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:

The Sins of the “Chisler” Return…

This week banged up and bandaged residents of ICI Homes’ Mosaic subdivision west of LPGA Boulevard finally had their voices heard on a point of community concern:

According to reports, the sidewalks in the development were installed improperly and have created something of a ‘Slip-n-Slide’ effect for homeowners tired of falling down and busting their ass (literally) when attempting to walk the neighborhood…

More disturbing, an inquiry by the City of Daytona Beach found that approvals for the sidewalks were apparently pencil whipped by former City Manager Jim “The Chisler” Chisholm with little, if any, documentation to show inspections were performed.     

In an important exposé by reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Keen writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, assistant city manager for infrastructure Andy Holmes, explained “Former Daytona Beach City Manager Jim Chisholm, who served from 2004 until 2021, decided unilaterally whether a bond would be reduced or released, Holmes said. Chisholm also decided whether a newly constructed street or sidewalk would be accepted, he said.

Chisholm oversaw Mosaic sidewalk construction from 2017 until 2021, and there are no city inspection records of that work during that period, Holmes said.”

As a result, the sidewalks are holding water – resulting in ponding and the resultant slimy residue that has caused “more than 40 people in the Mosaic neighborhood” to slip and fall onto the slippery concrete, including one resident who “broke her tailbone” during a tumble.

Whoa. 

“Because Chisholm apparently released bonds on at least some sections of the Mosaic sidewalks residents are complaining about, the city is responsible for the condition of those sidewalks. Whoever ICI hired to do that work is in the clear.

“It’s distasteful to me,” Holmes said. “The city didn’t build any of those sidewalks wrong. But legally, the city signed off on them.”

According to the report, “Chisholm could not be reached for comment.”

That’s classic. The “Chisler” answers to no one…  

In addition to the physical injuries sustained by residents, the revelations must come as a godawful embarrassment for our High Panjandrum of Political Power and ICI Homes founder Mori Hosseini – a titan of the development industry – who is widely considered one of the most powerful and influential people in Florida. 

Look, I won’t speculate on why former City Manager Chisholm would approve millions of dollars in substandard sidewalks in Mosaic without documented inspections. That represents key infrastructure that residents rely on to safely navigate their neighborhood.

In my view, something stinks…

To his credit, since taking the helm in 2021, current City Manager Deric Feacher has ensured that his conscientious staff conduct and document proper inspections.  Reports indicate there have been no issue with city recordkeeping since Mr. Feacher assumed command.

According to the News-Journal’s report, Mayor Derrick Henry is none too happy with the prospect of Daytona Beach taxpayers being placed on the hook for an estimated $1 million in extensive sidewalk reconstruction. 

In addition to the cost of replacing the defective stretches of sidewalk, the restoration efforts will require a massive amount of staff time to determine who is responsible for what, then coordinate the logistics of a disruptive construction project with a lot of moving parts.

“To the folks at Mosaic, I’m sorry that you had to experience that,” said Mayor Derrick Henry. “Somewhere along the way, somebody down here (in the Daytona city government) didn’t do their job. We kind of know who it was, but I’m very disappointed. We are going to do our part and do what we have to, to hold them accountable.”

Thank you, Mayor Henry. 

It’s about time a local government started holding those in positions of responsibility (with an enormous salary to match) accountable their five-alarm foul-ups that leave taxpayers holding the bag.   

In my view, Daytona Beach City Commissioner Stacy Cantu is the true hero of this story.  Upon learning of the danger, she took up the cause of her constituents in Mosaic and ensured that a complex plan was implemented that will ultimately make at-risk residents whole. 

That’s responsive representation. I admire that.

Now that the incredibly expensive sins of Jim Chisholm – who made a career of diligently catering to our “Rich and Powerful” while telling downtrodden residents of Midtown to get out if they didn’t like their homes being flooded every time it sprinkles – are coming to light, here’s hoping someone from a state/federal agency with a badge in their wallet conducts a complete investigation.

In my view, shoddy sidewalks are one thing, but Mosaic residents are coming forward with ominous reports that their side yards look like a “marsh” – with visible standing water – as others complain about the poor workmanship evident in the development’s infrastructure.

What is the extent of the city’s substandard, undocumented, or non-existent inspections in Mosaic and elsewhere on Chisholm’s watch?

Has anyone ensured that the plethora of new construction between 2004 to 2021 was thoroughly inspected to insure the new homes and apartments met building codes? 

If visible infrastructure like sidewalks is dangerously inferior, how can homebuyers be assured that their property is free of internal hazards, structurally sound, and compliant with established construction standards?

Is this the tip of an extremely big (and incredibly expensive) iceberg? 

I’m asking – before an aggressive personal injury attorney does…    

According to the News-Journal’s report, one concerned Mosaic resident asked the million-dollar (at least) question, “Who signed off that this sidewalk passed inspection?  Had they been doing their job, the city would have caught this. Who’s sleeping at the city and not holding these builders accountable?”

Disturbing questions that deserve answers…  

The Unraveling of Ormond Beach Mayor Jason Leslie – A Case Study in Power Politics

Following the disastrous budget process in Ormond Beach, a weird kabuki that seemed to have half the town begging for a tax increase and the other demanding substantive cuts (with a last-minute twist that left everyone shaking their heads), we’ve learned two things:

Mayor Jason Leslie is not a politician.

Unfortunately, he’s not a statesman, either…

As a frequent apologist for Mayor Leslie, I’m not going to sugarcoat this – he got played like a fiddle – ultimately beaten into the round hole of conformity like a henpecked eunuch.

The sense of fremdschämen I felt watching it unfold was overwhelming…

Hell, even his former opponent – the perennial politician Susan Persis – who Leslie beat like a gong with 53% of the vote in last year’s mayoral race, came down from the political ash heap to put the boots to him at the podium last week.

In her L’esprit de l’escalier moment, Persis condescendingly lectured Leslie, “During your short, turbulent time as mayor, you have demonstrated a propensity of taking positions in front of a certain audience and then taking the opposing position in front of another audience.”

In the leadup to the final vote on the budget, Ormond Beach residents received a glossy mailer screaming “No new taxes” – it was paid for by a once staunch supporter of Mayor Leslie, the politically active George Arnold. 

The provocative flier announced, “Mayor Jason Leslie says, ‘No New Taxes.’ Make sure to tell these arrogant, clueless, out of touch tax & spend commissioners where they can go with their big tax and spend scheme.”

The reverse identified the remaining Ormond Beach City Commissioners by name…

During last Wednesday’s meeting, Mayor Leslie disingenuously claimed he was “shocked” when he received the mailer, explaining he knew nothing about it.  Then, in an interview with the Ormond Beach Observer, Mr. Arnold countered that he told Mayor Leslie about the flier well ahead of when it was sent. 

Yeah.  I know…  

“He’s a flip-flopper,” Arnold said. “… He’s easily cowed. He’s desperate to be liked, and you can’t have both. You either stand on your principle or you cave, and he folded like a cheap suit.”

Arnold said Leslie had “a great opportunity to do things for Ormond Beach” but that he’s been a “big disappointment.”

“He’s not to be trusted and it’s a shame,” Arnold said. “I hate to say that because I backed him, but I never stick with a mistake.”

Sadly, Mr. Arnold is right.

After being repeatedly bludgeoned by his cliquish “colleagues” on the dais, Mayor Leslie must have naively thought his last-minute capitulation fulfilled his promise to “work together” with his antagonists?  

Instead, by giving in and going along, Mayor Leslie has painted himself into a tight political corner and he has no one to blame but himself…

During the abject shitshow that passed for the budget process, the techy trio of Commissioners Travis Sargent, Lori Tolland, and Kristin Deaton repeatedly portrayed Mayor Leslie as irresponsible and out-of-touch for keeping his campaign promises and suggesting substantial budget cuts.  

In turn, City Attorney Randy Hayes crafted a fright-filled missive calling any budget reductions a minefield of “financial risks and liabilities,” suggesting Mayor Leslie’s opposition to a tax increase was counter to “sound fiscal management and responsible leadership.”

(I’m assuming after politicizing his office City Attorney Hayes will be retiring soon?)

Then – literally at the eleventh-hour – last Wednesday, Commissioner Sargent rode into the chamber on a white steed and declared, “I don’t think the ship has sailed.  I think we have options. It takes a lot to go through this and to come up with these, because I don’t want to cut any services. This is a plan that will provide the residents with the services they expect and not have to pay additional taxes.”

Had Mayor Leslie done that, he would have been pilloried outside City Hall and given the bastinado treatment…

After some back-and-forth, the Commission made a few nicks in the budget before unanimously voting to approve a millage rate of 4.3832 mills, which represents a 5.3% increase over last year. 

That didn’t sit well with many Ormond Beach residents – one of whom called the last-minute push by Commissioner Sargent “a disgrace and an embarrassment to the city of Ormond Beach,” while others are clamoring that the reductions weren’t near enough.

What’s done is done. 

That said, I believe the bizarre manner and means by which the City Commission and senior staff arrived at the final budget will resonate with Ormond Beach voters well into next year’s elections.

Now, Mayor Leslie’s disheartened supporters – those who saw him as a maverick newcomer, a change agent unbeholden to Volusia’s ‘Old Guard,’ someone willing to challenge the stagnant status quo to bring spending and development under control – are rightfully incensed that he rolled over, surrendered, and voted with the majority to raise taxes. 

