When mayoral candidate Jim King attempted to get the records of his 1981 divorce case sealed from public view, he should have known it would be a problem in an age in which transparency in government is a leading issue.
And when the Courier-Journal wrote about the case, he should have answered the paper's questions, let the story run its course and moved on.
Instead, he took the case to court and attempted to persuade a judge to seal the records, arguing that the publication of those records would hurt his family (not to mention his political future).
But King should have realized that the records, like anyone's divorce proceedings, are open to anyone that wants to see them, and his family members could have gone down to the courthouse to take a look anytime they pleased.
He also should have realized that most voters won't dismiss his candidacy for Mayor because he didn't handle marriage well when he was 18. The fact that he's reconciled that relationship and moved on speaks more to his character than whatever happened 28 years ago.
King, in a letter to the C-J on Saturday, wrote that he's dropping the matter in court and won't attempt to keep the records sealed. So any media outlet, or political opponent, can pull up the records and try to use them against him.
But let's hope voters don't based their decision on something that happened in the '80s. While every politician's personal life is fair game on the campaign trail, voters deciding on who's best suited to lead our city should consider King's full record as a public servant.
It's about time Someone that wants the public trust finally does the rigt thing!...Way to go Jim King.....If all the politicans would just be open and honest we could possibly get somewhere!
I don't know that dropping the matter now really counts as some bold character statement. The fact is that the information is already out there. Continuing to fight about it in court will just drag the issue through the media again and again. Dropping it is just politically smart. Being politically smart is fine, but I don't think it's a huge vote of confidence.
What kills me is that people don't vote for someone based on there qualifications for the job, but instead they dive into someones personal life, or vote on that person because of some outside quality that they like. This is why we get some grade A Jackasses in office. I don't know much about King, but in general the American people need to quit being such busy bodies, and focus on someones skills over any other flaw they might have.
Politicians, like the rest of us, make mistakes. 
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