Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was.

Angel               Friends of the Green Lion Café

“Maybe politicians are motivated by power. They want to boss the show, call the shots, twist arms, and land on the rest of us like a ton of bricks. That would mean that politicians are bad. Or maybe politicians are motivated by fame. Perhaps they believe the old saw “Washington is Hollywood for the ugly.” They want to be fabulous, in the limelight at all times, the only noodle in the soup, and box-office dynamite. That would mean that politicians are mentally ill.”

–The Late, Great P. J. O’Rourke, “No Apparent Motive: A chilling characteristic of politicians is that they’re not in it for the money,” The Atlantic, November 2002

In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, our eponymous hero observes, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.”

Well, in the gilded chambers of the Palm Coast City Council, “Life is like a box of cereal – full of nuts and flakes – and you know exactly what you’re going to get.”

As this latest unfortunate saga began, in 2017, Carolyn and Tony Marlow, owners of the incredibly popular Golden Lion restaurant in Flagler Beach, took a chance on a dilapidated space at the failing Palm Harbor golf course. 

At the time, what passed for a “restaurant” had dwindled to little more than an unsightly concession stand, and the dying golf operation had hemorrhaged some $9 million since its inception. 

After agreeing to renovate the space and attempt to turn the failing eatery around, the Marlow’s, negotiated a favorable lease consistent with the risk – with the first six months absorbed by the City of Palm Coast, then $500 a month, with a $25-a-month increase each year after year two. 

In turn, the Marlow’s put some $100,000 and copious amounts of blood, sweat, and tears into refurbishing the place and opened what would become the wildly successful Green Lion Café, which Trip Advisor now rates as the number one restaurant in Palm Coast.

Due to the Green Lion Café’s popularity, the Palm Harbor golf course has also turned around. 

According to an excellent exposé by Pierre Tristam writing in FlaglerLive! “The intangible role the restaurant played in that turnaround, to the benefit of the city, is likely incalculable. Green Lion in April requested a lease extension, as allowed by contract.”    

I encourage everyone to read Mr. Tristam’s excellent report here: https://tinyurl.com/2h78cjjr  

Then, as things often go in that wild and wacky funhouse that is the Palm Coast council chamber, the proverbial wheel came off the cart. . . 

During a recent workshop, Palm Coast Councilmembers Eddie Branquinho, Ed Danko, and Victor Barbosa set upon the Green Lion lease, calling it “shameful,” “outrageous,” and a “sweetheart deal” that was “robbing the people” – clearly punishing the Marlow’s and their hardworking employees for their extraordinary success.  

The matter came back to the elective body recently after staff renegotiated the terms of the Green Lion’s lease which increased the restaurant’s rent 317% over the next five years, bringing it more in line with current market rates. 

According to Mr. Tristam’s article, “The work of months of negotiations between the city and Green Lion crumbled before the council’s assault.”

“I want to use the word shame. Because I could use different words, but the word shame, that’s what we should be using over here for the people that actually did this lease five years ago,” Council member Eddie Branquinho said, not naming Jim Landon, the city manager who negotiated the lease. “And shame on us if we agreed to this. Shame on us. This is actually – let me use the bad word, this is robbing the people of Palm Coast. This is actually a shame.” He was equally critical of the city staff, which he said should not have submitted the lease proposal in its present form. “This is bad,” he said. “This is shameful. Shameful.” He tried to walk back the personal attack later, by saying he was not intending to be personal.”

Not to be outdone, the always angry Ed Danko, began throwing superfluous offers from the dais, “I’ll give you seven, or eight,” mocking the $600 a month rent the Marlow’s paid under the initial terms. 

According to Mr. Tristam, had Councilman Danko bothered to read the agenda packet he would have known the renegotiated terms called for $1,200 per month starting in September, increasing by several hundred dollars each year to $2,500 by the fifth year. 

After much preening and posturing, most of the Council supported going immediately to the $2,500 per month rental fee – before pulling the rug out from under the Green Lion altogether and agreeing to go out for competitive bid on the restaurant operation.    

After the meeting, Christopher Marlow of the Green Lion said:

“And now they’re talking about kicking us out and putting 30 families out of work so the city can make $1,000 a month more? Are you kidding me?” Marlowe said. Since taking over the restaurant had weathered numerous closures because of hurricanes and tropical storms, the kitchen floor had caved in, the dining room had flooded. The restaurant repaired and moved on. “We want to continue our lease. The City of Palm Coast is making it very difficult, and quite honestly making it almost impossible.” He added: “We have agreed to everything that they’ve asked for and it’s still not enough for these councilmen. I don’t know what to do with these people. It was just like a feeding frenzy yesterday.”

According to reports, on Monday, Palm Coast employees entered the restaurant’s kitchen to take measurements while staff was preparing for a busy Valentine’s Day service. . . 

My God. 

Over the years, I have written a lot about the concept of shame in politics – an emotion that once served as a controlling factor in public life.

Now, that social trait has been lost to accelerated evolution in brazen politicians – a time when we can no longer count on a sense of dishonor and ignominy to control boorish behavior from those we elect to represent our interests – or govern their often-outrageous official actions once the arrogance of power becomes the operative ethic.    

As a result, the ad hominem attacks on staff, marginalization of “colleagues” who refuse to tow the line, and open debasement of citizens who engage with government is now the norm rather than the exception.   

Unfortunately, most reasonable people – even those who are proven assets to their community like the Marlow family – simply choose to disengage, chalk it all up to a horrific experience, and relocate their proven enterprises elsewhere. 

Trust me.  That deteriorating Us vs. Them mentality is not limited to the Duchy of Palm Coast.

Now, it seems political pressure, well applied, is the only effective deterrent to this abject egotism. 

Earlier this week, the heat generated by a group of committed citizens was felt by the Palm Coast City Council when hundreds of friends of the Green Lion Café descended on City Hall to let their voices be heard on the asinine and arbitrary decision which threatened to crush a successful local business under the council’s supercilious bootheel. 

Although the rental rates were not on Tuesday’s agenda, according to reports, furious residents began lining up in advance of the 9:00am meeting, intent on letting their elected officials know their utter disgust at the unwarranted abuse heaped on a local business and its employees.

What resulted was some two-hours of terse public comment.

According to a subsequent report in FlaglerLive!, “Remarkably, not one of the scores of people who spoke dissented from the recurring theme, which combined indictments of the council with appeals to reopen lease negotiations with the Green Lion.”

“The crush of pointed, at times bitter but never indecorous unanimity was a counterpoint to what has become the chronic, inflammatory tendency of council members, particularly Danko, to use their dais, their social media accounts and their position as brutal bully pulpits. The approach is typically divorced from thoughtful deliberation or even an understanding of recent history or administrative groundwork.”

At the end of the day, in the face of withering criticism, the Palm Coast City Council reversed their previous decision and agreed to reopen lease negotiations with the Green Lion.

As Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin said after the action, “I must say it’s rare in today’s political climate that we can have so many residents, so many neighbors, so much of our community attend an event, an organization agenda like this and perform with such decorum. I applaud you all and thank you very much and at this point, I’ll move on with the rest of the agenda. So thank you.”

Good stuff.

Please read the rest of this interesting story here: https://tinyurl.com/2wd672hh

Thanks to the civic involvement of Palm Coast residents, some thirty families who stood to lose their livelihoods – a tragic consequence of this abject stupidity that would have had radiating impacts across Flagler County – will now remain employed, allowed to continue their excellent work operating the most popular establishment in Palm Coast.     

Kudos to the Marlow’s – and the good citizens of Palm Coast – for boldly stepping forward to let their voices be heard! 

As Margret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

What a splendid example of that adage in action, eh? 

Times they are a-changing across the political landscape in Volusia and Flagler Counties, and it is refreshing to see the long-suffering victims of these bullies finally pushing back.    

Asshole           Volusia County Council   

Earlier this week, it was interesting to watch Glenn Storch, one of Central Florida’s most prominent and effective land use attorneys, morph into his new role as adjunct legal counsel to the Volusia County Council on the languishing issue of establishing low-impact development standards. 

This doesn’t happen often (if ever), but I agreed with Mr. Storch when he advised our elected dullards that it is impossible to ask developers – his clients – to adhere to environmental regulations and design requirements that preserve natural areas and processes when no one in county government has taken the time to define those standards or formulate comprehensive legislation that can be duplicated uniformly in each jurisdiction across Volusia County. 

Frankly, I thought it was nice of Mr. Storch to meet his pro bono obligation lecturing those dipshits on the dais how to legislate public policy to the benefit of their constituents – a foreign concept to most of this bunch. . .

Although definitions differ, low-Impact Development is typically considered an approach to land development that works with nature to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible by incorporating principles such as preserving and recreating natural landscape features, capturing rainwater, maintaining natural greenspace, and limiting impervious surfaces to create functional and visually appealing site drainage that treats stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product.

During Tuesday’s discussion of an agenda item regarding an amended interlocal service agreement with the City of Ormond Beach related to yet another proposed “upscale” 298-unit residential development – Ridge Haven – shoehorned between Plantation Oaks and the Village of Pine Run, things took a strange turn when Chairman Jeff Brower asked Mr. Storch if his client would consider low-impact development concessions.

The Chairman’s request was based upon citizen input from recent town hall meetings he has moderated across Volusia County – and the undeniable groundswell of popular support for controlling malignant sprawl in the region.   

As always, I was impressed by the intrepid Suzanne Scheiber of Dream Green Volusia who spoke passionately on behalf of our environment – recapping several distant hot-air generators that were hosted by Volusia County in 2018 where the “principles” of low-impact development were bandied about – then reminding everyone that “we can do better.”      

During the very productive deliberation that ensued, the true loyalties of those sitting on the dais of power became evident as the craven Gang of Four circled the wagons around the needs of their political benefactors in the development industry – before Councilman Ben Johnson attempted to cut off further discussion altogether on a matter of near universal concern to citizens of Volusia County – his motion immediately seconded by The Very Reverend “Dr.” Fred Lowry.   

It was incredibly telling to watch the maneuverings of those Volusia County Council members who serve as finger-puppets of their political donors and benefactors in the real estate development industry – crowing about “overregulation,” “over-stepping,” protecting the rights of speculative developers from onerous regulations, and (for the umpteenth time) what the definition of low-impact development even means.   

My God.

Taking rightful exception to Johnson’s parliamentary obstructionism, Chairman Brower called for a roll call vote on the motion which resulted in lockstep “Yea” nods from Council members Danny Robins, Billie Wheeler, His Eminence “Dr.” Fred Lowry, and Ben Johnson – with Brower, Heather Post, and Barb Girtman voting for transparency and open discussion. 

Fortunately, the measure to muzzle further discussion required a two-thirds majority for passage, and the conversation was allowed to continue. 

As always, the discussion tactically dissolved into a spitting match between the developer’s darling, “Dr.” Fred Lowry and Councilwoman Heather Post, with Lowry running interference for his benefactors – pushing hard to quickly approve the issue at hand and “move on” – past the uncomfortable discourse that threatened the status quo. . .

Unbelievably, this rather benign agenda item exposed the disturbing fact that neither County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald, County Attorney Mike Dyer, Growth and Resources Management Director Clay Ervin, nor anyone in the gilded halls of the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Complex has taken the initiative to develop strategies for controlling growth, strengthening development regulations, or define low-impact development standards in the face of massive public outcry against the sprawl that is rapidly choking our quality of life. 

Perhaps the “LID” legislation is moldering in the same dank bureaucratic sink as the long-forgotten impact fee study? 

Time will tell.  It always does. . .

Anyone else remember the educational series Ms. Scheiber spoke of – paid for by the United States Environmental Protection Agency – and presented by Mr. Ervin and others back in 2018 which discussed implementation of “green building and infrastructure standards”?

I do.

After four years and countless acres of slash-and-burn clear-cutting to make way for more wood frame cracker boxes (with more being approved every week), we are now waiting for yet another plodding “water quality” workshop before Volusia County kicks the rusty can even further down the road on the most pressing issue of our time while the bulldozers continue to roar. . .  

I hope you will remember this deliberately ineffectual stall tactic at the ballot box this year.

In my view, the issue of uncontrolled growth and the resultant environmental impacts is the singular concern of area residents – one that will have major impacts on elections that will determine the future composition of the Volusia County Council.

In my experience, sometimes these pernicious practices can bring a quick end to the public service of entrenched bureaucrats when the right people assume the reins of power. . .

Just a little unsolicited career longevity advice that these sluggardly senior bureaucrats might want to consider before they drag their expensive heels and leave their bosses squirming on other topics of grave public importance. 

Quote of the Week

“Now, more than ever, it is important to balance environmental and economic considerations in our daily operations. A sustainable future for Volusia County, and our entire region, will be based on solutions that include environmental, economic and social considerations.”

–Volusia County Council, 2012

What the hell happened?

This decade-old quote was excerpted from a dull 2018 PowerPoint presentation entitled “Low-Impact Development in Comprehensive Planning,” presented by Volusia Growth and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin at the Lyonia Environmental Center.

That inspirational ditty by a previous iteration of the council did not age well. . .

The dog-and-pony show containing this hollow remark was part of a larger educational series focused on the “…challenges and benefits of instituting low impact development strategies into our structures and community design.”

During the program, speakers discussed the recommendations of something called the 2005 Volusia Smart Growth Implementation Committee, which included heady suggestions like, “protect the environmental core,” “meet the infrastructure needs of smart development,” “direct development to appropriate locations,” and ample bureaucratic pabulum like “develop vibrant, livable and sustainable urban communities,” (as opposed to, “slap together lethargic, dispirited, unlivable communities on every inch of greenspace while permitting growth to outpace supporting infrastructure. . .”?)

