Another PNJ Editorial Explodes on the Launchpad......Part II: MAD Magazine meets The ONION

Sunday's PNJ Editorial reads like a news feature from MAD Magazine or the Onion.  Fake news:  Biased, ignorant, and mean spirited.

This editorial that will appear in tomorrow's PNJ is nothing but a hatchet-piece, ill-informed hit on three of the elected Escambia County Commissioners that have recently (and rightly) spoken up to staff--- expressing significant concerns about multiple topics. 

These recent commissioner to staff questions and discussions are completely and totally legitimate and within our purview as the policy and oversight entity in this county.

Instead of doing ANY research or investigation on the reasons for these public expressions of concern by multiple commissioners though, the PNJ instead lazily accuses 3 of us of micro-managing.

PNJ--here is a newsflash:  Call me and ask me about the investigations of harassment that were blown off--I'll tell you about it.

Call me and ask me about the legal representation quagmire that is messy and that has all kinds of ramifications and implications ---ethical, legal and otherwise---and I'll tell you my opinion about why this is a hot topic that rightly generated discussion.  

No calls, no questions, no investigative journalism of old. 

Nope. 

PNJ just does a drive by pass and churns up the garbage conclusion that we should blindly go along with any and all recommendations by staff, regardless of whether or not there might be compelling reasons to pause and reassess.  Nope--they believe we simply need to make "nice" with staff.

Trust them, dummies! is the message.

Guess what PNJ-- I do trust, but I verify.  That's my job.

PNJ editors intimate we are essentially rubes.  They ignorantly call us unqualified. They don't know our professional qualifications and experience though--yet they call us unqualified?

Some of their whacked-out garbage reminds me of fake news articles I would read in MAD magazine as a kid.  This opinion looks like a "news story" one might read in The Onion.

The crack 2-person "editorial board" of the PNJ, consisting of Andy Marlette and Lisa Savage, questions our motivation, attacks our credibility, and admonishes us from contradicting staff yet they are purposely, willfully ignorant of the underlying topics generating the consternation.

Next--they beat us up for apparently having the audacity to accept campaign contributions from benevolent community leaders that want to participate in the elections process and help our campaigns by making contributions. 

But wait--other candidates that receive contributions from these same community leaders don't get thrashed by the PNJ for accepting this money.  No mention of the fact that many elected officials, current and past, also get checks from this family.  No mention that these contributions are completely legitimate, legal, and above board.  Nope.  Just the sickening insinuation that we--the county commissioners-- are somehow dirty and are to be ashamed of accepting these campaign checks.

Newsflash 2 for PNJ:  Most that run for office locally are not independently wealthy and therefore we are greatly appreciative of business leaders and benevolent community members that write campaign checks.....Absent this--many would not/could not run.  Why does PNJ want to ostracize, bully, and publicly attempt to humiliate those generous persons that write campaign contributions?

Untrue, lazy, feckless, biased, and slanted opinions like this from publications like this are the reason more and more Americans report they no longer trust the media and are dropping newspaper subscriptions like hot rocks. 

PNJ contributes to its own demise with garbage like this editorial. 

Another PNJ Editorial Explodes on the Launchpad......Part I: Logic that is Illogical

Sunday's PNJ "Editorial" is about as insightful as a rocket exploding on the launchpad, it is such an epic fail.....

Tomorrow in the PNJ there will be an exceptionally naive, ignorant, and uninformed "opinion-piece" from the 2-person editorial board.

It is a fire, ready, aim-devoid of the real facts-ad hominem cheap shot  aimed at three members of the BCC.

It is so bad and so ignorant that as I read it, I immediately thought about how this piece of garbage rubbish  reminds me of a rocket exploding on a launchpad, kind of like the Falcon 9 Explosion sequence above from September of 2016. Just a spectacular fail.

The difference, of course, is that the Falcon 9 pictured above and its associated payload was actually good and valuable-- worth $200 million....

Tomorrow's PNJ editorial, by contrast, is a worthless piece of tripe.  This article, it's associated analysis and recommendations, and $2.00 will get you a half-cup of gas station coffee......

