Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel               Volusia Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis

One of the benefits of Amendment 10 – a 2018 measure adopted by 63% of voters that established the constitutional offices of Tax Collector, Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Clerk of Court, and Supervisor of Elections – is it took these politically accountable officers from under the yoke of an appointed County Manager and gave them the independence to serve their constituents in a responsible way.     

Of course, Volusia’s Old Guard appealed the measure and fought like rabid badgers to preserve the status quo…

Fortunately, the will of voters prevailed. 

In my view, the result has been an extraordinary transformation of those essential services overseen by constitutional officers who now enjoy the autonomy to innovate, find efficiencies, increase public access and transparency, and live up to their campaign promises. 

I am a huge fan of Volusia’s Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis – a proven servant/leader who does a difficult job very well.  Despite what must be a hectic schedule spinning the myriad plates of preparing for and managing local, county, state, and federal elections, Ms. Lewis remains accessible to her constituents – with a longtime open-door policy that welcomes citizens to observe the electoral process firsthand. 

Recently, Ms. Lewis announced that her office will be hosting a “Candidate Bootcamp” for aspiring elected officials, a means of helping neophyte politicians navigate the requirements for public office, such as candidate registration, qualifying periods, the responsibilities of the candidate and their campaign treasurer, required disclaimers on campaign material, and financial reporting requirements.

In a News-Journal report announcing the training, Ms. Lewis said:

“Candidates need to know the dos and don’ts of what you’re supposed to do, how to fill out the campaign finance forms, what they need to do to qualify and the changes within municipal government,” Lewis said.

According to reports, the one-day training starts at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 20, at the Supervisor of Elections Office, 1750 S. Woodland Boulevard in DeLand.

Because I’m full of “good suggestions,” perhaps Ms. Lewis should consider adding a plenary session covering the all-important personal attributes of public service – individual qualities such as honesty, speaking the unvarnished truth, candidness, holding firm to one’s word and promises, keeping your public and private life unsullied as an example to all, preserving the public trust, the art of compromise, focusing on the needs of those you ultimately serve (regardless of who funded your campaign), listening to the concerns of constituents, etc.

That could involve a breakout forum to discuss the importance of refraining from three-way sexcapades while holding high office (perhaps Christian and Bridget Ziegler could serve as guest lecturers?), how to avoid “sexting” pictures of your genitals to others, reinventing yourself after being photographed in the fetal position in a hotel room with a sex worker and suspected methamphetamine, and why it’s never a good idea to grope staffers in government offices or engage in tawdry dalliances while in Tallahassee for “the people’s business…”  

That should include a symposium headed “Lowering the Bar 101” presented by Sen. “Terrible Tommy” Wright – explaining his Houdini routine of how to avoid sanction after being caught on video physically accosting the interim director of a struggling domestic violence shelter as she tries to protect the identity of survivors after having been banned from that same shelter for making lewd come-ons to a frightened young mother and her infant… 

Hey, just my two cents. 

Kudos to Lisa Lewis and her outstanding staff for serving the citizens of Volusia County with such grace and commitment to open, fair, and transparent elections!   

Angel               Flagler County Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston

In most places, a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles is like a slow descent into bureaucratic hell – a four to six-hour disorganized trudge that pushes the limits of human endurance and frustration – where disinterested office drones wear inefficiency like a badge of honor and move at a snail’s pace while the ever-expanding line wraps around the building…

No thanks.   

Whenever I need to renew my Florida driver’s license, without hesitation I travel to the Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office on Moody Boulevard in Flagler Beach – a place where the attentive staff always make me feel welcome and valued – like a “customer” should. 

That extraordinary experience is thanks to Suzanne Johnston, a 54-year veteran of Flagler County government, who has held the constitutional office of Tax Collector since 2004. 

Last week, Ms. Johnston announced that she will not seek reelection as she retires from an extraordinary life of public service later this year.   

In a fitting tribute to Ms. Johnston in FlaglerLive!, we learned of Ms. Johnston’s dedication to “Swiss watch precision and Magic Kingdom customer service”:

“Suzanne Johnston attended the University of Florida, got married, then went to work and raised her two children, deepening her local roots as she went. She’d made three promises when she first ran in 2004: to put all tax records online, which she did. To open a satellite office in palm Coast in her first year, which she accomplished. (The Flagler Beach satellite office opened in 2017.) And to open a walk-up window for after-hours, which she also did once the new Government Services Building opened in 2007. “And I promised my mother that as long as I was tax collector, the phones would be answered by a real live person,” she said. That’s remained true, at least to the extent that, once a caller now navigates past a recording, a live person will pick up.

