Citizens Want Us To Fix the Roger Scott Tennis Courts

Emails, Phone Calls, and now letters.

Folks appreciate and enjoy the Roger Scott tennis facility located in the city of Pensacola----but open to use by all citizens of the county.

This letter, below, sums up much of the support and the reasons for support that I've been hearing....

Ideas Likely to Be DOA Part II

The idea of downtown "interests" moving thier under the bridge tent city problem out of the city and dumping a homeless encampment in an area of already significant blight within D1, in an area and neighborhood we have actively worked to clean up, with no notice and no communication?  Yeah, this brilliant idea is DOA..... 

Some ideas that get thrown out should die as soon as they escape someone's mouth.

Especially the dumb ones.  

Particularly the really ridiculously dumb ones.

I got blindsided on Tuesday of this past week with a frantic phone call that went a little something like this.  "Jeff, they're going to dump a homeless campground in your district!"

"What?!?  Who is---and where?"  was my response.

On Wednesday, the very next day, I asked administrator Wes Moreno about it.  He told me he hadn't heard anything about this and wasn't keen on the idea.  "I'll look into it to see what I can find out, but I am not aware of this--it's the first I'm hearing of it" he said.

Then between Wednesday and yesterday--my office received multiple angry phone calls from concerned residents on Houston Avenue in District 1.

I can assure you--there has been no coordination with the county on this "plan."  NO coordination/no communication.

We all care about folks that are down on their luck and find themselves in this predicament----but some effort must be given to thinking through the location of where to house potentially hundreds of homeless in tents.  Dumping this sort of an encampment in a neighborhood?

No, that's not going to fly.

An email I received on the topic, below, sums up the residents' fears and concerns.  The email's author also put's his finger on the jugular vein of the issue in short order:

"The proposal to move more homeless into the NEIGHBORHOOD does not seem to be a practical approach to clean up any  already blighted area.My heart goes out to any person or family that finds them self homeless.But by putting Downtown' problem onto other Neighborhoods isn't the way..There has got to be a better solution to this problem. I do not have an answer to Pensacola's homeless problem, but by moving Downtown's  problem to any neighborhood becomes someone else's problem. This can't be Pensacola's long term answer to the homeless problem. Let it remain Downtown's problem until there is a better more permanent solution. As for now bringing an unknown number of people into this area which is already stressed will be the wrong answer."

It is the wrong answer, it will be DOA....

Ideas Likely to Be DOA Part I

I'm of the opinion that the nascent, fledgling concept by some in the community--banging the drum on the necessity of a "Strong" Elected County Administrator/Mayor---will be DOA if and when it comes to a vote of the current BCC---which would be required to move such a concept forward....

Like the feather floating around the sky, eventually landing at the bus stop at the beginning of Forrest Gump (Or even the plastic trash-sack floating around in that scene from American Beauty)There are some radical initiatives swirling in the air around the county among select circles. These ideas do not appear to have support if they come before the board of county commissioners for action--so far as I can tell.  More than likely--- they won't be able to muster three votes in support, and therefore they'll be Dead on Arrival (DOA).

The first "idea" is the imposition of a "king,"  "Boss-Hog" style elected "County Mayor" to be in charge of the BCC and to implement his/her "vision" for the "community."  (and, convenieuntly, the vision of those who install such an all-powerful figurehead).

"But wait--what about the initiatives of the board and the individual board members' districts?"  one might naturally ask.

Right.  

Yes, about that....  Those initiatives, those of the 5 (or7 or 9) board members, under a strong administrator and a new fancy, whiz-bang newfangled governance "structure"---- go straight to the penalty box, the cold storage locker, or the back burner--- if not straight to the round file.  

That's the way that'd work.  Been there, done that, have the T-shirt and seen the movie....

So, yeah, uh,  no.  No thanks on that.

I don't know who had this genious idea--but it's a non-starter. Disastrous, actually.

Maybe someone drew it up on the whiteboard with X's and O's like a PeeWee football coach.

But it's a play that won't be run.   And if it was to be run---it would be a loss of yardage or worse yet, a pick-6 going the opposite way on the field.

Two podcasts last week on the #1 rated Pensacola morning radio show, Real News with Rick Outzen on AM 1370 WCOA-- illustrated the deficiencies of such a plan.  The first podcast--a candid discussion with current Mayor Grover Robinson--was very enlightening.  He has essentially lived in both sides of this question-first as an Elected County Commissioner--and then subsequently as an Elected "Strong Mayor".  He sums it up well, speaking from a unique position of firsthand knowledge, when he says unequivocally that such a system in the county "Won't work."

Then yesterday, I spoke on Rick's podcast and had similar reasons why I believe such a proposal would be, metaphorically speaking, the equivalent of a plane crashing into a mountain.

No, whoever wants it has to go through the current BCC to get it, and I don't foresee that happening.

That idea is DOA.

