County to Spend $65,000 on Private Bathroom for Elected Official, County $300 Million Over Budget

Use the john with commoners? Too risky. (By Sarah L. Voisin — The Washington Post)

This jackass is spending $65,000 on a private bathroom, complete with a shower, because his security detail says using the public restroom is “too dangerous.” He’s got A FREAKING SECURITY DETAIL! HOW DANGEROUS COULD IT BE!?

These people are gonna cause me to pop a blood vessel in my giant cranium one day:

“I don’t see this as a big expenditure,” Leggett (D) said. Describing himself as “the guy who flies coach and spends sparingly,” he said, “It’s not something I asked for.”

::blinks::

You have got to be kidding, right? I’ll bet it would be a big expenditure if YOU WERE PAYING FOR IT! The magnitude of jackassedness surrounding this guy is indescribable.

The timing of the project could be politically problematic. The bathroom budget was approved in June, but the construction coincides with his proposal to raise property taxes, offer employee buyouts and trim spending to close a $297 million budget shortfall.

“I can’t believe they would do that now. We’re taking it on the chin, and we’re looking for every dime we can find,” said County Council member Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring). “I think this is an extravagance, not something that has to be done.”

Shhhhh….quiet now…behold it in all its magnificence…it appears we have found something rare here…it might be a Democrat with a little sense…these beauties have been all but eradicated from the Democratic party lately…it’s a thing of wonder to see one actually make the news…brings a tear to my eye really….

The guy Leggett replaced used the public bathroom for years, and laughed at the idea of it being dangerous:

For almost all of his 12-year tenure, Leggett’s immediate predecessor, Douglas M. Duncan (D), used a public restroom. He had a private bathroom when he was first elected but scrapped it to create a kitchenette for employees. A major renovation of the executive’s floor in Duncan’s first year cost more than $1 million.

“We had perfectly good bathrooms right at the elevators,” he said yesterday. When asked whether he ever felt unsafe using the public restroom, Duncan chuckled, “Heck no.”

Now before you read this next part, understand that Ike Leggett is trying to raise taxes and eliminate 225 jobs. But he doesn’t have the power to stop this construction? Right:

“We have had some challenging, disgruntled employees or citizens demanding to see the county executive, and from a security perspective he can walk into that,” Chief Administrative Officer Timothy L. Firestine said. “Quite frankly, Ike didn’t want [the new bathroom], but we more or less suggested from a security perspective that he needs it.”

Wow. So, he could actually come face-to-face with someone he works for…in a public setting! Well, that must be avoided at all costs. Even if it costs more than $65,000:

So a crew has been working after hours to transform a closet and small office across the hallway from Leggett’s Rockville office into the bathroom and “shelter-in-place.” The estimated $65,255 cost includes basic tile, a Santec faucet, Toto toilet, and prefabricated countertop and sink. The price could go up $12,400 as workers wrestle with water drainage issues.

$65,000 will buy a house and about five acres where I live. I know that for a fact. Yet this county spend that much for a bathroom, when they are close to $300,000,000 over budget.

I hope it’s a big toilet, because they are flushing the whole county down it.