In my experience, voters can forgive many transgressions, but they are revolted by the stench of hypocrisy – that sickening feeling of being hoodwinked for political expediency by someone they trusted to do the right thing, for the right reasons.

After his self-inflicted turnabout, Mayor Leslie has a long way to go to find an authentic voice, demonstrate leadership, and regain the trust of his constituents.  

Quote of the Week

“(Senate Bill 180) …gives developers legal ammunition to sue a city or county that tries to slow suburban sprawl, save rural areas, or protect environmentally sensitive places — or anything else that a developer can claim is “restrictive or burdensome.”

That’s the part of Senate Bill 180 that Pat Neal, Carlos Beruff and the homebuilding lobby are trying to use to stop Manatee County from increasing impact fees.

“The resulting increase in impact fees are restrictive and burdensome to plaintiffs and customers of plaintiff’s businesses,” their lawyers claim in the complaint, which has been filed in Manatee County Circuit Court.

Manatee is now defending itself. And one of the county’s main legal arguments is that the prohibition against “more restrictive or burdensome” land-use rules doesn’t apply to impact fees.

“Impact fees do not regulate or control the development of land in the county, but merely impose a fee to fund capital facilities needed to accommodate new development,” attorneys for Manatee County wrote in an Aug. 12 legal brief. “In short, impact fees do not control how an owner may use land.”

That’s when Ron DeSantis stepped in.

On Aug. 15 — three days after Manatee County submitted its legal brief — the head of the Florida Department of Commerce sent an entirely-out-of-the-blue letter to county leaders warning them not to go forward with their plan to raise impact fees.

Why? Because the increase “appears to potentially violate” Senate Bill 180, the agency claimed.”

–Jason Garcia, writing in his Seeking Rents newsletter, “Ron DeSantis is helping real estate developers exploit a hurricane relief law,” Sunday, September 21, 2025

If anyone is still laboring under the mistaken impression that Senate Bill 180 was innocently designed by the Florida legislature to cut red tape for homeowners following a hurricane, a recent lawsuit filed in Manatee County on behalf of developers attempting to stop an increase in impact fees should clear up any lingering confusion.

It is now clear that the purpose-built overreach of Senate Bill 180 was calculated to subvert local government’s ability to regulate growth, essentially gifting the real estate development industry carte blanche under threat of crippling lawsuits – and brazen intimidation by allied senior state officials who target anyone who dares stand in their way.

Incredibly, now the broad provisions of SB 180 are being used to stop cities and counties from increasing impact fees.  

Based upon the lawsuit filed in Manatee County on behalf of development interests, the subjective “restrictive and burdensome” language of SB 180 is being extrapolated to include the means by which new construction is supposed to help pay for its myriad impacts on a community’s infrastructure and essential services. Something that has nothing to do with controlling growth, regulating development, or facilitating hurricane relief and recovery.   

Just days after Manatee County submitted its commonsense defense, in a chilling move, the Florida Department of Commerce sent county officials a frightening warning not to move forward with plans to increase impact fees. 

Scary.

As the layers of this rotten onion are peeled, it becomes increasingly evident that our legislators intentionally allowed their political benefactors in the development industry to usurp local control.

Now, it appears state officials are employing not-so-veiled threats of removing local officials from office, draconian edicts by regulatory agencies, and the coercive (and horribly unethical) pressure of withholding state funding for local road, parks, and economic development projects to secure the profit motives of their political donors…

Read that again.

As Mr. Garcia alarmingly cautioned, “I don’t want to be melodramatic here, but this could well be the last stand for home rule in Florida.

Land-use is arguably the one major policy area where cities and counties have lots of autonomy and power.

And if politicians in Tallahassee can strip locally elected leaders of even that power…there’s probably no bottom to this.”

I don’t care what your political persuasion is, this isn’t good governance – it’s state-sponsored gangsterism.

That should frighten the hell out every resident – and local elected representative – in the State of Florida…

And Another Thing!

“Flagler County, Flagler Beach, and Palm Coast invest taxpayer dollars in economic development for situations exactly like this. It is unacceptable for a company to take advantage of our resources, uproot families and walk away without accountability. Brunswick owes this community more than a press release and a moving truck.

We are not powerless. Our leaders can and likely will press Brunswick for answers, demand negotiations, explore incentives, and make clear that leaving is not an option. Period. And as a community, we must make sure our leaders know we have their backs in this fight.

Let’s send a clear message to Brunswick: absolutely not. You cannot come and go at will, leaving Flagler families and businesses in the lurch. Not after everything this community has done to support you. This time, we stand together to say enough is enough.”

–Ken Belshe, a principal at Sunbelt Land Management, the developer of Veranda Bay in Flagler Beach, as excerpted from his op/ed “Hell No: Boston Whaler Should Not Be Allowed to Exit Without a Fight from Flagler County’s Leadership,” FlaglerLive.com, Friday, September 19, 2025

It’s no secret I’m an excitable sort. 

When something really gets my dander up, I frequently write down my frustrations – furiously purging my craw on paper – venting my anger and exposing my fears to no one in particular. 

It’s part of the wonderful catharsis of writing. 

Once I’ve transferred my negative feelings to the page, I sleep on it. 

Invariably, when I come back and review my often-incoherent ravings, I crumple up the paper and place it in the round file, feeling infinitely better for the expressive release without having embarrassed myself by publishing some half-baked and emotionally charged diatribe to the world.    

Perhaps Flagler County developer Ken Belshe should give that anger management strategy a try? 

After reading Mr. Belshe’s editorial in FlaglerLive! last week, I find it hard to believe that a savvy business executive who overcame significant opposition from residents and environmentalists to get what he wanted when seeking approvals for Veranda Bay has such a myopic view of the realities of a free marketplace. 

That said, Mr. Belshe makes an excellent point on how some corporations take advantage of publicly funded “economic development” incentives to cover overhead, then flee like scalded dogs when it becomes financially advantageous, leaving taxpayers holding the empty bag (and moldering building).

The fact is, Brunswick can “come and go” as it deems necessary to remain competitive.  

Look, I realize Florida developers are accustomed to getting their way on every issue large and small, but absent a legal obligation tied to the economic incentives that lured them here (which rarely happens), there is no duty for a company to remain rooted in Flagler County – or anywhere else – and slowly wither on the vine when market conditions change.   

In my view, Mr. Belshe should take a long look in the mirror when he starts making demands of other Flagler County business interests. 

As I recall, he was just as unreceptive to public outcry when maneuvering to develop 900 acres of sensitive wildlife habitat along the Intracoastal Waterway near Bulow Creek.  A controversial project that will ultimately bring some 2,700 homes to the development known as Veranda Bay.

That irony is not lost on Flagler County residents… 

In response to Mr. Belshe’s op/ed, a citizen identified as “Mr. David” satirically suggested, “Ken, step up to the plate for the county and all the disenfranchised workers! You could provide hundreds of homes from your development at no cost to the unemployed! After the environmental disaster that is Veranda Bay, it would be the least you could do.”

Four years after returning to Flagler County, Brunswick’s Boston Whaler manufacturing operation is being consolidated with its Edgewater facility.  The closing will result in the loss of some 300 jobs, all of which are being offered transfers to the new operation.

According to reports, Brunswick officials said the relocation is due to a five-year downturn in the fiberglass boat retail market.

In 2007, desperate for those elusive “high paying jobs,” Flagler County cobbled together a multifaceted “Economic Incentive Program,” including capital funding, infrastructure improvements, and real estate discounts, to entice the original Sea Ray plant to Flagler County. 

There were no guarantees, then or now, and Sea Ray closed the plant in 2018.

Brunswick reopened the facility three-years later to manufacture Boston Whaler products.   

According to a January 2021 report by Clayton Park writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, both Brunswick and Palm Coast officials confirmed that “No economic incentives were involved in Brunswick’s decision to take its Sea Ray property off the market to convert it into a Boston Whaler plant…”  

In my view, the unfortunate closing of the Brunswick plant and the displacement of its Flagler based employees is one more example of why government should get out of the marketplace.

For decades, “Fun Coast” residents have been told by those compromised puppets on various councils and commissions – egged on by their bagmen at those redundant public/private “economic development” shams across the region – that if the metroplex is to ever become ‘competitive,’ we must shower publicly funded “incentives” on certain businesses and industries to convince them to locate or remain here, (i.e., “The Great Logistics/Warehouse Boom” of the 2000’s…).  

Bullshit.

In my view, government’s role is to create public policies and steward communities that are attractive to business and appropriate industries, not use public funds to cover risk and underwrite their overhead.

The idea of bloated bureaucracies (where our money is no object) skewing the playing field, picking winners and losers by gifting one business our tax dollars while watching another die, is ethically (and financially) wrong. 

Government interference in the marketplace is patently unfair to thousands of small businesses – ultimately creates an artificial economy – and is counter to the concept of equal opportunity and free enterprise.

It also leaves “Fun Coast” taxpayers without a chair when the music inevitably stops… 

That’s all for me.  Welcome to fall, y’all!

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:

Edgewater Police Officer David Jewell, Requiescat in Pace

I’ve said this before, but from my earliest memories, law enforcement officers have always been my heroes.

They still are.

In a career spanning over three-decades in policing, I watched these brave souls routinely go into harm’s way to protect the safety, peace, and welfare of their fellow citizens; gallant men and women who willingly put their own lives at risk in service to others they didn’t even know. 