Though she’d known for a while that she’d not run again, she made her decision with a lump in her throat, “because when you’ve worked somewhere basically 54 years is what I’d been here in county government, you feel responsible for the future years,” she said.”

In my view, Ms. Johnston’s commitment to those she was elected to serve is a shining example of true public service – a transformational leader whose legacy will live on in her protégée, Shelly Edmonson, a seven-year veteran of the Tax Collectors office who will announce her candidacy to succeed Ms. Johnston soon.   

Thank you, Ms. Johnston.  We’re glad you passed our way.

Your commitment and dedication to government efficiency set the gold standard for customer service. 

Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement!

Asshole           Deltona City Commission

Rumors and disinformation are corrosive to the public trust.  

The buzz of gossip and unsubstantiated “reports” cause people to speculate and form conclusions with limited information, and when those rumors involve government, those responsible for the dissemination of public information understand that the continued influence effect can result in people recalling discredited or demonstrably false information—even when the original message has been proven wrong by competent authority. 

After hearing a spate of rumors and speculation from confused Deltona residents, earlier this week I reached out to a trusted contact at the City of Deltona and confirmed that veteran District 2 Commissioner Anita Bradford resigned last week citing health concerns that have kept her off the dais for several meetings. 

That’s unfortunate. 

While I did not always agree with Ms. Bradford’s policy decisions – I always felt her heart was with the long-suffering citizens of Deltona – and she continued to show up, even when it became difficult for her to communicate. 

I respect her commitment and courage. 

Unfortunately, both Ms. Bradford and her constituents deserved better from the senior staff at the City of Deltona last week.

During my three-decades in municipal government, serving a small community where things, both good and bad, can be blown out of proportion – had a sitting elected official resigned unexpectedly – the City Manager would have ensured that information was immediately pushed to residents before rumor and conjecture took hold, especially over a long Holiday weekend.

That didn’t happen in Deltona.

As a result, the community was abuzz with inference and hearsay as wild assumptions swept social media, with some suggesting Ms. Bradford resigned to avoid the new financial reporting requirements for municipal officials.  On Tuesday, I went as close to the horse’s mouth as I could get without risking one of Deltona’s abusive fees that accompanies any reasonable public records request…

In the Lost City of Deltona, important community information often comes at constituents from all directions – usually in bits, pieces, speculation, half-baked allegations, manifestos, and politically motivated diatribes issued at all hours on social media – leaving constituents horribly confused and increasingly frightened.

Then, during Tuesday evening’s City Commission meeting, things took a typically accusatory turn when residents found a stack of handouts in the chamber which alleged Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr. had rented a home (purportedly purchased by unidentified Deltona developers for that purpose) at a rate below current market value. 

These allegations became known just weeks after Mayor Avila announced his family was struggling to find affordable housing in the community he serves. 

During his comments, Vice Mayor Jody Lee Storozuk gave further detail in a disjointed “special report” explaining that he received a call from an unidentified “developer’s attorney” who asked him to “look into” an allegation that individuals described as “developers and friends” got together and “supposedly” purchased a rental home to be used exclusively as a rental for Mayor Avila. 

In turn, Vice Mayor Storozuk explained that he turned the information over to the State Attorney’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and independently contacted the Florida Ethics Commission.    

In addition, Mr. Storozuk also alleged that Mayor Avila directed Interim City Manager Glenn Whitcomb to have the water utility turned on at the home – something Storozuk described as “malfeasance,” claiming the mayor’s actions constitute a violation of Deltona’s charter.

When it was his turn to speak, Mayor Avila gave an overview of how he and his wife located the house they ultimately rented and moved into on December 1 – citing a weird incident in which his wife and young daughter were photographed outside their former home by an unnamed “friend” of Mr. Storozuk in an incident that was apparently reported to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (?) – before asking Interim City Manager Whitcomb to confirm that he did not direct him to turn on the water or waive the utility deposit. 

In my view, if Vice Mayor Storozuk had information regarding possible criminal conduct by Mayor Avila and others – he had an ethical obligation to safeguard that information and protect the integrity of the evidence until the allegations have been investigated by law enforcement – then let the chips fall where they may.

