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I'm humbled for the support, and very appreciative of his vote of confidence and the kind words. I look forward to the working with the Sheriff over the next four years!
This morning the screening board for the NW Florida Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association interviewed all the candidates for the District 1 Republican primary election for County Commissioner.
I was just notified by telephone that I was selected, unanimously, as the candidate they will be endorsing in this election.
PBA representative Chase Horne called with the news. "We will be making a formal announcement and putting out a press release on Monday indicating you have our endorsement---but in the meantime you are free to announce this however you would like" said Mr. Horne.
Thank you very much for this powerful, prestigious endorsement--I am very grateful and look forward to working collaboratively with PBA over the next four years to make our Sheriff's Office and our Corrections Division the envy of the region!
I've known Congressman Matt Gaetz for over ten years. When he was in the Florida legislature, I worked with he and his father, Don Gaetz, on some significant legislation related to public education. In 2007 I went to Tallahassee to support the Teacher Merit Award Plan--signature legislation from then Senator Don Gaetz who was at that time serving his first term in the legislature.
In 2018 I called Rep. Gaetz to ask his opinion on opening a "back door" out of the burgeoning NFCU campus onto a federal roadway rest stop--to ease traffic congestion in Beulah. He looked into the matter and was happy to assist. Unfortunately--what we tried to do could not be accomplished.
In 2020--as COVID 19 was ravaging the nation, I spoke with now Congressman Gaetz on the implications on local governments of the shut downs, beach closures, etc.
In 2021, Congressman Gaetz came onto my Coffee with the Commissioner program on Facebook and we talked about a lot of important issues.
And recently--the chairmen of the boards of all four panhandle counties worked with Congressman Matt Gaetz on supporting the increasing of the amount of housing allowances for our military men and women in the panhandle, and nationwide.
I've had Rep. Gaetz's phone number for years--but I've rarely called him. But he has always been receptive when I have reached out.
And he has been incredibly helpful many times.
So when I spoke with him recently about my campaign for re-election to the county commission and potentially earning his support and endorsement--he was receptive--which was humbling.
After all--he is one of the most influential Republican figures in the United States of America. Period.
I'm pleased to announce that as of this evening, Matt Gaetz has now officially endorsed me in the August 20th Republican primary election for Escambia County Commissioner, District 1.
He has also made a generous contribution to my campaign account.
Thank you very much Matt for the gracious words and support----keep up the great work in DC!
At last week's meeting of the Florida/Alabama Transportation Planning Organization, some fairly significant news was shared with the group assembled in Gulf Breeze.
A long awaited project to resurface the state's Sorrento Road from Bauer Road Eastward to Blue Angel Parkway is fully designed, funded, and will be let to a contract this December.
Currently--this roadway is littered with potholes and uneven pavement. It has also been the scene of numerous fatal accidents over the last several years.
This project will resurface the road, add paved shoulders, and other improvements. The larger project to 4-lane this roadway is moving up the priority list---from #18 (where it lingered under a former commissioner) to now being #6 under new district leadership.
Look for much more on this roadway-but in the meantime--take a look at the project details, below.
People are upset about the "homeless" situation in Pensacola.
Folks are camping in the woods, starting fires, doing drugs, panhandling, and engaging in antisocial activities that most find unsightly.
So folks want action.
The county has enacted an effective ordinance to prevent folks from creating distractions on the roadways and on road medians and islands in the county. It was a well-written ordinance that allowed for sheriff's deputies to enforce it. So the city duplicated it and enacted it there, too. Word for word.
Now the county is giving homeless individuals one-way tickets out of our area.
It is called project reconnect.
And it is working, and it is cost effective.
We find folks who are homeless but who have families and/or support systems elsewhere, in their hometowns, or other places. Once we confirm they have such support--we pay their one-way ticket back. We have earmarked $30,000.00 for this program and have assisted DOZENS in getting back home. And we have not even spent one third of the allocation in doing this.
Recently, commissioners were given this update from staff on this important initiative:
"So far, this program has relocated 38 homeless individuals to various location throughout the United States back to Family, Friends, and Supportive Housing. We have spent $9,470.33 for those individuals out of the original $30,000 that the County allocated. In 2017 a study was completed and the average cost of long-term homelessness in Central Florida was $36,000 per year per person that was spent on inpatient hospitalizations, emergency room fees, incarceration and other systems associated with homelessness. This means we have saved Escambia County taxpayers $1,368,000.00 a year by locating the 38 individuals back to other communities where they have a support system."
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| If it is, indeed, illegal to merely possess the personal identification information of Florida Citizens by folks who are unauthorized--why has nothing been done about the multiple individuals that have now publicly admitted possession of such data in direct contravention to 817.5685 Florida Statutes? I am going to ask and find out....... |
Earlier today---I saw that some information was published to an online, Facebook chat site that is relevant and pertinant to continuing litigation the county has with several defendants.
