The Wake up Call for Wednesday, November 13th: Pensacola City Councilwoman Allison Patton on Homelessness

Homelessness, a severed-head washes up on the beach, Ice flyers fan fight, the latest tropical storm headed to the gulf and Florida possibly, and much more.  Check out today's "Wake up Call" podcast.

Listen to this morning's podcast of "The Wake up Call" with Jeff Bergosh.

We had a great conversation with Pensacola City Councilwoman Allison Patton--talking implementation of HB 1365 which is the bill that became law that prohibits camping on public property and provides for businesses to sue cities and/or counties if not enforced.  It also provides for those that sue to receive legal fees as well.

So it is a pressing issue and will have to be dealt with by Escambia County and Pensacola ( and cities and counties around the country).

We also talked about parking issues downtown, Bruce Beach, noise complaints and the mayor's Strive to Thrive plan.

Listen to the podcast here.

Wake Up Call for Friday--Winners that Win with Trump and Pensacola Sports' Ray Palmer

We had a great show this morning on WPNN.  We talked about a lot of different important issues worldwide, the continuing list of WINNERS who will benefit from the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, we talked about the Escambia County Commission meeting from Thursday, and we had an interesting conversation with Mr. Ray Palmer, Executive Director of Pensacola Sports.  

Check out the podcast here

On today's "Wake Up Call" with Jeff Bergosh: Santa Rosa County D5 Commissioner Colten Wright

We will have newly re-elected Santa Rosa County District 5 Commissioner Colten Wright on this morning's program.  We will talk his big win Tuesday, challenges Santa Rosa County is facing with growth, the results of the sales tax ballot referendum AND the likelihood of Impact Fees being introduced in Santa Rosa County to assist with a new funding stream that can help with infrastructure in Santa Rosa County.

Stay tuned for the show live at 7:00 AM

Or catch the podcast of the show here,

Wake up Call for Wednesday: Senator-elect Don Gaetz Joins us to Discuss Tuesday's Nationwide RED WAVE (Listen to the Podcast here)

We had an excellent program this morning at the WPNN Studios.  We talked about the historic, landslide victory Donald Trump had last night, we talked about the other races, and we heard from Senator-Elect Don Gaetz who won his election to be the panhandle's State Senator last night in a major landslide.

Check out the show from this morning here

Wake Up Call for Tuesday--Election Day

This morning on our election day edition of "The Wake Up Call" on WPNN--we went through all the election statistics and talked about news from around Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, and the nation.

We also had the opportunity to interview the President and CEO of the Perdido Key Area Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Tammy Thurrow.

We talked about the latest happenings in the Perdido Area of Escambia County.

We also discussed OLF 8 and previewed the Wednesday, day after the election show where we will have special guest Don Gaetz as our morning guest.

Check out today's show here!

Listen to Friday's Wake Up Call with Alex Andrade--here

 Friday morning we had a great "Wake Up Call" on the radio with State Representative Alex Andrade as our guest.

Topics included the upcoming election Tuesday, property insurance, and the ballot amendments.

Catch the podcast here.

Another Baseless Allegation Against me Gets Rebuked......Attorney Recommends Dismissal

Cerk of the Court Pam Childers' vaccuous, meritless, baseless ethics complaint against me summarily recommeded for dismissal......

It's like Deja Vu all over.

First, insiders in the county IT department stole confidential  files and disseminated them to others in contravention to law in an effort to destroy me.  No consequences to any of them for what they did-- even though what they did was a crime and possession of the PII in the stolen files is a Felony.  Ho hum.  No consequences.  Multiple people have this data, the state officials charged with enforcing laws prohibiting this know who has it, and nobody has been charged.

Nope--In lieu of prosecuting those that did wrong in stealing and passing around copies of Social Security Numbers, Tax Forms, Medical Records, Banking Information, and other sensitive data---the powers that be instead decided to cook up some BS garbage that I violated the sunshine law.  They even sent stolen text messages from my personal phone to the grand jury hoping I had done something wrong.  The grand jury, after going through three-years worth of my text messages with a fine toothed comb, quickly determined I had done nothing wrong, committed no crime, and they returned no true bill.  Case closed.

Fast forward to mid July of this year, right before the election, and I get notified that Clerk of the Court Pam Childers has filed a baseless, vaccuous, vindictive and meritless "Ethics Complaint" against me.

Now, the way these things work is they are confidential until there is a finding of a violation or when there is a recommendation of no violation by the LAWYERs who work at the ethics commission.