Here is where and why this ridiculous hatchet piece fails:

1.)  I have learned that an employee of EMS was treated horribly--this was admitted on the dais the other night by Janice Gilley.  The PNJ should call Janice and ask her if the administration did, or did not, drop the ball in his case? Did the administration or did they not follow established board policy on harassment?  PNJ  won't do this because they're lazy, don't want to know,  do not want the truth, and facts don't matter to them as much as punching us in the groin unfairly with this garbage hit job.

Setting that all aside--the "professional" staff of the county did initially find that this employee was harassed and made recommendations that he be made whole in his employment status-------way back in June.  Then the issue got swept under a rug.  No mention of this in the "piece." 

I got involved only in November when this exasperated employee made a desperate plea to me for help.  I got the case moving again--but this time the conclusions fell way short of the mark according to everyone that knows the details.  Sadly--this employee will now use the court system to get his due compensation, and I believe he will prevail in the courts.  I certainly hope the crack team at PNJ will follow that and report back on the outcome of that.  And another thing to note:  I revealed the fact that there were multiple, additional unfinished harassment complaints uncovered during my brief query into Matt Selover's case--this was stated at the meeting. These additional complaints also failed to comport with board policy. The PNJ has not asked about this nor did they mention it in their garbage hit piece.  Why not??  (Oh, yeah, right.  It does not fit their narrative that I'm simply a "meddler.")

2.)  A stand alone appeal process, I believe, would have prevented this situation from dragging out as it did. More importantly--it would have been an inducement for staff to follow our policy with fidelity so such a glaring failure of duty to an employee's due process would never again go on for 7 months unresolved--so what is so awful about my wanting a discussion of this in light of  my finding as many as 6 harassment complaints (including a sexual harassment complaint) that have occurred over the last 18 months where our policy was not followed?  

Bottom Line:  In 2018 Escambia County paid a female employee in public safety hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle an ugly harassment suit that was not properly addressed by staff.  This was two years ago.  To help fix it at that time, the county commissioners immediately put in place a very prescriptive policy and ADMONISHED administration to follow it with fidelity.

And now we see in multiple subsequent cases (as many as six that I mentioned in a public meeting this week) --- our policy was ignored and employees suffered as a result.  So I spoke up to help employees.  So I spoke up and I recommended a discussion of better policy and additional appeals for employees--and for that--the PNJ writes a hatchet piece that demonizes me?!?  Ridiculous.

illogical PNJ "logic"

if Escambia Public Safety Department wants resources and help "DO IT NOW--or you are EVIL!!!!"

but.....

if Escambia Public Safety Employees desperately plead for help    "DO NOTHING--or you are EVIL!!!"

ISSUES That Never Go Away Part I: The Coroner Pay Dispute Files.....

In a horror picture, sometimes you never really fully dispatch the monster.  They just keep coming back.  Some issues we deal with (Issues, not people) are eerily reminiscent of this trope...

Sometimes the toughest, most complex issues with which we contend are the toughest ones to fix.

These issues never go away.

Like a fire that you think is out but that keeps flaring up.....

Like legal bills that keep arriving in the mail months and months after the case is settled.....

Like the Horror Show trope where the monster is never dead, no matter how many times it should be, no matter how many times it is "dispatched" -----it just keeps coming back to life.  (this is simply a metaphor---I'm talking issues not people)

So here is the new issue that won't go away.

The four counties of the first Judicial Circuit recently navigated a tricky replacement of this area's Coroner.  There were a number of alleged issues associated with our previous coroner's performance and fees and payments and exorbitant salaries, public money put into private companies, etc. etc. etc.   Then there were lawsuits.  It all blew up a few summers ago, but again--- it was resolved this past October 1 with the placement of a new Coroner. It was ugly.  But we fixed it and it went away.

So we thought.

But the new coroner, apparently, (according to our old coroner's lawyer) is making more than the previous on was---that is AFTER some pay adjustments were made. (Prior to the adjustments, this previous  coroner's compensation approached $700K yearly--not a bad government wage)

(Read all about that sordid history here.)

So now that our previous coroner has relocated and settled in at a different part of the state, a federal lawsuit has been filed against the three of the four counties of the first judicial circuit by the former coroner.

The crux of it appears to be that the new coroner, a man, is making MORE than the previous coroner, a woman, was making.

Some issues never go away.

Press "Read More," below on the left, to read the compete 7-page complaint.

