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…

In Recognition of “The Helpers” (and the no-so helpful…)

We learn a lot about ourselves and our community – good and bad – during times like these. 

In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, as we continue the important process of assessing damage, restoring power to affected homes and businesses, cleaning up the mess, and returning a sense of “normalcy” – I want to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who continue to help with recovery efforts.   

Times like these remind us of hometown pride, and the importance of small, nimble, and responsive local governments, and the civic reflex of neighbors helping neighbors…

Throughout the week, I have seen poignant examples of the care and compassion that defines the character of our communities; acts of selflessness that speak to our collective resilience and resourcefulness.

Earlier this week, it was refreshing (and infuriating) to see so many committed residents rise and address the Volusia County Council and their municipal governments to denounce the insanity of growth at all cost sprawl and the resultant development-induced flooding that has destroyed so many lives.  Openly calling out those developer shills on the dais by name – with many flooded homeowners demanding a moratorium on future growth until flooding and infrastructure concerns can be addressed. 

Truly heartwarming.

Other aspects weren’t so encouraging… 

For instance, just hours prior to Hurricane Milton’s arrival, many were outraged by a social media post from One Daytona “reminding” us rube’s that their parking lots and garage were for residents of the on-site apartment complex, tenants, and “customers while on-site only” – meaning, “don’t even think of moving your vehicle to their parking lot to keep it on high ground and out of harm’s way.”

I found that less than neighborly given that taxpayers in Volusia County and the City of Daytona Beach collectively bankrolled the project to the tune of $40 million in public funds… 

On second thought, I found it downright tone-deaf and insensitive to the needs of our community – help should be reciprocated – and I can assure One Daytona that my vehicle will never darken their parking lot again for any reason. 

Of course, I couldn’t help but laugh at the post-storm antics of certain petty politicians who always resort to their base instincts to campaign during an emergency (especially in an election year), completely oblivious to the horrible optics of peacocking while their weary constituents sit in their dark and flooded homes worrying about a thousand-and-one things – including what comes next when the foul water finally recedes…    

Given the dire circumstances, I cringe at the absurdity of D-list politicians having their photograph taken with C-list politicians, then posting their smiling visage on social media.  Preening and posing in official-looking embroidered polo shirts standing outside some time-wasting “briefing” that emergency managers hold to keep elected officials occupied and out-of-the-way while their constituents slog their waterlogged belongings to the curb.

Just once I wish these self-absorbed incompetents would realize that their role is establishing sound public policies and requiring engineering that can help mitigate the devastating effects of these events before the wind blows and the water starts to rise.   

Fortunately, the best of us shined brightly when the chips were down. 

I saw examples of resolute local elected and appointed officials up to their hips in floodwaters, physically helping constituents in dire need, filling sandbags, organizing grassroots volunteer work, authentically engaging with those in need, allowing emergency management officials the space and resources they need to perform their important work, and keeping their communities updated on recovery efforts and ways they can help.   

Good stuff.

During times of crisis, I have always taken comfort in a quote by the great Fred Rogers – better known as the beloved children’s television host Mister Rogers, who said:

“My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”

To all the helpers out there, please accept my sincere thanks and appreciation for your gallant service and generosity of spirit.  Your efforts bring optimism for a quick recovery from Hurricane Milton – and restores faith in our collective future here in Volusia County.

Volusia County Emergency Management

We Floridian’s are a resilient bunch – and those of us who have been here awhile understand that the events of last week will eventually come to all of us who live in the National Hurricane Center’s “Cone of Confusion.”

During my productive life, after years of preparation, study, and the accumulation of hard-earned practical experience, the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association bestowed the Professional Emergency Manager designation on me. 

It was a point of professional pride for this uneducated bumpkin.   

In addition to my law enforcement duties, I had ancillary responsibilities as my community’s Emergency Management Coordinator.  When I retired, I was honored to remain as a reserve police officer, assisting with emergency coordination during storms until I hung-up my spurs for good three years ago.

I miss it. 

No matter how much you learn about meteorological phenomena, I have always been awed by the incredible power and cruel efficiency of these extreme weather systems.

In my view, local first responders, utilities workers, public works employees, power restoration personnel, and the various specialized teams who went in harm’s way to save lives, secure shelters, reduce flooding, and maintain infrastructure are the true heroes of Milton.

Did everything go as planned? 

It never does. 

That is why professional emergency managers conduct a thorough “hotwash” – an immediate after-action review of an agency’s performance following a major emergency – as a means of identifying strengths, weaknesses, what needs to be improved, and who is responsible for making it happen.

