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:

  Elections 2026: Let the Games Begin…

“It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.”

–H. L. Mencken

Let’s face it, denizens of Florida’s “Fun Coast” can be a cynical bunch.  

Especially at election time…   

We come by it honestly, our callouses hard-earned.  Shaped by the actions of mealy-mouthed elected officials who told us one thing during their campaign – then proved to be little more than a cheap shill for those special interests who own the paper on their political soul.

Sound familiar?

Last Friday the “qualification period” for the primaries and general election came to a close.  Unopposed candidates were automatically elevated to their respective post, while others will now enter the Octagon – that bloody knife fight that passes for political contests around these parts.

There’s a lot at stake.  That’s why hundreds-of-thousands of dollars are being poured into County Council contests and municipal seats throughout Volusia County.

Some of those races are going to be ugly.  They always are…

For instance, we live in a weird time when lies and innuendo printed on a “glossy mailer” carry more weight than the abysmal voting record of compromised incumbents who spent the last two to four years screwing us blue.

Now, for a precious few months, those same barefaced liars – local incumbents who have literally ignored our needs while promoting the for-profit wants on their political benefactors and state legislators who have preempted local control of growth management and set the stage to consolidate power in Tallahassee – now magically transform into our best friends and neighbors, shamelessly groveling for another bite at the rotten apple.

Bizarre. 

That’s one reason many voters have become apathetic, refusing to participate in what they see as a pernicious process that often boils down to an impossible decision between equally detestable options, an ugly dilemma that requires a moral compromise they’re not willing to make. 

That should sound familiar, too…    

In my view, our local microcosm is the best and worst of a representative democracy. On the surface an egalitarian system where most everyone is welcome to try and one needn’t possess any specific skills, credentials, education, or training to qualify.  Unfortunately, the only prerequisites in modern politics are the ability to parrot the party line (even in so-called “non-partisan” races), embrace moral and ethical hypocrisy, and maintain lockstep adherence to the self-serving edicts of their uber-wealthy political benefactors.

In my jaded view, our collective electoral ennui comes from being repeatedly marginalized; our needs routinely ignored by those who accept public funds to serve in the public interest, and a sense that the deck has been stacked against us. 

Because it has.  

It shouldn’t be that way.  

Here are some considerations for those newly qualified candidates – and those of us who will cast our sacred vote for them – from a longtime political voyeur who has seen the best (and the worst) of “Fun Coast” politics.

For those who have chosen to enter the fray and have declared their candidacy for high office, if you take the time, you’ll find that Article II, Section 8, of the Florida Constitution reminds us, “A public office is a public trust.” 

I think it’s important for newcomers to understand what longtime incumbents seem to have forgotten.

For many, public service is a calling – that “fire in the belly” – a passion to serve others at great personal sacrifice.  A chance to work hard in a cause greater than one’s self-interests, the opportunity to help make your community, state, or nation a better place for those you are sworn to serve.

Unfortunately, for many who enter politics, it has become a means to an end…

A seat at the table of power where they make the rules and pave the way for those mercenary special interests who brought them to the dance.  Access to other people’s money with little oversight (or accountability), and statutorily defined ethics rules and removal procedures that are so deliberately onerous that once in office it is almost impossible to recall the scoundrels.

For most, it is a function of adapting to a scheme they neither understand nor have the strength of character to resist. As a result, I find that many elected officials eventually become everything they hated when first entering politics.

I call it being taken into the system.

I’ve said this before, but if I were to purchase one gift for first term politicians preparing to take their seat on the dais of power, it would be a hand mirror.

When the time comes – and it will – when the crown lays heavy and the feeling of infallibility overcomes the newly elected officials willingness to listen, when their constituents are screaming and critics like me are bitching, when compromising their ethics would be the easiest course, or those times when special interests are lobbying for a controversial project, policy, or perquisite – they could take a hard look in that mirror and remember why they sought and fought to serve in the first place. 

The process of being “indoctrinated” begins shortly after their victory party when everyone laughs at their jokes, wealthy people who wouldn’t spit on them before the election suddenly know their name, career bureaucrats fawn over them, well-connected people gossip with them at soirées, and appointed public executives seem to agree with them on decisions large and small. 