Why an Independent Appeal Process to the BCC Makes Sense Part III: Do We Already Have One??

There are compelling reasons to consider enacting a stand-alone, independent process for employee appeal of a workplace harassment decision directly to the Board of County Commissioners---but do we already have one if we want it?

Although I'm told there has been some fictional propaganda put out on social media by Commissioner Underhill to the contrary--the fact of the matter is that we, the full BCC, will be discussing the idea of a stand alone appeal process to the full BCC for County Administrator final decisions on harassment complaints.

I believe this is a necessary discussion because our very prescriptive anti-harassment policy has not been followed in a half-dozen instances over the last year and employees have been treated very poorly as a result and costly lawsuits have ensued.

So YES---we will be having this deep dive discussion at our Committee of the Whole in March.  This scheduling of this discussion came out of our meeting on Tuesday, and the direction was crystal clear and unambiguous to Janice--so I have no idea where any notion to the contrary might have come from or where anyone with a brain could state "Jeff had no support for the discussion of an appeal process for harassment."  I guess some people simply live in their own fantasy world.....

Nevertheless, during the discussions on Tuesday I deliberately asked some very specific questions about what it is we could compel our administrator to do if the full board was to vote to ask for a particular harassment decision to be re-investigated.  Somewhat surprisingly, the answer from our attorney is/was that YES we could compel the re-opening of an employee harassment investigation that was/is decided/concluded.  Now, this is not exactly an appeal to the full board for us to make the final determination--but it is a mechanism that apparently exists that would force a new look.

Which is precisely what is needed in several "decided" harassment complaints that were not conducted properly over the last 12 months and where our policy was not followed.

Once an investigation is closed and decided--the information becomes a public record, as is the case of the Selover harassment complaint, thus the continuing discussion.

But knowing the full board could remand a particular case back to the administrator to conduct a new investigation is powerful.

my question on this topic:

"Alison-

This morning when I asked your opinion about IF the board could vote to compel the administrator to open a new investigation into Matt Selover’s harassment—you said “yes”.

Is that still your opinion, I mean if there were three votes to request this?

Her response:

"Yes, you can.  You shouldn’t dictate a disciplinary action, but that’s different than directing her to reopen an investigation. " 

Smooth Baton-Handoff Coming for First Judicial Circuit State Attorney--or Could it Be a Contested Election?

Will the upcoming contest for Florida's first judicial circuit State Attorney be a one-candidate, uncontested baton hand-off--------or will there be more than one viable candidate in this race to make it a real election? 

It appears as if there will be at least one new candidate for State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit this year come election time on the ballots--as a rumor is circulating that current State Attorney Bill Eddins is retiring and will not seek another term in the 2020 election.

Early word has it that Eddins' hand selected, chosen successor for the office (the individual whom Eddins will endorse) will be current Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcile.

Qualifying for this multi-county office occurs in the Spring, just a few months from now.

Odds appear to be 50-50 that instead of what appears to be a smooth, relay-race style handoff from Eddins to Marcile for this job---there may actually be a contested election.

This would be a first in decades, as I'm told the previous, long-serving (since the 1970's) State Attorney, Curtis Golden, essentially "handed the office off" to the current State Attorney Bill Eddins 16 years ago.

I am always of the belief that electors prefer choices------ and having two very well-qualified persons vying for this job would be a great thing for the voters!

Obviously I don't speak for him, but I know my brother Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh has often expressed a desire to seek the State Attorney Office, when and if the timing was ever right.

He and I have discussed this, privately, over the years and on multiple occasions since 2004 when I moved back to Pensacola from San Diego.  I've been contacted multiple times recently by folks in the profession and out of it that would LOVE it if Gary ran!

He has expressed to me often that if he were ever able to seek and subsequently win such an office--he would be especially focused on investigating and uncovering cases involving public corruption.  This has resonated with me with acutely----as I have seen some terrible issues go by the wayside that I feel deserved a much closer look as it pertained to the ugly spectacle of the Newpoint Schools fiasco.

But If Gary Bergosh chose to do this--to run against Greg Marcile--It would certainly be, financially speaking, the path of maximum resistance for him; as a judge he would have to resign from the

Why an Independent Appeal Process to the BCC Makes Sense Part II: What do Employees Do When there is no Satisfactory Resolution?