So, here we are in 2022 – still clueless about what “low-impact development” and environmental protection standards might look like in the context of comprehensive land use planning.   

Trust me.  The longer this hedging drags on, the more suspicious We, The Little People become – never a positive for incumbents during an election year. . .   

Is it old-fashioned bureaucratic foot-dragging in an environment where no one is ever held accountable?

Or is it bureaucratic paralysis by analysis – a strategic procrastination by senior administrators? 

In my view, it has all the earmarks of a pattern of intentional stalling that benefits well-heeled insiders who control their environment with massive campaign contributions to hand-select candidates who, once in office, have effectively fiddled while Rome burned, as their political benefactors haul untold millions of dollars out of the pine scrub. . .

I’m asking.  Because, ten-years on, citizens who are living with the environmental fallout, gridlock, flooding, and water quality concerns have a right to know.

And Another Thing!

This week, what passes for a public meeting of the Volusia County Council was apparently held on the dark side of the moon – at least those parts I could decipher – as the proceedings were transmitted across the rusty tomato cans and taut waxed twine our ‘powers that be’ use to communicate with us rubes who pay the bills and suffer in silence. 

Literally. 

As in weeks/months/years past, this week, the online broadcast sounded like Alexander Graham Bell hailing Mr. Watson on his harmonic telegraph – the video feed fading in-and-out, microphones spitting and sputtering with frustrating frequency – coupled with the annoying tone and pitch of COVID stricken Councilwoman Billie Wheeler screeching across an ear-splitting Zoom connection with an amplitude that broke a wine glass in the sideboard, aggravated my already raging tinnitus, and left me with a weird form of Havana Syndrome. . .   

Seriously, I’ve heard clearer communications transmitted from space probes in the Kuiper Belt.

The sound quality, unreliability, and physical manipulation required to remain marginally connected to these staged bimonthly hootenanny’s sucks. 

Am I wrong?

Look, I spend an inordinate amount of my sedentary life watching hours of bone-crushingly boring public meetings on public access cable channels, so you don’t have to. 

(At least that is how I justify sitting on my ass, drinking iced whiskey, and hurling snarky barbs at my television. . .)

To their credit, local governments like Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Flagler County, and Deltona actively broadcast public meetings and other important civic information to residents via public access programming.

So, why can’t Volusia County, the wealthiest most bloated bureaucracy in the region – a cash hog commanding an annual budget now surging past $1 Billion – take advantage of this newfangled technology called “television” to engage with interested taxpayers? 

I realize the Volusia County Council is not the most transparent group of elected officials ever to convene – but many taxpayers are beginning to suspect that by making it physically burdensome for their constituents to listen to their stilted and highly choreographed meetings – most will simply tune out and go away. 

In my jaded view, that scheme helps fuel the apathy and disinterest that allows them to ramrod shitty public policy, implement tax and fee increases, and change important regulations without opposition. 

Is there another explanation why these elected dullards – awash in millions of federal Coronavirus relief funds – refuse to improve communications capabilities that allow residents to watch a legible and reliable broadcast, so they are not forced to gather in proximity with other serfs and helots who must sit shoulder-to-shoulder in chambers to watch the intrigues of our Monarchical rules? 

Bullshit. 

Look, most of what passes for the “public’s business” is so much pap and fluff – staged Kabuki  punctuated with mind-numbing PowerPoint presentations, delivered in a hypnotizing monotone by some disinterested staffer, peppered with complicated bureaucratese, and artfully packaged so no normal human being could possibly understand what in the hell they are talking about – including our dazed and confused elected officials who nod quietly while daydreaming about what their ‘free lunch’ will consist of. . .  

In my view, effective public communications improve accountability, increase transparency, and expedite responsiveness to constituent concerns – all the elements required for something called good governance.

In my experience, increasing the flow and quality of information also increases the public’s trust in the process. 

Folks, we deserve better. 

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

Barker’s View will on hiatus next week.  Please feel free to peruse the ample store of past pieces all conveniently archived for your listening and dancing pleasure at the bottom of the page. 

Keep the faith, friends!

Most of the time, these rambling screeds on the news and newsmakers of the day elicit a knowing chuckle – or an uncomfortable groan – from loyal Barker’s View readers. 

I am no more perceptive or prescient than you are – but after years in the game I have a highly-tuned bullshit detector that allows me to analyze the political posturing and make a scientific wild-ass guess about the motivations of local power brokers, bureaucracies, and the elected officials that serve them. 

It’s great to see so many of my neighbors pulling their heads out of the sand and dusting off their own sensors as well. . . 

It is an acquired skill, seeking the truth in an arena often devoid of “facts” – the intrigues and feints that occur in that foggy gray area between the dais of power and the gallery – which make it difficult to discriminate among differing theories – often so intertwined, convoluted, and mired in extraneous crap that they defy Occam’s razor. 

But sometimes these goofy observations of mine hit so close to popular opinion that they provoke a visceral response as the cringy antics of our elected officials – who seem blissfully ignorant of the fears and perceptions of those they govern – become too barefaced and flagrant to ignore.

Fortunately, times they are a-changing – and many in our community are slowly awakening to the fact our apathy and indifference has proven the adage, “We get the government we deserve.”

Across Volusia County, citizens are stirring to the political realities that have resulted in the wholesale destruction of our natural places, environmental atrocities that pave the way (literally) for massive sprawl – out-of-control development that has far outpaced our transportation and utilities infrastructure – with no visible means of supporting repair and replacement as the nagging “Trust Issue,” that hyper-skeptical Us vs. Them mentality we use as a protective mechanism, rightfully blocks additional sales tax increases.

In this once every decade election year, where the bulk of the Volusia County Council seats are up for grabs due to redistricting, the attitudes, awareness, and perceptions of voters are changing – with even the most jaded taxpayers educating themselves, attending meetings, seeking answers, researching how our representatives voted and who benefited – taking a close look at campaign finance reports and other indicators of who has a chip in the game – and why.

This renewed interest in those who manipulate the rods and strings of public policy that control our lives, livelihoods, and tax dollars is palpable – and long overdue – as many come to the realization that a systemic lack of transparency, and the resultant disillusionment and voter apathy, has consequences.      

Trust me.  I’m no Hemingway – so there must be a connection between the growing popularity of my wordy jeremiads, active debate on social media civic forums, and the political awakening that is taking place across Volusia County – a developing consciousness as citizens increasingly reject the pap and fluff flowing from some embroidered press release issued by a government gatekeeper.    

This burgeoning public awareness is making some very important people nervous. 

Last week, I received a strong reaction when I put words to what many Volusia County residents were silently thinking as the annual State of the County address – an ostentatious tableau of government “accomplishments” artfully presented with professionally produced video vignettes staring our elected officials and senior bureaucrats – which served as a backdrop to a grandiose “free” luncheon we were repeatedly told was paid for, in toto, by corporations and government contractors.    

In my view, the tiered sponsorship scheme perpetuated the cheap auction house feel of a county government where those with a chip in the game buy and sell the loyalties of their handmaidens on the dais of power – skewing the political playing field each year with huge campaign contributions to hand select candidates with a malleable mindset. 

That kind of politically incendiary talk angers some of our elected elite – and not everyone agrees with my assessment – but it is increasingly difficult for external forces to manipulate the “system” when those directly affected by it start paying attention, honestly debating differences of opinion, and furthering the discussion beyond the gilded echo chambers in the halls of power.

That takes the conversation out of the shadowy backrooms and gives voice to our concerns. 

In my view, it is also important to call bullshit when with equal enthusiasm. 

Look, I understand the old-timey concept of political loyalty – remaining supportive of popular elected officials who have made promises and strive to represent their constituents with fairness and inclusivity, then work hard to live up to their campaign commitments – despite the often-fierce opposition of entrenched bureaucrats and perennial politicians. 

For example, look no further than the trials and tribulations of Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower and Councilwoman Heather Post, both of whom have been on the receiving end of the gaslighting and parliamentary roadblocks that Volusia’s stodgy Old Guard use to ensure lockstep conformity to the “system.”

There is a reason why so many have tried so hard to suppress Brower and Post – painting them as ineffectual while doing everything in their power to marginalize their efforts – and once you figure out the who, what, when, where, why, and how, nothing in local politics will look the same to you again. . .

In my view, Chairman Brower and Councilwoman Post have weathered the non-stop bullying by their “colleagues” and proven their commitment to substantive change by challenging the stagnant status quo and shifting the paradigm away from years of bureaucratic mediocrity with creative thinking, fiscal responsibility, and accountability. 

But when I see any of our elected elite being taken in by the trappings and perquisites of a system run amok – like last week’s chichi State of the County luncheon – I’m going to call that horseshit what it is, and I hope you will too. 

If politics is the art of controlling one’s environment – it is high time We, The Little People make ourselves heard – at the ballot box and during public policy decisions. 

Fortunately, we have some outstanding candidates in races throughout Volusia County – and more in the wings who are considering a run.  We’ll talk more about who is in, who’s out, who’s a contender, and who is not during what will be a very interesting local election year. 

I warn you – Volusia County politics is not for the faint of heart.

But now is the time to begin the process of recovering a government of the people, reducing the groaning tax burden that feeds this bloated bureaucracy, and defending our quality of life from the corrosive effects of abject greed while there is still something to worry about. 

Rise and Shine, Volusia! 

Welcome to the party. 

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was.

Asshole           Volusia County Council

Earlier this week, I wrote my thoughts on Tuesday’s State of the County Address – a charter-mandated summation of the county’s goals, objectives, and accomplishments presented annually by the Chair of the Volusia County Council that has morphed into an ostentatious display of excess, pomp, and pageantry.      

I understand my screed generated quite the hullabaloo and rubbed a few very important people the wrong way.    

Good. 

According to Volusia County’s home-rule charter:

“The county chair shall report annually to the county council and residents the activities of county government for the previous year and the status of accomplishment of existing goals and objectives. The report shall set forth new and revised goals and objectives for future action. Subsequently, the county council shall meet to consider adoption of a plan of action for implementation of the goals and objectives.”

Try as I might, I couldn’t find that section of the charter that requires the “address” be given at a grandiose luncheon, complete with groaning steamtables and free-flowing margaritas, all paid for by the lavish largesse of corporate “sponsors” – some of whom looked eerily similar to government contractors, contributors to the political campaigns of sitting elected officials, and for-profit entities engaged in continuing relationships with Volusia County – who provided our elected elite with the mythical “free lunch” – seeking absolutely nothing in return for their generous bronze, silver, gold, and platinum tiered sponsorships.  

Believe me, I looked. 

What I did find was a fleeting reference to something called a “Code of Ethics” – a short sentence buried in “Article XII” that points county employees and office holders to Florida’s Standards of Conduct for Public Officers and Employees as defined in Chapter 112 Section 311 of our state statutes, which says, in part:

“It is essential to the proper conduct and operation of government that public officials be independent and impartial and that public office not be used for private gain other than the remuneration provided by law. The public interest, therefore, requires that the law protect against any conflict of interest and establish standards for the conduct of elected officials and government employees in situations where conflicts may exist.”

Sound familiar? I didn’t think so. . .

In my jaded view, allowing corporations to “donate” tens-of-thousands of dollars to what has all the earmarks of a two-hour privately funded and unreported campaign rally for incumbents with a say in who gets what reeks of conflict – and casts doubt on the integrity of the competitive public contracting and procurement process. 

Just me? 

Whatever. 

I have nothing against those companies who chose to support the State of the County address with sponsorships.  Hell, it’s a good business decision.   

After all, the glossy event brochure contained page length full-color advertisements for the “proud sponsors” and was distributed to some 450 civically active attendees with even more exposure via Volusia County’s public website.    

In fact, many government entities have policies which accept “sponsorships” as a mutually beneficial business arrangement between the city or county and corporations who provide cash or in-kind services in return for access to the commercial and marketing potential associated with an event or activity.

I happen to disagree.

It is bad public policy – because these “business arrangements” can give the perception of cronyism, favoritism, and undue advantage even if none exists – and that can undermine the public’s faith in the impartiality of their government. Something especially true when a tiered system is used – making certain donors more important than others based upon the amount of their “gift.”

Besides, I saw little accomplished “in the public interest” on Tuesday. 

For instance, in an apparent attempt to make amends to his constituents who are struggling mightily to feed their families and put a roof over their children’s heads in this artificial economy – Chairman Brower proudly announced that any excess funds remaining after our elected officials gorged themselves at the extravagant smorgasbord inside the warm confines of the Ocean Center would be donated to organizations that feed the hungry. 

In my view, it had a “Let them eat cake” quality that added to the incredibly poor optics. . .   

Look, I’m the last guy to lecture our elected and appointed officials on ethics and morality – but even a scumbag like me knows this annual soiree has a whiff of the shit about it – and if our County Attorney and ghostlike Internal Auditor can’t see the inherent problems in that – then maybe those “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” dullards on the Dais of Power need better counsel?

In the eyes of the governed – perception is reality – and, over time, Volusia County has lost all credibility with those it exists to serve as the “Trust Issue” outgrew the double-talk and sleight-of-hand the “system” has used to protect this bloated bureaucracy, and the entrenched insiders who so deftly manipulate it, for decades.   

I realize not everyone looks at things through the same smudged lens I do – and that’s okay.

If Chairman Jeff Brower is sincere in his goal of increasing trust in county government (and I believe that he is) then it is time for a change in the methods and mindset that has led us to this dismal “Us vs. Them” mentality that has all but locked We, The Little People out of the process.    