(If I sent this post in to our wonderful Pensacola News Journal as an Op-Ed---I wonder if they'd print it?)

Fight the Power! Part I: How Do You Fight a Goliath?

When attacked unfairly over and over---It becomes time to fight back!  How about starting out by depriving the attacker of about $100K yearly in revenue?  It's like Matt Damon's seminal question in Good Will Hunting..."Do you like Apples?.....How about them apples?!"

No, this post isn't about the Public Enemy song.  (It's more about this Kid Rock Song!, but not really)

It's actually about something far more important; it's about fighting against something that many locally perceive as a "Public Enemy."  Our only local daily print newspaper, the Pensacola News Journal.

Hypocritical, biased, and unprofessional.  Many have cancelled subscriptions, which is good, but that doesn't solve the problem.

The PNJ are hypocrites.  They allow an employee to remain---no they PROMOTE the employee----- who uses disgusting racial and misogynistic tropes---including the "N-Word"  in his cartoons.  Disgusting and unacceptable in 2021 that this goes on unabashed.  Others get cancelled, this guy gets a Gannett promotion and a syndicated cartoon!?!  See--it's all about the money for these folks.  More on that later in this post...

Is this sort of garbage acceptable in 2021?

The PNJ endorses the cartoonist's behavior and they simultaneously, incessantly bash others and report half-truths and incomplete information.  

Is this sort of garbage acceptable in 2021?

They selectively disallow certain folks and elected officials(like me lately) from submitting letters or viewpoints to clarify positions and correct the misreporting.  It's all about message control.

They do the bidding of powerful, local business intersts and allies and carry the water of these selected individuals by tailoring "news" pieces to the whims and desires of these folks--and then--insidiously--- they write editorials that are scathing and based on the very source articles that are inaccurate and present half-truths to demonize those opposed---particularly elected officials.  Kind of a nifty little trick they employ, right?  Nifty if you are not the victim of it.

But what's the PNJ's objective?  It appears that the objective is to marginalize the voices with whom they disagreee, and to "amplify" the topics of their selected patrons to a level that does not represent the community's level of interest.

A vote goes the way they don't want it?---they demonize those who made the vote until it is rescinded.

Want a change in the makeup of a board?--they jump on the bandwagon to oppose those they dislike--with unfair, inaccurate characterizations and hatchet job cartoons.

Can't control the vision and initiatives of a duly elected body?--amplify small numbers of voices that want governance models altered.  

Because now It's no longer about reporting the what, when, and where,-----the facts.  

No.  Now its more about shaping the message and social engineering.  

And more to the point---it's really, at the end of the day, all about three things:  Power, Control, and MONEY.

Gannett and PNJ purposely promote their cartoonist--the guy who uses the N-Word in his cartoons-- because he generates MONEY for their paper.  It's all about the money.  As if this isn't bad enough--they then do dozens and dozens of cartoons insinuating elected officials (with whom they disagree) are racists!  Talk about PROJECTION!  

We have African American employees in our organization---including an African American member of the Board.  We have a significant population of African Americans in our community.  It's disgusting, disappointing, and unacceptable that this form of racism is tolerated.  That's about to end.  I'm not going to tolerate it, I'm going on offense.

Andy Marlette of Gannett's PNJ says you can trust him:    ---he'd NEVER use the N-Word in a cartoon!  Who are you going to believe?  Him, or your own lyin' eyes?

So how do you deprive a GOLIATH in the community of what they love and covet above all else, MONEY--when they hold a MONOPOLY on the daily print media in a community? 

Easy:  Go after what they covet, money.

Escambia County spends as much as $100,000.00 yearly purchasing "Legal Ads" and notices, required by law, in the Pensacola News Journal.

As of the end of last month---we are cutting off this gravy-train income source the PNJ has enjoyed

On Real News with Rick Outzen Radio Show This Morning

I've been invited and will be a guest on the Pensacola area's #1 rated morning drive news station with the number one morning talk program "Real News with Rick Outzen" This morning at 7:30

I've been invited to speak as a guest on the area's #1 rated morning show on the area's #1 talk radio station, News Talk 1370 WCOA and Real News with Rick Outzen later this morning.

I'll be discussing multiple topics to include the latest on our EMS employee raises/employee poaching attempts situation, the walkover pedestrian walkway project in Beulah, the quickly fading, failed idea of a "strong" elected county administrator, upcoming redistricting maps and I'll also be debunking some mythology prevalent on certain local social-media chat/hate sites.

Should be a fun-filled, informative and entertaining interview!

(I'm certain there will be other topics discussed as well)..... 

Once the podcast goes live I will be posting it here.

Tallman McKay Once Again Shills for Doug----Disgustingly

 

Local radio entertainment host Anderw "Tallman" Mckay just goes out of his way to support and provide cover to the one County Commissioner who is responsible for ALL the turmoil on the board.  It's incredibly surreal....