There are compelling reasons to consider enacting a stand-alone, independent process for employee appeal of a workplace harassment decision directly to the Board of County Commissioners

At our March Committee of the Whole, the Escambia Board of County Commissioners will discuss a potential stand-alone appeal process for handling employee workplace harassment complaints.

This sort of a process would allow for a direct appeal to the BCC of a "final" ruling by the county administrator.

Some recent issues in one of our departments and the seemingly choppy, sloppy and deficient manner in which workplace harassment complaints have been handled is the impetus for this discussion.

I'm not sure how the discussion in March will go--but I do know what happens if we don't give employees multiple avenues for the appeal for harassment complaints that are not resolved properly:

1.)  Morale suffers throughout the organization
2.)  We hemorrhage staff (resignations and early retirements) as folks become disillusioned
3.)  The workplace becomes more toxic if the issue is not handled fairly
4.)   Employees can/will sue their employer
5.)  Taxpayers spend more money on lawyers than should be necessary

In one case in particular, where a good, long-term employee tried and tried to get a fair resolution to what appears to be his horrific treatment by admin and HR staff for months and months-------#4 is the option that this particular employee has  now chosen --- per this email (below) all commissioners received last night during the meeting.



Sadly, I do not believe it had to come to this---if ONLY our policy had been followed with integrity and fidelity.  But to me it appears our policy was not followed, so here comes another lawsuit.............

Why an Independent Appeal Process to the BCC Makes Sense Part I: What Happened in 2018?

There are compelling reasons to consider enacting a stand-alone, independent process for employee appeal of a workplace harassment decision directly to the Board of County Commissioners

Yesterday morning during the BCC's agenda review--I made the case for the BCC's development of an independent appeal process for employees to utilize if such employees failed to get appropriate resolution to their harassment complaint (s) through our current, existing process.

I brought this for a couple of reasons:

In the spring of 2018, the BCC settled a messy, ugly harassment complaint in Public Safety.  At that point, we enacted a strict and very prescriptive anti-harassment policy with an admonition to staff that it be followed with fidelity to hopefully prevent further issues or at a minimum to allow for the swift action on future complaints.

I did not know it at that time  (I found out subsequently)---but just three short months later, in June/July of 2018----- a series of scathing harassment complaints were filed in the public safety office.  With a brand-spanking new anti-harassment policy on the books from just three months earlier put in place by the BCC---this should have been a great test of the new policy, right?

But it wasn't--it instead turned into the rocket exploding on the launchpad......Something deeply disturbing happened to these  complaints:  They were not followed up on and worked as dictated by the policy. Our policy was not followed, and eventually, these complaints were just swept under the rug.

Within a few short months of these complaints being buried-----something even more sinister and disturbing occurred.  Several of the employees that filed these complaints had very serious allegations leveled against them by an employee of public safety. Ironically (or not, depending upon one's perspective) the supervisor that filed the new, very serious and very onerous state-level complaint against these same employees---was the very supervisor that the initial complaints named as the harasser!  Imagine that,  right??

Subsequent to all that drama--several employees of that department resigned under duress, many quit, and several supervisors left as well.  The Public safety director resigned, as did the HR director and eventually the County Administrator.

To the best of my knowledge--no commissioners were made aware of the initial complaints that were made in the summer of 2018. I just found out about them recently from some current and former employees who gave me information about these complaints that were not worked, the ones where our existing policy was not followed.

Yes, yes------we were all told about the subsequent state investigation, however.

Yes, we got a thorough debrief about that issue. Ooooh yes we did.

But nothing about what glaringly appears to have been the pretext to the state charges, the initial harassment complaints that were ignored and subsequently buried by administration.  Seems fishy to me..........

But What IF??

What if these same employees knew there was a mechanism for an immediate appeal to the BCC for the lack of follow-through on their initial harassment complaints?   Imagine how differently the last 18 months could have been?

We would have looked at it, we would have acted, and/or the administration would have acted--I'm confident of this.  Otherwise---administrative staff in the county would have known that we, the BCC, would possibly get a crack at these complaints out in the open on the dais-------which would be messy.  And they would not want that.

So a stand alone policy like this makes sense in two ways:

1.) an extra layer of protection for employees
2.) an additional inducement for staff to follow existing policy dutifully and with fidelity

More about this in part II.