BUT JIMMY CONTINUES TO LURK AROUND
COULD THIS EXPLAIN THOSE EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS DURING CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS?
Let's cut to the chase. Mayor Jimmy Weekley has had a longterm affair with a prominent businesswoman in town. She has ended it, but, reportedly, Jimmy has continued to lurk around. In fact, friends say she now refers to him as "the stalker".
It started to get messy after the Mayor's wife reportedly called Jimmy while he was on an out-of-town "business" trip. The Other Woman reportedly answered the phone. Oops!
We report this now not as mere salacious gossip; but because it begs a series of real questions: If Mayor Jimmy Weekley would lie to his wife, wouldn't he also lie to the citizens of Key West? Also, could this, perhaps, help to explain his recent bizarre behavior at City Commission meetings— those emotional outbursts— and his apparent lack of focus?
We, along with other writers at other newspapers here heard about Jimmy's alleged dalliance weeks ago. What made it a possible story was not just that Jimmy might be screwing around, but that, one source reported, the Other Woman may have slapped a restraining order on the Mayor! Even if you're a die-hard Jimmy-lover, you can see how that could be a news story, can't you?
We and others looked for a restraining order. But there didn't seem to be one. But we continued to "network" the story. We talked to some of the Other Woman's friends and business associates. Many knew about the affair. It was not the worlds's best-kept secret. It was during this time when we first heard that the Other Woman had nicknamed Hiz Honor "the stalker".
Finally, it was time to just pick up the phone and call the Other Woman. At first, she was hesitant to talk. But when we told her what we already knew, she spilled the beans. Yes, there had been a longterm affair. But she had ended it when it got too complicated.
"It seemed to be okay with his wife as long as I was married," said the Other Woman. "But once I was divorced, it apparently wasn't okay any more. I told him it had to end, but he kept hanging around."
What about the restraining order? There wasn't one, she said. "I didn't need one. He's so little that, if I needed to, I could have just beat the hell out of him."
Friends of the Other Woman have reported, however, that she has had to threaten to call the police, at least once, to make Jimmy go away. Reportedly, he even followed her, uninvited, to the home of a high-level female City official.
He reportedly told her that, if she didn't agree to continue the affair, he would use his position on the City Commission to try to eliminate City money budgeted to support an organization with which the Other Woman is closely associated. She reportedly refused to be threatened and, so, right in public, Jimmy pushed to eliminate the budgeted item. The other Commissioners were incredulous at his apparent pettiness. But he continued to push. In the end, however, the money was left in the budget.
Isn't even the offer by an elected official to trade public money for sexual favors illegal? Maybe the State Attorney or the FBI can sort that out.
As we pieced this story together, it became apparent that it was not always this way. In fact, in the beginning, it may have even been a somewhat serious relationship. Reportedly, the couple may have even agreed to divorce their respective spouses and, then, marry each other. Friends say the Other Woman told them that Jimmy even promised to adopt her child.
The Other Woman followed through on her part of the deal. She divorced her husband. But Jimmy reneged.
It is likely that this story will outrage a lot of people. Some will be outraged at the apparently immoral behavior of our Mayor. But some will be outraged because we not only dared to publish the truth about that behavior, but also because we dare to suggest that this immorality may slop over into his public life. Does character count or doesn't it?
Some may be critical of our publishing this story because it may hurt some people. Maybe. But don't you think that the Mayor might have thought about the potential consequences before unzipping his pants? Why should public officials expect to get a pass from the media when their immoral behavior becomes public knowledge?
How might the Weekley camp react? That remains to be seen, but in piecing together this story we did encounter a spin that we have recently seen in national politics. The reaction of one Jimmy supporter was downright Clintonesque. "That can't be true. You know, some women are attracted to power; they might make up a story like that just to make themselves seem more important."
If you hear this spin, keep in mind that the Other Woman did not come to us; we went to her— and she was reluctant to talk.
We have purposefully chosen not to reveal the Other Woman's identity here. After all, she's not the Mayor. It is the Mayor who has the moral responsibility not to lie to his constituents. You may want to remember that the next time he is trying to sell you on one of his "visions" at the behest of one or more of his bubba backers.