That introspection can be humbling, but the “lessons learned” – best practices that are ultimately compiled into a comprehensive “After Action Report” – further the collective knowledge that helps avoid repeat mistakes when key personnel are tired or lose situational awareness during a similar incident.     

In the leadup to a hurricane, “confusion reigned” is not the lede you want to read in The Daytona Beach News-Journal. 

Unfortunately, that was exactly what was reported, and an accurate summation of a puzzling evacuation order issued as Hurricane Milton made its approach last week. 

In my view, there were many aspects of the Hurricane Milton preparation and response that VCEM got right – and those local professionals coordinating resources and providing operational and logistical support in the municipalities did an excellent job under difficult and dangerous circumstances.  

But there were several times during the preparation phase that I questioned the information that was pushed to the public from the Volusia County Emergency Operations Center – and elsewhere.

I wasn’t alone… 

For instance – last week, Volusia County issued an evacuation order for areas east of the Intracoastal Waterway, a directive that was later expanded to include a hodge-podge of areas east and west of the river – including one that (I think) may have included the Old Barker Place, which read “Residents east of Bulow Creek State Park and any locations east of U.S. 1 before it crosses the Tomoka River in Ormond Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea…”

I still don’t know if that meant residents north or south of the Tomoka River Bridge…and neither did my neighbors. 

Then we learned the order was more of a suggestion, “encouraged but not required,” except for 21 properties in Wilber-by-the-Sea who were mandated to evacuate…    

Oddly, for reasons known only to him – the morning before Milton arrived, our local hospitality guru Bob Davis fired off a weird email to the News-Journal apparently countermanding the official beachside evacuation order.   

According to the News-Journal:

“The confusion started early Tuesday morning when Lodging & Hospitality Association President and CEO Bob Davis sent an email to the News-Journal and others saying that the evacuation order did not apply to everyone east of the Intracoastal Waterway.

His understanding was that it only applied to beachside residents who live in low-lying areas, campgrounds, manufactured homes, mobile homes, RV parks, and flood-prone areas. That was wrong. The actual county order says those folks are “encouraged” to relocate.”

I’ve got my suspicions as to why Mr. Davis issued his interpretation of the beachside evacuation order; you probably have yours. In my view, keeping profitable “heads in beds” is a sorry excuse for jeopardizing public safety…

As someone who has cultivated a position of trust in the community, in my view, Davis should stay in his lane – restrict his epistles to lodging and hospitality issues – and leave emergency management to the professionals. 

At this hour thousands of our neighbors throughout the region are still inundated by floodwater, and in need of physical, financial, and emotional support – and Volusia County residents have been assured help is coming from a variety of local, state, and federal sources. 

Overall, I’m giving Volusia County Emergency Management a “B+” for the preparation and response to Hurricane Milton – which is about as good as it gets. 

Now, let’s hope our elected officials on the Volusia County Council listen to the fervent pleas of their waterlogged constituents and begin the incredibly expensive process of mitigating further destruction, hardening utilities, and limiting overdevelopment before the next blow…   

Residents of Rural Volusia County

Outside of consuming copious numbers of Martinis and Marlboros – I have few “hobbies.”  Those nonsensical pastimes that retirees like me find to occupy the boredom of their idle hours following the excitement of our productive lives. 

The American Dream personified…   

In retirement, my home has become an elaborate all-inclusive support system for two spoiled dogs whose every comfort occupies my day – and I keep a ten-gallon freshwater aquarium with four hardy neon tetras.   

The small fishtank is something of a compromise with my long-suffering wife following the catastrophic failure of a 55-gallon saltwater tank that flooded our living room, carpet, walls, etc., resulting in messy and expensive repairs.

In my view, becoming a home aquarist – or better yet, teaching a child the hobby – is the best way to understand the symbiotic relationship of a healthy ecosystem.  The delicate balance between biological filtration, the nitrogen cycle, and the toxic effects of overcrowding and pollutants on the biome. 

Farmers and ranchers who live and earn their livelihoods in rural areas will tell you the same is true when the natural carrying capacity of the land is exceeded.  The inviolate ecological principle of maximal load – that habitat, water, and natural resources in a given area can only support a limited density of livestock, crops, or people.   

I was reminded of the interconnectedness of things while watching frightened residents approach their elected “representatives” on the Volusia County Council earlier this month – pleading with those stone-faced marionettes on the dais to consider a rural boundary charter amendment – something many believe is an effective means of protecting what remains of our countryside and agricultural lands from the steady creep of malignant sprawl.   

Frankly, it was frustrating to watch.  A classic exercise in futility. 