In my view, it is time for our elected officials to view themselves as “trustees” of the public’s confidence, avoiding even the appearance of impropriety – open and accountable to the people they represent – not beholden to special interests with the wherewithal to manipulate the political process with the massive campaign contributions and “sponsorships” many believe lead to undue access and influence.   

As Chairman Brower so eloquently said during his address, “We’re the council. You’re the government. This is your government. You must hold each of us accountable.”  

I hope the residents of Volusia County will take Mr. Brower’s charge to heart at the ballot box this year.

While that over-the-top shit show we witnessed on Tuesday might serve to massage the enormous egos of our elected elite as they preen and posture before their gathered benefactors and those intrepid members of the public who kept watch – in my view, any ‘accomplishments’ were sullied by private money solicited by county employees to underwrite a public gala.

I could be wrong, but in my opinion, nothing about that furthers Chairman Brower’s virtuous goal.   

If this circus is allowed to continue, I say we allow contractors, contributors, and corporations to pin their various logos and marketing slogans to the expensive suitcoats of their marionettes on the Dais of Power – like race car drivers festooned with their sponsor’s promotional patches. 

At least it would add an air of transparency to next year’s address. . .   

Now, let’s see if our elected elite follow through with the other provision of the charter’s mandate and adopt a ‘plan of action’ to implement Chairman Brower’s goals of opening more of the beach to driving, ensuring clean water, affordable housing, and dropping onerous beach tolls for Volusia County taxpayers.

Yeah, right. . .

Angel               State Rep. Tom Leek (R-Ormond Beach)

Law enforcement officers have always been my heroes. 

It is one of the reasons I am accurately accused of an inherent bias in my writings – if you want to bash cops and malign those who put their lives on the line to serve and protect people they don’t even know, there are plenty of those sites across the interwebz – but you won’t find it here.  

From my earliest memories all I wanted was to be a police officer. 

In my experience, the emergency service professions are more of a divine calling than a vocation, with law enforcement embodying the incredible courage and selflessness found in Isaiah’s vision when the Lord asked, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” and the prophet responded, purposely volunteering for service, “Here am I; send me.”

Entering the profession requires a conscious, well-thought decision – one not taken lightly. 

You don’t fall into policing while looking for another career, and, as daily events show, it is not an easy path for those who are called. 

Following strict admission requirements, police recruits receive extensive specialized training and skill development in criminal law, legal process, patrol techniques, physical agility, defensive and offensive driving, criminal investigations, traffic crash investigations, human diversity, interviewing, report writing, weapons and firearms qualifications, defensive tactics, de-escalation techniques, etc. – all leading to a demanding state certification examination. 

If successful in passing the strenuous training requirements, applicants submit themselves to a rigorous vetting process involving wide-ranging background and suitability investigations, medical and fitness testing, drug screens, polygraph examinations, psychological evaluations, oral interviews, and weeks of other assessments, all leading to a period of closely documented in-service field training and evaluation with their employing agency before new officers are considered competent.

For those who make it, surviving the rigors of the job, physically and politically, while dealing with people on the worst day of their lives, compounded by the stress and uncertainty of managing often out-of-control critical incidents – your every word and act recorded on video for extensive critique in 20-20 hindsight – becomes an hour-to-hour struggle with any mistake, no matter how small, having the potential to cost a law enforcement officer their life or career in nanoseconds.     

Why would anyone assume that high responsibility? 

I had the honor of serving as a law enforcement officer for over 31 years.  The great privilege of my life was working with some of the finest men and women I have ever known, in a cause important to the life of our community.

In that time, I have seen these brave souls, time and again, willingly go into harm’s way to protect the lives and welfare of their fellow citizens, routinely putting their own lives at risk to serve others.  Law enforcement officers play an integral and inspirational role in binding the very fabric of our society and, in my view, that makes the sacrifice worth it.

Given the radical vilification of law enforcement and the prosecutorial weakness exhibited across the nation in recent years, it is increasingly difficult to attract our best and brightest to this demanding pursuit. 

To his credit, last October Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans to make Florida the most ‘law enforcement friendly state’ in the Union, and this legislative session, Rep. Tom Leek of Ormond Beach sponsored a bill that would provide $5,000 signing bonuses for qualified individuals who join state or local law enforcement agencies, including those who transfer from departments in other states.

Obviously, some commonsense restrictions apply – like the need to remain employed for two-years or repay the bonus to the State of Florida – and the bill includes training incentives, bonuses for officers who adopt special needs children from the state child welfare system, directs law enforcement Explorer and 9-1-1 operator training courses for career-oriented high school students, and establishes a recruit training scholarship program.  

Of course, in these polarized times, not everyone is on-board with Rep. Leek’s noble efforts.

According to an informative article by Michael Moline writing in the Florida Phoenix:

“Democrat Andrew Learned of Hillsborough County worried that military veterans might be too gung-ho for police work absent the proper training. He recalled his U.S. Navy days when he was responsible for ship defense. In the event of a breach, “Our procedure was two in the chest, one in the head, cuff ‘em, and then start figuring out what had happened,” he said.”

“I want to make sure I’m putting my head, you know, in the mindset of one of my 18-year-old guys who’s transitioning out of the military back into law enforcement, make sure they’re given the proper training so they can be successful in this transition,” Learner said.”

What a disconnected asshole. . . 

Kudos to Rep. Tom Leek for putting this important bill forward to help attract quality applicants – to include our transitioning military heroes – to fill the current and future needs of Florida law enforcement agencies as they strive to keep our communities safe. 

Thanks for ‘Backing the Blue,’ Mr. Leek.

Good work! 

Quote of the Week

“My friends – today my family and I have made an important decision that I want to share with each of you, from my household to yours.  As you know, for the past several months I have been campaigning for the open District 2 seat on the Volusia County Council. 

While I still have the same desire to see Volusia thrive and prosper as I did the day I began campaigning, an opportunity has arisen that my family and I cannot pass up.  Today I have filed paperwork to seek the newly-created District 30 in the Florida House of Representatives, an open seat where no incumbent legislator is running.  This is not an easy decision but it is one in which I firmly believe I must step forward and seek so that I may best represent the needs of our communities in my journey to serve the public.

Our state is the epicenter for some of the most significant public policy debates in our country and our legislature is responsible for spearheading initiatives that make us stand apart from our neighbors in many of the other 49 states.  Ron DeSantis has helped put Florida on the map as the go-to state for Freedom and conservative policymaking.  But he can’t do it alone, and he’ll need to continue having great partners in the legislature.  I know I can be such a partner, because we need the next generation of leaders who will proudly stand and fight when the people not only expect it, but frankly, demand it.  I greatly look forward to being that new voice for smart decision-making and conservative principles in the House.

This venture is going to require even more work and dedication to see it through to fruition.  Please know my team and I are already off and running and ready to roll up our sleeves even more to make this a reality.       

My prayer going forward is that God will provide the people to be a part of this journey.  I can’t wait to see you all as soon as we ramp up the campaign in earnest this week.

God bless you all!

The Tramont Family”

–Candidate Chase Tramont, announcing his withdrawal from the Volusia County Council District 2 race as he now campaigns for the District 30 Florida House of Representatives seat, Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Interesting. . .

And Another Thing!

C’mon, man. 

Another year, another crippling disappointment. . . 

The Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce’ annual awards banquet has come and gone – a swellegant soiree this year fittingly hosted by our friends and civic benefactors (?) at Daytona International Speedway. 

As expected, yours truly was not recognized with the 2022 J. Hyatt Brown King of Kings Enterprise Award.   

Didn’t happen for me. . . 

For the umpteenth consecutive year, “Barker the Bitcher,” the “Carnival Barker,” the “Malevolent Malcontent,” the “Curmudgeonly Troll,” the “Naysaying Nabob of Negativity” – the civic golem who won’t stop picking at the well-crafted façade painted by our out-of-touch politicos – always screaming to be heard over the anesthetizing refrains of “Everything is Beautiful in its Own Way” wafting from the Halls of Power – always pointing out the festering underbelly of a down-at-the-heels resort town controlled by the same five people passing the same nickel around was overlooked by the Chamber’s awards committee.  

I am being facetious, of course.

That coveted honor went to Daytona State College for preparing local kids for factory and warehouse jobs. . .

(Sorry.  I can’t help myself.) 

Look, I like poking snarky fun and taking the hot air out of these lofty affairs – preferring to keep laser focus on the myriad issues we face here on the Fun Coast – but even an unsophisticated cretin like me sees the value in recognizing those who work hard to improve our quality of life, provide worthwhile jobs, and advance the slow and stumbling renaissance of the Daytona Beach Resort Area. 

After all, the Chamber’s raisons d’être is advocating, supporting, and lobbying for business and industry here in East Central Florida – a vital role that the board and staff approach with great verve – and the annual awards and installation celebration is a chance to tout all the good things happening in Daytona Beach and environs. 

Despite my near-constant negativism, the fact is, there is a lot to be optimistic about. 

In my view, Daytona Beach’s new City Manager Deric Feacher is working overtime to break down barriers between business and government, encouraging inclusivity and diversity in the strategic planning process, and developing solutions in long-neglected places like Downtown, Seabreeze Boulevard, Main Street, and historic Midtown.     

Each year as the Chamber’s gilded gavel changes hands from one hyper-enthusiastic Chairperson to another, so does the onus for the substantive change leery entrepreneurs and investors have been clamoring for.       

Look, time will tell – and I am not one to hold my raspy breath – but I believe the Chamber’s 2022 Chairperson, Kelly Parsons-Kwiatek, senior vice president and general counsel for Halifax Health, is the right choice for this important role in our community at a critical time in our transformation.    

In my view, Chairwoman Kwiatek did a great job using her keynote address to paint a glowing picture of “what will be” in the year to come, encouraging “…community leaders to work together to bring about a “bright future for ourselves and for generations to come” – complimented her inspiring message that now is the time “to connect and collaborate with fellow residents, businesses, elected officials, and local governments. Now is the time to listen to, to talk to, and to be curious about each other and encourage each other’s successes. Now is the time to spread the good news of all that is happening in our community and celebrate where we live, work, learn, and play.” 

I find that refreshing.   

According to an excellent piece describing the festive gala, The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s business editor Clayton Park noted:

“Kwiatek said the chamber’s goals this year include taking part in efforts to attract more high-paying jobs that can “make the real difference and transform the community” as well as ensuring that the necessary infrastructure is in place to accommodate Volusia County’s growing population.”

According to reports, the Duke of the Duchy Glenn Ritchey Leadership Award went to Mary Greenlees of Ormond Beach’s Olivari & Associates recognizing her dedicated service as president of the fusty Civic League of the Halifax Area (Is that still a thing?)  

Most fittingly, the Chairman’s Award was aptly bestowed on members of the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Statuary Fund, accepted by board chair and local philanthropist Nancy Lohman (who deserves credit for doing the heavy lifting) and Bob W. Lloyd of Brown & Brown. 

A worthy accomplishment for those members of the board who fostered and funded the beautiful marble tribute to Dr. Bethune’s enduring contributions to the world – one that will stand in perpetuity in our nation’s capitol. Something we can all be proud of. 

Well deserved. 

Look, I know these events require the cheerleading one expects from the Chamber of Commerce – and I hate to live up to my well-deserved reputation as the Halifax Area’s premiere turd in the punchbowl – but we’ve heard it all before.  Right? 

Right. 

But behind this crusty façade burns the beaten-up heart of an infernal optimist – and I know that the smart, enthusiastic new leadership Ms. Kwiatek represents can bring hope, just when we need it most. 

My sincere hope is that the Chamber’s impressive new Chair will make good on her promise of creating opportunities for area civic and business leaders to “come together and work together” to find lasting and equitable solutions to the challenges we collectively face. 

Keep the faith, my friends. 

There’s always next year. . .

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

I don’t know who said it first, but I have always held to the tried-and-true proverb, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” 

It is as much a morality tale as a warning.   

Because anyone who thinks they can get something for nothing, without any hidden motive, return, or benefit, is either lying to you – or themselves.    

For a brief time in my career, I served as an interim City Manager – the worst period of my professional life, an incredibly difficult and multifaceted job, akin to spinning plates while herding cats. . .

On my first day filling the seat, an expensive box of chocolates arrived at my desk, accompanied by a congratulatory note addressed from a firm which held a professional services contract with the city. 

I asked a staff member to return the gift, and included a letter of thanks expressing my sincere appreciation for the gesture, explaining that I could not accept the generous gift.  It sent a message to city staff – and the contractor – that, from the top of the organization to the bottom, gratuities would not be solicited or accepted. 

In my view, at best, the practice unavoidably promotes the appearance of quid pro quo favoritism in the public contracting and procurement process, regardless of how the thing of value was intended or whether the gift results in an official act. 

Some praised my action – others said I should have simply shared the goodies with staff and forgotten about it – while a few of my colleagues (and some of my elected bosses) thought it sent the wrong message to a valued and well-intentioned outside partner. 

Whatever. 

At the end of the day, the contractor might not have felt the love – but it felt right to me. 

Look, I am no better or worse than anyone else – a leaky vessel, susceptible to the same ethical faults and moral foibles inherent to all human beings – but, for right or for wrong, I was recently reminded of my decision to return that box of candy.

Earlier this week, the pomp and circumstance of the annual State of the County address played out in all its pageantry at the Ocean Center – presented in grand style thanks to copious gifts from a few government contractors and local businesses seeking absolutely nothing in return for their generous bronze, silver, gold, and platinum corporate sponsorships.   

