Even though the PNJ, with another ominous sounding headline on their front page edition this morning, wants my stolen text messages to be the center of their "story" on a former employee's qui-tam, harassment case against the county--the fact of the matter is that my text messages are irrelevant to this case.
The PNJ's article conspicuously neglects to mention the fact that I am not an operational employee of the county, I am a member of the legislative. I have no day to day management oversight of staff that bill for EMS services, nor do I have any power to direct, discipline, or control county employees. Commissioners are legislative employees. We only supervise, as a body, our attorney and administrator and individually our office assistants and interns. The administrator and his staff do the day to day supervision and management of employees. So the idea that my private thoughts and those of other citizens to whom I may have spoken to on a raft of issues, to include this former employee (who was a disaster in the opinion of many), has any bearing on this case is laughable. It's a joke.
Of course, PNJ knows this but doesn't report it. That would make a boring article, that's why.
The other fatal flaw with their front page piece and this directed attack on me purported to be news is that somehow my text messages are a part of the former employee's case of "harassment." This argument, too, fails. It fails because this former employee also made herself a public figure with public appearances, statements, and assertions to the board over and over about her perceived issues in the EMS department. She made herself a public official when she sued a local private citizen for speaking out against her and cost that citizen hundreds of thousands in legal fees. This former employee made herself a public figure with her statements in the press and other places with wild allegations--the vast majority of which were extreme exaggerations or outright lies. When you are a public figure, you are succeptible to unflattering critique--someone should wake her up and tell her this. Comes with the territory and if the kitchen is too hot, one should consider leaving. She didn't. That said-- Being an elected official and member of the commission, I have the right to ask any questions I want and speak my mind on any topic I want related to county business, including disagreening with an employee's mistreatment of other employees and her dangerous, reckless disregard for due-process rights for county employees which cost the county taxpayers more than $300,000.00 thus far, and counting. I can say and do this according to recent rulings that describe such speech by a sitting commissioner as enjoying absolute immunity under state law. Absolute, unqualified immunity. (Just look up Judge Pitre's ruling in the Underhill case which was also per-curium affirmed at the DCA) Someone should show these rulings to Ryan and Steven Andrews, too.....absolute, unqualified immunity is what we have in these sorts of discussions and comments.
PNJ knows this, too, but they don't bother mentioning it. They want to lionize this former employee,
