Hi, kids!

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

First Step Shelter Board

Once again, the “Fun Coast” resonated this week with the exasperated groans of Volusia County taxpayers expressing their utter disgust with the wholly compromised First Step Shelter Board.

On Monday, board members pulled the old distracted-referee trope – flagrantly ignoring offers of cooperation by a whistleblower and clear indicators of a toxic internal environment, before shutting down its woefully incomplete “investigation,” seemingly intent on sweeping serious allegations at the publicly funded “shelter” under the rug. 

In another alarming exposé by investigative journalist Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, we learned:

“First Step Shelter Board members voted unanimously Monday night to end their probe into whistleblower complaints brought by former shelter employee Patrick Smith.

The two-month investigation looked into allegations that ranged from financial mismanagement to residents being endangered. Shelter Executive Director Victoria Fahlberg, who has said very little publicly about the investigation to date, read a statement during Monday night’s meeting.

“While some people want to focus on their personal agendas, we would like to get back to focusing on our clients and our mission,” she said in the statement. “I’m glad we are moving on from this very sad and despicable waste of time and money that diverted us from our mission of transforming the lives of Volusia County’s most vulnerable.”

Seriously? 

Their official response is, “Move along, folks.  Nothing to see here.  We’ve done a half-assed “investigation” – now, slop the trough with $800,000 more of your hard-earned tax dollars and keep your nose out of our important “mission“?

I’ll just bet Director Fahlberg is glad her bosses are “moving on.” 

Because most fiduciarily responsible members of boards, councils, and commissions charged with financial and administrative oversight in the public and private sectors would never countenance this cheap charade – especially when our tax dollars are at stake.  

As Fahlberg rushes to put this “waste of time” behind her – those of us who pay the bills are increasingly cynical of the mysterious inner-workings of the enigmatic First Step program – a chronic source of civic controversy that has given the City of Daytona Beach a perpetual blackeye – due, in part, to the complete lack of transparency, abject arrogance of certain board members, and the program’s historic inability to effectively impact the very visible “homeless problem” in many areas of Volusia County.

To his credit, Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry, who serves as the First Step board’s president, said publicly what anxious taxpayers have been thinking all along:

“There are things at the shelter that rise to a deep level of concern,” Henry said. “The situation we’re in is because of leadership.”

Of course, the Mayor’s painfully obvious observation didn’t seem to hold water with the rest of the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” board members who prefer to deal with allegations and improprieties by ignoring them…

According to the News-Journal, “Board member Joan Campanaro also expressed concerns, but most of the nine First Step board members said they wanted to move on and stop spending shelter dollars on the probe.

“I think we’re making a big deal over nothing,” said board member Rose Ann Tornatore.

Board member Mike Panaggio charged that Smith’s accusations were baseless, and arose from an employee in trouble for poor performance retaliating against his boss.

“I think we’ve been scammed,” Panaggio said.”

You read that right.  I’m sure the whistleblower’s attorney did too…   

According to previous reports detailing the First Step debacle, the three employees who brought serious allegations of maleficence, fraudulent activities, discriminatory bias, ongoing harassment, retaliation, breaches of confidentiality, unethical behavior, and fostering a toxic work environment to light include Mr. Smith, the shelter’s former director of philanthropy and engagement, Kim Kelly, a former shelter nurse, and Pamela Alexander, the shelter’s former housing coordinator.

In her disturbing report, Zaffiro-Kean confirmed:

“Shortly after the whistleblower complaint was filed in June, Smith and Alexander were fired, and Kelly resigned on July 18.

Kelly gave a sworn statement to Scott Simpson, the Ormond Beach attorney who was paid $5,000 to investigate the complaints. Simpson said he spoke with Fahlberg and the shelter’s accountant, but not Smith or Alexander.

Simpson offered to conduct more interviews for another $3,000, but at their Aug. 12 meeting board members declined, with three of them saying they didn’t want to spend any more money on the probe.”

Board members said part of the reason they stopped looking into Smith’s allegations was because he didn’t talk to Simpson. But Smith’s attorney, Kelly Chanfrau, said both she and Smith told Simpson that Smith wanted to talk to him.”

Ah, the old “You can’t cooperate in the investigation of your complaint, because we’ve already shut down the investigation into your complaint” dodge, eh?     

