Becker doesn't have many cards to play, but one he does have is resignation.
Despite the charges, he's still the mayor and there's really nothing compelling him to leave office - it certainly can't get any worse. Resigning would be what's best for the city, but when you're looking at a lengthy prison sentence on child sex charges it's safe to say personal interest comes first.
It's unlikely Becker wants to drag this out. He's not going to win at trial, and it's almost certain he's going to prison. Now, it's about negotiating how long that prison sentence will be. His best bet may be to trade a resignation for pleading guilty to reduced charges. That would allow the city to move forward and probably lessen his prison time.
That said, the City Council could just wait him out, remove him from office and move one without a resignation. But that could get messy, and embarrassing, for Racine.
In talking about this case, a number of people had said something along the lines of: "Racine doesn't need this." They're right. Swinging one last deal with Becker before he heads off to prison may be the best way to make this disappear sooner, rather than later.
NO deals for this piece of crap Becker!!
ReplyDeleteHogwash.
ReplyDeleteHe should resign, period. It should have no bearing on the criminal charges, pleadings, or court proceedings.
It does NOT need to be disappeared. I can't believe that a responsible journalist would suggest that. Hiding secrets, running from secrets, is NEVER the best way to deal with things. You speak like a molestation enabler, making excuses that it would be "messy" for the city to go to trial. Sexual predation IS messy. The denial in this city is massive and oppressive. Every last detail of this event needs to be publicly washed, hung out, and dried for all to see. That's the ONLY way to defuse its power over us and prevent a recurrence. The public needs to work through their shame, shock, and sadness. Denying that just adds to the trauma. This city has been stifling secrets for decades, and look what a mess we are because of it.
ReplyDeleteOrbs,
ReplyDeleteFair points, absolutely. Just more trying to point out how Becker may be thinking. Remember, he's a good politician. He's definitely looking for the best way out of this thing, and that may be trading his resignation for a deal.
But I completely agree that more needs to be done to expose sexual predation. If Becker's trial can help bring more cases like this to light, maybe it can help people.
I didn't think of a trial in terms of helping expose other predators, so much as working through our common grief and anger.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, we both know that our opinions matter little - the politicians will work out their deals regardless of what the people who elected them think. Cowards, liars, and now, a pervert. They are like infants, smearing each other with their feces.
The Trial of Becker gives the City a chance to clean up our act. There is going to be lots of information about how this City is run.
ReplyDeleteWe need the trial to go down .
My question is how fast will Racine settle with Tingle? Bet she knows quite a bit.
A public trial no reduced charges too bad then we could not publicly shoot him.
If the DA and his job were connected at all, maybe. No way will they get dragged down plea bargaining this hot potatoe!
ReplyDeleteBecker has no leverage at all in this matter. None. This is not a City of Racine parking ticket.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that he should get a deal. I am surprised to see that the common council didn't have a meeting already to get rid of Becker. I don't care how messy it gets. We should not let disgusting people run our lives. Get him out and lets move on.
ReplyDeleteWe need to stand up and make sure the DA knows how we feel. HE IS ELECTED. Deal with Becker = out of office
ReplyDeleteGary Becker is a prominent Democrat, right? I'm assuming if he was a Republican it would have been included in every story.
ReplyDeleteHere are some more questions to ponder:
ReplyDelete1) Is it normal to include a chat transcript in the complaint for these type of cases?
2) Are other records like this available online? If so where?
Notice that this was under "news" on the DOJ site.
3) Can the defense get this evidence stricken from the record? If so, look at how many have already read it and possibly saved it.