FRANK: I'M GETTING THREATS; CITY OFFERS POLICE PROTECTION

by Michael Monks

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Covington City Commissioner Steve Frank's comment that he wants to "go Taliban" on the Occupy Wall St & Occupy Cincinnati protestors has led to threats of death and violence from Ft. Worth, Texas to Ontario, Canada. One threat even came from Covington prompting city staff to offer police protection to Frank, who declined.

 

The threatening voice messages to his work and email may have been prompted by a national blog picking up the story and garnering more than 1,600 "shares" on Facebook and more than 130 comments from outside the immediate area. Frank tells The River City News that he does not regret the remark and has also continued to defend himself on Facebook. "I was making a point that I was upset that people painted my entire industry one way," Frank, a financial professional, said Wednesday night during an interview with theRCnews. "(The protestors) can dish it, but they can't take it."

 

Frank exacerbated the criticism when he took to Facebook to write that he is "proud to be a 1%er", a response to the Occupy movement's claim to represent the 99% of Americans on the unfair end of the economic crisis. Frank is a self-described millionaire. His recent writings include, "I think people always had it hard. Nothing new folks.", "Occupiers, Why don't you do what the millionaire's do and make a million too?", and his entire explanation shortly after it was evident that his Taliban comment struck some nerves:

I am putting the people's interest first. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My father died before I was ten and I made my own way in the world. I used to do foundation work busting rods in knee deep mud and walking the high iron to make sure bolts were put on tight enough for $2.37 an hour when they built the I-75 I-275 exchange in Erlanger. I know what its like to be broke and have ...children depending on you. I did something about it. I kept working my way up. I have been a successful financial advisor working at large Wall Street Firms helping my clients, who come from all walks of life protect and save their money. Its an honest honorable profession and one I am proud of. I know that Wall Street, like most every human enterprise has its moral failings. I did something about it. I togeather with leadership from the Financial Planning Association, the professional asscoiation of Certified Financial Planners, wrote an ethical code for our entire industry. Its called the fiduciary standard. That standard says that a client's interests must always come first. I will not stand passively by while a noble calling is besmirched. I will also not let our unions drive us into a financial black hole and I am busy fighting the local business establishment so that Covington is no longer ignored or walked on by our neighbors. No apologies for earning my way into the top 1%. Oh and not only do I and my wife pay taxes you can't believe; we still donate significant money to charity. Nancy and I just gave in 5 figures to build The College of Informatics at NKU so that maybe we could have the next Steve Jobs come from here.

Frank has a history of controversial remarks on his personal (but public) Facebook page stemming from a months-long battle for health care concessions from the city's public unions. The 55-year old is in his first term as a Covington City Commissioner.

 

SEE ALSO:

Covington: What's Happening?