Unfortunately, I wash my beard on Tuesdays, so I couldn’t attend. . .

Instead, I took a strong antiemetic – chased it down with three-fingers of Woodford Reserve – and hunkered down for the 2022 edition of that yearly hootenanny touting all the wonderful accomplishments granted to us by our munificent Monarchical elite on the Volusia County Council.

My weakened stomach is still doing flip-flops. . .  

I thought it fitting that Mother Nature set the tone for the afternoon – openly weeping with a cold and steady rain – symbolic of her anguish over the death and destruction of our natural places as the bulldozers continue to roar across the width and breadth of Volusia County as the “free” Margaritas flowed like manna from heaven.    

Look, I know many smart people see a public benefit in these fancy fêtes – with someone I respect noting that they provide a certain level of access to our elected officials – others noting the value in educating constituents on the various programs and initiatives their tax dollars are funding. 

In my jaded view, they are wrong. 

If we have gotten so far afield that citizens need a gilded gala, sponsored by active government contractors, campaign contributors, and hangers-on to interact with our elected county representatives – then we have bigger problems than we know. . .   

Admittedly, I got caught up in the excitement as a disembodied voice counted down, announcing to the assembled elected officials, their political benefactors, and a few gallant citizens who came to keep them all honest: “The program will begin in five-minutes.  Please bring the congratulatory backslapping and unhygienic brown-nosing to a close and take your seats,” or something like that. . .  

Things kicked off with a flashy video touting the ‘free lunch’ as the “Hottest Ticket in Town!” – with Community Information Director Kevin Captain reminding everyone that the food, margaritas, knick-knacks, gimcracks, and giveaways were all “compliments of our sponsors!” – a message reinforced by Chairman Brower, who, at least twice, reminded everyone in attendance that the soiree was paid for by sponsors and not our tax dollars.

Okay. . .

(Emetrol, don’t fail me now. . .)  

As guests noshed from the ‘free’ buffet, I chomped on a greasy ham sandwich, sipped my whiskey, waited through the various saccharine video productions and fluffy time-fillers on the live-feed, and, in the lead up to Chairman Brower’s address, perused the online event brochure, “2021 Volusia County Council: A year of change,” which began:

“For Volusia County, 2021 was a year of great hope, promise and optimism.  (Gyaaak, sorry) And the accomplishments were abundant. An historic water quality improvement project with significant implications for the Mosquito Lagoon got underway. A cherished portion of the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail was protected from development.”

(Huuuurk, again, my apologies.  Damn agita.)

That snippet reminded me of the abuse and opposition the intrepid environmentalists at Dream Green Volusia, through its successful Defend the Loop campaign, faced as they pushed against incredible odds to see some 36-acres of endangered land at Plantation Oaks saved from future development. 

Although the final vote to appropriate Volusia ECHO funds to save the historical and ecologically sensitive parcel was unanimous, at the time, His Eminence, District 5 Councilman “Dr.” Fred Lowry, crowed he would “hold his nose” and vote for the purchase, an important environmental conservation project that is now held out by Volusia County as a major accomplishment. 

As threatened manatees continue to die in unprecedented numbers in Mosquito Lagoon – the direct result of government approved overdevelopment and the resultant toxic soup of runoff and discharge that has decimated seagrass beds and eroded water quality – I remembered the reception two world-renowned marine biologists recently received when they appeared before the council to discuss a small-scale test of an innovative biofiltration technology called Biorock. 

For their trouble, the esteemed experts were met with open skepticism – treated like cheap hucksters and charlatans by those dullards on the dais, a countywide embarrassment complete with gross negativity, roadblocks, and politicking from every corner – including two derogatory editorials in The Daytona Beach News-Journal – bolstered by chiding posts on social media dismissing the concept and accusing anyone associated with the project of ulterior motives.

Why? 

Because Chairman Brower proposed the idea. Something Volusia’s obstructionist Old Guard, those stalwarts of the stagnant status quo, would not let see the light of day. 

Whatever.

“But more than anything, 2021 was a transformational year – a year of meaningful, monumental, impactful change for the county.”

Rah, Rah, Sis-boom-bah!

(Urrrrp, excuse me! Wow.)

I agreed with Chairman Brower on a number of issues – especially his push to open the beach to vehicles from International Speedway Boulevard to Main Street – a true economic shot-in-the-arm to the flagging boardwalk – and exempting Volusia County taxpayers from excessive beach access tolls that he rightly believes represent double-taxation.

Perhaps most impressive was Mr. Brower’s nod to addressing the malignant development that is rapidly consuming large swaths of Volusia County when he accurately said, “We cannot and we will not pave our way and clear-cut our way to a better future.”

Look, I cannot tell you what the rest of the State of the County address included. 

At some point, I think it was right after Councilwoman Barb Girtman gushed over Volusia County’s commitment to “affordable housing” in an environment where average monthly rents now top $1,300 a month, I collapsed into a sugar coma, regaining consciousness only when the screaming strains of Jake and Elwood crooning “Gimme Some Lovin!’” serenaded Chairman Brower and his smiling “colleagues” off the stage to the applause of those who bought their lunch.

How fitting. . . 

How horribly depressing. 

I like Chairman Brower.  In my view, he is an incredibly decent human being – a man of character navigating a system where that virtue is rarely valued – trying valiantly to accomplish some important things under difficult (if not politically impossible) circumstances. 

That said, sometimes I wish Mr. Brower would remember his role – and the powerful decree that placed him in the most important position in Volusia County government.  Then use the bully pulpit he has been gifted by We, The Little People to speak truth to those pernicious forces that have had their way for far too long, and give validity to those things we see with our own eyes, rather than what we are told to believe by those with a chip in the game.    

Because to stand before us and gloss over the serious issues we collectively face is disingenuous – not befitting a trustee of the public’s confidence – and when we see him embracing the same pageantry and perquisites of his predecessors, it sends a confusing and conflicted message to his long-suffering constituents.     

Why is it that politicians – even those who attain high office on a citizen mandate of transformational change – fall victim to the damnable and wholly dishonest practice of shilling for the bureaucratically defined concept of “progress,” all while those of us who elevated them with our sacred vote live in a parallel universe – struggling to maintain a quality of life that is rapidly being destroyed by the insatiable greed of those who control the rods and strings of Volusia County politics?   

As the dust settles on this circus, we wait. Actions speak louder than words – and we’ve heard it all before. . .

In my view, it is time for the charter-mandated State of the County address to return to a simple agenda item, presented at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Volusia County Council, stop this two-hour privately funded and unreported campaign rally, and work to return the public’s trust in Volusia County government.   

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was.

Angel               Local Public Affairs Forums

We live in an age where the publics right/need to know is quickly being eroded at all levels of government as craven politicians and entrenched bureaucrats seek to conduct the “people’s business” in the shadows while limiting citizen input in the process. 

I find that incredibly frightening. 

Florida was once the most transparent state in the nation thanks to strict “sunshine laws” which limit backroom machinations, yet our powerful legislators and those who hold the paper on their political souls, have passed laws which allow massive corporations seeking “economic incentives” to hide behind mysterious cryptograms, and force local elected officials to vote on approvals and amendments without any idea who the public largesse will benefit. 

The Florida Legislature is taking up a secrecy bill that would cloak state college and university presidential searches in effective darkness – allowing powerful insiders to exert their outsized influence in private – opening the door for cronyism or worse. 

We live in a time when elected officials sit expressionless on their gilded perches — gazing down on their hapless subjects like stone-faced gargoyles – placing stringent limitations on the public’s right to participate in their government, hiding behind obstructionist “civility ordinances,” while obstinately refusing to communicate, answer questions, explain decisions, or even acknowledge the presence of those they serve.

In my view, our democratic processes work best when vigorous discussion and debate produces a variety of views and opinions in spaces away from the partisan fishing camps and narrow-minded clubs and committees of political parties.      

This is why the United States Constitution places such emphasis on protecting our inalienable right to free speech, allowing the competition of ideas to elevate the best solutions resulting in informed and inclusive public policy, because anything less than complete transparency in government breeds suspicion, speculation, and distrust.

Sound familiar? 

But what happens when powerful public figures – and those working behind the scenes to manipulate the message – use their position to marginalize those who seek to participate in the civic discussion as ‘naysayers,’ ‘malcontents,’ and ‘trolls,’ discredit administrators of social media sites who are charged with keeping order during a tumultuous political debate (often requiring a whip and chair), and work to limit the reach of forums where opposing views can be expressed and debated? 

It is happening all around us – an organized effort to limit free expression on prominent issues and control the narrative by silencing criticism of our elitist ‘powers that be.’ 

In my view, social media sites, community groups, and grassroots political forums – the everyman’s soapboxes which give a voice to the disenfranchised – remain the last bastions of free and open expression, places that invite the rough and tumble political discourse that is vitally important to the preservation of freedom and democracy in an era when our elected officials ignore our fervent pleas, beholden only to their powerful benefactors.

It is heartening to know that so many civic activists in the Halifax area and beyond support one another in furthering a civic dialog, even when we disagree on the issues or solutions. 

When Barker’s View was in its infancy, the first social media forum to post my blog was FREE Daytona Beach – a Facebook site administered by the intrepid beach driving and access advocate Elaine Barnicle – who helped introduce these diverse and often over-the-top screeds to a larger audience. 

On the Wall of Honor in Barker’s View HQ, I proudly display a Certificate of Appreciation presented by the Bellaire Community Group when they invited me to speak on topical local issues.

I treasure it.  

I am most proud of Barker View’s standing monthly appearance (second Monday of each month) on GovStuff Live! hosted by WELE 1380am (listen online at www.govstuff.org ) – Volusia’s premiere public affairs radio forum – where community icon Big John uses local issues to educate and inspire on the “fastest two-hours in radio” each weekday beginning at 4:00pm. 

Trust me.  If you aren’t listening to GovStuff Live! you’re doing it wrong – an eclectic format that strives to teach us something about this place we call home.

Thanks to your readership, Barker’s View has contributed to several local and national podcasts, to include “Live with Boyd!” presented by Sherrise Boyd – and the New Orleans-based “Troubled Men” podcast moderated by the irrepressible Manny Chevrolet and Renee Coman.   

Now, this blogsite is posted to numerous political and public affairs forums on a variety of platforms – to include the incredibly popular, and refreshingly controversial Facebook page Volusia Issues – and other illuminating community-based social media sites.

These forums are important, and whether we agree or disagree on the issues of the day – I thank you for reading Barker’s View and furthering the discussion.

I hope you – the loyal members of the Barker’s View Tribe – will join me in supporting these important outlets dedicated to the free and open exchange of ideas and opinion so our civic dialog never devolves into an exclusive echo chamber for the “Rich & Powerful.”   

Asshole           Port Orange City Council  

Look, I normally leave Port Orange out of the discussion – the municipal government has been relatively stable of late, and they are accomplishing some wonderful things in that beautiful community. 

But as an avid watcher of the théâtre de l’absurde that is local politics, I live for these little vignettes.

Last month, during the regularly scheduled meeting of the Port Orange City Council, a gentleman clad in a black trench coat who identified himself only as “Anonymous” submitted the required written adjuration requesting permission to speak to his elected officials, approached the dais of power, and asked that Mayor Don Burnette read from the “topic” section of his request form for the public record.

This prompted some squirming from the clearly discomfited Mayor and Council members – who were visibly affright – clearly unaccustomed to being openly challenged by a lowly member of the unwashed public. . .   

There was some awkward repartee – with Mayor Burnette repeatedly reminding the speaker “It’s your three-minutes” (Ugh) – and Mr. Anonymous responding, in kind, “Mayor, please read the topic, for the public.”

Finally, Mayor Burnette acquiesced to his constituent’s simple request and read the speaker’s haughty demand into the record:

“Request to take anonymous requests for public records seriously.”

With that, Mr. Anonymous turned and left the chamber as mysteriously as he arrived – having made a valid point about the need for local governments to respect Florida’s remaining sunshine laws. 

For his trouble, Anonymous was dutifully followed out of the room by Port Orange’s (most recent) Police Chief Manuel Marino, who, according to an article in the Hometown News, “…watched to ensure Anonymous did not cause a further disturbance.”

For the record, the man did not create a “disturbance” – not even a “dustup” – nor anything close to a “bruhaha.”   

(Trust me.  Having served in Holly Hill city government for over 30-years, I’ve seen some bruhahas in my day. . .)

No, this man’s sin was much more egregious – he made some very important people uncomfortable – a transgression that is unforgiveable in the stilted dukedoms of Volusia County. 

Don’t take my word for it, watch the fun for yourself here: https://tinyurl.com/yckstnpv

According to the Hometown News, apparently to assuage the fears of our ruffled elected elite, “The various police departments within Volusia had a planned meeting in the following days where such rare instances as this are communicated to ensure a pattern of something nefarious is not in the planning.”

Nefarious? 

Wait.  Do you mean, the dark and contemptable practice of common citizens prostrating themselves before their elected officials for redress of grievances?  Or the public’s evil-minded attempts to participate in their government by seeking input in policy decisions?  Or, God forbid, asking government officials to adhere to public records laws?

My ass.

After the “disturbance” was quelled, the meeting returned to a comfortable exchange of pap and fluff – allowing the elected officials to recover from the ruffled-feathers induced by an anonymous citizen with the temerity to challenge the ‘powers that be’ – before talk turned to the always thorny issue of “Council Compensation,” setting the stage for a production of that old-fashioned election year Kabuki I adore. 