Tuesday evening’s performance of Deltona’s detective series gives the unmistakable appearance of political vengeance – a payback for Mayor Avila’s May 2023 report to the Office of the State Attorney regarding a possible violation of Florida’s Sunshine Law by Storozuk, two other sitting commissioners, and a candidate for the open City Manager position.

A subsequent investigation by the State Attorney’s Office failed to develop evidence of a criminal violation.   

Unfortunately, this week’s melodramatic shit-show didn’t end there.

During her comments, Commissioner Dana McCool apologized to resident and current District 6 Commission candidate Nick Lulli after another wanton social media attack was foisted on him by Commissioner Tom Burbank – who, you may recall, cost the City of Deltona a financial settlement with Mr. Lulli last year after Burbank besmirched his character and reputation with an unprovoked and homophobic attack on Facebook…

My God. 

Look, I’m not sure how investigators proceed from here – now that what amounts to their case file has been printed, collated, bound, and left for public consumption on a table in the City Commission Chambers – then discussed in detail by both the accuser and accused from the dais – but I think it is time for the State Attorney’s Office to get someone’s attention…

Unfortunately, it appears the Lost City of Deltona is now beyond redemption – and whenever Governor Ron DeSantis is finished slogging around Iowa – his first order of business should be an immediate intervention to rescue beleaguered Deltona taxpayers from what smacks of systemic misfeasance by elected policymakers. 

Now, many fear that without outside intercession, longsuffering residents are doomed to repeat history like trapped passengers on some weird hypersonic carousel…

Asshole           Volusia County Council

The Moonwalk

“The moonwalk, or backslide, is a popping dance move in which the performer glides backwards but their body actions suggest forward motion…”

–Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Sound familiar? 

I really wanted to begin the new year differently… 

During Thursdays Volusia County Council meeting, it was interesting to watch our elected officials doing their best interpretation of the popular dance step – going backward while giving the illusion of moving forward…

During a heated agenda item, our elected dullards took up the thorny matter of what amounts to a 12-month moratorium on development applications for all properties in the Heavy Industrial (I-2) zoning classification throughout Volusia County.   

Ostensibly, the moratorium will allow a “pause” so that what passes for Volusia County’s “planning staff” can “…review the list of permitted uses and special exception uses for I-2 and to develop amendments to those uses.  Dimensional standards and buffering requirements will be reviewed to ensure that there is minimal impact on surrounding properties.”

Laughably, during the public participation portion of the item, Councilman David Santiago cautioned frightened residents of Ormond Beach not to refer to Belvedere Terminal’s plan to place a 13-million-gallon bulk fuel storage farm on perhaps the most inappropriate I-2 zoning on the Eastern Seaboard – even though everyone within 50-miles of the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Building understands this “pause” is designed to stop forward progress on the fuel facility. 

The people came to speak about the greatest threat to their property values and general safety anyone could imagine – not become unwilling participants in another Volusia County political charade…

In my view, Santiago’s ridiculous ploy to conceal the 800-pound gorilla in the chamber in the thin drapery of an across the board “planning review” is indicative of the ham-handed fumbling and deflection that has beset this crisis from the onset. 

During public participation, an attorney from the mega-firm Gray-Robinson representing Belvedere Terminals (who, like everyone else looking on, saw through the “wink-wink-nudge-nudge” ploy) exposed the obvious in stating that the Council’s avoidance of a “quasi-judicial” hearing – one that would have allowed them to give mitigating testimony – was, in fact, a tactic designed to “stand in the way” of the company’s property rights and nothing more, before raising the specter of the Bert J. Harris, Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act…

Make no mistake, like so many of my anxious neighbors here in Ormond Beach, I wholeheartedly support the moratorium.  In my view, it is something that should have happened years ago when the property was improperly zoned – or when Volusia County still had standing to oppose the FDEP air construction permit.

In my view, this latest attempt at an after-the-fact remedy further exposes the horrific lack of planning and preparation by Director Clay Ervin, County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald, and the perpetual farce that is Volusia County’s “Growth and Resource Management” apparatus. 

The building frustration of Volusia County residents became clear when Councilman Danny Robins attempted to explain his weird position on the controversial matter by taking a clear swipe at Chairman Jeff Brower’s open opposition to the terminal, resulted in angry shouts and profane invective from the emotionally charged gallery. 