So, I got the complaint, spoke to the investgator, and sent in my response to the FDOE.

The prosecuting investigator pushed forward, and I pushed back---knowing I followed every law to the T.

Just because people don't like what I say, or don't like the things I said in private text messages that were stolen and disseminated unlawfully-----does not mean I have done anything wrong.

To the contrary--I follow rules, I follow the law, have never violated any law during my 18 year tenure on either the school board or the board of county commissioners.   That's why, when my head hits the pillow at night I am out like a light, and I sleep like a rock.  

So, it comes as no surprise that even after the prosecuting investigator pushed this garbage bag case forward with this garbage report---my answer quelched and squashed any notion that anything unlawful had occurred.  Blew it up like a bomb.  Blew it to smithereens.

The minute an actual expert in the law, a LAWYER with FDOE looked at the prosecuting investigator's report and my response side by side---it was almost an instantaneous recommendation by the Lawyer for dismissal.  From the FDOE LAWYER's order:

"There is insufficient evidence to reflect that Respondent brought the matter to the County Commission in a manner that was inconsistent with the proper performance of his public duties.  While County Attorney Rogers initially opined that Selover's request to pay the fine and fees should be rejected, she then offered an alternative option that the County Commission voted to accept as a means to pay the fines and fees.  Therefore, based on the evidence before the commission, I recommend that the commission find no probablecause to believe that Respondent violated Section 112.313(6), Florida statutes."

Sunday Afternoon Campaign Warm Up for Congressmen Chip Roy and Matt Gaetz

Congressman Chip Roy (R) TX joined Congressman Matt Gaetz (R) FL yesterday afternoon in downtown Pensacola for an early voting kickoff event/campaign rally.

Well attended, the event featured multiple speakers warming-up for the two Congressmen--including State Representative Michelle Salzman, Former Senate President Don Gaetz, and myself.

It was truly a fun, energy infused opportunity to tackle some fairly red-meat national Republican Issues--which I keep up on ----  so I was very pleased I got the invite to launch on some of the national stuff.

The congressmen both implored the audience to get out and vote early--they also challenged the audience to keep a close watch on some of the moves in other parts of the country to allow for illegal aliens to vote in our elections. They both also talked about their efforts to re-work the military to be lethal, survivable, capable, less-woke, and used sparingly--as they also warned about the "swampy" lobbyists and others that are driving military spending that isn't necessarily aligned with what is best for our military--or for our country.  All of these are real concerns, and these gentlemen drove the point home with emphasis--- much to the delight of the crowd!

You can see the warm ups and the comments from the Congressmen here.

Great Early Voting Campaign Kickoff Event Yesterday in Bellview!

We had an excellent "first day of early voting" kickoff event yesterday in Bellview at the Intersection of Blue Angel Pkwy and Pine Forest Road.  We had a great showing of citizens and other interested folks stop by to join us--including multiple First Responders!  We had an ECFR firefighter, a retired volunteer firefighter, a corrections sergeant, as well as Andy Hobbs from the ECSO and our Sheriff Chip Simmons stopped by.  It was great--so many waves, honks, thumbs ups, and positive vibes.  Heck--we even had a horse come by that supports our campaign!  (Thanks to Horse Rides of Pensacola!).  I am so honored to be the candidate in this race that is the choice of public safety:  Humbled and proud to have the endorsement of Sheriff Chip Simmons, the NW Florida Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association, The Escambia County Professional Firefighters, and many more law enforcement professionals.  Thank you all for your support!  Let's Go!!

Great day--9 days to go.

www.jeffbergosh.com

#VoteBergosh

#Bergosh2024

Paid for by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commission

Vote for the CHOICE of Public Safety: Vote for Jeff Bergosh in the August 20th Republican Primary!

Humbled and honored to be the choice of first responders in the August 20th Republican Primary!

Vote August 20th
Vote Early starting August 10th

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Vote Bergosh! 

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner District 1

I'll be on "Real News with Rick Outzen" Tomorrow Morning at 7:30 to Recap BCC Budget Meeting

I've been invited, once again, to appear on the area's best, most trusted, accurate, and listened-to morning drive news talk program--Real News with Rick Outzen on the station with the area's best top to bottom lineup of talent--AM 1370 WCOA

I've been asked to appear at 7:30  on tomorrow morning's "Real News with Rick Outzen" on 1370 WCOA.

We will be discussing Tuesday's BCC Budget meeting and any other relevant topics.

Tune in live at 7:30, or catch the podcast here.