Heady stuff for the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker…

That’s when our once idealistic “leaders” lose touch with reality and begin to consider themselves infallible. 

Senior “staff” become the only experts on (enter civic issue here) and our elected dilettantes quickly become blinded by that hubristic feeling of pompous omnipotence.  That overweening sense of self-righteous invincibility that allows them to sit on the dais like stone gargoyles, staring blankly at the hoi polloi who dare to disagree with them.

After all, the “system” has already removed much of the heavy lifting for them. 

Public policy decisions are typically hammered out behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes and input of those whose lives and livelihoods will be directly affected.  Only then do the elected officials play their role as a reliable rubber-stamp – or risk being ostracized, marginalized, and expelled from a very exclusive club.  

Don’t take my word for it, ask Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower how things work…

But clawing one’s way to the seat of power is not for the squeamish – and it’s going to be a long, hot summer for candidates across the region.    

Let the games begin, y’all.

Now that qualifying is complete and the field is set ahead of the August primaries, there is time to do your homework, familiarize yourself with the issues, speak to the candidates, research their policy positions, check the voting records of incumbents, and review campaign finance reports (Find them here: https://tinyurl.com/3dbnd7hw ).

For the system to work properly, it needs informed voters who approach the ballot box with a working understanding of the issues facing our region and the ability to decern the truth from campaign hype and horseshit.

Whether we agree or disagree on the issues, I hope you will stick with Barker’s View during the brutal months ahead as we navigate the “silly season” of political yard signs, debates, hob-nobs, “grip-n-gins,” knocks at the front door from sweaty candidates, and the smiling visage of politicians plastered on billboards, social media, and advertisements of every stripe.

As a faultfinding carper who points out where those actually in the arena stumbled, a cranky fusspot who takes perverse pleasure in poking fun at those haughty egomaniacs holding high office, I egotistically consider this alternative opinion blog important to maintaining balance and accountability in a process that has neither.

It’s not fact-based journalism – just one man’s jaded opinion on the news and newsmakers of the day.

But I hope these screeds on the issues we collectively face give you something to think about and provoke a larger discussion in the community.  A view diametrically different from the pap and fluff of government spinmeisters or carefully orchestrated political messaging.

Here’s a special thanks to everyone who took a big leap of faith and threw their hat in the ring this year. 

It’s a big decision – putting your family through the meatgrinder of modern politics – and a total mind-and-body pursuit not entered into lightly.   

My hat’s off to those courageous souls who hold themselves out, candidates who live up to their promise to improve our lives and livelihoods, consider our fragile environment, slow the malignant sprawl (and maniacal greed) that is rapidly destroying our beautiful state, and protect the health, safety, and welfare of our children and grandchildren.

I can’t think of anything more important.   

Quote of the Week

“We often get reminded that the people voted,” County Council member David Santiago said. “The people spoke on other items that have been before us —that we should listen to them, because the people have spoken, right? We hear that all the time. Well, guess what? The people will speak on this too, and we’ll know very loud and clear whether 60% or more, or less, want what is being argued for or against, so the debate really needs to happen amongst your neighbors.”

–Volusia County Councilman David “No Show” Santiago, speaking during a public hearing on proposed charter amendments, as quoted by the Ormond Beach Observer, “Five Volusia charter amendments, including a register of conservation lands, to be placed on November ballot,” Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Volusia County Councilman David “No Show” Santiago’s gaslighting lectures from the dais never cease to amaze me… 

He has the meanspirited ability to shamelessly contort the needs, wants, and concerns of his longsuffering constituents, then serve it back to them. Cold.

This week we learned that Volusia County residents are (once again) the victims of the old “bait-and-switch” – a classic political con frequently used by conniving politicians to warp the will of the people into something unrecognizable from its original form.    

In this case, voters overwhelmingly approved the venerated conservation program Volusia Forever under the guise of protecting endangered lands in perpetuity, i.e., “forever.”

Now, a charter amendment has been proposed that would nullify the permanency provisions of Volusia Forever by allowing a majority plus-one vote of the County Council to remove the same land you and I previously paid to protect from a “registry” of “protected conservation lands” for sale or transfer.  The amendment would also make exceptions for “takings by entities with authority of eminent domain” and allow conservation properties to be used for “public purposes.”

