Some Online Critics Liken the Work of Commissioners to Cattlemen

 

Some commentors on a previous blog post want to use a cattleman's term applied to a county commissioner's performance.  Okay, well we both oftentimes deal with "BS"--- but that's about the extent of the similarities.  

Even so-- If we must force such a comparison (Cattleman/County Commissioner) I'd simply suggest this.... the county commissioner who gets things done, gets projects funded, shows up prepared, brings intelligent ideas, works well with peers, and does not foster division and drama would not rate such a comparison.  

Nope.  

By contrast---the  commissioner who talks a lot but gets little done, is disliked universally, is mired in legal/ethics allegations/complaints/court fights, can hardly get a second on a motion,  rarely gains consensus to get a project over the line, blows off meetings, is hated by staff, projects frequently, reviles employees publicly, attacks others with ad hominems and lies, and cries lika a baby online daily would be the apropos recipient of the term "all hat, no cattle" in the county commission context.  (If that hat fits, wear it 😀)

With that in mind-- let's look at what actually happened last Thursday, shall we?

Lots of things were swirling around on Thursday (Contractor Competency Board Hearing, Hiring of Wes Moreno, Lingering Homelessness Issues/discussions, etc. etc. etc.) leading up to our meeting that morning, so naturally it is not surprising that the big (Huge, actually) infrastructure items that I added to the agenda with the help and support of numerous county departments passed with relatively little fanfare and did not garner much attention.

That's right.  These items I discussed here did pass and were approved by the full board unanimously later that morning as I had believed that they would in the early morning blog post.  They are big, they are ballsy, and yes, I will  talk about these items because these are profound and timely--big win infrastructure projects that benefit residents in the central, northern, and southern portions of Escambia County.  And besides that, I'll use another western term to explain why I'll talk about them now that they are funded.  "Folks will use it as a spitoon--if you don't blow your own horn!"

You can see the actual agenda items that ultimately passed, here and here.  Again--they passed via the consent agenda, passed without even a discussion by the board, and passed unanimously.  All hat no cattle commissioners don't have the juice to get things like this accomplished.  They can't even get a second and die on the bottom of 4-1 votes frequently.  No hat, no cattle.

Here's a recap of reality, though, and what was approved via the consent agenda on Thursday.

 --$2 Million for the immediate implementation of a PD&E for the 4-laning of Sorrento Road to shave 5-years off the completion of this important project(Win for Perdido)

 --$2 Million for hardening/widening of Frank Reeder Road in Beulah (Win for OLF-8 and Beulah)

 --$6.7 Million for Longleaf Road re-work to include: drainage improvements, center lane, turn lanes,  sidewalks north and south, new signals at Pine Forest/Longleaf plus a new bridge at Wymart Road (Win for Bellview)

--$500K for Midas/Muldoon/Hogan's Pit drainage system--a lingering project that has required dedicated funding.   This project being funded now is a win for Bellview and frees up $500K from LOST IV in the out years

 --$500K for new sidewalks in Beulah along Rebel and Beulah roads (Huge win for Beulah residents and students at BAS and BMS).

So while some that get nothing done outside of banging away at keyboards all day and night long like woodpeckers are still wondering what actually happened----reality passed them all by. Because all hat and no cattle refers to someone who wears a big Stetson but has a little, insignificant ranch and no large herd of livestock. 

I'm not in the "BS" business.  I finish things, get things agendaed, and win votes to get important projects passed unlike others who struggle constantly to even get a "second."

The strugglers really are, in all respects, NO hat NO cattle.  They can't even fake it with a top hat.

And everyone (outside of the cult of 12 on one chat site--some of whom occassionally comment on this blog, too) who exactly who they are.