Perdido Bay Boat Ramp Opens This Tuesday at 11:00

 

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.

Another Big Endorsement?

I am posting this picture for about 15 or 16 “friends” on one particular Facebook site. I’m sure they will have a field day with it. They will say I should be investigated for damaging a local business with an inferior campaign sign. They will demand an investigation. At least one guy might even send a letter to the Governor. To which I will simply  say, the wind brought me this free advertising and endorsement from a national chain! And in honor of the wind giving me so much free advertising at a super busy McDonald’s I will today enjoy for lunch a delicious chocolate milkshake a double quarter pounder with cheese, French  fries and an apple turnover for the free solid that McDonald’s has given me here.  I know this meal will cost me between $25 and $26 but I’ll bring $30 just in case Biden‘s inflation has made it even more costly.  (I would thank the Hamburgler and Grimmace— however they were canceled in 1995 and 2002 respectively for political correctness’ sake…..and the burger clown supports a different candidate whom he’s desperately and unsuccessfully trying to make smile 😃)

(This post is a parody.)

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, For Escambia County Commission District 1

Our Campaign was Endorsed by District 1 Florida State Representative Michelle Salzman

Jeff Bergosh and Michelle Salzman, 2023

From Representative Salzman:

"In the August 20, 2024 primary election for District 1 Escambia County Commissioner, I support Jeff Bergosh. Jeff works hard, gets things done, and speaks his mind. He is intelligent, he studies the issues, and he is decisive. He gets involved in our community by mentoring at-risk students and serving 14 years on the Pensacola Chamber's Military Affairs Committee. He has actively served on dozens of boards locally over the last two decades--and his work and leadership on the state's Department of Transportation as the past chairman ot the Transportation Planning Organization is now paying dividends as hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding has come to Escambia County--much of it in District 1--and some more very large appropriations are in the pipeline, headed our way. Jeff actively follows important state issues working through the legislature and we have communicated on several bills during the legislative session in real time. I hope you'll join me in support of Jeff Bergosh for Escambia County Commissioner District 1 on August 20th"

--Michelle Salzman, Republican,

Florida State Representative for District 1

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner Dist. 1

WaWa Comes to Escambia County's District 1!

I was invited to attend a community celebration of a new business coming to town today in District 1.

WaWa stores are a staple all along the East Coast and even in the peninsula of Florida.

But the panhandle of Florida does not have a WaWa.

That is about to change, and today I was invited to the groundbreaking of the first area WaWa store in my district, District 1, in Escambia County.  As a matter of fact, there will be, within the next two years, a total of THREE (3) WaWa stores in District 1.  One will be at the Ransley Station Development on Pine Forest Road (the site of today's event) and the next two will be at Beulah Road and 9-Mile Road and Blue Angel Pkwy and U.S. 98. 

 

So D1 will be getting 3 WaWa's.

Some might say--why get excited about a gas station?

But WaWa is much more than that.:  

At today's celebration (which drew nearly 200 citizens, the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, our County Sheriff, myself, and State Rep. Michelle Salzman)--it was shared with the group that several locals had been BEGGING WaWa HQ to bring an outlet to Escambia County.  In fact, one couple was recognized by the WaWa executives present because for the last 10 years they wrote letters to WaWa HQ pleading with them to bring a WaWa to Escambia County!

The culture of this company is exceptional.  They are privately held, with employess holding a 38% stake in ownership.  And it was announced that after only one (1) month--newly hired associates can begin participating in the WaWa stock ownership program.  Eecutives from the company thanked our local community for the warm welcome, and described the WaWa Foundation's $160 Million Dollars in donations to local nonprofit organizations in communities where WaWa has a presence.  They even donated $2,500 to Feeding the Gulf Coast today at the groundbreaking!  On top of this--the welcome celebration included food, beverages, smoothies, a coffee bar, and give-aways including WaWa T-shirts and other knick-knacks.

This is the way to enter a market.  I was really impressed with these folks I met and spoke with today.  

I think what they bring to our community will be an opportunity for many of our citizens that want to work and grow with an established, reputible organization.

I look forward to watching thier success!

511 Petitions, Nearly 2 Months Ahead of the Deadline

Today I turned in 511 signed petitions for my re-election to the Escambia Board of County Commissioners.

Thanks go out to all the District 1 registered voters who signed my petition to get on the ballot.

Because I was able to get these petitions, I will save nearly $5,500.00 in qualifying fees.

Thanks again, District 1, for your incredible support!

Again!