The term limited Mayor Burnette – wrapping himself in the political insulation of a second term that continues until 2024 – began discussions of a pay raise for himself and council members with a traditional “It’s not about the money” argument:

“I don’t want Port Orange to be the kind of town that only people with money in their pocket can serve. Because this is not something that we do for the money, but it should be a fair compensation.”

Say what?

The old, ‘Just because we don’t do this for the money, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be fairly compensated for doing it’ tap dance.

Wow.    

What ensued was an impressive performance of the “Poormouth Blues” with its gloomy refrain of ‘service from the ‘heart,’ and the onerous demands and responsibilities placed upon elected officials, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Bullshit. 

At present, council members receive $13,600 in public funds annually, while Mayor Burnette commands $18,600 for his arduous service.  Under a proposed ordinance, the mayor’s salary would have been increased to $34,414 – with council members taking $25,810 each.     

Thank God it’s not about the money, eh?

The measure died on a 3-2 vote with Councilmen Reed Foley and Scott Stiltner, who are currently standing for re-election – and Councilman Chase Tramont, who is running for the At-Large Volusia County Council seat – voting “No” in a perfectly orchestrated act of cheap political posturing. 

According to reports, Mayor Burnette took umbrage, crowing, “I see how you guys value my time.”

To which Candidate Tramont responded, “With all due respect, Mr. Mayor, my vote of no is not because I don’t value your time. That was not a personal vote, it was simply because I disagreed with it.”

Mayor Burnette bristled, “You don’t value my time. You value my time zero,” and Tramont – all but unfurling his superhero cape as the Champion of the Overtaxed Taxpayer – assured, “I didn’t say I’m not going to pay ya.  But I’m not going to double your salary.”

That’s rich, don’t ya think?  

Yes, they really think we are that gullible. . .

After the requisite apologies from Mayor Burnette for “taking things personally” – and discussion of how the Port Orange mayor’s salary is somehow tied to the Volusia County Council chair’s stipend – “Councilman (Scott) Stiltner introduced an amendment that would lower the mayor’s increase from 60% to 45% of the Volusia County chair’s salary while maintaining the City Council rate at 75% of the mayor’s salary.”

The final Act of this ill-staged tragicomedy ended when the salary amendment passed on a dramatic 3-2, skin-of-the-teeth margin, with Councilman Foley and Candidate Tramont holding firm to their original “No” votes, for obvious reasons. . . 

Bravo!  Bravissimo!  

(Curtains close, deafening applause, my tears flowing as I gently toss a bouquet of calla lilies onto the gilded stage. . .)

Superb performance.  Well worth the price of admission, don’t you think?

Whatever.

I guess, in the end, everyone got what they wanted – except that poor bastard who slinked out under police surveillance – and the long-suffering taxpayers of Port Orange. . .   

Quote of the Week

“Now more than ever, manatees are facing hazardous living conditions, as food is becoming more scarce in the waters they inhabit. Manatees can weigh up to 1,800 pounds and must consume 10% of their body weight daily.

“The problem is the pollution in the water right now,” (local eco tour guide Ashley) Howard said. “It’s killing off a lot of the seagrass manatees naturally eat. They are purely vegetation eaters, so they’re always looking for some sort of greenery to snack on.”

According to The News Service of Florida, 1,003 manatees have died in Florida waters in 2021, more than 10% of the estimated population of manatees in the state waters. Nearly two-thirds of the deaths have occurred along the East Coast. Last year, the state recorded 637 manatee deaths.

Manatee Watch coordinators will host two upcoming, free training sessions for those interested in becoming a volunteer. Advance registration is required; contact Chad Murch at ManateeWatch@Volusia.org or call 386-736-5927, ext. 12839. For more information about manatees and Manatee Watch, visit www.volusiamanatees.org.

The sessions will be held 10 a.m. to noon Monday, Feb. 7, at the Stetson Aquatic Center, 2636 Alhambra Ave., DeLand, and 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Marine Discovery Center, 520 Barracuda Blvd., New Smyrna Beach.”

–Abbie Pace, contributing writer for the Ormond Beach Observer, as excerpted from her informative article “Want to help save the manatees? Here’s how to get involved in Volusia County,” Wednesday, February 2, 2022

And Another Thing!

The blessing and curse of my life is the gift of a long and vivid memory.

For instance, I rarely forget the exploits of retread politicians who hopscotch through various elective roles with the support of their “Rich & Powerful” benefactors, influential insiders whose hand-select candidates return the favor by allowing them to control everything but the ebb and flow of the Atlantic tide here on Florida’s Fun Coast.   

Despite my scathing criticism of local politics and those illusionists who practice the art, it is important to remember that there are true servant-leaders working hard to improve our lives and livelihoods in elected positions on councils, commissions, taxing authorities, and advisory boards throughout Volusia County – and, in my view, some damn fine grassroots candidates are stepping forward to help level the playing field just when we need them the most. 

It takes courage to walk through the fiery shit-trench that is a modern Volusia County political campaign.

I admire that. 

It is not an easy calling for those who endeavor to serve their community without mercenary motivations or lockstep conformity to a stagnant “system,” one sullied by cronyism and corporate welfare schemes that ensure a return on investment for those who can pay to play.

For those of us who prefer to watch from the relative safety of the cheap seats, it is easy to become cynical, jaded to a process that no longer bears any semblance to a representative democracy.   

That familiar queasy feeling returned earlier this week when I learned that 17-year Ormond Beach City Commissioner Troy Kent has filed to run for the Volusia County Council District 4 seat.

17-years.  You read that right. . .

As it stands, Kent will challenge his pro-development colleague, Rob Littleton, who has served on the Ormond Beach Commission since 2016, and the impressive local business owner Ken Smith, who lost the Zone 2 Ormond Beach race to Commissioner Kent in 2020. 

While processing this latest “the more things change, the more they stay the same” moment, my feeble mind returned to February 2018, and the sight of that environmental atrocity on Granada Boulevard that galvanized residents who were horrified by slash and burn land clearing operations that turned a very visible segment of our community’s urban greenspace into a muddy moonscape as some 2,061 trees – many of them century-old specimen hardwoods – and some 20-acres of natural buffer and wildlife habitat were churned into pulp.

Remember?  I hope so.

What followed was a hard-fought campaign for the future of Ormond Beach – a battle between uber-wealthy developers and those who make their living building and selling commercial real estate – and the grassroots activists and environmentalists dedicated to staunching the growth at all cost strategy that is destroying our quality of life.

In total, over a quarter-million dollars was invested in that local City Commission race.

Naturally, the incumbents were returned to office on a green wave of cash provided by special interests who get rich transforming our natural places into obscene cookie-cutter subdivisions and half-empty strip centers.

On election night, Ormond Beach’s tone-deaf incumbent Mayor Bill Partington, Troy Kent, and their posse of re-elected commissioners, posed on the dance floor of the Rockin’ Ranch – epitomizing the back slappin’ good ol’ boy network they represent – holding up a filthy push broom to signify their “clean sweep.”

I don’t know about you, but the abject arrogance exemplified in that moment stuck with me.

Look for more in 2022. . . 

For instance, in the Volusia County Council Zone 2 race, civic activist Paul Zimmerman is facing off against Danny Fuqua, a former military officer who gave lame duck incumbent Councilwoman Billie Wheeler a run for her money in 2020, and the Darling of the Donor Class, Port Orange Councilman Chase Tramont (who is literally on the payroll of CEO Business Alliance member and local powerbroker “Mad Mike” Panaggio at DME Holdings) who has amassed a hefty war chest of some $45,131 – with twenty-seven maximum individual donations of $1,000 – all perfectly legal under our weird campaign finance rules. . .

Yeah.  I know. . . 

By comparison, Mr. Fuqua’s campaign has received $7,584.70 with Zimmerman trailing both at just $1,997.88. 

To his credit, and in the spirit of Mr. Zimmerman’s citizen-focused effort, he has not received any contribution over $250, nor has he accepted anything from those “Rich & Powerful” insiders in the real estate development, construction, and insurance industries. 

In my view, Paul Zimmerman continues to run a positive campaign fixed on the issues important to his neighbors – like malignant sprawl, environmental protections, and water quality – with a demonstrated commitment to protecting our unique tradition of beach driving and access for residents and visitors.  

Follow along as political loyalties are traded here: https://tinyurl.com/3khvk4wt

Earlier this week, the intrepid change agent Sherrise Boyd entered the Volusia County Council At-Large race, joining popular Councilwoman Heather Post, and former Port Orange City Manager Jake Johansson, who are each seeking the seat currently held by retiring Councilman Ben Johnson. 

In a release on social media this week, Ms. Boyd said:

“I believe there needs to be plenty of changes in the County and unfortunately not many people want to take on the role and responsibilities of being an elected official.  I feel the real creation of democracy has long been forgotten and left to those of selfish needs to benefit from when they are not truly for the people or the purpose….  Well, I am for the people, who are the entire purpose for a County Councilperson to even exist.” 

In my view, Ms. Boyd brings a wealth of public and private management experience to the field, and her civic activism and educational campaigns – including the popular “Wake Up with Boyd” forum on Facebook Live – adds an interesting new dynamic to this important race. 

She faces an uphill battle.

To discuss Candidate Boyd’s stance on the issues, or volunteer for her campaign, she invites us to contact her at 386-341-5670. 

In 2020, the overwhelming majority of Volusia County voters sent a strong message to Volusia’s stagnant Old Guard, demanding substantive change to the status quo when we elected Jeff Brower to the catbird seat as Volusia County Council Chair over an entrenched insider with what many felt was an insurmountable financial advantage.

Then, earlier this year, civic activist Ken Strickland took the cake in what was widely billed as a “grassroots vs. establishment” contest for the Daytona Beach City Commission Zone 2 seat. 

Although he trailed far behind his well-connected opponent in campaign funds, Commissioner Strickland won on a simple strategy of “Votes beat money.”     

As I am fond of saying, it is time our ‘powers that be’ in the Ivory Towers of Power understand that there is some shit We, The Little People won’t eat – and that message resonates loudest at the ballot box.   

I hope you will continue the wave of change that is sending a message of hope and inspiration for a better, more prosperous, future for everyone.

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

Your friend Barker here – still tilting at windmills. . .

In the early 1600s, Miguel de Cervantes wrote the classic The Ingenious Gentleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha, commonly known as Don Quixote. 

In its simplest explanation, the theme surrounds Don Quixote’s out-of-touch chivalrous ideals, describing a series of misadventures as the middle-aged knight-errant takes up his lance to defend the helpless from perceived enemies using idealistic justifications that are totally counter to the reality of the changing world around him.

I know how that poor bastard felt. . .

Since starting this blog six-years ago – a purely cathartic vehicle for venting political frustrations and purging the guilt of my own faults and foibles during three decades in public service – friends and former colleagues have cautioned that seeking to change an entrenched system by speaking your mind to the masses makes one a target of the power structure.

I accept that.  It comes with the territory. 

A personal benefit of this blog’s popularity (the only one, it seems) is that some of our “movers & shakers” who possess the self-awareness not to take themselves too seriously and have the ability to laugh about the absurdity of politics, sometimes find the time to argue the fine points with me and discuss the issues over a cold beer.

More often than not, we agree to disagree.

Frankly, I enjoy the spirited debate that often ensues – because that is how I learn. 

Trust me, I can give as good as I get, and my experience tells me that good things come from a robust discussion of competing ideas – and terrible things can happen when a lack of transparency, an ego-driven sense of infallibility, and the arrogance of power combine to silence voices seen as counter to those in control of our lives and livelihoods.

During my many years in the fishbowl, I came to understand that those who hold themselves out for high office and accept public funds to serve in the public interest should grow some hard bark, because condemnation and harsh critique come with the job. 

I also learned the importance of listening to pointed, even caustic, personal criticism – using the concerns of those I served as a barometer of community sentiment – knowing that for every citizen with the courage to speak truth to power there are thousands more with similar beliefs who suffer in silence. 

In time, I came to understand the importance of accepting personal responsibility, admitting mistakes, understanding all sides of an issue, and maintaining the bureaucratic agility to reverse course and make things right – safe in the knowledge that not all errors are fatal to one’s career (political or otherwise) – and that most people can forgive what they see themselves doing, especially when it comes to the Sophie’s Choices inherent to politics. 

What I cannot abide is censorship.

The suppression of thoughts and ideas by powerful elected officials who seek to ‘cancel’ anyone who disagrees with their position on matters of great civic importance – especially in an era where local elected bodies use oppressive “civility ordinances” and legislative sleight-of-hand to limit citizen input at public meetings, deciding by decree the who, what, when, where, why, and for how long We, The Little People can approach our Monarchical leaders for redress of grievances.  

Unfortunately, I was on the receiving end of that pernicious treatment last week.

And it stung.

A distressing sign of the times – or something more telling?       

Last month, most of the Daytona Beach City Commission voted to approve a $4 million economic incentive package for Amazon – the largest e-commerce retailer in the known universe – something that did not sit well with many in the Halifax area. 

One of those voting in the majority was the powerful City Commissioner Stacy Cantu – who has been outspoken on the issue of the coming Amazon Fulfillment Center and ancillary issues which directly affect her district.

After voting with the majority to approve the economic incentives which paved the way for the massive warehouse operation, Ms. Cantu was quoted in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “I love this project.  I think it will put us on the map.”

Then, Ms. Cantu’s neighbors in the tony Pelican Bay community learned that the Volusia County Council had previously approved an extension of Pelican Bay Drive from the Amazon warehouse to Beville Road, poorly planned logistics which will dump cargo and employee traffic at an entrance to the gated community.

