Weight of allegations against Sullivan too heavy to ignore

It's time for Mark Sullivan to resign from his position as Athens County commissioner. The suspicions swirling around the commissioner, involving both domestic violence and possible marijuana cultivation, have become too serious to rationalize or ignore.

In addition, the dangers of conflicts of interest, arising from Sullivan's recent adverse dealings with the local criminal justice establishment, are real and substantial. As a commissioner, Sullivan is closely involved in budget discussions and decisions pertaining to both the Athens County Sheriff's and Prosecutor's offices, as well as other county business matters.

While nobody has presented evidence that either Sheriff Pat Kelly or Prosecutor Keller Blackburn has treated Sullivan's situation any differently because he's a county commissioner, it's hard to erase the public perception that the Democratic good ol' boy network is protecting its own. All three are Democrats.

On Sunday, the Athens Messenger beat me to it, and urged Sullivan to resign. They laid out the string of negative incidents involving Sullivan, dating back to a disorderly conduct arrest at a Nelsonville bar in 2010. They suggested the troubled commissioner step down and concentrate on getting his personal life straightened out. They also hinted that the sheriff and prosecutor have been less than aggressive in holding Sullivan to the same standards as your ordinary Joe suspected of possibly growing marijuana in his backyard.

Not knowing what's been happening behind closed doors in this case, I can't say definitively that any punches have been pulled in the official handling of Sullivan, either with the domestic violence charges that were filed against him earlier this year (he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge) or the ongoing special prosecutor's probe into the 39 small marijuana plants found either on, or near, his home in Millfield.

Athens County Prosecutor Blackburn did request, and receive approval, for the state Attorney General's office to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the case. I don't have enough information to say whether Blackburn acted with sufficient alacrity in the matter.

However, as a journalist following and editing the stories about Sullivan's adventures with the criminal justice system over the past year and a half, I have detected a difference in attitude about his situation, and not just from local law enforcement. There's been an unusual amount of sympathy and understanding for Sullivan, something you wouldn't normally see with someone accused of domestic violence. This is especially the case in progressive Athens, where normally very few people would be willing to rationalize domestic violence allegations.

Similarly, when it comes to suspected violators of drug laws, you seldom see the sheriff or prosecutor's office acknowledging the possible innocence of a suspect or target of their investigation, as they have with Commissioner Sullivan. The presumption of innocence often gets swatted away in the hurry to announce yet another big drug bust.

Up to now, Sullivan appears to have gotten off easily, both in the court of local public opinion and with local law enforcement. This is partly because the commissioner is such a nice and apparently sincere guy, and has been through some very tough times himself. People who know him want to believe he hasn't done these things. In addition, his wife the source of the domestic violence and marijuana allegations has more than once changed her accounts about her husband's alleged misdeeds.

These calls for Sullivan to resign soon may end up being a moot point, especially if law enforcement did the obvious thing and immediately got a search warrant for the Sullivans' Millfield home. If one really is engaged in marijuana cultivation, or was involved in drying it in an attic, as Mrs. Sullivan at one point alleged of her husband, the evidence shouldn't have been too hard to find. Likewise, if the couple had just been drying "basil," as Mrs. Sullivan later altered the account in an interview with the Messenger, that wouldn't have been too hard to establish either. If no search took place, however, it may be too late to find anything.

The old saying, "where there's smoke, there's fire," isn't foolproof, since sometimes there really is nothing to support rumor and innuendo. But this past week with the pot allegations heaped on top of the previous criminal matters, the smoke billowing from Mark Sullivan's situation has become too heavy to ignore.

He should do himself, other county officials, his party and the county taxpayers a favor and resign his seat. Regardless of how the marijuana allegations turn out, Sullivan has lost too much credibility with the public to serve effectively, and also has lost the ability to work cooperatively and professionally with other local elected officials, especially those in law enforcement.

Sullivan deserves praise for the good things he has done as a county commissioner. He has been a positive and cooperative voice on the board, a hard worker with the common touch in dealing with county residents and employees, and an effective leader during the tough budget times of recent years. But it's time for him to go.