It is why law enforcement officers play such an essential — and inspirational — role in binding the very fabric of our society, and why I will forever admire their indominable spirit, courage, and dedication in protecting my family and yours.

This week, Volusia County was rocked by the senseless murder of Edgewater Police Officer David Jewell in a tragic off-duty encounter with a deranged employee of an Ormond-by-the-Sea convenience store.  By all accounts, Officer Jewell was ambushed and executed – shot multiple times at pointblank range – by a store clerk apparently suffering from “mental health issues.”

An arrest has been made, and the investigation is continuing.    

Prior to joining the Edgewater Police Department, Officer Jewell served with the Lake Helen Police Department, and as a decorated telecommunicator with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.   

In addition, David Jewell was a loving father and devoted husband.

Those who served with Officer Jewell described him as a cop’s cop, “kind, selfless, caring, and a light during a dark day. For those who had the honor of knowing him, he was a great friend with a sense of humor.”

In a statement following Monday afternoon’s tragedy, acting Edgewater Police Chief Charles Geiger paid tribute to Officer Jewell, “David was a guy that we could rely on for anything, never heard a bad thing about him, and he’s going to be a tremendous loss to the Edgewater Police Department.”

In my view, Officer Jewell represented the best of us, and his profound contributions will reverberate far beyond the City of Edgewater, and the senseless way he died.   

May David Jewell’s extraordinary legacy of dedicated service be an inspiration to those who continue to protect and serve – and his memory serve as a reminder to those who sleep under the blanket of protection they provide of the dangers our law enforcement officers face both on-duty and off.  

According to the Edgewater Police Department, the family has invited the community to a candlelight vigil honoring the life and service of Officer Jewell on Friday, September 19, 2025, beginning at 6:00 p.m., at the Edgewater Alliance Church, 310 North Ridgewood Avenue, Edgewater.   

The Edgewater Police Department has established a GoFundMe account to assist Officer Jewell’s family.  Please find it here: https://tinyurl.com/mwjxfksp

Godspeed. Forever EP698…

Volusia Vice Chair Matt Reinhart’s Inspired Dream Helps Inmates Reenter Society

According to a 2023 study by the Florida Policy Project, “One of the biggest drivers of incarceration is the revolving door of people leaving prison, reoffending, and returning to prison. The vast majority of people in Florida’s prisons will eventually be released, but a lack of resources and available programming is limiting their likelihood of successful reentry into society.” 

You don’t have to be a penologist to understand the importance of transitional training programs, job skill development, education, and mental health/substance abuse treatment, leading to successful post-release employment in reducing recidivism. 

Thanks to Volusia County Vice Chair Matt Reinhart, jail inmates now have another innovative opportunity for a positive outcome.

During the dark and turbulent September 4 Volusia County Council meeting, there was one bright spot when council members gave life to former county corrections warden and current Vice Chair Matt Reinhart’s dream of establishing a working vegetable farm at the Volusia County Jail.

In my view, leveraging one’s institutional knowledge to develop solutions to intractable problems is smart leadership, and Vice Chair Reinhart’s inspired vision will help inmates build marketable skills, improve their mental health, and may eventually lower food costs for county correctional facilities.   

The program will become part of the county’s Second Chance Reentry Services, an initiative Mr. Reinhart and others believe will reduce recidivism by providing self-improvement opportunities.

As I understand it, the agricultural operation will start with seasonal vegetables and augment the county’s successful horticulture program.   

According to a report by Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal:

“This has been an over 30-year dream of mine,” Reinhart said.

The county spends about $4,000 a month on vegetables for the Division of Corrections. County officials do not expect to be able to grow enough food to cover the entire cost, Volusia County Public Protection Director Randa Matusiak said.

Overall, the startup cost for the program is $156,150, Matusiak said. The costs include adding security features, a refrigeration unit, and a pole barn, among other things. The county would not need to hire more staff to help manage the vegetable crops.

Savings from the program would come from the county selling vegetables to its food provider. In the best-case scenario, the county would save $6,892 a year from the vegetable crops, with recurring costs considered, she said.”

Unfortunately, like most county-run programs (where money is never a concern), the $156,150 setup costs for row crops, and an estimated $442,500 to $467,000 for a “Phase II” chicken program, seems ridiculous…   

To their credit, Mr. Reinhart and his colleagues asked staff to seek reductions before the second phase of the program comes before the County Council for approval.

According to the News-Journal, “The jail offers other programs to help people prepare to leave the jail, get an education and find work, including “GED preparation and exams, forklift training and certification, barbering, virtual welding, and other programs designed to provide practical skills and pathways for rehabilitation.”

District 4 Councilman Troy Kent suggested adding honeybee hives and selling bottles of “county honey” to bring in revenue.

“It would fly off the shelves,” Kent said.”

Whatever works, I say.

Kudos to Vice Chair Reinhart and the Volusia County Council for finding innovative ways to reduce the impact of repeat victimization and recidivism on Volusia County taxpayers. 

Finally, Fini – The Annual Theater of the Absurd Comes to a Close for 2025-26

“Palm Coast’s proposed 2026 fiscal year budget is going to increase 65% to $696 million from the adopted 2025 budget of $421 million.

Most of the increase is spread across several departments, but the largest increase is in the water-wastewater capital projects fund, which is increasing 289% to $326 million from the previous year’s $83 million budget. This fund is not supported by property taxes, but instead various grant revenue, special assessments, and impact fees, according to city budget presentation documents.

Financial Services Director Helena Alves said at the Sept. 10 meeting that this fund is responsible for the water and wastewater treatment plant upgrades and other major capital improvement projects.”

–Reporter Sierra Williams, writing in the Palm Coast Observer, “Palm Coast 2026 budget increases 65% as millage is reduced by one-tenth mill,” Monday, September 15, 2025

Thankfully, the annual rending of garments and gnashing of teeth over county and municipal budgets (and the inevitable tax increases that pay for it all) is finally coming to a close. 

In accordance with the needs of the fiscal feeding schedule, horribly bloated bureaucracies – and the precious smattering of well stewarded communities who live within their means – have once again fed the monkey and satiated the spending addiction that exposes the true priorities of those we elect to represent our interests. 

I don’t know about you, but after watching our elected dullards spend like drunken sailors on everything from publicly funded motorcross tracks to astronomical annual pay increases for senior executives, the artificial handwringing, and contrived theatrics as our elected dullards assume the role of the “conservative watchdog” is exhausting… 

That isn’t limited to the Volusia County Council.   

Each time we go through this carefully choreographed shim-sham, I am reminded of all the times we listened to the chaunt “Growth pays for itself, you rubes!” by developers and the real estate industry who threw a lot of money around and lobbied for more, more, more.

The false promise of an increase in tax dollars that would more than cover the massive impacts of overdevelopment on our local transportation infrastructure, public utilities, water quantity and quality, stormwater management, emergency services, healthcare, and the myriad other essential services a community requires to function effectively.

Instead, for the acquiescence of those we trusted to do the right thing, we exchanged greenspace, wildlife habitat, and the natural topography for a blanket of impervious concrete and zero lot line cracker boxes, and received development-induced flooding in return…

Guess who pays for it all?

Earlier this week, as the Volusia County Council unanimously approved an obscene $1.41 billion budget, there was talk of eliminating the trifling eyewash of setting aside a paltry $5 million for road improvements, desperately inadequate critical infrastructure that is quickly being overwhelmed countywide.

The same is true to our south in Brevard County where commissioners are weighing a gas tax increase just to keep up with road resurfacing and repair as construction of needed roadways goes from just 7.5-miles in 2025 to 5-miles next year. 

So, how are things around your mom-n-pop business? 

Are you seeing automatic revenue increases, salary hikes, benefit increases, money for the renovation and construction of new facilities, perennially renewing slush funds that you can dip into at your leisure to pay for normal repair and replacement costs, free healthcare for your employees and their families, cash for business development, and the ability to grow your workforce and cover overhead with budgetary impunity? 

I didn’t think so… 

Until next year, friends and neighbors.  Keep your chin up – and your wallets open… 

Quote of the Week

“Some elected officials in two Central Florida counties share the same border and the same dilemma: vote their conscience — or risk losing their positions.

Board members in Manatee and Hillsborough counties worry Gov. Ron DeSantis might suspend them if they take action his administration opposes.

“As terrible as it is that there’s a dystopian scenario where people could just remove people from office for disagreements over vague, burdensome language, it’s still the fact,” said George Kruse, chair of the Manatee County Commission, at a recent meeting. “It’s the fact that we’re dealing with right now.”

–George Kruse, Chair of the Manatee County Commission, as excerpted from reporter Doug Soule’s article in WFSU News, “Local leaders in Florida worry they could be suspended for opposing DeSantis,” Wednesday, September 17, 2025

“In unity, there is strength.”

–Aesop

As of this week, more than 20 cities and counties throughout Florida have courageously joined a lawsuit to fight the overreaching provisions of SB 180, a new law that preempts virtually all local planning and growth management decisions. 

Not surprisingly, the law was heavily supported by some of the largest real estate development concerns in the nation, and, in my view, best exemplifies the powerful influence of special interests on legislative manipulation here in the Sunshine State.

The “Biggest Whorehouse in the World.”

Earlier this month, a frightened New Smyrna Beach City Commission voted 3-2 to opt out of the lawsuit, based in part on Mayor Fred Cleveland’s well-articulated fear of serious repercussions from Tallahassee. 

I find that chilling, and I’ve thought of little else sense. 

