Shirley Block on the recent revelations about Dan Martin

Candidates for Union office:  lies, lies and more lies

When are the lies going to stop?  For the past month or so, Dan Martin who is a TriMet bus operator and  Bruce Hansen’s running mate for Union office, has been pointing his fingers at others while denying that he was a convicted sex offender and that he had plead guilty of defrauding the federal government for three years while he was working for TriMet.   The Oregonian and the Willamette Week recently broke the stories about Martin’s criminal background.

Criminal records confirmed that Martin, who was going by the name Daniel Overby at the time, was charged with Rape in the 3rd degree and convicted of Sexual Abuse in the 2^nd degree, a felony,  in 1986.  He was also arrested for assault IV and Harassment in 1988 which was later resolved through a civil compromise agreement.  Then in 2006 he was convicted of theft of government property and received a sentence of six month home detention, three years probation and agreed to pay back $78,000.  He changed his name to Daniel Martin before applying at TriMet in 1999.

Martin for the past month or so denied that he was Daniel Overby.  “It’s a big coincidence” Martin claimed.  “I don’t know who that person is.  It’s someone else” claimed Martin.  In fact Martin claims to have a concealed weapons permit in Oregon and asked “Do you think they would give me one of those if I had a criminal background?”  Martin claims that TriMet officials have long been aware of his criminal history.  In fact TriMet officials have avoided any questions about Martin for more than a month, and dismissed questions about Martin as part of a “union dispute.”

Why is TriMet appearing to protect Martin.  Is it because he and his running mate, Bruce Hansen, conspired with TriMet to implement the  “block runs”  experiment that was not presented to or approved  by the members?  Is it because Martin had been marked off from his job as bus operator to promote “block runs” and paid by TriMet?  Knowing about the allegations against Martin for months now, why has TriMet failed to take any action?  Is TriMet trying to cover up the fact that a sex offender is driving bus?

And then there is Martin’s running mate for Union office, Bruce Hansen.  Martin and Hansen are long time buddies.  Hansen claims he did not know anything about the federal fraud conviction, but another ex-wife of Martin says that is not true.   She claims that she personally told Hansen about the fraud conviction three years ago.  Is it a case of amnesia or is Hansen lying? 

Since the media exposed Martin’s criminal background, Hansen is now saying that Martin had been lying, claiming that “he asked to talk to me last night and told me a lot of things I didn’t know about his past.  Is this another lie?  When will the lies stop?  Is this reminiscent of Hansen telling members that he would take a 20% pay cut in pay if elected in 2012, and then didn’t take the pay cut for a year and then only after members began calling him out on it?

Members have been asking how to obtain a new ballot.  Call the Union office and request the Election Committee send them a new ballot.  The members original ballot will not be counted.