State Senate ugliness
Bill Goodman was a leading and trusted staff official around the state Capitol for four decades. Most predominantly, he was chief of the legislative budget staff. For the last few years, he'd been Senate chief of staff. But these Brotherhood characters who now run the Senate didn't like him because of some nonsense or other, all falling under an umbrella complaint — which was that his hiring preceded Brotherhood control. So, under pressure from a secret Efficiency Committee confab dominated by Brotherhooders, Goodman chose to resign, take accumulated leave and depart immediately. That was Monday a week ago. Around 7 p.m. the next day, he and his daughter and son-in-law showed up with boxes at the Capitol, signed in at the security station and proceeded to his former office to retrieve personal things. As they were packing, a State Capitol Police officer walked in and asked Goodman if he had the cell number of Jack Critcher, the president pro tem and Brotherhood front man who was chief among those wanting Goodman out. Goodman gave the number to the officer. Moments later, the officer returned with a second officer, saying that they would need to stand by and observe Goodman as he and his family packed up. Goodman asked if the officers wished to see the files he was taking. They said no; that they wouldn't know what they were looking at, anyway. About that time, his e-mail access was cut off. I find all this outrageous. The State Capitol Police security chief tells me this is standard operating procedure for any Capitol employee terminated or resigning. Critcher tells me he had merely asked State Capitol police to keep an eye on Goodman's vacated office. He says he didn't order the police supervision of Goodman's packing; that he got buzzed during a meeting, but didn't return the officer's call immediately, and that, by the time he returned the call, was merely informed after the fact that Goodman had been in and that two officers had observed. He said he would not have directed the officers to stand by had he been asked. Critcher says, "If he was there with his family, and subjected to that, and thought I had something to do with it — I'm sorry."