when my car was broken into and some personal belongings were stolen. I am told that Horner’s officers discourage those involved in  traffic accidents or a petty theft reporting, unless they file a claim with their  insurance company. I am told that is how Horner is reducing Portsmouth crime and accident rate is being reduced: by discouraging victims from formally reporting them unless they are filing a claim with their insurance company. As long as Horner is chief, the real crime and accident rate may not see the light of day.

Troubling Questions

I will conclude with some  troubling questions about Saddler and offer some troubling answers. What will happen when and if Saddler gets another moving violation? Will he go to court to appeal it, now that as a councilman he has more political influence? And suppose, if he appeals the violation, that Steve Mowery is the judge presiding at the municipal court. Prior to being elected municipal judge, Mowery was the lawyer who represented Saddler in his divorce,  and Mowery is also one of the “friends” on Saddler’s Facebook site. There is even a photo of Mowery in shades (shown at left). Mowery is the one who when campaigning for municipal judge said that the Municipal Building should be torn down and the city government, including the municipal court, should be moved to a renovated Marting building. Mowery’s opponent in the contest for municipal judge correctly pointed out that whether the Municipal Building should be torn down and whether the city government should move to the Marting building is something the voters, not a municipal judge,  should decide. The  decision not to renovate the Marting building has already been rendered, twice, by the voters of Portsmouth. But the recall of Mayor Murray and the installation of David Malone as her replacement, and the “giving” of the Ward Two council seat to Saddler is probably the prelude to completing the Marting Scam, and the voters be damned. Malone, the Uncle Tom of Portsmouth, has already indicated he is in favor of spending the millions of dollars that the city doesn’t have to renovate the Marting building, and there is  no question how Hassle’em and  Bash’em will vote. In Saddler we already know we have one for the road, and it may not be long before we have another for the Marting building. 

Just the good ol’ boys,

Never meanin’ no harm.

Beats all you ever saw,

Getting in trouble with the law

Since the day they was born.

* * *

Traffic Violations of James R. Saddler, II

1

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 02/24/1992

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 9201332

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: SEAT BELT-DRIV

Case Type: Traffic

2

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 01/06/1997

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 9700112

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 64/45 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

           

3

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 09/19/1997

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 9705887

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 67/55 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

4

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 06/15/2000

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0004500

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 70/55 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

5

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 06/15/2000

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0004500

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: SEAT BELT-DRIV

Case Type: Traffic

6

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 04/17/2001

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0102442

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: FOLLOW TOO CLOS

Case Type: Traffic

7

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 04/17/2001

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0102442

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: SEAT BELT-DRIV

Case Type: Traffic

8

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 10/12/2001

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0107630

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 66/55 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

9

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 10/12/2001

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0107630

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: SEAT BELT-DRIV

Case Type: Traffic

10

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 05/17/2002

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0202903

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 65/55 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

11

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 05/17/2002

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0202903

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: SEAT BELT-DRIV

Case Type: Traffic

12

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Case #: 9705887

Docket Entry: Click

Filed: 09/19/1997

Arr. Agency: OSP

Charge: SEAT BELT-DRIV

Case Type: Traffic

13

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 09/19/1997

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 9705900

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 67/55 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

14

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 07/09/2002

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0204754

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 50/40 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

15

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 07/09/2002

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0204754

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: SEAT BELT-DRIV

Case Type: Traffic

16

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 10/18/2006

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0606781

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 75/55 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

17

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 05/08/2007

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0702581

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 58/35 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

18

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 05/08/2007

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0702581

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: SEAT BELT-DRIV

Case Type: Traffic

19

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 01/04/2008

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0800067

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: 70/55 SPEED

Case Type: Traffic

20

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 12/01/2008

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0808118

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: PHYSICAL CONTRO

Case Type: Traffic

21

Concerning: Saddler, James R II

D.B.A./A.K.A.:

Filed: 12/01/2008

Arr. Agency: OSP

Case #: 0808118

Docket Entry: Click

Charge: MARKED LANES

Case Type: Traffic