At that time, Ms. Cantu commiserated with her neighbors, describing the situation as a “nightmare.”  

Because it is.

The Pelican Bay Drive extension resulted in finger-pointing between Daytona Beach and Volusia County, including allegations that elected officials had been kept in the dark by staff, resulting in a public meeting attended by several public officials and some 275 concerned citizens from throughout the Halifax area. 

In recent weeks, like many, I have expressed my thoughts on the coming Amazon Fulfillment Center – and a recent announcement by NASCAR and their partner, Hillwood, revealing plans to construct even more commercial and industrial space on adjacent land near Daytona “International” Airport under the name “Commerce 500.”    

I questioned how any sitting official who voted for the Amazon incentives could have failed to consider the radiating impacts on the community inherent to a five story, 2.8 million square foot industrial warehouse? 

Then, a citizen made public a post by Commissioner Cantu originating on a private social media site for residents of Pelican Bay that began, “Consider the third gate off the table!  It was just (an) idea to help relieve traffic that I could put in the Hilwood (sic) PD.  Believe me they didn’t want to pay for it in the first place,” which some believed concerned a possible amendment to the Hillwood planned development which would have the developer pay for a “third gate” into her neighborhood while a large-scale land use amendment is pending before the Daytona Beach City Commission. . .

You can read the post here: https://barkersview.org/2022/01/26/commerce-500/

Because I asked uncomfortable questions and expressed community concerns, Commissioner Cantu responded by labeling me a “Clown” and “Carnival Barker” – all while continuing to send mixed signals to her baffled constituents in subsequent soundbites in the News-Journal:

“We are not happy that over 600 semi-trucks will be coming out of the front of our east gate of Pelican Bay,” said Cantu. “We were told it’s part of the master county plan that they have been working on for years. We would like it to come out on Williamson.”

As for the Amazon facility itself, Cantu said, “Most of the residents here are OK (with it). We do need the jobs. Amazon has agreed to pay 95% of the tuition for their workers to go to college and you don’t have to have a career with them. That really sold me.”

Apparently, Commissioner Cantu’s voice is the only one that matters. . .

Inexplicably, last week I learned that Commissioner Cantu filed a complaint with Facebook – alleging that the Barker’s View post regarding the “Commerce 500” project published on the popular public affairs forum Volusia Issues constituted “harassment” – in my view, a scurrilous, thin-skinned, and bald-faced attempt to censor an opinion which opposed her own. 

Admittedly, I was taken aback and did not want to believe it – until the complaint was forwarded to me. . .

Anyone who read my piece understands that it was not intended as harassment (a grammatical nightmare and an insult to one’s intelligence maybe, but not harassment).

My God.  I must admit, I did not see that cheap shot coming. . . 

One thing is certain, Commissioner Cantu and her colleagues on the dais of power hold all the cards – with the power to approve or deny these incredibly lucrative projects and spiffs for some immensely powerful people.

So why the need to silence a rube like me? 

Was it because I took a position counter to those of powerful policymakers on a matter of great interest to our community – or a spiteful attempt to silence a dissenting opinion and ‘cancel’ my voice while important land use changes are pending?   

Let’s face it, there are many bureaucrats, elected officials, and those who hold the paper on their political souls roaming the Halls of Power here on the Fun Coast who are anxious to see citizen forums like Barker’s View and Volusia Issues muzzled and brought to heel – limiting freedom of expression and restricting the message to one they control.    

If petty-minded politicians and influential insiders who seek public funds to underwrite private, for-profit projects are successful in silencing my thoughts and yours – that leaves only their voice in the echo chamber – a lone “official narrative” expressed without challenge.

That’s frightening.

As George R. R. Martin said in A Clash of Kings, “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

When it comes to the pettiness of politics, not much bothers me. 

But I must admit, this one hurt.

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was.

Angel               Volusia Teacher of the Year Madison Miller

During a recent awards ceremony at the Ocean Center, Madison Miller of Chisholm Elementary was named the 22-2023 Volusia County Teacher of the Year! 

According to Volusia County Schools, Ms. Miller will now represent Volusia in the state Teacher of the Year program.  She succeeds Citrus Grove Elementary art teacher Frank Garaitonandia, who was Volusia County’s 21-2022 Teacher of the Year, and a top-five state finalist.

In an excellent article by education reporter Nikki Ross writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Ms. Miller began her remarkable career as a single parent who overcame obstacles with persistence and the support of those who cared:

“My family and friends wouldn’t accept anything less than me going back to school and finishing my degree, even with a baby on my hip,” Miller said.”

In my view, Ms. Miller is an inspirational role model for her students and peers – a true local success story who exemplifies the virtues of hard work and perseverance.  Now, the educator is providing that same encouragement to at-risk students in Volusia County.

According to Volusia County Schools:

“Madison Miller is a product of Volusia County Schools and continued her post-secondary education in Volusia. Her undergraduate degree is from Daytona State College, and she is currently completing a second master’s degree from Stetson University.

“My goal in my career is to continue that legacy of support,” Miller said. “It is the support, the roles that we play, that get our kids here, albeit proverbial stage. My career has focused on those without support: students in poverty, students in crisis, minoritized students, and transient students. We are their support system. Through equity and efficacy, we can continue to be that support.”

In addition, Superintendent Scott Fritz acknowledged the significant contributions of three additional area educators who best represent the district’s core values.

Honorees include, Suzanne Boss, an English Language Arts teacher at Silver Sands Middle, Joseph Brennan, Social Studies teacher at Deltona High School, and Vanessa Emers, a Third Grade teacher at Spruce Creek Elementary.

Kudos to Madison Miller and her colleagues on this well-deserved recognition – and congratulations to all those inspirational educators who were nominated.    

There are many challenges facing Volusia County Schools, but the quality of those wonderful teachers, paraprofessionals, and staff members who serve under often challenging circumstances are true superstars who I count among my personal heroes.

Thank you for your inspirational service to Volusia County students!

Asshole           State Sen. Travis Hutson (R – Palm Coast)

In October 2013, I watched as partisan flexing over the Affordable Care Act brought the federal government to a halt. 

The gridlock occurred when overblown posturing on both sides of the aisle continued interminably while legislation to appropriate funds for fiscal year 2014 failed.    

For the first time in 17-years, all government services deemed “non-essential” were shuttered as some 800,000 federal workers were furloughed, while many more deemed “exempt” were forced to work without pay, while you and I were denied access to important programs and services.   

Admittedly, that is an oversimplification of a very protracted and contentious period that resulted in a 16-day shutdown – the third longest in our nation’s history.   

The partisan stalemate rubbed me wrong. 

In 2013, the United States was a nation at war – fighting the Global War on Terror – with our brave service members actively deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq – with others fighting al-Qaida and other terrorist organization bent on our destruction on several fronts – while our elected leadership in Washington acted out like recalcitrant children.

In my view, this petty posturing and infighting weakened our nation in the eyes of our enemies – and the world.

In those hours, I came to the stark realization that the fringe ideology fomented and embraced by both major political parties meant that neither represented my interests any longer.  

So, I left the Republican party, which, like my father and grandfather before me, I had been aligned with since I was old enough to vote. 

Just like that, I filed the appropriate voter change request, packed my middle-of-the-road ideology in an old kitbag, and trudged off to the increasingly popular No Party Affiliation camp – a catch-all for an eclectic mix of the disenfranchised, the disillusioned, and the disgruntled refugees of a two-party political system gone haywire.

As a self-described ‘moderate conservative’ (whatever that means) the horrors that have resulted from the partisan and cultural warfare in Washington makes those halcyon days of 2013 seem like a cakewalk. . .

Now, as elected officials flaunt their lockstep allegiance to influential Big Money interests, each legislative season and election cycle confirms that my decision to stop lending tacit approval to what has become an Us vs. Them paralysis on both sides was the right call.

With Florida’s legislative session in full swing, the obstructionism and fight for total control continues.

For instance, State Sen. Travis Hutson, a republican from Palm Coast, has made a splash promoting the asinine idea of disbanding Florida’s Soil & Water Conservation Districts during a tumultuous period of growth as development quickly outpaces our threatened natural resources. 

The non-regulatory SWCDs began in Florida in 1937, and, by statute, are meant to provide “assistance, guidance, and education to landowners, land occupiers, the agriculture industry, and the general public in implementing land and water resource protection practices,” with all activities project-based and grant funded. 

Not the most powerful mandate in politics – but a vital role, nonetheless. 

According to Sen. Hutson, he acted to abolish the toothless SWCDs statewide when agricultural concerns in his district complained they were not adequately represented.  Now, after some ham-handed amendments and rewording – the bill keeps the 56 Soil & Water Conservation Districts intact, politically subdividing each county-based district, while placing onerous requirements on who can serve. 

Earlier this week, the bill’s language was changed to require that elected SWCD board members (called “supervisors”) be eligible voters who are “actively engaged in the business of farming or animal husbandry.”     

Say what? Only Old MacDonald (read: Big Agriculture) can have a say in soil and water conservation measures?

The new wording drops a previous unconstitutional requirement that candidates own land in the district to which they are elected. . .    

Opponents of Hutson’s legislation claim he is attempting to crush SWCDs for focusing on ‘global warming’ and other hot button environmental issues that make his influential “friends” nervous – and to prevent board members who are viewed as “environmentalists and progressive activists” from using their elected service on a SWCD as a springboard to higher office.   

So much for all that “level the playing field and let the people decide,” horseshit, eh?

My God. . .

Locally, the Volusia County Soil & Water Conservation District, which is chaired by Dr. Wendy Anderson – a Professor of Environmental Science and Studies at Stetson University who has been outspoken on growth and development issues – focuses on conservation stewardship programs, promoting low impact development, community gardening, beekeeping, and various educational programs focusing on water quality issues, and hosting an annual pre-COVID tree sale. 

Pretty benign stuff in the scheme of things.

Now, these hyper-local resource protection boards are poised to suffer a fate symbolic of what happens when influential insiders feel their access to the riches inherent in churning the land into a moonscape to make way for more, more, more is threatened – and they lean on their hired chattel in Tallahassee – ensuring that city and county commissions are populated with malleable rubberstamps.     

Bullshit. 

The out-of-control overdevelopment across the state of Florida is no longer an exercise in shaping growth – the art and science of minimal impact development, planned neighborhoods, and infill projects that revitalize communities concurrent with existing infrastructure and resources.

And the voracious appetite of developers is damn sure not concerned with protecting our fragile environment, preserving wildlife habitat and biodiversity, or ensuring an adequate water supply.

Now, those quaint ideas have been replaced by the malignant spread of placeless sprawl, and the wholesale destruction of our remaining greenspace – further separating communities by income and demographic – all mindlessly approved by craven politicians all too eager to please their political benefactors.   

In my view, it is all about money and power which fuels the insatiable greed of speculative developers and other interests who ensure a return on investment by furthering the political ambitions of those who permit the wholesale destruction of our natural places and resources.

Another disturbing sign of our troubled times, I suppose. . .     

Angel               Daytona Beach Shores City Manager Kurt Swartzlander

This week, the Daytona Beach Shores City Council tapped Finance Director and Assistant City Manager Kurt Swartzlander to serve as their next City Manager!

His appointment will become effective in July with the retirement of veteran City Manager Michael Booker following 22-years of dedicated service to a grateful community. 

According to a release by Daytona Beach Shores government:

“Swartzlander, 51, came to Daytona Beach Shores four years ago as Finance Director and has also served as Assistant City Manager since last spring. He spent 11 years at the city of Holly Hill before that, serving as Finance Director and Assistant City Manager, with two stints as Interim City Manager during his time in Holly Hill.”

His impressive preparation includes a Master of Business Administration degree from prestigious Stetson University in DeLand and service as the founding vice president of the Volusia/Flagler Chapter of the Florida Government Finance Officers Association.

Knowing Kurt as I do, he is most proud of his important roles as husband and father to his wife, Stacy, and their four children: Sydney, Kinsley, Jadon, and Jackson.

I had the pleasure of working closely with Kurt at the City of Holly Hill and can report he is a gentleman of great faith and unquestioned character – an accomplished resource and superior talent – who takes the high road at all costs, a personal and professional trait that has earned the confidence of those he serves.

In my view, the DBS City Council made an incredibly wise decision.

Mr. Booker’s shoes will be difficult to fill – but I can think of no one more capable of building on his impressive legacy of civic accomplishments than Kurt. 

Congratulations to Kurt Swartzlander on this important milestone in his impressive career!   

Quote of the Week

“A Native Remembers”

“When I was a kid growing up in South Daytona in the 1950s and 60s, I spent the majority of my time, when I wasn’t in school, in the woods around my neighborhood. Our parents used to send us out “to play” first thing in the morning and we weren’t expected back until dinner time. There were orange groves and cattle ranches along with acres and acres of undeveloped land.

We wandered the woods for miles, built forts, dug “tunnels” (log and palm frond covered trenches), built tree houses, rafted down, and swam and fished in the Halifax River. We swam in artesian sulfur springs that watered the cattle.

We camped, and cooked hot dogs and marshmallows around fires, and slept in the forts and tunnels so many nights I couldn’t begin to count them all. Looking back, it was an idyllic childhood for a Huck Finn type, and most of us were, even if we never read a line of Twain. We took it for granted.

We didn’t know how blessed we were.

Today that area of South Daytona has all been developed. Where there were 10 or so homes, there are probably a few hundred. Gone are the orange groves, the sulfur springs, and cattle farms. I wouldn’t swim in the Halifax today and I would be reluctant to eat any fish caught there. This transformation came about slowly. First, there was the development of Anastasia Blvd, and then came Sherwood Forest, and we slowly watched our woods and playground turn into homes.