Political Advertisement paid for and approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner District 1

One Way Communications are NOT a Meeting Out of the Sunshine

Lots of ignorance on display at last night's meeting to foment ill-will on the board and to create chaos on the fourth floor.

At the center of the circus was District 2 commissioner Mike Kohler and his secretary Steve Stoberger--who both utilized their position(s) to make ominous pronouncements, bloviate on ridiculous conspiracy theories, and level baseless allegations against me to score points politically.

The ultimate goal for them is to see the D2 secretary, Strohberger, elected to D1--where he will have to run against me to make that happen.  

Reminds me of the type of garbage the former D2 Commissioner and his secretary tried to do.  LOL.

Similar to these previous attacks and machinations against me from the former commissioner and the last D2 secretary---- these new ones by the new guys will not be successful either--because at the end of it all I have done nothing illegal--never have and never will.

One citizen, Glen Conrad ( a loyal acolyte of disgraced former commissioner Doug Underhill), also made some salacious, unfounded, and ignorant allegations that were baseless.

At the heart of the targed attack last night was their (Conrad, Kohler, Stroberger) pious "feeling" that an investigation into what they believe to be a sunshine law violation "needs be initiated. " They set aside the fact that all information related to this matter has already been provided to law enforcement as a part of at least two currently ongoing investigations and now two court proceedings, one of which focuses on  the much more serious criminal allegations that protected records were stolen in violation of  Fl Stat. 817.5685.  And news articles and other information was out last week--so folks are aware of what was put in the PNJ article, and the important officials that would investigate any allegations of sunshine law violations already know about what's happening-----Mike, Glen and Steve.

But what Mike, Glen, and Steve need to read is this:  One way communications do not constitute a violation of sunshine or a meeting out of the sunshine.  As I stated at last night's meeting--I've been at this work a while now, and have a plenary understanding of these laws and requirements, unlike Commissioner Kohler who is new and continuously displays this.  

A number of years back I hired a powerhouse Tallahassee firm to provide an opinion on just this topic--one way communications between board members and potentially using an internet website as an intermediary--with controls.  It is legal as long as responses are not solicited back to the sender prior to an in the sunshine meeting and as long as a record of what is sent is maintained as a public record.  From the  opinion I independently solicited, paid for,  and received:

In the case of the PNJ hatchet job that apparently triggered the trio of individuals last night to call for an investigation----the PNJ article itself demonstrates there was no chance the sunshine law was implicated.  They should re-read it S-L-O-W-L-Y. 

There was an admonition NOT to solicit a response, and the record of what was given was maintained.   Moreover--under oath the citizen to whom I was speaking about my redistricting plan said he has not delivered messages between commissioners, and there is no evidence he did so in this case.  Finally,  no response ever came back, no polling was done of board members, and an alternate plan was adopted at the regular, advertised meeting that followed a few days later.

Be upset about what you want, but be careful about making baseless, unfounded, and frankly ignorant accusations about me.  

As I said in the meeting, Mike is a nurse, I am sure he is much more adept than I at inserting catheters, cleaning bed pans, giving patients shots, changing linen, inserting IV's and performing spongebaths.  He's probably very adept at doing these things at doctors' direction. Good, I'm glad that is his specialty (I say this in no way to denigrate him or his profession-----my own daughter is a nurse!) 

However, with respect to local board politics and board dynamics with his action, recent votes, comments, and antics last night----------it appears Mike is tone-deaf and has much to learn about getting consensus on the BCC.  Even last night he ranted over something chastising the board and encouraging us to vote NO!--Then we turned around and without a single word of debate voted to approve the item which was wholly appropriate and necessary.

Mike just doesn't know how to read a room.  He's starting to rack up a lot of these 4-1 and 3-2 losses.

Luckily he and his secretary have a few more years left to learn.  Hopefully they'll get it sorted.

In the meantime, some may not like my responses to this one citizens last night, Kohler, and his secretary Stroberger----so be it.  When someone is trying to stick my head in a political gullotine with pious ignorance, ad hominems, and dubious, unsubstatiated claims--never be surprised if I defend myself aggressively.

In fact, you can count on it.  😃

For Gannett's PNJ---- the Ends Justify the Means

Criminal conduct must not ever be induced, rewarded, or countenanced.  Otherwise it will continue and grow.

