County's "Resign to Run" Ordinance Passes Unanimously

Escambia County's Resign to Run Ordinance passed unanimously tonight--with Commissioner Doug Underhill making the motion to adopt and also voting "for" the passage of this ordinance.  And no citizens, not one, spoke in opposition to this ordinance's passage.

This evening at the BCC's regular meeting an ordinance was passed which addresses employee participation in elections for the County Commission.

Although the topic has generated no interest among the public--it had elicited much conversation from insiders, partisans, at least one (1) facebook chat/fanboy site, and entertainment radio talk show host Andrew "Tallman" McKay.  He, Tallman-McKay- even threatened to come to our meeting and "scold" us for even bringing such an ordinance.  He didn't show up to speak, though.  Nobody else did either.  Nope--no keyboard warriors, no Tallman Mckay, nobody.

And now the item has moved forward.  

The reason there was no pushback from anyone so far as I can tell, and that nobody spoke to the item at tonight's public hearing is  because such ordinances are ubiquitous in Florida. And everywhere else around America to boot.

But the truly amazing thing was this:

The motion to approve the ordinance was made by County Commissioner Doug Underhill.

Not only did he (Commissioner Doug Underhill) make the motion to approve the ordinance--he also voted "yes" on the item-which subsequently passed unanimously 5-0. 

Why was this so profound--Underhill's support of this ordinance, you might ask?

Here's why:  In 2020, Commissioner Underhill's secretary, Jonathan Owens, (who at the time was a county employee and still is) did run for another district's BCC seat.  And it was ugly.  No, not the 15 point loss suffered by Owens to the incumbent in that seat at the subsequent election--but just the toxic atmosphere the campaign and the social media produced surrounding that election produced.  Ugly, uncomforatble, toxic, and dysfunctional.

Certain union members dancing around holding Owens' signs in ridiculous costumes on the side of the roads, other union employees reprimanded for violating county policy by having Owens' campaign signs in government/county buildings, yeah--it was quite the spectacle.

That's why a lot of counties don't allow it to occur.  

Maybe now Doug Underhill gets it, too?  Maybe that's why he made the motion and voted YES?

Who knows.  And really-- who cares?

Meanwhile---I suppose Andrew "Tallman" McKay's assessment about the "outrage" over such an ordinance proved to be inaccurate.  

And unfounded.

And untruthful.

He (Tallman McKay) gets it so wrong, so often, no wonder he's not considered by anyone to be a credible "news" source.  Nope, just another entertainment host, juxtaposing his opinions all over the place, shilling for his favorite commissioner Doug Underhill, and parading it all as "news".....

and it's not news.