We didn’t think much of it; we thought there was plenty of room. Then the Fortich’s cattle farm became a subdivision and the sulfur springs were capped. Next the navel, tangerine, and grapefruit trees were bulldozed and homes lining the paved roads replaced what was once Laroche’s Groves.

That’s how it happens most of the time.

Slowly, incrementally, so you hardly notice. The life and scenes out of a Huck Finn novel are now suburbia. Maybe we didn’t notice it so much back then because the developers seemed to have a degree of respect for the land. They came in and cut roads and laid out lots for sale that followed the natural terrain and topography of the land. They left trees on the lots and even left a patch of woods here and there.

Today slowly has been replaced with rapidly. Incrementally has been replaced with clear cutting thousands of acres of every living thing. Topography be damned, bring in the fill dirt. Flat land is easier and more profitable to develop than dealing with hills or cypress ponds. The cost savings in dealing with the natural terrain can used to plant saplings. The wildlife?… Well, hope they got out OK. Traffic?… well, that is someone else’s problem. Water? Florida has springs, right? Sewage?…Well, what’s a million gallons of sewage spilled every once in a while? The folks buying homes and fleeing the parts of the country where this type of development has already occurred will enjoy it for a while, until the reason they came here is gone.

CONCURRENCY is the concept that no new development can be approved unless the infrastructure ALREADY exists to support the development. Just a few years ago, concurrency was Florida Law. The State of Florida decided that the concept of concurrency was too hot to handle, so they did what most governments do when in a pinch: they handed it off. Today, the concept of concurrency is the responsibility of local governments. That means municipal and county governments are now responsible for being sure development doesn’t outpace our infrastructure. How are they doing? Things change, and if you live long enough, they say you will see almost anything. I hope someone is paying attention.

–Paul Zimmerman, Candidate for Volusia County Council District 2, writing in the Bellaire Community Group’s January newsletter

And Another Thing!

It is increasingly clear that our ‘powers that be’ are either unwilling or incapable of saying “Whoa” to their influential political contributors in the development community as their disastrous growth strategy of cramming ten-pounds of shit into a five-pound bag roars on. 

As Paul Zimmerman so eloquently said, the concept of concurrency rightfully places the commonsense responsibility of ensuring that development does not outpace our transportation and utilities infrastructure on local governments. 

Unfortunately, the idea of planning, concurrency, and growth management has been replaced by a gluttonous growth at all cost approach that is quickly destroying our quality of life and draining precious natural resources as “theme” communities and sprawling subdivisions give way to the “City within a City” concept.  

This week, we learned that those brainiacs at the City of Deltona and the St. Johns River Water Management District recently broke ground on a classic “Rob Peter to pay Paul” project which, according to reports, will draw 12-million gallons of surface water a day from the St. John’s River at Lake Monroe to supplement the city’s reclaimed water supply.

Once operational, the system will support minimum flow levels at Blue Springs – a winter refuge for hundreds of endangered manatees – and supplement six area lakes from the effects of excess groundwater withdrawals.   

In an informative report by the intrepid Wild West Volusia reporter Katie Kustura writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Effort to draw 12M gallons of surface water for irrigation,” we learned:

“Mike Ulrich, director of Volusia County Water Resources and Utilities, said developing alternative water supplies for non-drinking water purposes is an important strategy on which municipalities throughout the state are working.

“We’re trying to reduce our impact as more and more people move to the area,” Ulrich said.”

Right. 

Look, I’m not the highfalutin director of Volusia County’s challenged “Water Resources and Utilities,” but something tells me trying to mitigate the impacts of overuse by sucking more water from surface resources sounds like the textbook definition of “unsustainable.”

But what do I know?

Rather than hide their heads in shame, earlier this month, those Deltona dimwits had their photo taken for posterity turning dirt during a groundbreaking ceremony on a clear-cut plot where the pumps will be placed near the bank of Lake Monroe.

According to the News-Journal’s report, in December, Duke Energy cleared the site of “trees and brush to prepare for the construction work,” leaving nearby residents rightfully pissed.   

Not to worry.  City officials promise to replace the natural vegetative buffer with “landscaping” – another artificial fix for a completely man-made problem. . . 

In my view, it is indicative of the way our elected officials, and those who clean up their messes, live with themselves – creating temporary solutions that often exacerbate the original problem – like bypassing natural processes while allowing more development on top of our aquifer recharge areas – the same greed-crazed mindset that will have us all drinking our own sewage as our ‘powers that be’ seek to appease their insatiable benefactors in the real estate development industry.  

I hope you will remember this insanity at the ballot box this year. . . 

In other Deltona “happenings”:

Congratulations to Deltona’s Always Acting City Manager John Peters, who spent much of last year threatening to take his football and go home after publicly claiming certain elected officials were interfering in day-to-day operations – then defending allegations of racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and “incest innuendo” after a former employee alleged that Peters suggested he was the product of inbreeding – was recently named Executive Officer of the Year by the Volusia League of Cities!  

In all fairness, according to a subsequent report in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, to his credit, “Peters admitted to using ‘questionable’ language and indicated he would discontinue such behavior moving forward.” 

Well then, no harm-no foul. 

(Until the next employee complains, then it’s “cha-ching!” – You know, that pesky ‘they either knew or should have known’ thing again. . .)

Whatever.    

Kudos to Mr. Peters and the Volusia League of Cities for always raising the bar!   

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

“Consider the third gate off the table!

It was just (an) idea to help relieve traffic that I could put in the Hilwood (sic) PD.  Believe me they didn’t want to pay for it in the first place.

The city doesn’t own the Amazon property.  It’s owned by NASCAR.  NASCAR has a contract on their property with Amazon and they do not need commission approval.  If you haven’t noticed lately, they are building right now.  All the property across from Pelican Bay is owned by the County and NASCAR.  The city doesn’t have land over there.  The roads are owned by the state and county.  The county has been working on the master plan with the state for years.  I’ve stated this before, the only area the city has control of is the western side of the Hilwood (sic) PD.  I’ve explained the Amazon and Volusia County Master Plan till I’m blue in the face.  I can’t explain it any better than I already have.  I’m not going to lie to you.  I even called a meeting to have their attorney explain what is going on over there.  I heard from you that you don’t want a third gate which you would need 75% of the residents to agree.  Consider it off the table!  I will not waste anymore time on this and will not be calling a second meeting.  A second meeting will not do any good when a majority of the residents are not hearing me.  Do your petition to the state and I wish you the best of luck!”

–Daytona Beach Zone 4 City Commissioner Stacy Cantu, lambasting her neighbors and constituents on the restricted Facebook page “Pelican Bay Daytona Beach Community,” as posted to Volusia Issues by a citizen privy to the private communication which discussed a “third gate” at Pelican Bay, something Commissioner Cantu clearly planned to add to a planned industrial development agreement (?), Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Wow.  Interesting. . .

“On Dec. 1, Daytona Beach City Commissioner Stacy Cantu joined with three others to vote to change the comprehensive land use for two adjacent Daytona International Speedway-owned parcels totaling 211 acres, clearing the way for an Amazon distribution center. “I love this project. I think it will put us on the map,” she gushed.”

–The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Editorial Board, “Secrecy of Amazon’s identity ahead of comp-plan land-use change unspools other concerns,” Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Admittedly, I’m a rube.

But I am not alone. . .

In the January 14, 2022, edition of Angels & Assholes, I asked the same questions many residents of the Halifax area have regarding the enormous impacts – both positive and negative – of the coming Amazon Fulfillment Center and adjacent commercial/industrial development planned for public and private property south of Daytona “International” Airport. 

For having the temerity to exercise my rights and responsibilities as a Volusia County taxpayer to seek answers and engage in civic dialog on issues of public concern, the powerful Commissioner Cantu once again upbraided me on social media:

“Stay tuned to Stacy’s Corner, As the subject of Barkers Angels and rear ends, Carnival Barker is at it again and as Big John says “Nobody knows nothing!” I can guarantee you Carnival Barker knows nothing regarding the Volusia County Master Plan, Hillwood and Amazon….”

She’s right.  But now I am in good company.

I guess the good residents of Pelican Bay don’t know anything either.

But we’re learning. . . 

Earlier this week, a release published in PRNewswire announced that Hillwood, an international industrial development firm, has partnered with NASCAR to build Commerce 500 at Daytona Beach, a project “…with the potential to build out to about two million square feet of industrial space and much-needed new roads and infrastructure for the surrounding community.”

Which, I think, means NASCAR and their friends at Hillwood are doing us a favor?

I’m asking.  Because nothing about this unfolding debacle makes sense.

Last November, during an open and advertised public meeting, the Volusia County Council voted unanimously to approve a $2.7 million proportionate share agreement between the City of Daytona Beach, Daytona 634 Development, LLC, and the County of Volusia – along with an extension of Pelican Bay Drive that will connect the Amazon fulfillment center (and Commerce 500?) to busy Beville Road – dumping traffic from the 2.8 million-square-foot e-commerce warehouse at the east entrance to Pelican Bay. 

Then, we were told that members of the Daytona Beach City Commission were kept in the dark by their own bureaucracy as the mysterious Project Tarpon/Amazon project wound its way through the opaque process – which resulted in the wealthiest online retailer in the universe being gifted a $4-million public spiff. . .

Remember? 

I do.

At the time, Commissioner Cantu – whose district (and neighborhood) is directly impacted by the massive facility tried to sell us on another panacea project:

“We need the economic growth. We need more jobs. I think bringing this project in will help bring more industry to our community.”

“I love this project,” Cantu swooned when voting to approve the agreement, “I think it will put us on the map.”

Then, when the elected elite came out of the ether and realized cargo and employee traffic would be routed onto an already congested Beville Road – something first-year Commissioner Ken Strickland, who cast the lone “No” vote, described as lies by omission – Commissioner Cantu and other elected officials did their best to convince residents of Pelican Bay that they were blindsided by the news there would be traffic associated with an industrial warehouse.

In fact, Ms. Cantu held an informational meeting attended by over two-hundred area residents (and several elected and appointed officials?) during which she described the project as a “nightmare.”   

At the time, residents of Pelican Bay and other concerned citizens were promised there would be a second meeting to address lingering questions and concerns. 

Now, according to Ms. Cantu’s post on a private social media page, that community confab is apparently not going to happen.

Why? 

Because she is “blue in the face” explaining how things are to us insolent dolts – vowing to “…not waste anymore time on this and will not be calling a second meeting.”

So there.

I guess that’s how public meetings attended by elected officials who will vote on ancillary issues surrounding the planned industrial development are either announced and scheduled – or dismissed out-of-hand – in the Duchy of Daytona Beach? 

Really?  “Off the table”?  

Trust me.  We, The Little People may be ignorant of the behind-the-scenes wrangling that got us here, but our elected elite either knew or should have known – that’s their job, dammit – and no one is fooled by the faux-indignation, political posturing, and handwringing these elected chameleons hope will assuage the very real fears of their constituents who are justifiably worried about their future.

In my view, those who permit these enigmatic ‘pig in a poke’ economic development shim-shams, then paint themselves as misinformed rubes, should be held accountable – and the condescending “You’re too stupid to understand” dismissal of constituent concerns undermines confidence in the system.

Look, Ms. Cantu is right – I am a carnival clown who knows little about the inner-workings of a plan involving some of the heaviest hitters in Volusia County business, industry, and government – but it is important that taxpayers know what our policymakers knew and when – or how they were kept in the dark on an issue with such indelible impacts on the Halifax area and beyond.  

The advent of Amazon and Commerce 500 will have major regional impacts – and our elected officials are strategically out-to-lunch on the details.

Stay vigilant. This one is important.  

In the past week, we saw two unfortunate interactions between people and black bears on both sides of Volusia County. 

These human-bear contacts are increasingly frequent occurrences in Central Florida, and, when they happen, things never end well. 

For the bear, that is. 

In my view, the idea of paving over wildlife habitat to make way for another damnable strip center, wood frame apartment complex, or theme housing development, then destroying bears who have become desensitized to the trappings of human beings, wild animals with nowhere to go, is wrong – epitomizing the arrogance of those who don’t give two-shits about preserving our natural places and sensitive ecosystems – choosing instead to profit from destroying habitat and killing off any wildlife that stands in their way.

As a young man I enjoyed deer hunting – more for the social aspect of sitting around camp enjoying the company of friends – or spending time with my late father on traditional dove hunts in South Georgia, learning from the yarns spun by my elders, as copious amounts of good bourbon were sipped in front of a roaring fireplace on cool fall evenings. 

From experience, I can report that there are few things more rewarding than spending time in the woods at daybreak, quietly attuned to the sights and sounds of nature all around, watching the grace and majesty of wild animals in their natural habitat. 

Unfortunately, almost to the acre, the forests and swamps where I enjoyed nature in my youth have been paved over – making way for “theme” communities where speculative developers have created an escapist façade for retirees seeking to live out an artificial lifestyle that no longer exists – pine scrub and hardwood forest ground into a black muck, the wetlands drained and filled, now chockfull of zero-lot-line wood frame cracker boxes from the “low $300’s” serviced by godawful half-empty strip centers. 

And We, The Little People – hapless rubes led to believe the “system” still serves us – watch helplessly as glib real estate attorneys, powerful developers, and marketing shills smooth off the rough edges – ensuring more “inventory” for the never-ending influx on the I-95 conveyor as we transition from subdivisions and gated communities to “Cities within a City.” 

