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…

Before we start this week’s hayride to the dark side of local politics and governance, I want to send my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by Hurricane Helene. 

Godspeed and good luck.  

Sodden Citizens of Edgewater

There are dark skies gathering in Edgewater.

Across the width and breadth of Volusia County, waterlogged residents are demanding answers and accountability from elected and appointed officials at all levels of government who have sacrificed our health, safety, and quality of life on the altar of greed.

Adding to the growing instability in Southeast Volusia, last week, City Manager Glenn Irby was abruptly fired just minutes into a standing room only special meeting of the Edgewater City Council, one dominated by angry residents voicing their concerns over development-induced flooding that has left the Florida Shores area inundated in recent weeks. 

Within the first five-minutes of the meeting, Edgewater’s man-child Mayor Diezel “I Need Alcohol!” Depew and his colleagues on the dais moved to terminate Irby – with Mayor Depew attempting to cobble together a list of grievances he felt would amount to the legal definition of “with cause.”

Ultimately, the majority opted to sever the manager’s contract without cause, allowing Irby to collect 20-weeks of severance.

I couldn’t help but snicker and giggle listening to Mayor Depew recite a laundry list of “violations” against Mr. Irby, some of which referenced professionalism and ethics, rudeness toward a member of the public who wished to speak, and acting inappropriately in social media posts.

Frankly, I wasn’t sure if Mayor Depew was reading his allegations – or looking in a mirror…   

Some felt Irby’s demise was well-deserved – others are convinced he was scapegoated by a troubled Mayor and confused Council who lack a comprehensive vision – or mitigation strategy – for dealing with development and the resultant stormwater issues that have many worried for their future.

To assuage the growing fears of his soggy constituents, Mayor Depew claimed that someone in city government is finally getting off their duff to address problems, with water still standing in some areas: 

“We’re creating a plan, we hear you.  I didn’t sleep at all on Saturday. I was up until 5 am. I see it, I went through it during Hurricane Ian.”

(For the record, Hurricane Ian hit two years ago…)           

Mayor Depew’s propensity for staying up until late aside, in my view, this civic disorientation during an emergency is the classic symptom of a local government in crisis…   

Some residents cite poorly maintain drainage swales as contributing to the problem (that was Irby’s department…) while most agree new development permitted above the elevation of existing subdivisions has allowed water to do, well, what water does – find the lowest geographical place to pool – turning surrounding neighborhoods into drainage basins. 

Look, I’m not an expert in fluid dynamics, but I can turn a bowl upside-down, pour water on it, and watch the force of gravity do its thing on an impervious surface. 

That’s what makes this ongoing disaster so maddening. 

In the view of many threatened property owners throughout Volusia County, this expanding catastrophe was so predictable – and preventable – yet, elected officials, growth managers, and public engineers at all levels of government (those who either knew or should have known the ultimate outcome) practiced career preservation, kept their mouth shut, and did the bidding of those on the dais of power who are beholden to the real estate development industry for their campaign war chests. 

And that pernicious cycle has repeated, time and time again throughout Volusia County and beyond.      

Now, the Edgewater City Council has directed staff to draft two building moratoriums – one covering Florida Shores, the other city-wide – except for the Park Town Industrial Center. 

City officials are also exploring a possible stop work order for ongoing development.

Trust me.  This problem isn’t limited to the City of Edgewater – and it will not be an easy or inexpensive fix.  

For now, let’s keep our fingers crossed that Edgewater officials made the right move with the impetuous termination of Glenn Irby and can find the much-needed leadership and stability residents deserve. 

Most important, let’s hope that Mayor Depew has learned a valuable lesson about the importance of credibility during a crisis… 

Volusia County Councilman David “No Show” Santiago

There was a time when personal and professional credibility mattered – especially in governance.

An expectation that those in positions of power who make laws, ordinances, and allocations that affect our lives and livelihoods will humble themselves to the responsibilities of public service, listen to their constituents, share our collective values, and conduct themselves in a manner worthy of our trust. 

After four years on the Deltona City Commission, from 2012 to 2020, David Santiago served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 27 (and Florida’s powerful insurance industry) for two terms. 

In 2016, he was briefly a candidate for the U. S. House of Representatives in Florida’s Sixth Congressional District but bailed when incumbent Ron DeSantis entered the race.

According to an October 2020 report in Florida Politics, we learned of Mr. Santiago’s efforts in the Florida legislature to further the interests of insurance companies:

“Among his contributions were bills related to workers compensation, travel insurance, surplus lines insurance, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, pharmacy benefits managers, motor vehicle insurance, reinsurance, civil remedies against insurers, consumer finance loans, blockchain technologies, construction defects, insurance rate making and forms, and condominium loss assessments.

Concurrent with his legislative service, Santiago was a four-year member of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators, a nonprofit organization that helps legislators make informed decisions on federal and state insurance regulation.”

Interesting… 

In keeping with Florida’s “one hand washes the other” environment, where former lawmakers are welcomed into the inner sanctum of lobbying firms who helped them gain and maintain office, when Santiago was term limited out of state office, he deftly squeaked past the influence peddling loophole of Amendment 12 (which didn’t take effect until 2022) and accepted a job with Colodny Fass, described as “one of the premier mid-size lobbying firms in the state,” who represents a “litany of insurance interests.” 

