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| I'll be on Pensacola's highest quality, highest rated, most accurate and trusted morning drive news program--"Real News with Rick Outzen" tomorrow morning at 7:00AM. |
Rick Outzen, host of the area's best, highest-rated, most trusted and accurate source for morning-drive news programming--"Real News with Rick Outzen"--has invited me to be the week's lead-off guest tomorrow morning at 7:00AM.
The county won't be having any meetings anytime soon--however there is never any shortage of topics for discussion, so I'll be prepared to field any questions Rick wants to throw at me.
Perhaps we will discuss the garbage guest-editorial in today's PNJ--lionizing the clerk and slamming the BCC?
Perhaps we will discuss the ongoing homeless issue the city is enduring?
NFCU's new park facility opening?
Who knows, maybe he'll ask me about my free speech rhetorical question I posted on my blog that is getting hammered by hits? Or the whole bruhaha in Tallahassee?
Or maybe the issue of the "who" it will be running the new Beulah fire station once it is completed in the next few months and the old one is decommissioned.
Or the latest on OLF 8 and/or the Beulah Master Plan, or Perdido Incorporation?
There's never a shortage on what we can discuss.
So tune in live on 1370 WCOA at 7:00 or catch the podcast here, I'll post it once Rick publishes it.
5 comments:
Why would you say the guest editorial is garbage. Nothing inaccurate was stated by Mr. Higdon. Are you saying he's garbage because he supports Mrs. Childers's stance? Is that how you feel about your constituents/voters that support her?
11:54 it is Garbage. From the GARBAGE op-ed—Part 1:
"Commissioner Steven Barry requested that each Commissioner receive “backpay” because they “did not know” about the 401 (a) private pension option. This would amount to approximately $250,000 each!"
That is a LIE.
Commissioner Barry requested an opinion on the legality of such a repayment on behalf of himself and two other commissioners AND a significant number of senior-level staff members --not EACH Commissioner. Two of us were not/are not/and never would have been a part of that--a FACT that this author conveniently and I believe purposely leaves out. His broad-brush assertion in the op-ed implicates all of us, and I doubt it was an oversight. Next up, an outright LIE about setting of the rate for our retirement contribution percentage of our salaries.
From the GARBAGE op-ed.
"Also, they voted to increase the contribution rate from 51.42% to 59% of current salary. This does not come out of the employee’s own pay. It is a calculation, and it significantly increases the exorbitant amount we taxpayers have to fund."
This also a bald-faced, straight up LIE.
The state sets the contribution rate yearly for all participants in the FRS--teachers, firefighters, sheriff's deputies, and Constitutional officers like Pam Childers-- NOT US LOCALLY. This rate is what is charged for each elected official regardless of what FRS or 401(a) plan each plan participant elects to receive. I have never taken the 401(a)--I have been vested in the FRS Pension plan since my day when I was on the school board. Nevertheless--for my pension plan the county pays the same percentage of my salary that any commissioner in the 401(a) or the investment plan would have to pay---so the net cost to the taxpayers is neutral. This GARBAGE editorial does not mention this fact, conveniently.
11:54 it is Garbage. From the GARBAGE op-ed—Part 2:
Next up--this "author's" conveniently incomplete understanding of what happened in the Matt Selover Case. From the GARBAGE editorial:
"Childers, giving her interpretation of the situation, compared it to getting a speeding ticket while traveling between one county building and another, then asking the county to pay the speeding fine. I haven't fully rejected the payment, but I have not paid," Childers said. "Because I'm just not sure you would pay my speeding ticket if I was racing to a meeting, even if I pled nolo contendere (no contest)."
Number 1. This was no speeding ticket; this is a purposeful and gross diminution of the facts at issue. This was a man's 13-year career which a cabal, including the former Medical Director, the former county administrator, and the former HR director all but destroyed. Systematically, deliberately, and totally. It is the reason why our outside counsel, upon calculating the potential jury award if Selover's trial (a slam-dunk for him and his side) had gone to trial---- estimated his potential damage and subsequent award at over $800,000.00 dollars. It is why they (Insurance counsel) PUSHED for us to settle for $200K for the abhorrent, completely derelict way in which the former administrator, the former HR Director and their staff railroaded this guy. This former employee could have appealed the state's offer and fought to totally exonerate his name--and he would have been successful in doing it. Every single case the former medical director threw at him was debunked by a more seasoned, more experienced medical doctor. The settlement SAVED taxpayer's tens of thousands in additional legal fees. I suspect this author knows or should have known this as well---otherwise--why opine on something upon which you are ignorant unless there is a purpose? I've been in politics long enough to know this: Stuff happens for a reason and there are no coincidences.
Bottom line: this editorial was GARBAGE. This was probably written by either a sycophant of our clerk or a naive and well-meaning consumer of PNJ news on these topics--either of which would explain the garbage output. GARBAGE in--GARBAGE out.
Of all of the people I've encountered during my time advocating in Escambia, the lowest of the low are people who have gleefully trafficked on Matt Selover's horrendous railroading for their own celebrity and/or nefarious ends.
Anyone who says anything other than you've said about it, Commissioner Bergosh, is in my mind either an idiot or, to applify Nikki Haley's justifiable term with a fitting qualifier, pure scum.
That includes the Clerk just as much if not more than anyone, as she is well aware what went on, and had a front row and back door seat for all of it. Of all of the tools in her arsenal waging her political war on the BCC, that she would stoop to using Matt's reimbursement for the pure hell her ephemeral bestie in the administrative chair visited on him is the true and only measure of her character I'll ever need.
Is it your opinion that all Republicans are pure scum. We must all learn to get along and be good boys and girls. We must learn to be nice and respectful with our words. Pam Childers has done nothing wrong I think she is a nice lady. The facts are she is the controller she is doing her job. I can assure you there is no evil intent she is looking out for the taxpayers. I would say if you dont like the job she is doing then up and run for Clerk of Courts.
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