Thoughts on the Primary Part I: "Tool-Boy" Marlette and PNJ have NO Say, and NO Sway :)

Andy Marlette and the PNJ, although they tried, exerted ZERO influence in this year's elections--mine in particular......NADA, Zilch...Hopefully this holds true in November as well.....

In the waning days of my recent successful primary election campaign, I must admit I was somewhat astonished that the PNJ in general, and their cartoonist Andy Marlette specifically, had not attempted to interfere more openly in my election.  There's a history between me and the PNJ---and after they pulled this disgusting, unprofessional stunt on me earlier this year--I expected more attacks.  

Then came Friday, August 7th and an out of the blue,  non-contextualized attack cartoon by Marlette against me. (below-photograph taken 8-29-20 from PNJ online site of PNJ cartoon published Friday 8-7-20).  

Just out of the clear blue sky this cartoon arrived.  The day they published it was the day before the start of 8 days of early voting for my election.  Now, I chuckled to myself when I saw this garbage cartoon  pop on the Friday before early voting--thinking Andy had probably toured my district and seen one or more of my 19 billboards deployed in D1.  Given PNJ's proclivity for attacking me-- I naturally assumed there would be an attack editorial in the subsequent Sunday paper.  But there wasn't.   Instead--they attacked two different Republican candidates (actually three different Republicans).  Anyhow--I did another Marlette Manipulation (above) and actually succeeded in properly contextualizing the dishonesty and duplicity of this publication and their cartoonist in particular--along with what is really true about them that should be plastered on billboards around this town.

And now that I have decompressed from the primary and I begin serving (if the Good Lord wills it and I do not die) what will be at a minimum the next 51 months as Escambia County's District 1 Commissioner (that's a LONG time PNJ)---I see in today's paper a "letter to the editor" is published "praising" this cartoon from 8-7-20 bashing me from before the primary.

So now is the time to challenge this misplaced "praise."  And to call out PNJ for what they are....

First off---The PNJ and their editorial board are dishonest, fake news.  

Everyone know this. They publish extreme viewpoints that alienate the majority of their ever-dwindling subscriber base--bashing Jesus Christ and Christianity, bashing public officials (exclusively conservative ones) and they promulgate viewpoints that, at least  to my district according to MANY I speak with, come off as extremely left-leaning, liberal, and out of step.  I guess PNJ doesn't understand this, but my goodness--with print-media revenues declining you would think they would at least be a little more covert with their outright contempt for the center-right majority in Escambia County.  

But no.

More troubling, though, are the personal attacks that are unfair and untrue.  For example and #1.) --the cartoon they published on 8-7-20 deceptively misleads the reader to think that I am a pawn of the folks in the community that write campaign checks--the so-called "downtown crowd." I'm not and they know it. I have routinely voted against contributors' wishes and for what was best for the people I represent--and I will continue to do so when appropriate. Meanwhile, though, every other incumbent commissioner--and several challengers in multiple other races--also got contributions from these same folks.  So why attack me exclusively?  More importantly---the only incumbent Democrat commissioner in the race got contributions from the SAME folks who wrote me checks (and he got a LOT more money from them).  The very same donors Andy apparently hates donate to us all.  But the Democrat is not scrutinized and bashed (and he should NOT BE) for taking the same money ----but I am?  That is dishonesty in media.  Dishonesty and duplicity.  (Here's a newsflash for the PNJ....there is a small, small pool of check writers locally that pay attention to politics and actually fund candidates they believe are good public servants--because they have interests affected by our decision making.  Most citizens that could afford to participate and contribute simply do not do so..... PNJ fake-news, failed logic alert:  "If these folks give to Jeff Bergosh--it is BAD!  But when the same donors give money to candidates we favor, this is FINE and we will not cover it."

#2.)  The implication that I am somehow "anti-environmental" is a lie.  PNJ knows this. I grew up fishing on the west side of Pensacola, I was a Boy Scout, and I am an environmentalist at heart!  They attempt to tie me into the issues of International Paper and their FDEP discharge permit---knowing full-well the county has NO play in that permit process--that is a Federal and State-Level Issue.  PNJ also never reported that I independently toured IP's facilities in both Cantonment and Beulah on multiple occasions and wrote extensively about these visits and what I learned.  They also never report the FACT that Perdido Bay's Health is BETTER now than it has been in the last 20 years.  No mention of this from PNJ....nope.  Goes against their narrative.  (Incidentally--when I toured IP's facilities last year, I asked and was told that neither Andy Marlette nor anyone from the PNJ had requested and taken a tour of their facilities and polishing wetlands like I did...)  Not a surprise to me--they have their minds made up already:  IP= Evil Capitalists!

#3.)  PNJ shadow banned me from writing viewpoints.  I've written dozens of these over the last 14 years and they hate it.  They just do not like it, so they simply started saying NO---- citing a policy that  ".....they do not publish the op-eds of candidates with primary or general election opposition..." [paraphrased].  But wait a second--- they did just that on multiple occasions---allowing viewpoints from at least two (2) other incumbent officeholders during this election cycle to be published in the PNJ--- even though these same officeholders had primary and general election opponents!

There is much more I could say about all of this, and there will be plenty of time for this now that the election is over.

So no, I'm not a fan of PNJ.  But they are here and so am I, so we will simply co-exist.  I'll have to deal with them, and they'll just have to deal with me.

But I will continue to call out their ridiculous partisanship, dishonesty, and duplicity for at least the next 51 months because this is America and I have the right of free speech just like they do.  And I have a platform to do it!