According to Mayor Cleveland, “I don’t want us to be on the blacklist of those that get punished, one way or another, under the radar.  A majority of our county commissioners have said to me we will get punished (if the city joined the lawsuit). And it’s not right, I don’t like it, but it’s human nature … I’m concerned about a suit being our first best step.”

Apparently, Mayor Cleveland’s trepidations were valid and shared by elected officials across the state.  

According to the WFSU report, “…Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political science professor, says local officials’ concerns are not unreasonable.

“If you’re a local official in Florida, you need to be careful, because if you openly defy the governor or even if you think it’s an open legal question … it’s possible you may find yourself being removed,” Jewett said.”

Now it appears Gov. Ron DeSantis and our state legislators (the same ones the Volusia County Council want to “negotiate” amendments to SB 180 with) are intent on consolidating power in Tallahassee, usurping home rule authority, and preempting any hurdle to a developer’s greed-crazed ambitions with the thuggish threat of draconian audits and removal from office.

In my view, it is time for We, The Little People let our local legislative delegation know that silencing dissent and demanding lockstep conformity through the use of brute force wielded from on high is counter to our democratic principles and right to self-determination.

There is strength in numbers.

That message begins at the ballot box.

And Another Thing!

“The School Board approved the tax rate and budget with a 4-1 vote, with School Board member Donna Brosemer voting against.

“I confess I was a lot more comfortable at the workshop when the projected budget was going to be closer to $1.1 billion,” Brosemer said.

Looking at student enrollment data from 10 years ago compared to today, Brosemer said numbers were similar but that the district’s budget had increased by almost 75%.

She was also concerned about how much of the operating budget — now 71.5% according to staff —was dedicated to salaries and benefits, adding that she’d like for the district to look at its internal structure for next fiscal year.

VCS is projecting to have about 54,127 traditional students in 2026, based on DOE’s forecast model. That is a reduction of about 1,412 students from the second survey conducted in 2025.”

–Reporter Jarleene Almenas, writing in the Ormond Beach Observer, “Volusia County Schools approves $1.4 billion budget in 4-1 vote,” Wednesday, September 10, 2025

A politically astute friend recently asked on social media why every elected body in Volusia and Flagler County has one outcast on the dais.  A duly elected official who refuses to be beaten into the round hole of conformity – an ostracized pariah always on the receiving end of the majority’s collective vindictiveness and gross political attacks. 

Why is that?

From the Volusia County Council’s Chair Jeff Brower, to Ormond Beach Mayor Jason Leslie, Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris, and Volusia County School Board member Donna Brosemer, it seems free thinkers with an alternative view who challenge institutional norms – or (God forbid) espouse a view counter to the bureaucratic “conventional wisdom” – are quickly vilified, marginalized, and banished from the cloistered inner sanctum where the sausage gets made.  

I’ve read psychobabble social theories that attempt to explain the cause of “in-crowd” acceptance and “out-group” shunning, dynamics that inevitably leads to an ‘Us v. Them’ polarization in organizations and communities.

In my uneducated view, around these parts, when it comes to local political cliques the similarities that attract like-types consist of the same uber-wealthy special interests, all the right last names who fund the individual political ambitions of their hand select lackeys as a means of influencing public policies sympathetic to their profit margin.

Sound familiar?  

In addition, there appears to be a psychological craving for acceptance by charming senior administrators and the fawning bureaucracy – all directed by career civil servants with a practiced knack for convincing elected officials to listen to internal “experts” exclusively. 

Sycophantic “insiders” who stress the institutional importance of tuning out any external input – or anyone who questions the culture, cost, or means – always adopting the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” advice of the Three Wise Monkeys to protect the stagnant status quo. 

Let’s call it the “Black Sheep Phenomenon,” and it is never more prevalent than during the well-choreographed charade leading to the group rubber stamp of the final budget and millage rate.

For instance, when Ms. Brosemer broke from the pack and voted “No” to a final budget approaching $1.4 Billion, Volusia County School Board Chair Jamie Haynes instinctively dismissed her “colleague’s” concerns as the cost of doing business. 

According to Haynes, the price of everything from capital projects to personnel costs, (which, I assume, includes the exorbitant salaries and perquisites of Superintendent Balgobin’s ever-expanding entourage in the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand?), has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, yada, yada, yada…

“I just don’t know that it’s a fair comparison, because it’s costing more to do all of these things and to keep up with what we’re doing,” Haynes whined.

Of course, the ultimate member of the “Cool Kids Club,” School Board member Krista Goodrich, backed Haynes simplistic rationalization, claiming that Brosemer’s year-to-year analysis of soaring administrative costs was flawed, citing it is “not apples to apples to compare 2015 to 2025.”

None of that matters now. 

The increase has been assured by the lockstep majority and the “Look! A red herring!” diversion has begun.

With great flourish, last week, Volusia County Schools unfurled the gilded announcement that Superintendent Carmen Balgobin has been named “2025 Superintendent of the Year” by something called the National Association of School Superintendents.  

As best I can tell, the selection criteria consisted of Dr. Balgobin submitting a signed “featured member article” to NASS touting her achievements.  (Naturally, there was a heavy emphasis on VCS uncanny school grade improvements and mysterious graduation increases that have yet to be fully explained, despite questions from Ms. Brosemer and others…)

According to the NASS website, Superintendent Balgobin entered several areas of recognition, including “Excellence in Safety & Education,” “Excellence in Technology & AI,” and “Power Leadership >2,500,” ultimately taking the whole enchilada at the NASS conference at a Marriott in Chicago last week.    

Admittedly, I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I found the whole thing confusing…

You see, earlier this year it was announced that Walter B. Gonsoulin Jr. of the Jefferson County, Birmingham, Alabama School System had been named 2025 National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators.

The AASA bills itself as “The School Superintendent Association,” and the “premier association for school system leaders and serves as the national voice for public education and district leadership on Capitol Hill.” 

In addition, the AASA sponsors the National Superintendent Certification Program and holds a registered copyright on the term “National Superintendent of the Year.”   

Closer to home, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents named Dr. David K. Moore of the School District of Indian River County as the 2025 Florida Superintendent of the Year – which, under AASA selection criteria, is a prerequisite for the national recognition.

So, how can there be two “Superintendents of the Year”?

I’m asking.  Because having two undisputed “Heavyweight Champions of the World” is befuddling to a knob like me… 

Whatever.

Let’s face it, awards and self-congratulatory accolades are nice to have for mid-career professionals with an inflated opinion of themselves – especially when it comes to diverting attention, sticking your thumb in the eye of your detractors, putting your critics in their place – and shutting up those meddlers who ask too many questions about the who, what, when, where, and why of things…  

Perhaps we could all feel better about our collective “accomplishments” if we could get solid answers to how these supernaturally improved grades and graduation rates were facilitated – along with a transparent accounting of how an astronomical $1.4 Billion in public funds is being spent in furtherance of educating Volusia County students?  

As Ms. Brosemer so aptly said in her cogent essay in the Ormond Beach Observer during the budget process:

“So many questions no one asks. So few answers no one wants. Does the board’s apathy mirror that of the public, or vice versa? It doesn’t matter. We as a board are not cheerleaders. We are charged with oversight, as we struggle to get relevant documents. Whether or not the public cares, it’s our job.”

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

Today we remember.

Across the nation, Americans are gathering to mark 24-years since our nation changed forever – a vicious attack on our foundational principles – an attack on all of us…

Yesterday, a despicable coward carried out the vicious assassination of the young conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus. This craven act of extreme violence happened as Mr. Kirk engaged in the open debate of ideas, discussed opinions on the issues of the day, and explained political positions some disagreed with.

He was killed for practicing his inalienable right to free expression.

He was killed for speaking his truth…

On this day, I believe we best honor the memory of those bold and courageous souls who have given their lives to preserve our democracy and sacred freedoms by speaking out. Using our voices for positive change, engaging in peaceful dialog, furthering the discussion, and championing the cause of freedom and good governance.

It’s important. Now, more than ever.

Volusia County Council of Cowards – A New Low in Political Bullying

As a veteran observer of local government, with few exceptions, what I witnessed near the end of last week’s Volusia County Council meeting was perhaps the worst political gibbeting of a duly elected public official I have ever seen.

It was a frightening example of the fate that awaits those who refuse to conform, and a disgusting reminder of how mean-spirited and iniquitous the lockstep majority of our elected dullards have become in service to their influential overseers. 

Don’t take my word for it, down a strong dose of Emetrol and watch for yourself (beginning at 6:55:08): https://tinyurl.com/3spvwy6f

In my view, it was another malicious attempt to publicly castrate Chairman Jeff Brower in a cheap political bushwhack that shocked the conscience of many Volusia County residents.    

Last Thursday, during closing comments, Councilman Danny “Gaslight” Robins set a clumsy trap using his best Atticus Finch impression to accusatorily interrogate Chairman Brower about his appearance at an August meeting of the Edgewater City Council. 

After being invited by the Edgewater Council to appear at the meeting, Mr. Brower stood at the podium and enthusiastically supported the city’s opposition to SB 180, encouraged the elected body to stand firm with their previously imposed building moratorium in the face of widespread development-induced flooding, and suggested state legislators may face political accountability for supporting the overreaching bill.  

Droning on in his melodramatic style, Councilman Robins made a ham-fisted attempt to introduce his Exhibit “A” – a loaded “gotcha!” moment – consisting of an innocuous six-minute video of Chairman Brower speaking at the Edgewater meeting.  