I don’t make this shit up, folks…

Adding to the wildfire of suspicion and conjecture is the concerted bureaucratic effort to keep Scott Simpson’s investigative report – something our tax dollars paid for – a secret. 

According to reports, Daytona Beach City Attorney Ben Gross is working overtime to keep the Simpson report far away from the prying eyes of citizens and decisionmakers by using a weird slight-of-hand that opines, “…because the complaints brought by Kelly and Alexander were not formally closed out, the report will remain in the hands of only Fahlberg and the board members.”

How convenient. 

Now, inquiring minds want to know what Attorney Gross and the First Step Board are so desperately trying to hide?

According to the News-Journal:

“Gross summarized portions of the report at Monday’s meeting, saying Simpson focused mainly on allegations of financial impropriety. Gross said Simpson found “a glitch” in the way a $50 donation had been recorded, and there was a concern with a $1,700 grant from the Florida Department of Children and Families, but the DCF money was accounted for.

Gross said many of the things in the complaint were “dramatic,” but most did not apply to a whistleblower complaint under the law.  (Say’s who?)

Board member Don Burnette said it was hard to take some of the allegations seriously when the main complainant didn’t talk to the investigator.

“A prosecuting attorney with no witness doesn’t have a case,” Burnette said.”

Now we know that the “main complainant” – Mr. Smith – notified Investigator Simpson through his attorney that he wanted to assist in the inquiry and his offer was ignored.    

Instead, based on their incomplete “investigation,” the board saw fit to shut things down, besmirch Smith’s personal and professional reputation, categorize his complaints as a “scam,” and ensure that other potential whistleblowers are aware of the life-altering fate that awaits any First Step employee who dares come forward with allegations of fraud or maladministration.  

There are many reasons Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette’s political career has fizzled, and his piss-poor judgement, lack of leadership, and lemming-like commitment to groupthink are a few of them…

If history repeats (and it always does around here), what will come next is the nonsensical nattering of Board Member Mike Panaggio as we await another of his weird late-night screeds on social media. 

Another self-aggrandizing harangue bashing the complainants’ motivations, crowing about First Step’s “accomplishments,” while attempting to deflect our attention from the serious accusations that continue to plague the tax supported program.  

We’re wise to that ploy, Pinocchio… 

My hope is that someone (like Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the First Amendment Foundation, The Brennan Center for Justice, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Gannett, et.al.) will demand the lawful and immediate release of the Simpson report – then seek proper accountability under the law for anyone found complicit in shielding this publicly funded report from taxpayers and decisionmakers who are now being asked to allocate even more of our hard-earned dollars to this troubled program.  

Kudos to News-Journal reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Kean for her journalistic diligence in seeking answers and peeling the myriad layers of this rotten onion.  If you pay taxes in Volusia County, you owe it to yourself to read this informative article here: https://tinyurl.com/4yzxe6dt

Port Orange Councilman-Elect Lance Green

Unfortunately, abhorrent, even criminal, personal conduct by politicians and those holding high public office is nothing new, or particularly shocking, to a weary constituency inured to the lies, proclivities, and abject arrogance of those we elect and appoint to “represent” our interests. 

In times past, the antidote for self-inflicted personal and political humiliation was to quietly apologize then step aside.  Because admitting a mistake, then having the moral courage to accept responsibility and do what is necessary to preserve the dignity of the office, is important to restoring the public’s trust in our system of governance. 

Not anymore.

Last week, Port Orange Councilman-Elect Lance Green and his wife, Susan, entered the Barker’s View Hall of Shame following a traffic accident near Williamson Boulevard and Taylor Road when Green’s truck allegedly collided with the rear of another vehicle.

In a disturbing turn, a recent report by Frank Fernandez writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal confirmed the age-old adage that the coverup is always worse than the crime:

“A traffic camera video released after his arrest for DUI appears to show newly elected Port Orange Councilman Lance Green getting out of the driver’s seat of his pickup after it rear-ended another pickup, then walking around and getting in the passenger seat.

Green, who was with his wife, then claimed to police that she was driving.

The crash led to Green’s arrest 10 days after he won a seat on the Port Orange City Council, on which he would begin serving in December.”