Local radio host Andrew "Tallman" Mckay ran a segment very early this morning on 1620 vilifying me and taking a shot at Commissioner Barry for "daring" to question a $12Million Dollar-single bid contract that the board rightly reeled in and put back out to bid earlier this year.

The bid rejection happened a while back--- and at the time it was a 4-1 vote to do so.  Something didn't smell right, and I stand by the decision the board made that day.  Only ONE bidder on a nearly $12 Million Dollar drainage improvement job??  Like they say on ESPN  "Come on, Man?" (And had that even been awarded at that time--it is almost guaranteed that the costs would have escalated exponentially anyway with change orders ad nauseum.)  

Heck, it might have ended up costing more than what current bids are coming back...

But setting that reality aside--I found it nauseating the way the clips were selectively edited to lionize Tallman's idol and hero, Doug, while attempting to portray me as the guy who is saying "no" to a worthwhile project.  Boo hoo, that "meanie" Bergosh.  Boo hoo.....

Total BS.

What Tallman doesn't discuss is the fact that I seconded the motion, expressed support for the project, and said I realized the cost increases were not commissioner Underhill's fault.  I also indicated I would consider supporting the project for the people if Commissioner Underhill commits some additional discretionary D2 LOST funds to the project.  Slicing and dicing snippets does not a fair portrayal make.

Yes, I did mention the Bellview Library project.  Multiple times.  It was a good discussion to have, and timely to boot.  That project's costs also increased----and I ended up allocating 10% of that total project costs from my D1 Discretionary LOST funds.  So the question Tallman should ask is simple:  Why can't Doug pony up 10% to cover his cost overruns as I did?  (Currently Doug says he has allocated a little more than 3% of the costs)

But the major sevice McKay does for Doug is what he left out of the snippets he played to glorify his buddy Doug.

First-the discussion had an objective--which was to tone down the rhetoric and attacks online coming from Doug's office--his secretary and intern--directed at the rest of the board--not just me.  I said--"let's take the next year and bilaterally stop the online garbage."  And of course Doug wouldn't hear of it.  It's unprofessional and makes Doug look incredibly small when his employees engage in this conduct--as smart as Tallman wants us to believe he is--why can't he see that?  (e.g. most professional leaders would not tolerate such conduct from their employees--they would curtail it for obvious reasons or such at-will employees would be removed)  Perhaps that was too much to seek?  Who knows, but that was objective 1.

Objective 2 was to ensure that everyone who watched now knows the truth behind what is going on, dynamically, between and among the board.  So when Andrew Tallman McKay deliberatley leaves that portion out, he is being unprofessional, biased, and frankly------dishonest.

I ended my remarks by stating the facts, with a rhetorical question to Doug that was conveniently left out of Tallman's collection of audio snippets.  But it was the coup de gras.

"Doug--you and your office run us down online constantly, call us unethical, thieves, dishonest, corrupted---how do you think that helps you win votes?" 

That was the seminal question of the exchange--which put everything into proper perspective.  And that was the portion Tallman purposely left out.

Because Doug sat there and did not dispute what I said to him, didn't disavow it, didn't deny it, didn't do anything.  He just sat there and took it.  Then, he gave a facile, flaccid, mealy-mouthed response that was gibberish.

The reason D2 is a pariah is because D2 has made himself one.  He and his secretary and his intern.

Mayor Robinson on Rick Outzen's Podcast: Strong County Administrator Idea Won't Work

Mayor Grover Robinson gave an interesting take on the concept of a "Strong" Elected County Administrator on Rick's Podcast yesterday.  It was a very interesting interview and opinion.....revealing a somewhat unexpected position on the topic...

I listened to Real News With Rick Outzen's Podcast late yesterday afternoon and there were some very interesting comments from Mayor Grover Robinson.

After he was done speaking with Rick about several city issues--the topic of the pros and cons of the City Charter's Strong Mayor was discussed in depth.  And then the conversation naturally segued into the current discussions wafting around a few downtown offices about a "Strong County Administrator" type of governance structure.

As a guy who used to be a commissioner and who now wields incredible power as a strong mayor of Pensacola-- his vantage point on this topic is unique.  And I must admit I was somewhat surprised by his comments on this subject.  He said "he didn't think it would work."  Then he elaborated on his rationale for thinking this--discussing some of his current interactions with the city council  and also discussing and describing his time on the BCC and different administrators he worked with.  He also discussed our community's switch in 2020 from an elected to an appointed superintendent.

He then asked a seminal question that we should all ponder.  

"Tell me how that structure [elected county administrator] is better?"

It is a worthwhile interview to hear--for folks on both side of the issue.

I've made my personal opinion known with emphasis.

Now, apparently, the current mayor of Pensacola has as well.

I wonder if John Peacock and the others heard the interview yet?

Listen to the Podcast here.