It didn’t quite work out the way Mr. Robins would have wished…

For several awkward minutes, council members and the audience sat in uncomfortable silence as the dramatic anticipation drained from Robins’ skit when the county’s horribly inadequate audio/video system (per usual) failed to perform. 

(On the rare occasion when the system works, it sounds much like two dried gourds transmitting voice-like sounds across a stretched animal hide…)    

When the video finally aired (with sound, this time) the ‘proceedings’ devolved into an embarrassing clown show, with “Gaslight” Robins leading the troupe through their previously assigned roles.

During his scripted harangue, Councilman Robins accused Mr. Brower of having “diarrhea of the mouth” (that’s rich, considering the source), and claimed his address to the Edgewater City Council undermined the unanimous intent of the Volusia County Council to beg for “amendments” to SB 180, rather than stand firm against aggression and join with other local governments across the state who are considering a lawsuit against the preemptions to local control.

In a shocking demonstration of what obsequious cowards Robins and his “colleagues” have become – Mr. Robins mewled that, rather than defend local control and vehemently oppose the overreach of SB 180 – council members should be “walking on eggshells and kissing their (legislators) butts to get this through for our citizens, not campaigning on the dais with this much at stake.”

Read that again…

Not to miss an opportunity to grandstand, the always condescending Councilman “No Show” Santiago – perhaps the most compromised political hack on the dais – continued putting the boots to Brower with accusations and insinuations, lashing out in a pique, and charging that Brower is destroying the council’s “relationship” with the legislative delegation (what relationship?)

In turn, Councilman Don Dempsey (in my view, an elected official who lost all credibility the moment he manipulated a tax supported environmental protection program to fund his pet motorcross facility at public expense) got in on the act, painting Brower as having mutinously gone “rogue,” theatrically accusing him of breaking the law, and berating Chairman Brower for having the temerity to speak his mind and champion the rights of local government to self-determination.    

The entire scene was stupid, meanspirited, and ugly.

With everyone’s patience waning, “Gaslight” Robins finally revealed his true intent – making a motion (naturally seconded by Santiago) that the Council write a smarmy letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Lieutenant Governor, and the local legislative delegation, clarifying Volusia County’s submissive position on SB 180.

In fact, it was a not-so-veiled suggestion that Gov. DeSantis remove Chairman Brower for his opposition to the legislative preemptions (and serious local consequences) of the controversial new law.

In a clearly rehearsed pivot, Councilman Jake Johansson – who is currently running for State Senate – was gifted the role of Deganawida, calming the turbid waters by suggesting it was inappropriate for the council to “tell daddy we’re arguing” by formalizing internal issues in a letter and airing internecine spats with the state.

Unfortunately, the damage to the credibility of the Volusia County Council (and the public trust) was done.

It was a dogpile – a vicious and well-choreographed personal attack – cruel retribution for Brower’s vocal opposition to Robins’ asinine push to cut public hearings for special exceptions – something Brower rightly labeled “malfeasance” for elected officers of a charter government.

More prearranged theatre acted with excruciating pomposity by the likes of Danny Robins and David Santiago, all because Chairman Brower showed the personal and political courage to passionately stand for the needs and wants of his frightened constituents on the most critical issue of our time.

To their immense credit, on Monday evening, the Edgewater City Council boldly voted 4-0 to join the statewide coalition of cities and counties seeking to take legal action to defend their Home Rule right to self-determination. 

It was the right thing to do, and it took courage. 

History is never kind to cowards.

Something tells me that the repulsive political ambush we saw last Thursday won’t soon be forgotten by Volusia County voters; waterlogged residents who are sick and tired of watching their quality of life destroyed by craven politicians, and the greed-crazed special interests that facilitate their betrayal. 

Ormond Beach Mayor Jason Leslie – The ‘In-Crowd’s’ Budgetary Punching Bag

My wife, two feral dogs, and I share an arrogantly shabby cracker box up here in north Ormond Beach.   

There’s no gate on our neighborhood, and the ‘Old Barker Place’ isn’t much to look at – a wood frame 3/2, kept upright up by the termites and carpenter ants holding hands – subject to all the joy, heartbreak, and crippling expense inherent to enjoying what remains of the American Dream here in the Sunshine State. 

It isn’t much, but it’s our little sliver of the pie…  

It’s home.

I’ve spent the bulk of my life in Ormond Beach, grew up on the north peninsula when Halifax Drive was little more than a two-lane fire trail north of Granada Boulevard, and a drawbridge spanned the Halifax.  My small elementary school class at St. James would sometimes walk over the old bridge to enjoy the Christmas display at City Hall or visit a small pet shop downtown.   

Our playground on the church property was in the shadow of The Casements, just behind Billy’s Tap Room, where Mr. McDonald would occasionally be called upon to retrieve our kickball from the roof…    

Natural dunes and wild palmetto scrub stretched all the way from my childhood backyard to a thin ribbon of asphalt that was A-1-A, then an idyllic path through the sea oats led to the best beach in Florida…     

A very different place than today.

The late great political commentator Big John used to euphemistically poke fun at our infamous pomposity here in the “Birthplace of Speed” – referring to us as “The Fingerbowl District” – always theatrically pronouncing it “Or-mond.”

Still makes me chuckle…  

I can attest that Ormond Beach has always had a streak of pretentiousness.  A snobbish air that comes from our long and storied association with affluent residents from John D. Rockefeller to the modern-day gazillionaires (and those who pretend to be) who call our community home.

We were special once.  That was a point of civic pride…  

Not anymore. 

In my view, now the political atmosphere is no different than tumultuous places like the Lost City of Deltona and Palm Coast – with little dissimilarity from anywhere else in the greater Halifax area.  Don’t take my word for it, drive south on Atlantic Avenue from Granada Boulevard and tell me what sets us apart?    

Now that our once quaint community is trapped in the pincer of explosive growth – with little civic vision beyond the monotonous proliferation of strip centers, itinerant chain restaurants, and storage facilities that have made our community just another homogenized “everyplace” – our elected “leadership” prefers the distraction of spiteful bickering over problem-solving and fiscal stewardship.   

The result is a tragic cycle of backbiting and internecine conflict which regularly pits freshman Mayor Jason Leslie against the techy trio of Commissioners Travis Sargent, Lori Tolland, and Kristin Deaton who form the city’s mean-spirited “in-crowd.”

The inexperienced Mayor Leslie’s learning curve has become something to be exploited.  Branded a “newcomer,” Leslie has become the political whipping boy – nasty treatment never more evident than during what passed for the city’s “budget hearings” and the Commission’s horribly ham-handed failure to select Ormond Beach’s employee benefits provider.    

Adding to the chaff, someone strategically placed a false Facebook post claiming Mayor Leslie wanted to cut funding for youth sports programs. 

It was a baldfaced lie, but it had the desired effect:  Paint Mayor Leslie as the bad guy, then make him deny it in front of an angry crowd…   

It also created an opportunity for Mayor Leslie’s detractors on the dais to berate and lecture, accusing him of sowing confusion with “false and incomplete information,” with Budget Advisory Board member Josh Pringle publicly dressing down the Mayor for communicating with his constituents in the Ormond Beach Observer, “…leadership by the mayor through the media is not leadership at all.”

“Creating buzz in the Observer or on Twitter is not leadership of this city,” Pringle chided. “The community loses when our leadership is absent.”

City Attorney Randy Hayes got his licks in, placing a memorandum in the Commission’s agenda package lobbying for a tax increase while criticizing Mayor Leslie’s attempts to find deeper cuts. 

According to Hayes, Commissioners were encouraged to vote for the tax increase due to “…financial risks and liabilities associated with the mayor’s intention to seek deep reductions in the millage rate and the budget, and the uncertainties those reductions would have on the ability of the city to deliver quality services to residents.”

“Sound fiscal management and responsible leadership require it.”

For her part, Commissioner Lori Tolland – who directed that Mr. Hayes missive be read aloud by the city clerk – accused Mayor Leslie of threatening Ormond Beach’s quality of life by even suggesting a tax cut (?). 

“Let me be perfectly clear from the start: I’m not willing to compromise the quality of life for our residents because of misinformation or any political maneuvering,” Tolland crowed. “The conversation that we’re having tonight about cuts is very frustrating, and it really stinks.”

It stinks all right…because it’s manufactured bullshit.

At the end of the day, Ormond’s “In-Crowd” got what it wanted – a 6.94% tax rate increase – with an annual budget now set at $143 million.  According to a report in the Ormond Beach Observer last week, “From the 2020-2021 fiscal year to 2025-2026, the budget has increased by about 48%.”

In just five-years?

Perhaps Attorney Hayes can address that in his next fiscal epistle? 

In my view, most disturbing is how senior staff and those lockstep conformists on the Commission ostracized Mayor Leslie during the process – painting him as the monster in their bureaucratic scary stories that always accompany the mere mention of reducing the tax burden on already strapped residents.

Quote of the Week

“A split City Commission Tuesday night, Sept. 9, voted 3-2 against joining a coalition of municipalities in a legal challenge against SB 180.

Mayor Fred Cleveland and Commissioners Valli Perrine and Brian Ashley opposed the joining the lawsuit; Vice Mayor Lisa Martin and Commissioner Jason McGuirk voted in favor.

Residents and commissioners alike voiced their disapproval of the new state law, but diverged on whether joining the lawsuit was best course of action.