Hummm… 

In 2020, keeping with his propensity for hopscotching from one elected paycheck to another – Mr. Santiago lost to Will Roberts in a bid to become Volusia County’s first elected tax collector in 50-years. 

At the time, The Daytona Beach News-Journal listed his occupation as “financial manager” (?), and reported that, while most of Roberts’ political contributions originated from local individuals and businesses, “…Santiago’s $43,300 in campaign contributions is more than double that of Roberts’ $19,420 war chest.

Approximately $33,000 of Santiago’s funding comes from political action committees and auto tag agencies, and about 80% of contributions come from outside Volusia County.”

Guess it’s nice to have friends in high places, eh?

Although we are never quite sure how (or if) these things end, reports indicate Santiago later became executive director of Floridians for Lawsuit Reform, a group pushing tort reform measures in the Florida Legislature, and he is currently listed as “strategic director” for The LIBRE Initiative of Americans for Prosperity – Florida. 

In 2022, during his run for the Volusia County Council, Santiago made headlines when he was sued, then countersued, for alleged defamation. 

According to a report by Mark Harper writing in the News-Journal:

“Family Health Source and its CEO, Laurie Asbury, are asking a Volusia Circuit Court for damages in excess of $30,000, in addition to attorney’s fees and other costs because, they argue, Santiago made false and defamatory statements about them in three emails he sent to the organization’s board and “third parties.”

Apparently, things got heated when Mr. Santiago was terminated by Family Health Source – a federally qualified nonprofit healthcare center in West Volusia – where he served as “chief operations development officer” with a salary of $150,000 annually (really?) – while still earning some $120,000 working for Colodny Fass…   

Yeah.  Hummm… 

According to the Volusia County Clerk of the Court’s website, the lawsuits were dismissed by joint stipulation in January 2024, with each party agreeing to pay their own attorney fees… 

Following his election to the District 5 (Deltona) Volusia County Council seat in 2022 – in June 2023, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that Mr. Santiago missed four out of eleven meetings at that time. 

During the recent August primary, Councilman Santiago’s wife, Emma, made the public teat a family affair when she was elected to the District 2 City Commission seat in Deltona… 

I found Mr. Santigo’s history in and around government interesting, especially in the context of his most recent lobbying efforts – this time from the dais of power in DeLand – when he literally strongarmed Volusia County advertising authorities to underwrite marketing efforts for the low-cost, limited route, “airlines” that Daytona Beach “International” Airport keeps attracting with exorbitant publicly funded incentives and revenue guarantees, then calling it “progress.”

Last week, there was a testy exchange between Mr. Santiago and Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lori Campbell Baker, when she (like everyone else watching) thought Santiago was manipulating changes to the model the various advertising authorities use to fund airport marketing efforts without the courtesy of notifying the boards in advance. 

Because he was… 

During the meeting, Santiago made a longwinded motion changing the airline marketing scheme to one where funds would initially come from the county’s Economic Development fund, then be reimbursed by the authorities during the 2024-25 fiscal year. 

In my view, it was a thuggish ‘powerplay’ – a subtle suggestion of what can happen when one raises their head against Santiago – or dares question his motivations (which are always instinctively political…)

According to a report in the Ormond Beach Observer:

“We, in good faith, came back with what we thought you needed us to do for this fiscal year,” Baker said.

Santiago said there seemed to be resentment among some of the authorities’ board members during their recent special meeting to discuss the budget amendments.

“I left with the impression that, ‘How dare us tell them how to spend their money?'” Santiago said. “And I think a forgetting, if that makes sense, that that board, all of these boards, serve at our pleasure, because we each appoint folks in there to do these jobs.”

Baker told Santiago that the groups are advertising authorities, not advisory committees. The council, she said, has done a “stellar job” in appointing the 11-member Halifax Area Advertising Authority, all of whom are heavily involved in the budget process.

“They use those dollars and approve those dollars as if they were their very own,” Baker said. “So, there’s accountability like you wouldn’t believe, and so that’s where I’m trying to get … and you heard them, they’re very passionate.”

“Some might say a little too passionate in some of their commentary,” Santiago replied from the dais.”

Later, the petite King David said he didn’t have anything against the board members.

Bullshit.   

“I don’t want to make it personal, but I couldn’t even point out any of your members on a lineup,” Santiago said.

In essence, Councilman Santiago made a point to ridicule and marginalize the efforts of the nameless little people – those appointees with the knowledge, expertise, and fiduciary responsibility to fund the comprehensive needs of our areas tourism and hospitality industry – not just the marketing efforts of the latest here today/gone tomorrow ‘airline du jour’ at DAB. 