A maddening example of what happens when the serious concerns of claustrophobic property owners meet the immovable object of bureaucratic paralysis, lockstep conformity, and mediocrity – made worse by subservient elected officials dedicated to the greed-crazed wants and whims of their political benefactors.

One by one, Volusia County property owners approached the podium and cited examples of development-induced flooding, lost farm production, and the grave implications of unchecked growth and density on their quality of life.    

Never more evident than in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton… 

Some residents asked that those who have made their lives and livelihoods in rural and agricultural areas be appointed to an advisory committee and assist with the development and dimensions of the boundary amendment. 

What rural residents got in return was more of the same from those malleable perennial politicians practiced in the art of double-talk and strategic procrastination…

As usual, County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald wants to maintain total control over the process, product, and narrative by keeping things inhouse (Read: Turning the planning over to those same bureaucratic jacklegs who got us in the mess in the first place…)

“We have the professionals here that will come up with alternatives,” Recktenwald said at the October 1 meeting. “We will put together some scenarios of what other people have done and how it’s been done in other places.”

Always protecting the status quo… 

Sad. 

In the grim aftermath of Hurricane Milton – and the widespread recurrent flooding many experienced before the storm – some believe we have already reached the carrying capacity of the land. 

Now, existing residents of certain municipalities are worried about growth that was approved years ago and has sat on the books like a latent malignancy waiting to come out of the ground with thousands of homes and millions of square feet of commercial space.    

Other pending insults, like the specter of Avalon Park and Ormond Crossings – gargantuan “City within a city” developments that will have a regional impact on transportation, water, utilities, emergency services, stormwater management, healthcare, schools, hospital access, and our quality of life – are slowly coming to life while our elected officials fritter away precious time.

In my view, we are witnessing the moral ambiguity of politics at its worst – the ability of ostensibly smart, civically engaged elected officials to ignore the basic principles of growth and resource management – relying on inside “experts” for cover while ignoring our cries for help, selling their political souls for a seat at the table, then strategically procrastinating while more, more, more obscene development makes its inexorable spread across the land…   

First Step Shelter Debacle

The farcical discussion of turning a publicly funded housing program known as First Step Shelter – one constructed by a public entity, using public funds, located on publicly owned land, and largely supported by tax dollars – into a private not-for-profit organization exempt from Florida’s open meetings law continued this week. 

Why? 

Because the beleaguered executive director and a gaslighting board member prefer to conduct business behind closed doors – away from the prying eyes of We, The People and those increasingly wary donors who pay for it all…

What’s the big secret that no one is talking about at First Step?

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

“Mayor Derrick Henry, who is also the president of the board of directors of First Step Shelter, spoke out forcefully Monday against the idea of making the organization private, a move that would exempt it from Florida’s open meetings and records laws.

Board member Mike Panaggio suggested turning the shelter into a privately run agency, something Executive Director Victoria Fahlberg has also said she would prefer.

Henry objected to First Step Shelter no longer operating as a public agency with public records and public meetings. He said he doesn’t think there’s “a snowball’s chance in hell” that local residents will be OK with that, and he isn’t going to even ask Daytona Beach city commissioners if they want to let the shelter go private.”

Mayor Henry is right. 

The Florida Constitution protects the public’s right of access to governmental meetings and public boards, to include any gathering of two or more members of the same board who discuss issues which may come before them for action.

In essence, if we pay for it, the public has a right to see how the sausage gets made.

Following the ugly debacle surrounding whistleblower complaints of financial, managerial, and harassment allegations against Executive Director Fahlberg – credible accusations that were essentially swept under the rug with an incomplete quasi-investigation (again, paid for with public funds) – recently, the Daytona Beach City Commission gifted the shelter another $400,000 a year for the next five years, and renewed First Step’s lease on the city owned building.

To their credit, the Volusia County Council has deferred a decision on whether to commit an additional $400,000 annually until next month, when they are expected to discuss the fiduciary irresponsibility of throwing another $2 million of our hard-earned tax dollars at the troubled facility over the next five years…

At Monday’s board meeting, Panaggio claimed he feels “handcuffed” (?) by the open meetings law, explaining “…he would still like to see the shelter go private in the coming years so board members can talk to one another outside of meetings, and so the agency can operate more like other nonprofits.”

Of course, Director Fahlberg agrees.  I’ll bet she does… 

In another mind-bogglingly negligent action, there was discussion of using even more shelter funds to pay $3,500 in private attorney fees Fahlberg accrued defending against the whistleblower complaints – and an asinine suggestion that Fahlberg be gifted additional “protections” in her contract – including severance pay…

“I don’t think any of this is her fault,” Panaggio said. “If we had found something, I would have asked for her resignation.”