Ultimately, the Council voted 5-2 to move the second reading of the development moratorium to February 6 – a daytime meeting – when you have to work…

In my view, now that the horse of explosive growth and intrusive heavy industry has bolted from the gaping barndoor – our elected officials finally come to the realization that they and their enabling “growth management” staff have allowed massive sprawl and potential public safety hazards without an ongoing process to reevaluate zoning classifications.

How is that possible?

It is increasingly clear that the county’s brewing legal fight with Belvedere Terminals (and perhaps other heavy industrial operators effected by the moratorium) will be a long and terribly expensive proposition for Volusia County taxpayers – and that’s okay – because the alternative is grim. 

Some things are worth fighting for.   

Now, the question becomes:  How much longer will our elected representatives allow the same inept assholes who got us into this mess to keep their hand on the switch? 

Quote of the Week

“Lindauer, one of two Shores commissioners who resigned, contends the new law is driving good people away from public service.

He said the previous disclosure, Form 1, required of city elected officials shows the public the sources of income, which is purposeful, as it might point to possible conflicts of interest.

“Form 6 is totally invasive. The first question is what is your total net worth,” he said, adding that every account he holds, every piece of jewelry over $1,000 and more invites more than public scrutiny. He sees it as an invitation for criminals looking for a score.

“What difference does it make if one elected official is worth $100,000 and the other is worth $10 million?” he asked. “That’s totally irrelevant.”

Lindauer said he lives a modest lifestyle after a successful 30-year career and building an investment portfolio, while also finding a niche as an author of articles and books on investment. If forced to reveal his net worth and holdings, he feared it would change the way people viewed him.

“People like me, who live a middleclass life and don’t flaunt wealth at all, now people see you in a different light and treat you different,” he said. “All I want to know is: Am I doing a good job or not?”

–Former Daytona Beach Shores City Commissioner Mel Lindauer, as quoted by reporter Mark Harper of The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Daytona Beach Shores officials quit – 2 resign over stringent financial disclosures,” Friday, December 29, 2023

“When a feller says: “It hain’t th’ money, but th’ principle o’ th’ thing,” it’s th’ money.”

–Abe Martin, 1916

I guess when it comes to political vanity vs. transparent public service – egotism wins every time, eh? 

According to Mark Harper’s coverage of the Daytona Beach Shores exodus, we learned that former Commissioner Richard Bryan – who left City Hall hand-in-hand with Mr. Lindauer last week – announced in his resignation letter he was leaving anyway, citing a change in priorities now that he is “…working on another project examining public health” (?). 

Bullshit.

In addition, “Bryan wrote in his resignation letter that he doesn’t feel his voice is needed, as many of the Shores City Commission votes are 5-0, and that he is also working on another project examining public health.

He said the Form 6 issue affected the timing of his resignation and also complained about Florida’s Sunshine Law requiring elected city officials to discuss city business only during an open meeting.

“The Sunshine Law prevents effective oversight on issues that are complex and/or involve wrongdoing,” he wrote.”

Wow.  I don’t make this stuff up, folks…

Makes one wonder why former Commissioner Bryan holds government in the sunshine in such low regard? 

In Orange City, two council members resigned rather than submit to the enhanced financial reporting requirement. 

According to an article in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, “William O’Connor and Casandra Jones of Orange City say Form 6, which has been used by state and county elected officials in the past, asks questions too invasive to disclose publicly for them to continue to serve.”

Further, Ms. Jones called the legislation “abhorrent” and went so far as to suggest the requirements of Form 6 placed her at increased risk of victimization (?), “It would also require me to have family heirlooms and antiques to be appraised and announced to the world,” O’Connor wrote. “Making my personal assets public record puts me and my family at immediate risk from scammers and potential robbers.”

Okay… 

Mr. Bryan’s thoughts aside, in my view, the Sunshine Law is the only thing we have left that provides a modicum of transparency in the cloistered halls of power – that dank place where taxpayers are forced to peer through the greasy pane in the closed portcullis of government – while appointed administrators provide differing information and access to elected officials based upon their willingness to go along and get along…

Look, I’m not suggesting this factor is at play here, but no one likes to be exposed as a poseur – least of all those elected megalomaniacs who present a carefully crafted façade of financial and material “success” to their peers and constituents – only to have their personal situation laid bare as a condition of elected service.    

That’s embarrassing… 

However, given the ‘anything goes’ climate here in Florida – the Biggest Whorehouse in the World – it’s not unfair or intrusive for constituents to expect at least translucence from those they put their trust in. 