South Florida attorney Jamie Cole, of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman law firm, is organizing the initiative, which has garnered support from more than 15 local government entities (both counties and cities). In Volusia County, Edgewater and Deltona have joined the coalition.”

–Reporter Brenno Carillo, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “NSB City Commission votes 3-2 against joining coalition legally challenging SB 180,” Tuesday, September 9, 2025

With Mayor “Floodin’ Fred” Cleveland and Zone 1 Commissioner Valli Perrine up for reelection next year, it looks like the citizens of New Smyrna Beach have some decisions to make.

In my view, the gross inaction earlier this week by Mayor Cleveland and Commissioners Perrine and Brian Ashley to tuck tail and opt out of a coalition of communities across the state who are fighting the pernicious effects of SB 180 on Home Rule made those choices crystal clear…

To their immense credit, Vice Mayor Lisa Martin and Commissioner Jason McGuirk stood for the protection and quality of life of their residents in bravely voting to take the fight against the state legislature’s base aggression to court.

Inconceivably, despite the widespread effects of massive development on the residents and character of his community – and the fact SB 180 has effectively repealed all of the city’s previous efforts to mitigate flooding with development and stormwater management regulations – Cleveland, Perrine, and Ashley mewled the same frightened runes:

“How about we study our options a while longer?  If we wait and play to their ego, maybe they’ll eat us last?” and “Let’s ‘work with’ our local legislative delegation (the same arrogant aggressors who passed the law) to lobby for “amendments” sometime next session, you know, while the bulldozers roar…”

Instead of standing up for his constituents, it sounds like “Floodin’ Fred” got scared after listening to those handwringing pantywaists on the Volusia County Council:

According to Mayor Cleveland, ““I don’t want us to be on the blacklist of those that get punished, one way or another, under the radar.  A majority of our county commissioners have said to me we will get punished (if the city joined the lawsuit). And it’s not right, I don’t like it, but it’s human nature … I’m concerned about a suit being our first best step.”

Have we reached a place where political bullying – the thuggish use of “blacklists,” retribution, and punishing communities by withholding the allocation of public funds as a means of ramrodding bad public policy is what passes for “governance” in Tallahassee?   

In my view, silencing dissent and ensuring conformity with whispered threats is counter to our democratic principles and speaks to the brazen hold influential special interests have on our elected officials.

Chilling…

Fortunately, Volusia County is blessed with a core group of resolute civic activists and environmentalists who are standing boldly on the frontline, defending our right to self-determination, and protecting what remains of our sensitive wild places from overdevelopment (Read: Greed).

Earlier this month, The Sweetwater Coalition – a small grassroots environmental protection advocacy – filed a “Verified Complaint for Declaratory Judgement and Injunctive Relief” in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando. 

The filing seeks an injunction to prevent damage to Spruce Creek and its unique wildlife habitats from ongoing construction activities related to the controversial Pioneer Trail/I-95 overpass.

Rather than fret about being “punished” by state elected officials then cowering like frightened rats in the shadows – the Sweetwater Coalition and others took action – standing tall to defend our quality of life when we need it most.

I find great inspiration in committed citizens who stand alone for that which they believe is right, honorable, and fair – unafraid of speaking truth to power despite the consequences.

These brave souls set the example of courage and citizenship for our timid “elected representatives” who have no problem defecating on the right of We, The Little People to participate in our government – then kowtow to state overreach – spinelessly kissing the sizeable asses of their powerful bullies using political placation and appeasement.

This isn’t “politics as usual.”

Use your voice.  Speak out.  Vote.

And Another Thing!

“Ormond Beach resident Connie Colby said she hadn’t heard anyone coming forward asking for the ordinance and its long list of changes.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. … What I see is 228 pages (the length of all the agenda item materials) creating a free-for-all, and that bothers me a lot because the document itself is kind of difficult to understand,” Colby said.

District 4 Councilman Troy Kent also said that he hadn’t had anyone, developer or resident, ask for the changes. He opposed cutting down on the public and the County Council’s ability to have a say in some types of development.

“I have received, I think, hundreds of emails on this Chapter 72 change, and I believe 100 percent of them have been against doing it,” Kent said.”

–Reporter Sheldon Gardner, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Volusia Council OKs rules that reduce public oversight in zoning code,” Friday, September 5, 2025

“The people who speak out don’t represent half a million people…”

–Councilman David “No Show” Santiago, the well-compensated political hack who occasionally represents Volusia County Council District 5, Thursday, September 4, 2025

Last Thursday was a banner day for our elected dullards on the Volusia County Council.

In one malevolent sweep, a 4-3 majority of compromised shills arrogantly ignored the concerns of concerned residents seeking to stop a brazen move by Councilman Danny “Gaslight” Robins to silence citizen input and eliminate politically accountable oversight for special exceptions to the zoning code. 

After easing the way for their political benefactors in the development industry, the same self-righteous majority publicly embarrassed themselves with a badly choreographed attack on Chaiman Brower for standing firm with his constituents.

Following a clumsy and blundering process that took three meetings to still get wrong, Councilmen Danny Robins, Jake Johansson, David Santiago, and Don Dempsey, haughtily snubbed the capacity crowd, the hundreds more watching on YouTube (?), and the twenty-two valiant citizens who lined up to voice their opposition to the amendment.

Disregarding the fact many citizens took time away from work to travel to DeLand at 9:00am last Thursday – Councilman David “No Show” Santiago condescendingly labeled attendees as “Brower’s followers” – then sneeringly denigrated their participation from the dais as inconsequential. 

For his part, single-issue Councilman Don “Dirt Track” Dempsey branded residents who speak out on issues that affect their lives and livelihoods a “Mob,” announcing he doesn’t represent their interests. 

Of course, not – he represents himself.   

Now that Councilman Dempsey has all but assured a publicly funded motorcross track for his family and friends, he could care less about listening to your piddly-ass problems with land use, development-induced flooding, and exorbitant taxes and fees.  

And the suppression of the public’s right to participate in their governance continues…

From beach driving and access, to flooding and malignant overdevelopment, transportation infrastructure, environmental destruction, and other issues of pressing concern for Volusia County residents, the majority of our elected officials have become wholly-compromised sock puppets – craven cowards – whose bought-and-paid-for priorities have nothing to do with those of their longsuffering constituents. 

Know your role and shut your pieholes.  Public input is no longer needed – or tolerated…  

That’s all for me.  Never forget.

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:

Volusia County School Board Member Donna Brosemer Speaks the Truth

Longsuffering stakeholders – those of us who pay the bills and have grown tired of the lack of transparency, quibbling, and obfuscation that surrounds the administration of Volusia County District Schools – welcome the no-nonsense straight talk of District 4 School Board member Donna Brosemer. 

It’s like a breath of fresh air blowing through the cloistered halls of a secret society that values controlling the narrative and abhors open and honest discourse. 

But is anyone listening?

During a recent public evaluation of Superintendent Carmen Balgobin’s performance, Ms. Brosemer seemed to understand that just because someone with a high opinion of themselves tells you how great they are, doesn’t mean that haughty self-assessment is true…

Unfortunately, Superintendent Balgobin’s façade of clarity and competence won over the remainder of our ovine elected representatives who, in lockstep conformity, baselessly issued rave reviews despite the ongoing controversies, quagmires, and lack of transparency that continue to plague Volusia County Schools.

Earlier this week, member Krista Goodrich (obviously pushed to the front by insiders too afraid to do it themselves) published a feelgood piece in the Ormond Beach Observer further insulating Superintendent Balgobin in the interest of “stability,” while marginalizing Brosemer’s concerns and contributions, dismissing her questions as a “negative narrative.”

“Headline-driven accusations may stir fear, but they don’t serve families,” Goodrich crowed.

I would submit that glossing over serious issues at Volusia County Schools (many of which predate Goodrich’s tenure) as a means of being part of the “in-crowd” isn’t healthy for student success either… 

As the self-described resident expert in commercial real estate transactions by public entities, perhaps in Ms. Goodrich’s next lecture she can explain how the Balgobin administration’s failure to perform adequate due diligence left Volusia County taxpayers holding the bag on millions-of-dollars wasted on properties in DeBary to fulfill School Board Chair Jamie Haynes’ “legacy”?

Or perhaps she could clear the air of rumors that low-performing students were reassigned to non-traditional schools and programs to bolster the almost unheard of graduation rates Dr. Balgobin is being recognized for?   

Because, if true, that’s the textbook definition of ‘manipulation.’

Find Ms. Goodrich’s piece here: https://tinyurl.com/h39mwdv5

We’re still waiting on a workshop for an explanation of Balgobin’s asinine attempt to keep a lid on things using the intimidation tactic of non-disclosure agreements – required of an astonishing 100 members of the public organization – a ploy that many believe is both unconstitutional and counter to Florida’s public records law. 

Because it is.

Inconceivably, the Balgobin NDA – apparently developed by School Board Attorney Gilbert Evans, Jr. (without the Board’s knowledge or consent?) – specifically prohibits the disclosure of “Information regarding the District’s financial operations, including budgets, funding sources, and allocation of resources,” including “Strategic planning documents and information.” 

The broad stroke of the Superintendent’s confidentiality pact expands to “Non-public communications between and among District personnel, the Department of Education, parents, students, and community stakeholders.”