Then, things went from bad to worse… 

According to reports, while being questioned at the scene, Mrs. Green was captured on an officer’s body worn camera uttering the six words guaranteed to expose any tiny town pseudo-celebrity politician/spouse as the arrogant and egomaniacal assholes they are:

“Do you know who we are?”

Yeah.  I know.

That haughty rhetorical question tells us everything we need to know about what Mr. and Mrs. Green are.       

Things deteriorated from there…   

Following his arrest, Councilman-Elect Green was transported to the Port Orange Police Department where he asked arresting officers to contact the Chief of Police (why?) before being admonished by a supervisor for disrespecting officers after Green allegedly used what the News-Journal described as “The “B” word” – whatever the hell that is – something the police supervisor rightly described as “completely out of line.” 

Of course, Green denied everything… 

To compound the problem, following her husband’s arrest Susan Green is reported to have contacted the police department to reiterate that she was driving at the time of the accident.

“While Green was in the cell, his wife called the police department and said she was not sure why her husband had been arrested and again said he had not been driving.”

Which, in my jaded view, proves there is a difference between the congenitally dumb and the criminally stupid.  In Florida, it is a criminal offense to knowingly give false information to a law enforcement officer.  In fact, it is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one-year in jail and a $1,000 fine. 

Inexplicably, Susan Green made matters worse by describing her husband’s arrest as a “vendetta” – claiming the victim of the accident had a reason to lie about Lance Green driving, “Because he would like to see my husband out of office and sue us.”

Say what?

I guarantee you that 99.999% of Port Orange residents couldn’t pick Lance or Susan Green out of a line-up (unless, of course, they crashed into the ass-end of their vehicle at a major intersection, then played musical chairs…) 

Don’t take my word for it. 

Perform your own non-scientific study:  Simply ask the next person you meet to name their mayor, members of the City Commission, or the County Council… 

You’ll be surprised at the number of catatonic stares you receive.

Look, I get it.  People make mistakes. 

Including powerful politicians who hold themselves out for high office and ask to make decisions that affect our lives and livelihoods; ostensibly good citizens with a willingness to serve their community. 

In my view, it is how they respond to those errors in judgement that exposes their true character. 

I suspect at 59-years-old Lance Green knows that – especially now that he has become an embarrassment to his family, his constituents, and his community.   

More to the point, if probable cause exists that Councilman-Elect Green and his wife knowingly lied to Port Orange police during a lawful investigation as the current evidence suggests – he should put his enormous ego aside and immediately resign his important office – rather than put his constituents through the time-consuming and intentionally confusing process of recalling him.    

Then, both should be publicly prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law – held out as an example to others who would seek the public trust then shit on it for personal and political convenience.

County of Volusia & FDOT

Did you ever know someone who was overly confident in everything they do, boasts ad nauseum about their perceived “accomplishments,” acts haughtily superior to others, always controlling and manipulative in their dealings, lies blatantly to themselves and others, overly confident despite results, dismissive of suggestions or criticism, with no real relationships, a complete lack of empathy, and an unrealistic sense of their own self-importance? 

Yeah.  Me neither…   

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that those same narcissistic traits can be found in certain government organizations; especially those who have cloistered themselves, turned insular, and forgotten who and why they serve. 

Sound familiar?

When it comes to bureaucratic blunders (and I’ve made some whoppers during my days in local government), in my experience, most people can forgive what they see themselves doing. 

In most cases, the admission “I made a mistake,” coupled with an explanation, a sincere apology, and a genuine effort to correct an oversight or error in judgement, will go a long way toward building trusting relationships, resolving conflict, and gaining valuable experience. 

They call that a ‘learning opportunity’ – an organizational or personal commitment to self-accountability – the concept of taking ownership of actions and outcomes.

That’s why the ongoing travesty that is the horribly neglected East International Speedway Boulevard – that perennially dilapidated ‘gateway’ to the “World’s Most Famous Beach” and the busiest beach access point in Volusia County – is so damnably frustrating to anyone who lives here, operates a business, relies on our area’s hospitality industry, or promotes the Daytona Beach Resort Area as a vacation destination.   

Think about it:  If you had the omnipotent power to wave a bureaucratic wand and completely shut down a major roadway on the beachside – one that allows access to several family-owned small businesses – would you blockade the busiest ramp in the region during the height of the summer tourism season?

What if business owners affected by the extended closure voiced concerns?  

