Avila's antics aren't just for breakfast. His regime has also attracted attention by ordering up a special badge and windbreakers - perhaps for SWAT-style raids on nursing homes - and for attempting to evict an insubordinate bloodmobile from the secretary's parking space.
But the sandwich suit raises the troubling possibility that the secretary's peacocking has crossed the line between tragicomic sideshow and taxpayer expense. The owner of the diner, Richard Hanna, has sued for $500,000 on the grounds that Avila "abused his power as a public official in a personal vendetta based upon personal animus."
He appears to have a point. After engaging in a heated dispute with Hanna - which apparently ended with the secretary demanding (what else?) "Do you know who I am?" - Avila lodged a complaint with local health authorities. They inspected the diner but found no major violations.
The secretary also e-mailed another department in an effort to kill Hanna's bid to manage the Capitol cafeteria, writing with palpable hauteur, "It is my professional opinion that they should not have any nexus to food services with the Capitol." Hanna didn't get the contract.
An Avila spokeswoman says the lawsuit is frivolous, and Gov. Corbett has so far stood by his Marquis de Health. Now his loyalty may come at the cost of taxpayer-funded legal representation and more.
We may never know whether it was the egg or the chicken. But there's clearly no doubt in Dr. Avila's mind which comes first: He does.