In speaking the hard truth to her colleagues and constituents during a School Board meeting last week, Ms. Brosemer explained, “The Florida Constitution details that, in order to add a new category of what is confidential or exempt from public disclosure, a legislator must first file a bill that justifies its public purpose, and that bill has to be passed by a two-thirds majority of both chambers.  We’ve done none of that and are not even authorized to do it.”

She correctly added that the NDA’s are “a naked admission that the district is trying to hide or control information.”

Naturally, that revelation didn’t sit well with Balgobin and the Board’s horribly conflicted legal counsel…

According to a report by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer, Superintendent Balgobin explained, “You and I know, and several of you here, that we have had incidences of employees who’ve left and taken our software with them to other locations,” Balgobin said. “We’ve had employees that have worked in the legal department, and after they left, they discussed cases and specific information regarding (the district), so failure to act also, when you’re seeing such trailing events taking place, could put our organization at risk.”

In foolish bureaucratic fashion, rather than take action against those who steal software, pilfer intellectual property, or speak out of school (pun intended) – instead, Balgobin compelled one-hundred District employees sign an overreaching oath of silence?    

That doesn’t make sense. 

Speaking during board member comments, Ms. Brosemer explained “Either we rescind it, or it will be rescinded for us by a court or by the state, and could result in sanctions.  In addition to the Constitution, we have violated Florida’s legal doctrine against unconscionable contracts, the primary element of which is that one party has such a disproportionate advantage over the other party that the other party effectively has no choice but to sign, like the position our employees were in.”

As is typical with the Volusia County School Board – a group that never quite understood who it works for as the tail continues to wag the dog – when Ms. Brosemer asked for a vote to rescind Balgobin’s NDA and restore the public’s trust in district communications; her commonsense motion was met with 30-seconds of awkward silence.

Crickets, y’all…

Per protocol, the remainder of the School Board circled the wagons and attempted to explain the inexplicable, with member Ruben Colón prostrating himself before the Superintendent’s gilded throne and claiming he wasn’t sure if our duly elected representatives have the “authority” to rescind a monarchical edict from the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand. 

Really?

Perhaps Mr. Colón and his servile colleagues should take a look at the voter rolls and remember who elected them to high office – and why…

Ultimately, the Board agreed to discuss the NDA issue at a future “workshop” – you know, give Superintendent Balgobin and her coterie of senior administrator’s time to formulate more smoke-and-mirrors to marginalize and muzzle the outspoken Donna Brosemer – or, as Lawyer Evan’s explained, an opportunity “…to actually show Ms. Brosemer on where she’s incorrect on several of her assertions here.”

Bullshit.

The wide disparity between Ms. Brosemer’s accurate and honest evaluation of Superintendent Balgobin’s performance and those of her fawning supporters on the School Board is telling.  In my view, it speaks to the powerful external influences that need artificial stability and meaningless “high marks” at Volusia County Schools as an “economic development” enticement (read: to sell more homes…)

Even if it means glossing over recurrent issues that adversely affect students, staff, and stakeholders using congratulatory accolades, undeserved praise, and institutional groupthink.

In my view, given the shocking exposé by Gabriel Velasquez Neira writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week which explained (in part) how Volusia County Schools received an “A Grade” when “…nearly half of its high school students are still below grade level in mathematics and English,” now is the time for complete transparency and open dialog – not toadyism and ass-kissing flattery.   

As I understand it (and I’m not sure I do) it works like this: While some 53% of students in “traditional” Volusia County High Schools were “below or far below their grade level in mathematics,” that’s better than the 55% of all high schoolers in Florida who “are below grade level on standardized mathematics tests.”  Ergo, Volusia County gets a good grade because we failed at a lower rate than the state’s average in math.  The statistics are similar in other key subjects.

That’s something to be celebrated?

Add to that the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores for Volusia County students have been falling for the past four years (from an average 1,000 in 2020-2021 to 975 in 2023-2024) and the trend for Volusia County students appears grim.

What are the long-term consequences of graduating victims’ year-after-year – young people entering a competitive workforce or attempting higher education with substandard reading, comprehension, and mathematical skills – just so economic development shills have something to crow about, while senior administrators preen and peacock over a meaningless “grade”?

I’m asking.  Because the whole scheme seems immoral to me.

In my view, given the fact Volusia County Schools now commands an obscene annual budget of over $1.1 Billion in the face of declining enrollment – the rumored manipulation of graduation rates should be prosecuted – not celebrated.

With Districts 1, 3, and 5 up for election next year, it is incumbent that our elected representatives explain to Superintendent Carmen Balgobin who she was hired to serve – and enforce the limitations on her authority to implement restrictive public policies in secret – especially those that conflict with state open records law, and the public’s right to know.   

So Long Deltona Commissioner Nick Lulli.  We Hardly Knew Ye… 

Over the past week, I heard assorted reasons for Deltona Commissioner Nick Lulli’s sudden departure from elected office last week – everything from the usual political intrigue and dishing of unsubstantiated dirt – to the simple explanation that he bought a house outside District 6 and relinquished his seat as required.

Regardless, after just 10-months on the job Commissioner Lulli abruptly called it quits last week.  

I reached out and asked the normally communicative Mr. Lulli why it was necessary for him to take his leave, but he didn’t answer (which isn’t uncommon once people flee the public eye).  But it appears a change of address left him ineligible to serve.   

It’s been a wild ride for someone who got into local politics over an exorbitant water bill…

In November 2024, Mr. Lulli defeated controversial incumbent Jody Lee Storozuk with 51% of the vote.  During his short but eventful tenure, Mr. Lulli distinguished himself as one of the 4-3 majority to courageously oppose the overreaching preemptions of SB 180 and preserve the city’s home rule authority.   

Last Friday, Mr. Storozuk – who is a declared candidate for Deltona mayor – posted on social media that he has “thrown his name in the hat” to be appointed interim District 6 commissioner and serve until the seat is placed on the 2026 ballot.

In his announcement on social media, Storozuk accused Deltona City Manager Dale ‘Doc’ Dougherty of playing politics and “trying to change the rules for the selection process.” As Mr. Storozuk describes it, the City Manager is making an effort to “game the system,” in his view, to facilitate raising taxes and additional spending.

He didn’t provide specifics.

In addition, last week, former City Commissioner Julio David Sosa launched his own campaign for the temporary seat, calling on residents to contact the remaining elected officials and lobby for his appointment.  As an outside observer, I always thought Mr. Sosa had the community’s best interests at heart – smart, level-headed, and committed to shepherding his often-tumultuous city through the storms and into the light.

In November 2022, Mr. Sosa resigned from the Deltona City Commission to run for the District 5 Volusia County Council seat now frequently occupied by Councilman David “No Show” Santiago…

Other politically astute residents have suggested longtime Deltona resident Linda White for the position, someone who has been active in civic affairs and served as the city’s temporary City Manager in the late 90’s.  Maybe I missed something, but I haven’t seen anything from Ms. White that indicates she would be remotely interested in wading into that fetid swamp…  

Our lives and situations change, and that applies equally to elected officials.  In my view, it is a testament to Nick Lulli’s character that he did the right thing by his constituents and the City Charter.   

Unfortunately, the last thing the Lost City of Deltona needs is more instability and uncertainty, just when the majority seemed synchronized in daringly defending the city’s building moratorium from the threat of SB 180. 

By its recent example, Deltona became a statewide paragon of what it means to hold firm to a community’s civic values and right of self-determination.

Earlier this week, amid swirling rumors that the appointment of an interim District 6 commissioner is being manipulated both internally and externally, Commissioners Dori Howington, Maritza Avila-Vazquez, and Stephen Cowell pulled the increasingly common “my tummy hurts” and failed to appear at the scheduled public meeting.

That left Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr., Davison Heriot, and Emma Santiago – the three “No” votes against challenging SB 180 – alone on the dais, with Mayor Santiago gaveling the meeting to a close as soon as it opened citing the lack of a quorum.   

Now, anything’s possible.

Welcome back to the ‘bad old days,’ Deltona…

Volusia County Council of Cowards – When Public Hearings Become Inconvenient

If you are a Volusia County taxpayer – perhaps a flood victim who is demanding greater oversight of malignant growth and the rubber stamp approvals that facilitate it – just know it’s not about you. 

Never was.

The current iteration of the Volusia County Council has proven, repeatedly, that they have no time for the inconvenience of listening to the needs and wants of existing residents – or providing substantive opportunities for We, The Little People to be heard on issues important to our quality of life.

As I write this, the meeting is underway, but I’ve got a feeling that later today, our elected dullards will pass a county-initiated zoning ordinance amending how special exceptions are processed and approved under the zoning code. 

Why? 

Because those pro-growth shills on the Volusia County Council want to streamline the approval process for their cronies and political benefactors in the real estate development industry – while eliminating the ability of you and I to be heard on the potential impact of special exceptions on our lives and livelihoods. 

Of course, the ordinance is cloaked as a means of kowtowing to SB 180, which prohibits the imposition of “burdensome or restrictive” land use regulations – essentially allowing the greed-crazed cancer of overdevelopment to spread like wildfire – while unchecked developers haul untold millions out of the clear-cut remains of Volusia County.   

The proposed changes to the Volusia County Charter – Chapter 72 Land Use – will remove accountability from our elected officials by permitting them the benefit of plausible deniability, eliminate public hearings before the Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission and the Volusia County Council, and allow politically unaccountable county staff to approve special exceptions without oversight or public input.