Would you lie to them – cruelly assuaging their fears with fabrications and falsehoods? 

Would you tell frightened businesses that you were leaving a traffic lane open to allow customer access – then callously pull the rug out from under them – knowing full well that was never an option in the first place?      

Do you see yourself doing something that hurtful just to protect your own ass?

Me Neither…

This week, Sam Tadros, the beleaguered owner of a small business near the East ISB beach ramp was quoted in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, lamenting how the project has caused him to temporarily shut his doors – and put plans for another desperately needed beachside business on hold:

“It’s just been horrible,” Tadros said on Friday morning, as a construction crew toiled away.

Tadros said that before he signed his lease, Volusia County Coastal Division Director Jessica Fentress told him that half of the road would remain open during the project, but Public Works Director Ben Bartlett said that wasn’t the county’s intent due to safety considerations.

“Unfortunately this project needs to be done and it’s going to cause a disruption, and we’re working hard to minimize this disruption,” Bartlett said.”

Let’s face it, it is increasingly apparent that the interminable roadwork on East International Speedway Boulevard is being completed by two hobbyists having fun in their spare time… 

For most of the summer, the worksite has had been an uninviting eyesore with no end in sight. 

Now, we are being told that Volusia County officials “coordinated” (I seriously doubt they know the definition of the word) with the Florida Department of Transportation to conduct “improvements” to the ramp simultaneous to the East ISB project. 

I guess if one logistical nightmare of a high-impact road project disrupting a major thoroughfare is good, two must be better, right?

Right…

Unfortunately, it appears this Confederacy of Dunces couldn’t be bothered to “coordinate” with area businessowners who have been isolated, blocked off, and left to suffer the catastrophic consequences of another ill-thought and poorly executed fiasco that absolutely no one in government will ever accept responsibility for.

So much for that whole “admitting a mistake and making things right again” horseshit I prattled on about, eh?

In a recent interview with Fox 35 Orlando, Zoltan Kerekes, who owns a small gift shop effected by the closure said:

“This has caused a significant drop in foot traffic and visibility, resulting in an 80% to 100% decline in our business,” Kerekes said.

Despite the construction slamming their businesses, Kerekes said they still had obligations to their landlords and others.

Volusia County staff released this statement about the construction:

“Renovation of the ISB Ramp is a much-needed upgrade that will benefit the entire community, and we’re expediting construction as much as possible. As with any project, our goal is to ensure minimal disruption to businesses and residents while delivering a high-quality result in the most efficient timeline. To further reduce construction time, we coordinated with the adjacent FDOT road improvement project, and we’re pleased to report that our project remains on schedule.”

Bullshit.

Do you see your small business keeping its doors open with an 80-100% decline in business?

Me neither…

Trust me.  For their expert use of the “dueling bureaucrats” ploy, a malicious scam which created the perfect bait-and-switch/he said-she said to distract these hamstrung businessowners, you can bet the enormous salaries, benefits, and pay raises of Director Fentress and Director Bartlette will continue like clockwork…

What say you, Volusia County Council members? 

Do you see anyone in the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand being held accountable for the East ISB beach ramp debacle?

Me neither… 

As evidence of that, last week, Tadros and Kerekes approached their elected representatives on the Volusia County Council rightfully seeking assistance to help keep their businesses afloat during the blockade. 

After all, Volusia County and our various “economic development” shills routinely provide multi-million-dollar tax breaks, infrastructure improvements, cash handouts, backroom no-bid deals, land development code waivers, minimum revenue guarantees, expansive publicly funded marketing budgets, etc., etc. – all generously gifted to massive corporations on a mere promise of relocating to Daytona Beach.   

Then why not help a couple of struggling mom-and-pops who are tanking due to no fault of their own?

Set’s a bad precedence, huh? 

So does corporate welfare….     

According to Fox 35, “I am asking if there’s any kind of funding the county can provide at least to help cover our utilities and rent, just to get us through this,” Tadros said.

The business owners didn’t get a response from county officials at the meeting. County staff said the project was still set to wrap up in February.”

Yeah.  County staff says a lot of things… 

Do you believe them? 

Me neither… 

Quote of the Week

“The approved Volusia County School District budget is $1.4 billion, although that may be revised down because there are fewer enrolled students than were originally projected. Either way, that’s a lot of money.

