Pensacola stockbroker John Peacock has a problem, apparently. I'm his problem according to a screen shot I've seen now reflecting comments he has made about me on a facebook chat site.
That's cool, he can say what he wants because he has free speech. But I can and will speak my mind, too--especially now that I am attacked by him.
His (Peacock's) anger this go round apparently stems from my staunch disagreement with him about the structure of Escambia County's governance and in particular installation of a "strong" elected executive. While we did and do agree that individual commissioners should be elected county-wide--- because our decisions impact the entire county----he, Peacock believes we should have a charter county, and what he really wants is a strong, elected county executive. (I know this because he has requested multiple meetings with me and I have accommodated these in my office--where John has always been cordial and polite in his advocacy for this sort of structure when we are face to face in person) He thinks we should have a charter county with one strong figurehead he can attempt to lobby and boss around, not five individual commissioners (representing the entire county and not just downtown) to have to work through. He and a few others downtown can exert inordinate control over the county's agenda under that elected executive scenario--kind of like what happened when the schools locally used to elect a "boss hogg" superintendent which made that chief school administrator position hyper political and simultaneously all but neutered the duly elected district school board members--- making them powerless.
I say no way to that. Been there, done that, go the T-Shirt. No way, no how--and that really irritates John. I guess he's used to folks just genuflecting over the bad ideas he's peddling on behalf of truly wealthy and powerful community "leaders"that run him--- because John is a self-anointed bigshot stockbroker with self-proclaimed bigshot portfolio book of business. He thinks that affords him sway--but it doesn't obviously. So what if he's a rich downtown stockbroker, I don't care. I disagree with him, he knows it because I told him to his face in my office and also publicly when he brought this garbage to a BCC public forum. And so now he's calling me the "worst commissioner ever online" LOL.
Here's the thing though. It's not just me saying NO to this ridiculous brainchild of others he's pushing on their behalf. When he tried to pitch it to me in my office last year, he knew my thoughts then. It's not a secret, it's a NO, John. Then and now--because it is a garbage solution looking for a problem to get it's meathooks into. No. And it's a lot of people saying "NO, John." When the topic was covered in North Escambia last November--38 of 39 of the posts commenters flatly rejected it forcefully. As I told him correctly in my office--people don't want Pensacola style governance in the County. The idea is DOA when/if it comes to the county for my vote. So Peacock's lingering frustration(s) over being an inept lobbyiest for this garbage scheme manifests itself with these BS comments below, on a facebook chat site that has 11 malcontents and ZERO sway on anything.
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Instead of picking up the phone or calling me or requesting another meeting Peacock just goes on a chat site that has about 11 active members that really hate the fact that I keep winning elections and beating their candidates of choice. He goes on that site and says what he says which is untrue and I suspect he knows it's rubbish---- but he says it anyway.
I normally would not respond in such a public way to this sort of nonsense, but in this case I felt it important to respond immediately with a strong rebuttal---directly to John Peacock--not in weak fashion via a passive aggressive post on an obscure online chat site like John does. Here's the message John got back from me this morning. Directly. Let's see what he says about that! 😀