I could be wrong (I’m not), but I think “resentment” is what naturally results when dedicated board members set their respective budgets pursuant to real needs, only to have the rug pulled out from under them by a perennial politician like David Santiago – a petty dictatorial tyrant with no visible means of support outside the public trough – who now singlehandedly decrees the allocation of bed tax dollars as he sees fit… 

In my view, Abraham Lincoln was wrong.  In Deltona, it appears you can fool all the people, all the time… 

Quote of the Week

“I’m from South Florida, and in my 15 years here, I’ve never met one person, not one in Bunnell, Palm Coast, Flagler County, especially Flagler Beach that I said, You know what, Matt, I wish Flagler Beach was more like Orlando.”

–Flagler Beach resident Matt Hathaway speaking to the Flagler Beach City Commission, as quoted by FlaglerLive!, “Flagler Beach Hears Substantial Opposition to Veranda Bay Annexation as Developer Counters: ‘I Have Agreed to a Lot Here’,” Wednesday, September 25, 2024

And Another Thing!

I’m a sucker for a ‘David and Goliath’ story.

Always cheering for the underdog, hoping for the triumph of that which is good and equitable, empathizing with the disadvantaged, pulling for We, The Little People who band together in a cause greater than our own self-interests, those intrepid souls with the passion and grit to overcome against impossible odds. 

Unfortunately, in Florida, that doesn’t happen often.   Power prevails. 

Money talks and bullshit (like your quality of life) walks… 

Here in the biggest whorehouse in the world, those with the gold make the rules – the weak are trampled (or worse) – and anyone with the temerity to stand against common threats like environmental destruction, malignant overdevelopment, the omnipotent influence of the “Rich & Powerful,” and the greed that fuels it all, are crushed.      

Last fall, Daytona Beach officials visited First Christian Church on South Palmetto Avenue and Seventh Day Baptist Church on Live Oak Avenue – both located within the vast food desert that is the Downtown Redevelopment Area – and ordered them to shut down their long-established food pantries.

At the time, we were told the enforcement action came following a complaint from someone who objected to people gathering to wait for sustenance near the church.

That came as a surprise for both houses of worship – and the hungry residents they serve – as the food pantries had been providing for the very real needs of the community long before an ordinance was passed prohibiting food distribution programs in designated redevelopment areas.

This phenomenon isn’t limited to the City of Daytona Beach.   

Despite the conscience or character of their community, some government officials put their vision of “economic development” – and the comfort of those who prefer not to cast their eyes on the Great Unwashed waiting for alms – over the needs of hungry families at a time when a trip to the grocery store represents a crushing financial burden for many. 

Although First Christian Church was later found to have been “grandfathered” in and was allowed to reopen their food distribution site – officials could find no record that Seventh Day Baptist had registered their operation with the City of Daytona Beach.

Fortunately, Seventh Day Baptist found a true superhero in Daytona Beach Attorney Chobee Ebbetts, who valiantly took up the church’s plight, providing his expert services pro bono during the year-long legal fight – one that was ultimately joined by Texas nonprofit First Liberty Institute and Chicago based law firm Sidley Austin LLP, who would file a motion in federal court seeking an injunction to end Daytona Beach’s ban on food distribution to those in need.

According to an excellent article by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week:

“After 12 months of legal wrangling, the church is dropping its lawsuit against the city, and the city will enter into a formal settlement agreement.

That settlement agreement will include the city repealing its ordinance that bans food pantries and food banks in redevelopment areas, said Daytona Beach attorney Chobee Ebbets, who has represented the church free of charge. Seventh Day Baptist Church is located in the city’s Downtown Community Redevelopment Area.”

In my view, Seventh Day Baptist Senior Pastor Ben Figueroa said it best, “This little David defeated Goliath,” Figueroa said. “God is the one who did it. He used Chobee.”

Good stuff…

Another minor miracle occurred in Flagler County last week, when Circuit Judge Chris France ruled in favor of Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek – ending an intimidating lawsuit filed by developer Palm Coast Intracoastal (a subsidiary of SunBelt Land Management) challenging the right of the environmental group to challenge the massive Veranda Bay – a sprawling mixed-use development with thousands of residential units and commercial space proposed for pristine riverfront greenspace along both sides of John Anderson Highway south of S.R. 100. 

According to an informative article in FlaglerLive!, we learned:               

“France termed PCI’s action a SLAPP suit impermissible under state law, handing the grass-roots group a major victory against the chilling effect of such lawsuits on speech and participation in matters of public concern. But it’s likely not over. “I would expect they intend to appeal. That’s what we’ve been told,” John Tanner, the attorney who was named among the defendants and argued on their behalf, said today.

“Since 2000, Florida law has prohibited the filing of ‘Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation,’ or so-called ‘SLAPP’ suits against individuals or entities for exercising their constitutional right to seek redress for grievances before a governmental entity,” France wrote, granting summary judgment in favor of the group. The Legislature strengthened anti-SLAP suit provisions in 2015.”

According to the report, Mr. Tanner said, “We’re pleased with the result and pleased with the judge’s order,” he said. “This is a landmark decision and it’s a major victory for citizen’s rights.”

(Please find the FlaglerLive! article here: https://flaglerlive.com/slapp-rejected/ )

I don’t know about you, but I needed a little good news. 

Kudos to Chobee Ebbetts and John Tanner for standing tall and fighting the good fight to protect the powerless.  Superheroes indeed…

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