Perhaps in this new era of enhanced financial transparency for municipal elected officials, we should begin placing increased emphasis on the individual’s service – their demonstrated commitment to the highest ideals of elective service, duty, honor, loyalty, putting the needs of others over their own self-interests – as the true metric of a servant/leader’s success.

In my view, regardless of whether an elected official lives in the largest mansion on the tallest hill in town – or is poor as a church mouse – their core values and the nature of their service to others, willingness to defend our inalienable rights, and ability to put public interest above their own are the ideals that We, The Little People should admire (and demand) from those who hold high office. 

And Another Thing!

I once spoke to a fellow rube (i.e., “Volusia County Taxpayer”) who recounted a conversation with a high-powered local elected official.  As often happens during “Fun Coast” political chit-chat, the constituent asked their aloof politico if they read Barker’s View?

With a wave of the hand, the monarchical stuffed shirt scoffed at the very notion, “I never read that crap!” 

Of course he doesn’t. 

Because considering any point of view that doesn’t comport with the stagnant status quo – the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” stratagem that keeps our decisionmakers legislating public policy in effective darkness (and ensures senior appointed administrators remain the highly paid gatekeepers to the inner sanctum) is anathema in the cloistered Halls of Power. 

The fact these screeds make our “movers and shakers” uncomfortable is also why I don’t get invited to cocktail parties… 

Eight years ago, this alternative opinion blogsite was founded on the democratic principle that in the United States citizens are free to speak out, to voice dissent, and express their thoughts on the issues of the day.

In fact, it is a primary duty of citizenship.

The First Amendment to the Constitution protects our inalienable right to say exactly what we think – regardless of how embarrassing that may be to those in power.  In fact, the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld our fundamental right to criticize our government and those we elect and appoint to administrate it. 

Unfortunately, over the past several years, craven politicians and those influential insiders who control the legislative rods and strings behind the scenes, have changed tack. 

Instead of a transparent airing of the facts with sufficient time for public input, they revert to secrecy – cloaking controversial issues from public view, passing subjective “civility ordinances” by imperial edict that regulate the ability of We, The Little People from speaking out – while refusing to answer constituent questions from the dais. 

In a recent collaboration between CNHI Newspapers and The Associated Press as published in The Daytona Beach News-Journal entitled, “Locked out of local government,” we learned of disturbing trends nationwide of local governments refusing to adhere to public records requests, using the full might of government to silence critics and reporters, officials refusing to speak with the press, negotiating public policy in private, and intentionally making it difficult for constituents to attend or actively participate in meetings.

According to the disturbing report, “From school districts to townships and county boards, public access to records and meetings in many states is worsening over time, open government advocates and experts say.

“It’s been going on for decades, really, but it’s accelerated the past 10 years,” said David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida.”

In local bureaucracies throughout Volusia County, concerned residents often get the impression that things happen despite their elected representatives – not because of them – as public policy is crafted by staff, homogenized, repackaged, presented in a canned PowerPoint, and approved with little, if any, substantive input from those whose lives and livelihoods will be directly impacted.

Don’t take my word for it.

Take a strong antiemetic and read the execrable history of the Belvedere Terminals debacle – a shocking revelation that was sprung on an unsuspecting public in a bombshell article in the News-Journal article that alerted hapless Ormond Beach residents (and, apparently, our elected city/county officials who are now clumsily playing catch up?) of a proposed 13-million-gallon bulk fuel storage facility in the most inappropriate location on the Eastern Seaboard…

Or peruse the abominable events at Volusia County jail facilities – conditions that have repeatedly been brought forth by beleaguered corrections officers forced to serve in incredibly dangerous circumstances – replete with horrific stories of inmates being tacked out nude in four-point restraints for extended periods of time in some Medieval behavior modification experiment.

(All of which occurred on the watch of County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald and County Attorney Michael Dyer – both of whom received glowing performance reviews and obscene pay increases last month…)

Yeah.  I know… 

As we start 2024 – an election year – my sincere hope is that you will question candidates on their dedication to transparency, inclusiveness, and public input (we already know where incumbents stand) then vote your conscience.   

Trust me.  With the Florida legislature set to begin their 2024 session next week – anything is possible as they continue to undermine Home Rule, limit local government’s ability to control its own destiny, and seek to silence critics. 

In an era of extreme divisiveness and diminishing expectations, let’s hold those we elect and appoint to the lofty standards of clarity and openness we have a right to expect in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. 

That’s it for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all!