Bullshit. 

Since these allegations became known, Panaggio has done his best to destroy the personal and professional reputation of the whistleblowers, call their motivations into question, and shield Fahlberg from serious questions regarding her fiscal management and oversight of the enigmatic program.  

Why is that?

In my experience, when an appointed board member and the executive director of a publicly funded social service have goals and opinions that no longer align with those of the governing organization – in this case Mayor Henry and the City of Daytona Beach – then it is time for them to do the honorable thing and resign. 

In the view of many, it is past time for Mike Panaggio and Victoria Fahlberg to take their leave and allow the First Step Board of Directors to begin the arduous process of restoring the public’s trust in this important program.  

Quote of the Week

“I can assure you that I’ve never taken one contribution from anybody, be it a developer a lawyer or any other business that can influence my vote,” Dye said. “As a matter of fact, I intend to be able to — the reason to have accepted these contributions is to take some of the smartest people in the industry to sit down and help us craft real solutions that will stop the conditions that both of us are talking about today.”

After launching his campaign in May of 2023 through the end of that year, Dye raised about $235,441 in monetary contributions. Dye’s contributions included at least $20,000 from developer Mori Hosseini’s associated businesses, family members and a trust.

“There’s no question, I have received plenty of contributions from developers, from attorneys, from landscapers, from painters from plumbers — by the way if you want to put 36,000 people out of business (and) on the unemployment line, just run all the construction out of here because that’s what we keep saying,” Dye said. “We keep talking about how we’re not going to build anything and there’s 36,000 people employed in this industry in this community.”

–“Car Guy” Randy Dye, candidate for Volusia County Chair, as quoted by The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Dye, Brower square off over leadership,” Sunday, October 6, 2024

Sound familiar? 

Every Volusia County politician who ever accepted massive campaign contributions from all the right last names has said the exact same thing: “My vote can’t be bought!”

Reassuring that if we elect them, their very important “friends” will help “craft real solutions.”

Then, once they take their seat on the dais, we watch as those same idealistic wannabes transmogrify into everything they hated, falling into lockstep conformity, and selling out to the wants and whims of those influential special interests who lavishly funded their rise to power…

As of this writing, Randy Dye reports campaign contributions of $452,102. 47.

By any metric, that’s a lot of money for a county chair race… 

By contrast, his opponent, incumbent Chair Jeff Brower has accumulated $97, 733.65.

Those who observe “Fun Coast” politics with a critical eye have long understood that Volusia County’s artificial economy is essentially based on the same group of extremely wealthy power brokers passing the same nickel around.

With increasing frequency – that nickel originates from our tax dollars…

For years, I have opined that the outsized influence of the economic elite on Volusia County politics is best exposed during the political season. Thanks to campaign finance reporting requirements, come election time, the behind-the-scenes work of influential insiders is more difficult to conceal.

In my jaded view, it exposes a mini-oligarchy, controlled exclusively by our “Rich & Powerful” who trade in hand-select political candidates – malleable puppets who ultimately shape public policy – all controlled through unnatural infusions of cash into campaign accounts and the undeniable personal influence that money buys.

What mystifies me is why so many voters in Volusia County continue to tolerate it?

Look, Randy Dye is a smart businessman who understands the concept of “ROI” – Return on Investment – better than I do.  (What little money I have is tied up in what chartered accountants call frivolous spending and “crippling liabilities…”) 

Look, these individuals who make multiple $1,000 donations in their names and the numerous entities they control did not amass massive personal wealth without the ability to control their environment, and, in my view, that is exactly what the political influence they purchase provides. 

It also places them at the very nexus of public funds and private interests and buys them a chip in the incredibly lucrative game of corporate welfare masquerading as economic development enticements.

In my view, you don’t need an MBA from Harvard Business School to understand that one does not invest large sums of money without expecting a return.  After all, the road to the poor house is paved with the bones of those who ignored the simple analytical formula – Net Profit v. Cost of Investment.

These individuals did not become incredibly successful by shoving money down a rabbit hole expecting a bean stalk to rise into the heavens where the golden goose resides.  These are extraordinarily savvy businesspeople who are very adept at accumulating personal and corporate wealth.

I’m all for free-market capitalism – innovate, outmaneuver the competition, do it better, more efficiently, then build a better mousetrap and make a fortune – just leave government largesse, political favors, and the skewed playing field that results out of the formula for success… 

Despite Mr. Dye’s tired affirmations, in my jaded opinion, the local donor class make these massive campaign contributions with the full knowledge that their personal, civic, and professional interests will outweigh those of We, The Little People every single time.

Am I wrong?