Special exceptions will now be permitted “by-right” – meaning projects that can be approved without discretionary approval – and will include parking garages, excavation for stormwater ponds, hotels and motels, bars and liquor stores, glue factories, circus headquarters (which, I assume, covers county government facilities), convenience stores, tanneries, and warehouses, to name a few. 

Kudos to the tireless civic activist Cathrine Pante for sounding the klaxon on changes to Chapter 72 and the effective elimination of public input (and political accountability) by the Volusia County Council. 

In my view, with Council Members who have proven where their loyalties stand – to include Danny Robins, David “No Show” Santiago, Jake Johannson, and Don Dempsey – all up for reelection in 2026, the ballot box is the perfect forum for the silenced residents of Volusia County to let their voices be heard…

Quote of the Week  

“The Flagler Home Builder’s Association has served Palm Coast a 14-day violation notice, the first step in legal action over Palm Coast’s recent increase to impact fees.

The notice was sent to the Palm Coast City Council on Aug. 27, giving the city until Sept. 11 to repeal the impact fee ordinances passed in June. Palm Coast City Attorney Marcus Duffy told the council on Sept. 2 he and his staff are still analyzing the 19-page notice and will have a suggested course of action in the next week or two.

“If I have to call a shade meeting, I will call that, but I do not see calling that right now,” Duffy said.

A shade meeting is a closed-door meeting that is typically only allowed when the council is discussing active legal cases involving the city. Until Duffy requests a shade meeting, any discussion of the letting with Palm Cost City Council members will need to take place at public meetings. The next meeting is a workshop scheduled for Sept. 9 at 6 p.m.

In June, the Palm Coast City Council increased its impact fees dramatically, arguing the extraordinary circumstances of recent extreme growth and increased inflation costs over the last six years. Though the impact fees vary for type of development, for a single-family home, the impact fees increased by $5,881 across all three fees: impact, fire and transportation.”

–Reporter Sierra Williams, writing in the Palm Coast Observer, “Palm Coast Council to review options on Flagler Home Builder’s intent to sue at future meeting,” Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Most responsible growth management experts will tell you that impact fees – a method that allows communities to recover growth-related costs for infrastructure expansion and essential service delivery – are no substitute for sound planning practices. 

Let’s face it, across the width and breadth of the “Fun Coast,” the concept of proper “planning, zoning, and resource management” was swept away in a decade-long frenzy of explosive development – massive subdivisions that have left large swaths of our region blanketed in 3/2 zero lot line wood frame cracker boxes “starting in the low $300’s.”  

It gets worse.

According to an August report in the Palm Coast Observer, as of April 2025, Palm Coast has 18,883 residential units “in the pipeline,” some from development orders issued in the 1990s. 

“Of those, 13,335 have a final plat and technical site plan approval and could go into the ground immediately.”

In my view, allowing development orders to sit dormant for decades is asinine. 

So much for “planning,” eh? 

In June, in a rare break from the roil, internecine warfare, and abject dysfunction it has become known for, the Palm Coast City Council unanimously voted to substantially increase impact fees for fire, parks, and transportation infrastructure.  The attempt to recover the massive costs of overdevelopment came on the heels of last year’s 30% increase in water and sewer impact fees to keep up with growth and demand.

In keeping with the Florida legislature’s mercenary mandate to protect the interests of their political benefactors in the real estate development industry, in 2021, state lawmakers enacted a statute that requires impact fee increases of 25% or less be spread out over two years, increases of 25% to 50% must be implemented over four years – with raises of more than 50 percent specifically prohibited – unless a community can prove “extraordinary circumstances.”

The Palm Coast increases are set to take effect October 1.

In a recent statement to FlaglerLive.com, Palm Coast Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri (who recently announced her candidacy for the Flagler County Commission) wrote:

“It’s unfortunate that at a time when our city has experienced incredible growth and unprecedented increases in infrastructure construction costs, our homebuilder’s association would find it necessary to threaten us with legal action, rather than recognize the importance of growth paying for itself—which it never truly does.”

“Impact fees are a necessary cost of doing business, and they ensure that the city’s future infrastructure needs and public safety are adequately funded. Providing residents with fire stations and safe roads is not optional – it’s our duty. Additionally, providing for parks and recreation keeps families healthy and active. It’s unfortunate that we, as public officials, have to defend our quality of life to the HBA – the same folks that earn money by selling houses in the very community we work so hard to keep safe and beautiful.”

Well said.

In my view, rather than recognize the burdens placed local government, and the consequences to claustrophobic existing residents, instead, the Flagler Home Builder’s Association uses the enforcement provisions of SB 180 like a cudgel:

“It is incomprehensible how over a 100% increase in impact fees with a $5,681 increase for a single family, 2,000 square foot home, could be anything but “more burdensome.” The Ordinances would, therefore, be found null and void ab initio.”

For now, it appears the City of Palm Coast is prepared to fight the HBA’s self-serving lawsuit and preserve the quality of life for existing residents in the face of the HBA’s aggression. 

Good luck, Palm Coast. 

You’re going to need it…

And Another Thing!  

“Manatee County voters snubbed Tallahassee last fall when they rejected Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hand-picked, pro-development commission candidates and instead elected a slate of grassroots Republicans who promised to rein in runaway growth.

True to their word, the new commissioners quickly moved to cap sprawl — vowing to raise impact fees on developers to pay for new infrastructure, pushing to restore wetland protections and halting some large-scale projects altogether.

But those steps have now put them on a collision course with the governor and the powerful real-estate industry closely aligned with his administration, which has pushed back at every turn.

In June, the governor vetoed the county’s $4 million in state budget requests after a commissioner criticized Senate Bill 180, a controversial pro-developer state law. More recently, his administration warned of “inevitable consequences” if Manatee raised impact fees.

And in July, he and his chief financial officer announced the county would be the first Republican stronghold targeted for an aggressive review by Florida’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency — known as DOGE — a program DeSantis styled after the Elon Musk-backed federal initiative to slash “waste, fraud and abuse.”

The escalating fight has become one of the sharpest examples yet of DeSantis using state power to quash local control, even in GOP-dominated areas. Political experts say the timing and tenor of the moves leave little doubt that Manatee’s growth-curbing agenda triggered the response.”

–Ryan Ballogg and Carter Weinhofer Bradenton Herald, Josh Salman Suncoast Searchlight, “DOGE audit makes GOP-controlled Florida county a test case for defying DeSantis and developers,” Saturday, August 30, 2025

Acts of tit-for-tat retribution and retaliation between rivals on all sides of the political spectrum have become such a part of the electoral landscape no one even notices anymore. 

Until it happens to you…

Dirty tricks, “lawfare,” glossy mailers, baseless allegations, innuendo, and other malicious weapons of mutually assured destruction are now the tools of the trade for anyone willing to wade into the fetid shit trench of modern politics.

Until recently, while it wasn’t unusual for our state government to mount brazen attacks on the ability of local governments to make growth management decisions that affect the future character of the communities they serve – typically they chose to take small bites at the apple by preempting local decision-making with piecemeal legislation.   

Now that SB-180 has been unmasked for what it is – a wide-ranging tool to completely undermine local growth management regulations and allow real estate developer’s carte blanche to build what, when, and where they want – Gov. Ron DeSantis and his tough-talking enforcers have proven that when it comes forcing the will of the state, even party allegiances take a back seat to compliance with mercenary quid pro quo legislation. 

The DeSantis administration is no longer discriminating along party lines when it comes to ensuring lockstep obedience.

According to Ballogg’s cogent piece, “It’s simple retribution,” said Martin Hyde, a former Republican congressional candidate who closely follows politics in the region. “The developers are very upset about losing their rubber-stamp status … DeSantis is sending down some kind of imperial threat.”

The governor’s DOGE team has insisted the audit is about accountability, not retaliation.

“Whether it is a Democrat majority county or a Republican majority county, I have issues with wasteful spending,” newly appointed Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia recently said at a news conference.”

Horseshit. 

This is what the weaponization of political power looks like, and local governments can either knuckle under or get “DOGE’D” by state “efficiency” regulators who are guaranteed to “discover” waste, excess, and abuse.

In doing so, they will use a subjective microscope that has yet to be trained on a state government that recently spent $450 million of our tax dollars constructing a federal immigration detention facility that reports indicate is now being emptied…

Rarely in modern times have the pernicious effects of special interest money and influence become so blatant and divisive at the local level. 

Now, the highest levels of state government are openly bullying cities and counties and sending a clear message about who’s in charge – and it isn’t our elected representatives in Tallahassee…

As a result of these overreaching ultimatums which enrich a few at the expense of many – big government preemptions enforced at the point of a spear – experts at the nexus of state and local government are warning municipal and county officials across Florida to stand firm in the face of this unchecked aggression, protect their Home Rule authority by all legal means, and preserve our sacred democratic principles.   

That takes guts.  And the support of the governed from whom all political power is derived…

Never forget that. 

Especially in the voting booth next year when we can explain to those arrogant incumbents in our local legislative delegation exactly who is in charge.

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

Community Note:

The 17th Annual Kailynne Quartier Memorial Ride takes place this weekend, Saturday, September 6, beginning at 9:00am, at the South Daytona Police Department, 1672 South Ridgewood Avenue, South Daytona.

The event is open to vehicles of all types for a donation of $20.

The police escorted ride will travel to the Half Wall Restaurant and Brewery in New Smyrna, the DeLand Police Department, and Teddy Morse’ Harley-Davidson at Destination Daytona.

Lunch to follow at the Piggotte Community Center.

Enjoy a great day for a great cause!