I got curious recently and decided to look at where we were 10 years ago, especially given all the very loud chest-pounding over population growth. To my surprise, while our general population may be growing, our student population is not. We can’t say the same for the school district budget.

In 2014, we had approximately 61,000 students. Our budget was $777 million.

In 2024, we have approximately 61,000 students. Our budget is $1.4 billion.

My math says that’s a budget increase of approximately 80% in 10 years, with no increase in students.”

–Donna Brosemer, candidate for Volusia County School Board District 4, writing in the Ormond Beach Observer’s “My View” column, “Volusia County Schools’ budget doesn’t add up,” Monday, September 9, 2024 (Find it here: https://tinyurl.com/2xekraht )

It’s no secret. 

If you live or struggle to do business in Volusia County, Florida – and aren’t one of a handful of influential insiders with a chip in the game – you are paying exorbitant taxes and fees for diminishing or non-existent services and virtually no access, without any logical explanation from those self-described “fiscal conservatives” on the dais of power.

Those bald-faced liars who looked us in the eye and promised to protect our interests (and hard-earned money) when they groveled for our sacred vote and now refuse to even acknowledge our physical presence when we genuflect at the podium…

I’m certainly not a learned economist, but in my jaded view, Ms. Brosmer’s disturbing calculations prove Wilde’s assertion, “The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.”

What I found most disturbing was the District’s hyper-defensive reaction to Candidate Brosmer’s request for basic data regarding recently added district positions and the number of employees who have no student contact – reports and personnel analysis that should be readily available to administrators at the touch of a button: 

“Months ago, as new district positions were added at nearly every board meeting, I sent a public records request to the district, asking how many district employees, with no student contact, were employed five years ago, and how many were employed this year. I received an email, saying that my request required five hours of a supervisor’s time at $50/hour, and my bill would be in excess of $250. At $50/hour for that supervisor, my clerical request was being assigned to a $100,000/year unnamed employee.

Of course, the best way to discourage such requests, and make sure the public can’t get answers to simple questions, is to charge more than they will pay. It worked, so I still don’t know.

And the board doesn’t ask.”

Frightening.  And infinitely telling…  

In my view, the open fleecing of strapped Volusia County taxpayers is even worse across town at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Building.

In that bottomless money pit, our do-nothing elected officials have adopted the “fox in the henhouse” theory of revenue allocations, where elected officials charged with acting in the public interest simply accept the suggestions (and contrived “fiscal emergencies”) of entrenched bureaucrats intent on protecting, benefitting, and expanding their own interests…

I hope you will take a minute to read Ms. Brosmer’s examination of Volusia District School’s rapidly expanding budget, now exceeding $1.4 billion, with a current enrollment of 61,000 (in a county with an estimated population of 601,049).

A horribly lopsided system where Superintendent Carmen Balgobin and her extensive (and expensive) coterie of senior administrators are allowed by our wholly ineffective School Board to repeatedly blunder from one official embarrassment to the next without question, oversight, or restraint.    

In my view, we live in a time when “consent of the governed” has been replaced with a mercenary shim-sham in which compromised elected “representatives” stifle public input, disband citizen advisory boards, protect the for-profit interests of influential insiders, and insulate the status quo by any means necessary – totally convinced their malleable senior staff will cover their asses with bureaucratic bullshit carefully packaged in a PowerPoint, while “We, The Little People” are expected to keep quiet and pay for it all.   

Vote like your quality of life depends upon it.  Because it does.

And Another Thing!

“Fellow genuine candidates who invest in their communities by dedicating time to citizen advisory boards, charter review committees, and local nonprofits now risk their reputations being damaged by Flemm’s stunt.

For tomorrow’s young leaders, we cannot allow this circus act to dissuade anyone from becoming involved in the community, or voters from trusting that the younger generations have good intentions. We need the next generation of civic leaders to start learning community involvement and civil political skills and processes today — and it takes time!

As an elected official, I leave you with this charge: Check out your local government’s openings on advisory boards; some cities have many! Join organizations like Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, or young professionals’ groups. Attend council meetings and candidate hob nobs. Run local 5Ks, socialize widely at these events, and talk to candidates.

Participation at this level along with voting goes a long way, and it helps officeholders develop their strategies and goals. Most of all, it restores faith between generations. We need to run campaigns on sincere platforms that can reassure the older generations that they can pass the torch because we are ready to lead.”