Whatever that means…

If the charter amendment is approved by a majority of Volusia County voters, environmentally sensitive lands we were led to believe would be protected from greed-crazed exploitation for all time would be subject to the whims of a supermajority of bought-and-paid-for shills on the Volusia County Council.

Does that sound like what you voted for? 

Another charter amendment proposed by Chairman Jeff Brower that would have required a unanimous vote of the council to sell or transfer Volusia Forever lands was tabled on a 4-2 vote with Brower and Councilman Troy Kent on the losing end.

According to the Observer’s report, “This was a result of arguments made by some environmentalists who felt that the fifth charter amendment involving conservation lands takes away protections because it will allow council to sell these lands or use them for a “public purpose.”

Whenever our elected officials start couching things with subjective terms like “public purpose,” I get nervous…

You should too.

“Dream Green Volusia founder Suzanne Scheiber, a member of the Charter Review Committee, stated on her organization’s Facebook page that public purpose is “defined by case law and can be a wastewater treatment plant, a fire station, a road, a water treatment plant, a park, etc.”

She advocated for the county to emulate Alachua County, where lands placed on a conservation registry can only be sold via a voter referendum. As county legal opinions say this wouldn’t hold up in courts, Scheiber asked the council to pass an ordinance requiring a unanimous vote to sell or transfer conservation lands, and put the sixth charter amendment on the ballot for voters to decide.

“It strengthens the initial voter referendum and does not affect Volusia Forever’s original intent,” Scheiber said. “Show us that you have no plans to sell our Volusia Forever conservation lands, and that words spoken in support of the program meant something.”

So much for listening to the “will of the voters,” eh?

In my view, now is the time for Volusia County voters to decide just how fast we can launch the likes of “No Show” Santiago and those other shameless shills who are up for reelection – empty suits who constantly remind us they are tired of listening to the needs of their long-suffering constituents – and replace them with responsive, accessible, and transparent elected officials who (we hope) will stand by their campaign promises, not backroom machinations and bureaucratically created loopholes.

This election season let’s reiterate our commitment to Volusia Forever (and good governance) by voting a resounding “NO!” on these charter amendments that do absolutely nothing to improve our environment, water quality, quality of life, or our children’s future.

And Another Thing!

I wondered how long it would take… 

This week, disgraced former Flagler County Sheriff James Manfre uttered the “C word” and gave us all a glimpse at the real reason Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature are pushing to shift the tax burden in Florida: Consolidation of services – and power…   

Writing in the Palm Coast Observer this week, Manfre took several swipes at current Sheriff Rick Staly’s spending before suggesting the consolidation of “…all municipal law enforcement, fire and rescue and emergency management under the Sheriffs Office. With the 150% increase over 10 years in the sheriff’s budget, Rick Staly should have the administrative resources to oversee and integrate those operations into one comprehensive unit.”

I found it odd that Manfre bolstered his argument for an enormous, cumbersome, and horribly expensive law enforcement/fire/EMS/emergency management/etc. conglomerate by pointing to the controversial practices of Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony.

According to Manfre, “In Broward County, the Sheriff’s Office oversees law enforcement for the county and 14 separate municipalities, fire and rescue and emergency management. The administration expenses savings has been dramatic.”

Bullshit.

Last week, Sheriff Tony became the subject of a state DOGE audit after asking Broward County government for a $103 million increase in the agency’s annual budget.  Area elected officials have long been left in the dark when it comes to Sheriff Tony’s spending practices due to his notorious lack of fiscal transparency.   

According to a report by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, municipal officials throughout Broward County welcome the state’s request for financial information from BSO:

“It’s the kind of information public officials have repeatedly said they would want to see as they decide whether to accept Tony’s growing funding requests. Last year he asked the county for a 9% funding increase and received a 3% bump to $833 million. This year, he all but renewed last year’s rejected request and built on it, submitting a 2027 budget request that is 12.4% higher than the adopted budget for 2026.

Deerfield Beach decided to restart its own police and fire-rescue service in 2027 rather than meet Tony’s funding requests.”

Look, I realize state auditors picking over the spending of local governments while ignoring their own rampant waste, fraud, and abuse is the height of kleptocratic hypocrisy, but that’s where we find ourselves here in the Sunshine State… 

Former Sheriff Manfre is a lawyer (with a “concentration on development and land use issues”) – not a cop. 