That is what they must consider an appropriate return on investment, and given the astronomical amount of “economic incentives,” zoning changes, laughable impact fees, the complete disregard of concurrency requirements, and massive development approvals that our elected officials have continued to shower upon this exclusive group in recent years, I would have to say they’ve done extremely well on the risk/reward scale.

Is what we experience in Volusia County a legalized form of quid pro quo influence peddling – campaign dollars for political favors?

I don’t know.  But it has a whiff of shit about it…

What I do know is that when these very same powerful insiders appear – individually or en masse – in the Volusia County Council Chambers, invariably – and I mean 100% of the time – the issue, project, or development they support is handed to them on a gilded platter, wrapped up in a bow, with all the trimmings.

Now, I may be crazy, but I’m not a fool.  Neither are you.

So, I would encourage Volusia County voters to ask Mr. Dye at the next stilted hobnob or political soiree the $452,102.47 question: If they don’t expect favorable treatment on issues important to their bottom-line, why would a few uber-wealthy power brokers spend a small fortune to support his candidacy for Volusia County Chair?

Here’s another quote I’m fond of:

“There is a growing disconnect between average citizens and elected officials.  Part of the blame lies with a campaign finance system that unfairly stacks the deck in favor of the few able to give exceptionally large contributions.”

–The Brennan Center for Justice

Cui Bono?  Follow the money, y’all…

And Another Thing!

For most of my adult life, like my father and grandfather before me, I was a registered Republican. 

I consider myself a fiscal conservative and social moderate who has always rejected extremism on all sides of the political spectrum, and like my ultraconservative father, I am also a staunch supporter of environmental conservation.  Someone who thinks for himself, researches the issues, forms an opinion, then votes my conscience. 

The campaign nattering of some well-coiffed shit-gibbon in a television ad, names on a slanted “voter’s guide,” or the exaggerated pap and fluff on a glossy mailer mean nothing to me…

A decade ago, as the fringe elements of both major political parties began the radical polarization – the “Us vs. Them” mentality – that now permeates all aspects of politics, governance, and our everyday lives, I split from the Republican party and registered No Party Affiliation – a designation that is beginning to rival both Democrats and Republicans here in Volusia County.   

For me, it became apparent that the Republican Party no longer represented my interests – while the Democratic Party never did…

While the local Democratic apparatus has become little more than a neutered moon bat – the Volusia County Executive Committee continues to be populated by the stagnant “Old Guard” – wholly controlled by an ossified coterie of lockstep insiders – dedicated to preserving the lethargic status quo (and maintaining the suckling order of those who feed at the public teat) against all internal and external threats to the horribly bloated bureaucracy. 

Now, it appears conditions have worsened in the cloistered halls of the Volusia County Republican Executive Committee…

Earlier this month, in an informative article by Al Everson writing in the West Volusia Beacon, we learned that a “…Deltona woman and member of the Volusia County Republican Executive Committee is suing the organization to which she belongs and county Republican Chairman Paul Deering.”

According to the Beacon’s report:

“Rosa C. Campbell, who is herself a member of the local Republican Executive Committee, alleges Deering and others engaged in discrimination “against certain types of Conservative members of VCREC by turning them away from joining [the] committee.”

Campbell’s complaint was first filed with the West Volusia Branch of the NAACP, but she has in recent days delivered a refined complaint to the U.S. District Court in Orlando. Contacted by phone, Campbell told The Beacon that she has not yet hired a lawyer to represent her, but she is searching for one. In the filing with the NAACP that accompanies her federal complaint, Campbell writes that Deering, on Feb. 11, 2018, “referred to me as the token Black” in the REC and “made negative comments about Hispanics.

Since that time I tried to get along with Chairman Deering at the General meetings, but he would always ignore me when I raised my hand,” she wrote.

Campbell also wrote that Deering “had me removed from a candidate endorsement meeting on June 25, 2024 because I was taking pictures of candidates speaking, that I would vote on their endorsement by the Republican party and listed in the voter guide.”

Unfortunately, the article concluded that the Beacon was unable to contact Chairman Deering for a response…

If these allegations are true – I have a problem with that. 

You should too.  Especially if you are a registered Republican in Volusia County.  

In my view, petty tyrants have always been a problem in local political organizations – typically clubbish cliques that operate in diametric opposition to the egalitarian principles they claim to represent. 

Discrimination, bullying, and exclusion have no place in our democratic system, despite what some high-powered partisan martinets like Paul Deering might think, and perhaps it is time for Volusia County Republican’s to ask state party officials just how long they intend to tolerate it? 

That’s all for me.  Here’s wishing everyone a happy, safe, and prosperous Biketoberfest!