–DeBary City Council Member Jim Pappalardo, as excerpted from The West Volusia Beacon, Letters to the Editor, “Flemm strategy undermines tomorrow’s young civic leaders,” Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Let’s face it, dirty politics, shit-slinging character assassination, vicious mailers, ugly accusations, and intentionally skewing the playing field with coordinated donations to hand-select candidates are now sine qua non even for local political campaigns.

In his well-thought piece in The West Volusia Beacon, DeBary Councilman Jim Pappalardo opines that the mysterious John Flemm’s dubious tactics during the Volusia County Clerk of the Court primary resulted in “generational-reputation tarnishing” – personal or political conduct that paints other aspiring twentysomething candidates with a broad brush – making it infinitely more difficult for young politicians to gain the trust of voters, colleagues, and constituents.

That’s true.

As a prime example of Mr. Pappalardo’s concerns, look no further than the abysmal behavior caught on camera and broadcast to the masses on social media this week allegedly showing Edgewater Mayor Diezel “I Need Alcohol!” Depew, 20, acting, well, like all the reasons our Federal Government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act… 

Cringeworthy, indeed.

I know, let he who is without sin cast the first stone – and I readily admit to underage drinking in my day (the drinking age was 18 when I was committing those embarrassing youthful indiscretions, well-before the immediate, worldwide, and lasting theater of social media). 

Now, as an elderly drunk, I remain the poster boy for the copious consumption of adult beverages, someone who has embraced the cocktail culture as a devout way of life.  But, like my father before me, (and because my hypocrisy knows no bounds) I have little tolerance for sloppy drunks of any age who can’t hold their liquor and act out irresponsibly… 

Poor form.     

That said, in my view, Mr. Depew, who was elected in 2022 at just 18-years-old (making him the youngest Mayor to ever hold office in Florida), as the ceremonial head of the City of Edgewater, has a sacred obligation to his 23,000 constituents to conduct himself with integrity, maturity, and self-restraint.    

Them’s the rules, young man… 

Having served the bulk of my life in municipal government, I was taught that conducting oneself in a manner that does not bring discredit upon your office and community, being honest in thought and deed, exercising discretion, maintaining personal integrity, and obeying the law are the moral imperatives of public service.

And they are nonnegotiable. 

In my view, Mayor Depew is old enough to know better and he should step aside.

Now is the time for Mr. Depew to do the right thing and resign his prominent position, leave quietly (preferably hand-in-hand with disgraced Port Orange Councilman-Elect Lance Green), get this childish self-indulgence out of his system, and come back to the arena when he can demonstrate the personal maturity to serve. 

There.  Another “Boomer” heard from…         

That said, I find it heartening to hear a young civic leader like Mr. Pappalardo defending unfashionable concepts like returning honor, dignity, and egalitarian ethics to the political landscape.

Although hobnobbing, socializing with the “Chamber” set, and ingratiating oneself with those stodgy partisan political camps are important strategies for first-time office seekers; in my view, keeping ones public and private life unsullied, speaking the truth, honoring the office, maintaining transparency, serving with dignity, and gaining the respect of others through personal and professional example are essential to earning and keeping the public trust.

Those attributes are not dependent on age, position, or experience. It is a factor of one’s individual values – a person’s core moral character. 

Those qualities that define who they are and how they conduct themselves when no one is looking – personal attributes that steel their ability to make ethical choices in a political pressure cooker – important traits that seem to be increasingly lost to the pernicious process of political evolution… 

I’m not talking about honest mistakes and personal failures.  Human faults and foibles will always be an integral part of the political process. 

However, in my view, We, The Little People should no longer accept these shameless assholes who intentionally violate our trust – those at all levels of government who erode public confidence – the arrogant “Do you know who I am?” set who see themselves as superior beings as they succumb to the trappings and honorifics of elective office. 

The fact is, there are good men and women – elected officials, senior administrators, and career civil servants – working inside local governments, and others considering elective service.  

Including a new generation with a fire in the belly – aspiring servant-leaders without lockstep loyalties who are willing to seek and consider public input on prominent issues – and view public service as a sacred privilege rather than an egotistic power trip.   

Age and experience come to all of us, but not all grow wiser.  It is character that counts. 

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