During Manfre’s reign in Flagler County, he was the subject of sustained ethics complaints dating to 2013 for improper use of the agency credit card and failure to report a gift — a stay at an out-of-state resort cabin belonging to then-undersheriff Rick Staly.

The administrative law judge failed to uphold an additional charge against Manfre for misusing a county-owned vehicle for personal trips outside Florida.

Ultimately, Manfre was sanctioned on an 8-0 vote of the Florida Ethics Commission and received a $6,200 fine, public censure, and a reprimand from then Governor Rick Scott.  For his part, Manfre blamed then Undersheriff Staly, and his Finance Director, for failing in their duty to advise and inform him of his obligations… 

According to a 2016 report in FlaglerLive.com, “Manfre himself zigzagged between accepting and challenging various judgments until he decided in late May to accept the final judgment.”

Whatever.

In my view, given his tarnished history while in public office, former Sheriff Manfre is the last person we should be taking advice from. Especially when it involves the dissolution of our efficient, effective, and essential hometown services in favor of another bloated and inaccessible bureaucracy.

Conversely, Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly spoke against the property tax shift this week during a budget presentation before the Palm Coast City Council. 

According to a report in FlaglerLive.com this week, “In a long statement as surprising for its bluntness as for its prescription and prediction–he is not at all sure that the amendment will pass–Staly said all that state lawmakers did when they approved the proposal was “screw around with the cities and the county.”

He called it “politics.” He called it thoughtless and lacking proper definitions. He all but called lawmakers hypocrites. And he said he’d never seen a proposal of such reach pass the legislature in a mere three-day special session.

“I’m going to try my best to bite my tongue on my opinion on what occurred in Tallahassee,” Staly said. “I’ll probably have more to say about that later. But let’s remember that the voters haven’t spoken yet.” The sheriff was addressing the Palm Coast City Council this morning as part of his annual budget presentation and request–a request that included the addition of nine sheriff’s deputies and a budget increase of $2 million, to $13.5 million.”

Sheriff Rick Staly is a veteran lawman who has the best interests of Flagler County and beyond in his heart.

If you value the unique amenities and personality of the community you call home, one with tailored and efficient essential services, like police, fire, EMS, city utilities, emergency management, planning, and recreation – overseen by a locally elected body comprised of your neighbors who listen to your concerns, value input in community decisions, and provide an excellent quality of life in a place with a unique civic and historical identity – then this one bears watching.

It appears those who stand to benefit from the state’s property tax shim-sham are already building their fiefdoms and divvying up the spoils. The vote isn’t until November… 

What?

You don’t want to become just another neglected appendage of an inaccessible and wholly unaccountable state bureaucracy with a history of waste and siphoning public funds to political donors?

You don’t want your hometown to be priced out of the market and ultimately absorbed due to usurious annual fee increases and exorbitant assessments to pay for consolidated services you no longer have control over?

Tough shit, rube…

The state wants Florida’s municipalities eating out of their hands like baby birds – beholden to Tallahassee for their survival – not likely to make waves for influential political donors with a chip in the game who desperately want to consolidate power where it can be manipulated to their advantage.

In order to accomplish that, they plan to dismantle our venerated system of local governance – and they want to use us to do the dirty work for them by voting for an ill-conceived power grab dressed up as a half-baked property tax break.

In my view, this is a well-orchestrated effort to destroy Florida municipalities, eviscerate responsive local services, and remove any further local impediments to the mercenary wants of those special interests and private profiteers who own the soul of the State of Florida.

Let’s protect our beautiful mosaic of communities that form the backbone of Volusia County and beyond from this pernicious push to destroy our way of life and tell the state legislature We, The Little People refuse to normalize pay-to-play politics.

In my jaded view, when Florida’s compromised legislature – or the Biggest Whorehouse in the World, as I call it – goaded by an anxious lame-duck governor with grand political ambitions, hastily approves and promotes a constitutional ballot initiative (in less than 48-hours with no comprehensive studies of how the proposal will impact our responsive, effective, and fiscally efficient local essential services) on a promise they’re doing us a favor:

Don’t believe them…  

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