It's why when demand for catalytic converters by scrap yards, regardless of the origin of such parts, was remunerative for theives and the scrap metal markets alike--the expensive,exasperating issue of folks having their catalytic converters stolen from their cars swept the nation.  Scrap yards could buy boxes full of these valuable parts from anonymous, shifty, sketchy and unknown individuals, shrug their shoulders and say, "We followed the law--WE didn't steal these."  Then a raft of states dealt with the demand side of that illegal activity/trade  by passing laws that put the onus on the "buyers" of catalytic converters (scrap dealers) to verify the origin of the individual parts prior to buying them.  These laws also made unauthorized possession of such parts illegal.  Now these crimes are on the decline--because the inducement and normalization of the improper, unlawful conduct has been removed, appropriately, by legislators.

Ditto for scrap copper theft around the nation.

This is why it is important to deal in facts and ignore distractions as it pertains to the current issue in Escambia County of what appears to be criminal conduct by those who stole county files and disseminated them unlawfully, continue to possess them unlawfully without authorization, and disseminate them inappropriately. 

Words are important, too.  

These are stolen county records--the sort of records that mere possession of which is a crime. A theft has happened.  It is potentially criminal. PNJ minimizes and attempts to sanitize this by calling this an issue of "Leaked" files.

Worse, Gannett's PNJ condones the theft of these files by continuing to possess and publish stories from them--which will invariably induce and embolden others to inappropriately steal files in the future--  here and elsewhere--from those with whom they disagree politically.

So individual aspects of this whole sordid event must be dealt with separately.

The issue of these stolen files and their continuing, unlawful, unauthorized possession by multiple individuals and Gannett--- in contravention to state law--- is one stand alone issue that is being investigated , a court action has been filed, and soon this matter will be litigated.

A separate issue is Florida's Public Records law and how it meshes here with files that have been stolen from the county's computers while such files were in the care and custody of the county--creating a condition where multiple individuals and entities now have possession, apparently, of a complete file the majority of the contents of which are actually private and not public records. Much of  this file contains privileged, confidential, Personal Identification Information, and individual personal medical records on more than a dozen local citizens that would never be released under any public records request anywhere in Florida ever.  Gannett knows this.

1. Stolen records

2. Public Records Law

Two separate issues.  And again-- Gannett's PNJ know that.  They are also aware of the fact that in 18

A Great Day and a Great WIN for Beulah Yesterday!

I was honored to be asked to participate in a fantastic ribbon cutting ceremony this morning at Navy Federal Credit Union's Pensacola Campus. The facility opening is a beautiful athletic complex with pickleball courts, beach volleyball courts, basketball courts, a large softball/baseball field, a huge open-air pavillion and miles of walking trails. The assembled gathering of more than 200 citizens heard greetings from NFCU CEO Mary Mcduffie, who traveled down to Pensacola for this event. According to the folks from NFCU, this park will be accessible and usable by the citizens of our community--not just NFCU employees--which is a HUGE win for Beulah, District 1, and Escambia County! Can't wait to walk those trails!  Check out the coverage of this great event from WEAR channel 3, here.  NorthEscambia covered it here. Troy Moon of the PNJ also did a piece and it has a very nice photo gallery of 35 shots from the event, check it out here

Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for the New Bear Jones More Reeves Science, Center for Math and Advanced Technology Building at PSC

I was invited to attend the grand opening of a brand new facility at Pensacola State College yesterday morning.  The new facility, named the Bear, Jones, Moore, Reves Center for Math and Advanced Technology Building, was completed and opened recently after having been funded by multiple sources to include Escambia County, Pensacola, Santa Rosa County, and the generous families for which this facility was named.

President Ed Meadows gave remarks, as did Mayor DC Reeves and the families that contributed toward the costs of constructing this facility.

Although he could not be present due to illness, State Senator Doug Broxson was represented by Hal George, who gave remarks.

Dr. Meadows profusely thanked the Senator for his support of the funding of this facility.  "Without the support of Senator Broxson in Tallahassee, we would not be standing here today" he stated

I had planned to sit in the back and just listen and watch the speakers, little did I know I was on the program to give remarks.

But I was appreciative of the opportunity to spotlight just what a great asset PSC is to our community and how I went, initially, to PJC to start my college career.  I also pointed out that two of my three children as well as my brother all got their AA degrees from PSC.

"This college is the launch pad for many citizens in our county, and one of the greatest attributes of this facility is the low cost tuition.  If a student works hard, he/she can attend and pay as they go, graduating debt-free" I commented.

I thanked everyone that contributed, and also Dr. Meadows and the board of trustees for their leadership in getting this facility funded, designed, and constructed so that it can serve this community's students for decades to come.