Folks have GOT to realize that publishing information that is ILL-GOTTEN and unlawful to possess and disseminate will come with severe consequences.
Because identity theft and hacking of folks' personal information is an ongoing, vexing problem for prosecutors, law enforcement, and local governments at all levels.
These unlawful disseminations of sensitive data can lead to hacking, identity-theft, and other nefarious actions by bad actors who break the law.
So I had no choice but to notify Law Enforcement and County Legal about what had occurred. We will see what happens from here, but this is serious stuff..........
From my email, today:
"Good Morning Agent XXXXXXXX,
District 1 Commissioner
Escambia Board of County Commissioners
221 Palafox Place Suite 400
Pensacola, FL 32502
850-595-4910 office
850-377-2209 Voicemail
www.jeffbergoshblog.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/
Twitter-- @jeffbergosh"
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| I'll be on with Rick at 7:00 AM tomorrow, live in the studio. LOTS to talk about! Tune in Live! |
Once again I have been invited to appear on the area's best and most trusted, respected, and listened-to morning drive news program--"Real News with Rick Outzen" on the station with the area's best top to bottom news-talk line up---1370 WCOA.
Rick has asked me to come on to promote tomorrow's historic ribbon cutting for what will be the Panhandle's finest boat launch and recreation facility--the Escambia County Perdido Bay Boat Ramp.
This facility is and will be an amazing asset for all the citizens of the west side of Escambia County. All citizens are invited and encouraged to attend tomorrow's celebration and ribbon cutting!
I'm certain Rick will have some primary election questions for me as well, so be sure to tune in. I will be prepared to answer any question put to me, just as I always am.
Learn more about the boat ramp facility here.
Listen live, and if unable to do so--I'll post the podcast here once Rick publishes it.
District 1 and the staff of Escambia County's Natural Resources and Marine Services Division welcome the public to the Perdido Bay Boat Ramp ribbon cutting Tuesday, June 18, at 11 a.m., 10808 Lillian Highway. One or more Escambia County Commissioners may be in attendance.
The boat ramp is Escambia County's first large public access to Perdido Bay. The new 40-acre facility is located on Heron Bayou and includes a two-lane boat ramp, 62 parking spaces for vehicles with trailers, 22 parking spaces for vehicles without trailers, and a stormwater treatment facility. In addition, a new channel measuring at 2,260 feet long by 40 feet wide and a depth of 5 feet has been dredged from the launching facility to Perdido Bay. Additional passive recreational opportunities include a landing area along the Perdido paddling trail with two campsites and 11 acres of wetlands placed into conservation.
“I am excited for all the citizens on Escambia’s west side to have such a fantastic community amenity," Commissioner Bergosh said. "We have all worked very hard for a long time to bring this project to fruition, and I can’t wait to cut the ribbon on this and open it up next week for the boaters of our county."
In 2013, the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners funded the acquisition of the Perdido Boat Ramp property for $1.24 million through Local Option Sales Tax III. Project design was paid through a grant from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Vessel Registration Fees. Construction was funded through U.S. Treasury RESTORE Direct Component funds, American Rescue Plan Act funds and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Natural Resource Damage Assessment Coastal Protection Fund. Hewes and Company, LLC constructed the new facility.
For more information about the boat ramp, please contact Escambia County Natural Resources Management at 850-595-4988.
I'm a free speech Republican--always have been. I say what I think and I stand by what I say. Read this blog and you'll know that.
With this as the backdrop--I was contacted by a constituent yesterday who was distressed about some policy issues regarding the library in Bellview, District 1. (and other branches)
So I called her and listened to her issue about several books that were/are ABSOLUTELY age-inappropriate being in the young adult section of the library. She told me Commissioner Kohler would not return her calls.
These books had pictures, discussed masturbation, sex, and also said that regardless of what some religions might preach on the topic of masturbation----that masturbation is not a sin and is normal.
Look, I'm not a prude, I don't believe in book burning, and I am a fairly open-minded individual.
BUT EVERYTHING has to be age appropriate and the job of discussing these sensitive topics like masturbation and how it is juxtaposed with religious beliefs--- to children------ belongs to the family and the parents---not liberal, woke rubbish masquerading as "children's" books in the children's section.
If a family wants to buy those sorts of books, they can. This is America.
But I don't want to see this garbage in the kid's section of our public library. Period!
So, I immediately contacted Todd Humble and he sorted out the problem instantaneously. Kudos to him.
Then I was forwarded this email from a group of constituents that were very pleased with the responsiveness of Todd and his team at the Libraries. Here is the email:
Finally! I have put in three calls now to Mike Kohler , and 1 to each of the other county commissioners. The only one who returned my call today was Jeff Bergosh. He told me that he would immediately contact the head of the Escambia County Public Libraries, Todd Humble, and have him call me. About 30 minutes later, that is exactly what happened. This guy is the real deal. They are removing several books that somehow , he said, trickled through. He has also called all his librarians (One is also no longer employed, btw.) and told them they had to start going through the books, especially in the Early Reader and Juvenile Section. Several of the ones that I shared with him (several parents had too) are going to be shredded. Others will be moved to the appropriate sections. I was so pleased with this conversation. I sent him links to the books that we have found in our public school libraries, in case he wanted to cross-reference. I also told him he has helped to avoid a major media situation.This is the way things should be handled. Jeff Bergosh earned a lot of brownie points with me today, and so did this Library Director!God is good.XXXXXXX"
Clerk Pam Childers fired off an angry round of emails this afternoon, directed at me.
She is angry that I told the truth in this blog and dang-it---she doesn't like that.
After I was completely exonerated of the ridiculous "crimes" the D2 commissioner and his secretary had baselessly and inaccurately accused me of, I requested the proof of the vindication so I could publish it.
The clerk could have (and should have) sent it immediately.
It was the right thing to do.
Nope--she instead wanted me to twist in the wind and wait through the long holiday weekend to get it the following Tuesday.
Thankfully------The State Attorney's Office provided the document that same Friday afternoon (just like Pam could have and should have done) so I could publish it that Friday Afternoon.
Pam didn't like the fact that I published the truth. The truth is she and her attorney would not release it Friday--telling our attorney they "couldn't" release it. Which is/was a garbage, BS Lie. They didn't want me to have a win going into the weekend so they withheld this one document they could have easily released.
When they lie, I tell the truth.
Pam didn't like that........so she dumped this garbage email into my inbox late this afternoon:
"Commissioner Bergosh,
It was brought to my attention last week that you have made
some false, defamatory and damaging statements on your blog about abut me as
the Clerk and my General Counsel Codey Leigh as it relates to the Grand Jury
and your request for information. I thought about asking you about this
while at our most recent Board of County Commission meetings but thought I
would give you the opportunity to address this via email.
PAM CHILDERS
Clerk of the Circuit
Court & Comptroller
First Judicial Circuit, Escambia County"
To which I simply replied:
To which She came back and said.....
"To state “YOU requested and I refused” is a blatant lie and
you know it. So the County Attorney requested it on your behalf, an email
sent and received Friday afternoon of Memorial Day. Proper procedures
were followed and the document was released Tuesday morning following the
Monday holiday…. this is within 8 business hours. This is a typical
turnaround time for a court document due to statutes/court rules that must be
followed, not to mention this type of document is not electronic but is a lock
and key situation. The request made had information appended to it that
was not consistent with the document that we had in our files.
Once protocols were followed as to grand juror names, County
Attorney Rogers was given the document…and she thanked us for it. There
was no emergency nor a request on your behalf.
To which I replied (and recieved NO RESPONSE.....)
"I requested it through the attorney, not a lie. It is
a fact of reality.
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| I was informed yesterday that the FBI Investigation into who stole county records is still open......... |
"Where's the FBI on their investigation?"
Curiously--this was a question that was asked of my by the State Attorney's Office (SAO) two weeks ago when I spoke to them. I was talking to the SAO about what I could/could not say with respect to the "No True Bill" that had been handed down by the Grand Jury earlier that week--- vindicating me of any wrongdoing surrounding stolen text messages from my phone.
At the time it seemed like a curious question for the State Attorney's office to ask of me---as the FBI investigation into who stole and unlawfully disseminated unredacted personal identification information from the county has been going on for just shy of one full year. Actually, Tuesday the 11th will make one full year.
On the 11th if June last year--I met with the FBI and the County Administrator in my office where both Administrator Moreno and I signed blanket release forms allowing the search of all the county files the FBI had confiscated that day--"for evidence of any crime." We both signed it on the spot.
So why's the SAO asking me what the FBI is doing? Surely that matter, the FBI's investigation into stolen county files, must have been concluded by now I thought?
So I asked a question back of the SAO and did not really get a good answer. "Has the investigation from the FBI not been given over to the State Attorney yet?" I asked.
I didn't get a good answer.
So I waited a couple of weeks.
Monday and Wednesday of this week I called my FBI POC, the investigator assigned to this. I left a series of messages explaining to him that the county has a fairly significant hearing on Monday and "if
Attorney Alison Rogers sent Board Members the below review of the contract from Tri-W Development, LLC., and CAH Developments, LLC., late Friday afternoon for the purchase of 540 acres at OLF 8. These points will be discussed Thursday during the board's meeting.
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| I'll be on at 7:00 with Rick Outzen and Sena Madison on the station with the BEST up and down News Talk line up---AM 1370 WCOA |
I've been asked once again to appear as the lead off guest on the area's best, most trusted, accurate, and widely listened-to morning drive news talk program---"Real News with Rick Outzen" on AM1370 WCOA.
I'll be on this morning at 7:00AM discussing the latest offer sent to the BCC---a $36 Million Dollar offer for the whole field.
Should be an interesting discussion. Tune in live at 7:00 or catch the podcast here once Rick publishes it.