My God.

The out-of-control overdevelopment of Volusia County is no longer an exercise in shaping growth – the art and science of planning neighborhoods, revitalizing downtowns, enhancing civic assets, ensuring adequate transportation and utilities infrastructure, making room for cultural and creative space, while preserving our historic places.

Now, those quaint ideas have been replaced by the disastrous idea of growth at all costs – which has resulted in the endless spread of placeless sprawl and the wholesale destruction of our remaining greenspace – further separating communities by income and demographic, all conveniently rubberstamped by malleable politicians all too eager to please their benefactors. 

With $1 of every $5 contributed to select Volusia County political campaigns in recent races originating from real estate development interests – prove me wrong.  

In a recent article in the Palm Beach Post, we learned that the State of Florida is considering increasing fines on developers who steam over gopher tortoise burrows as the cost of rehoming the endangered animals “…outpaces penalties for burying them alive.”

Estimates show the cost of “rehoming” a single gopher tortoise is now between $5,000 and $6,000 – while fines for destroying a burrow remains at a paltry $500 plus court costs. 

You read that right.

According to the disturbing report:

“Last year, housing giant Pulte Group paid $13,790 after pleading guilty to annihilating 22 burrows on land slated for an age-restricted community in Marion County.

At the Pulte site, investigators found a juvenile gopher tortoise that had been cut in half “by something large, presumably heavy equipment,” as noted in a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report. Another tortoise was spotted digging in a machine cleared area “attempting to repair its collapsed burrow.”

With malignant growth churning habitat into a moonscape across the width and breadth of the Sunshine State, last year, the Florida Wildlife Commission issued just 118 warnings and 49 citations statewide for gopher tortoise violations. . . 

Now, paving over a threatened species or cutting them in half with heavy equipment has become the cost of doing business.  In short, gopher tortoises, black bears, whitetail deer, and other species lost out to the voracious greed of speculative developers who hold the political paper on the souls of the craven politicians who facilitate it.

To ameliorate their guilt and mitigate the political damage – the same elected officials who rubberstamp land use changes and literally pave the way for more “planned unit developments” and industrial warehouses that interface with residential neighborhoods, pouring traffic onto already congested roadways – beat their chest and crow about “wildlife corridors,” narrow patches of contiguous natural space that allow wild animals a chance to run, fly, or swim from the vice-like growth that is rapidly destroying their last remaining habitat in the perverse name of “progress.” 

Bullshit.

In my view, the 2022 election cycle is our opportunity to purge these blowholes from the dais of power – those who asked for our sacred vote – then did nothing to address the destruction of our natural places, voted to approve more, more, more growth and sprawl, while shrugging their shoulders and telling us “there’s nothing we can do,” allowing “growth management” bureaucrats to run interference for developers in a tragic tail wagging the dog scenario they think we are too stupid to see through.

It is not hard to figure out a candidates allegiances.

Rather than listen to what they say – simply read their campaign finance reports – and review the record of how incumbents voted while in office.

In my view, if we leave these same compromised assholes at the helm – there will be no end to the cancerous sprawl that is metastasizing like tumors along the spine of Volusia County from Farmton to the Flagler County line. 

We cannot say we were not warned. 

The gopher tortoises and black bears did everything possible to get our attention.

When will we listen to them?

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was.

Angel               Volusia County Councilwoman Heather Post

As the late, great commentator Paul Harvey used to say, “Now we know the rest of the story.”

Earlier this month, during what passed for the annual organizational meeting of the Volusia County Council, the intrepid Councilwoman Heather Post took it on the chin from her “colleagues” for having the temerity to report a possible crime to the one person in the massive bureaucracy with the independence to do something about it – Internal Auditor Jonathan “Big Foot” Edwards.

I half-facetiously refer to Mr. Edwards as “Big Foot” – because like the mysterious Sasquatch – he is rumored to exist but rarely seen. . .

So, when Edwards appeared in the Council Chamber to present the 2022 Internal Audit Plan, Ms. Post took the rare opportunity to discuss the autonomy of the Internal Auditor in Volusia County’s autocratic hierarchy. 

During that discussion, we learned that in October 2021, Ms. Post reported a significant issue with Volusia County Jail inmate trust fund accounts to Mr. Edwards in her role as an elected representative – a responsibility which Ms. Post justly considers an integral and important part of her job.

Because it is.

That turned into a pointed rebuke by the three lame ducks, Councilman Ben Johnson, His Eminence “Dr.” Fred Lowry, and Councilwoman Billie Wheeler, who explained to Ms. Post just how county government works – ensuring that everyone is aware that all roads go through County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald – warning that individual elected officials are expressly prohibited from bringing serious concerns to Mr. Edwards’ attention.

Clearly, Volusia County’s “Old Guard” is comfortable in the knowledge that ferreting out fraud, theft, and financial inefficiencies will never be as important as lockstep conformity to a rigid process that protects the bureaucratic upper crust.

Bullshit. 

As a veteran law enforcement officer, Councilman Johnson knows that it is not important how crimes are reported, and an internal policy that discourages elected officials from bringing constituent concerns to the attention of the only person in the building specifically charged with investigating internal corruption is tailormade for disaster. 

It got worse.

“I don’t think that any one of the council should be going to a department head or Jonathan personally and saying, ‘I need you to look at this.’ That puts him in a terrible situation,” Councilwoman Billie Wheeler mewled.

Say what?

Then “Dr.” Fred Lowry took a cheap swipe at Ms. Post:

“The problem I have with the way it was brought up is it indicates to the public there’s a problem in that area.  While maybe certain people’s Facebook groupies tonight will be cheering them on, there will be a lot of saying, ‘Why in the world were they talking for hours? Is there a problem going on with the auditor?’”

Yes, you read that right.  This is how these jacklegs think. . . 

My God.

Now, we learn that Councilwoman Post’s concerns were completely validated when it was confirmed that money had been illegally taken from the accounts of some thirteen inmates – ostensibly to reimburse the county for various services provided during previous incarcerations – unauthorized withdrawals made after the statutorily permitted three-year time limit had passed. 

In an informative report by Mary Helen Moore writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Ms. Post explained that she routinely receives requests for assistance from her constituents – and acts upon them:

“In this case, a Volusia County Branch Jail inmate reached out to me for assistance, saying that money had been removed from his inmate banking account in violation of state statute and that his inquiries and requests for resolution over many months had been ignored,” she wrote in an email.

Post said she inquired about the matter and was told the money had been withdrawn to pay the medical lien from 2015, in violation of the Florida statute which caps the liens at three years.

“Although obviously simply an oversight in jail operations… We can’t be illegally taking money from people we have placed in jail,” Post said.

She told The News-Journal that she pointed out the person should be reimbursed and procedures should be corrected, then asked staff to investigate whether this had happened to others.

“I was advised there were too many transactions to look at to audit, so county finance staff advised they checked into a select category of inmate accounts with deposits of greater than $600 over the last two years and found twelve where the county had withdrawn monies in violation and they were working to rectify those,” she said.”

Wow.

Interestingly, the inmate trust fund accounts are now Priority One on Mr. Edwards’ 2022 audit plan. . . 

Despite the asinine unwritten policy limiting how evidence of possible criminal activity can be transmitted to Volusia County’s internal watchdog – purely bureaucratic restrictions that have a chilling effect on this important process – in this case, thanks to Councilwoman Post’s persistence in ensuring that a constituent’s initially ignored concerns were addressed, an unlawful practice was exposed and rectified. 

No thanks to Ms. Post’s craven “colleagues” who place more weight on lockstep conformity to a rigid system that allowed the unlawful withdrawals – and the concerns of victims of the pernicious practice to be ignored by senior administrators.    

Asshole           Gannett Company   

For the uninitiated, Barker’s View is not a “news site” and I am not a “journalist.”

Far from it. 

At best, I am a dilettante editorialist – at worst, a blowhard with internet access and a jaded opinion on everything. 

Like you, I simply digest scraps of “news” and rumor regarding the myriad issues of the day, consider the possibilities through the prism of over three-decades in local government, hoping my off-base theories stimulate a larger discussion in our community.

Unfortunately, local journalism is quickly ebbing away, leaving an information vacuum that social media forums and blogs simply cannot fill, especially in a political environment where public policy is chillingly susceptible to insider persuasion. 

Last month, The Daytona Beach News-Journal took a disturbing step in the ongoing effort to pare down and regionalize our hometown newspaper when they consolidated the Holiday Week editions, combining the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday print issues into a single paper that was delivered on Thursday. 

Rightfully, many long-time subscribers felt shortchanged. 

Because they were.  

Recently, the News-Journal’s parent, Gannett, announced that beginning in March it will be eliminating the Saturday print edition altogether – making it solely an online offering. 

In exchange for forcing this “new Saturday experience” on its dwindling readership, Gannett is now marketing what it enthusiastically bills as “additional benefits” for perplexed subscribers, including online access to its daily newspapers across the nation, as well as its flagship, the horribly homogenized USA Today.

What?  You don’t want a new Saturday experience?  Tough shit.

That is what happens when your hometown newspaper is sold to a media “investment group” committed to “expanding and promoting digital offerings” and the concept of local focus and control is lost to a greed-crazed strategy of profit over quality. . .

For instance, on Monday, when I attempted to take advantage of my “additional benefits” by accessing an online story from a previous e-edition of The Daytona Beach News-Journal – the website directed me to last Sunday’s Mansfield, Ohio News-Journal.

Whatever. 

We’re not alone.

According to reports, Gannett – the nation’s largest newspaper network – is eliminating the Saturday print edition in half its markets, a cost-cutting move affecting some 136 daily newspapers across the United States.

I often say that The Daytona Beach News-Journal is the best written, worst edited, daily in the nation. 

Our hometown newspaper has some of the most talented journalists in the business – dedicated reporters who live here and care about the issues that affect our lives and livelihoods – the hard-working survivors of a once bustling newsroom that lost so many in recent years, victims of corporate ‘downsizing,’ and others who were simply run off by shortsighted management – corporate tools more fixated on fighting the inane culture wars than retaining talent and producing a marketable product. . . 

When Gannett acquired our local newspaper, we lost a big part of our civic identity – and a vital watchdog in a political environment dominated by a few extremely wealthy insiders with outsized influence.  

Unfortunately, that external oversight is not coming back – now replaced with a mishmash of pap and fluff derived from other Gannett properties in the region – the editorial page eviscerated, while the local stories get short shrift just when we need aggressive investigative journalism the most. 

A disturbing sign of the times.  

A November 2019 study by the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at The University of Texas at Austin entitled, “Newspaper Decline and the Effect on Local Government Coverage,” found:

“…staffing cuts and a shift to online publishing have dramatically changed the reporting model of local newspapers. These changes prompted a reduction in press attention to local government activities and led to a more reactive press that is less able to set the agenda in communities.  Journalists note that there are likely important political consequences to changes in coverage. Corruption, mismanagement, lower turnout, and incumbency advantages are all thought to possible outcomes from changes to local government coverage.”

A frightening take on the old “When the cats away, the mice will play” analogy, in a place where our local governments are not known for their transparency. . .    

In the past 15-years, more than a quarter of American newspapers have gone away – and those that remain have been traded like chattel – with more than half of all daily newspapers now controlled by hedge funds and financial firms. 

In an excellent October 2021 article by McKay Coppins writing in The Atlantic, “A Secretive Hedge Fund is Gutting Newsrooms – Inside Alden Global Capital,” we got a glimpse of the mercenary strategy that many believe is destroying local journalism:

“What threatens local newspapers now is not just digital disruption or abstract market forces. They’re being targeted by investors who have figured out how to get rich by strip-mining local-news outfits. The model is simple: Gut the staff, sell the real estate, jack up subscription prices, and wring as much cash as possible out of the enterprise until eventually enough readers cancel their subscriptions that the paper folds, or is reduced to a desiccated husk of its former self.”

Sound familiar?

At a time when We, The Little People are increasingly ignored by those we have elected and appointed to represent our interests – openly sold out to speculative developers and craven opportunists willing to slash-and-burn our natural places to make room for another zero-lot-line “theme” community, while our hard-earned tax dollars are willingly pissed away in dubious corporate welfare schemes that hide projects behind “confidentiality agreements,” a system that perpetuates the warehouse/logistics economy that is being foisted on our children and grandchildren – independent local journalism has been neutered by this weird profit strategy that substitutes recycled and regionalized horseshit for hard news. 

Angel              Daytona Beach Shores City Manager Michael Booker

“At the top of the mountain we are all snow leopards. Anybody who can do one thing better than anyone else in the world is a natural friend of mine.”

–Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

I have a natural affinity for anyone at the top of their game – and few have done it better in their difficult field of endeavor than Daytona Beach Shores City Manager Michael Booker. 

Earlier this month, Mr. Booker announced he would be retiring in July following 22-years of admirable service to this seaside community – a notable effort that has helped craft one of the most stable and respected municipal governments in Florida.

In my view, Mr. Booker has built an outstanding team of servant/leaders that includes standouts like Director of Public Safety Stephan Dembinsky and Finance Director Kurt Swartzlander, two of the absolute best in the business. 

Last week, Daytona Beach Shores City Clerk/Human Resources Director Cheri Schwab was honored by the Volusia County League of Cities as Administrative Employee of the Year while Mayor Nancy Miller received the prestigious Mayor Blaine O’Neal Award of Excellence.

During his impressive tenure, Mr. Booker has guided a period of incredible progress. 

Collaborating with elected officials and civically engaged residents who take immense pride in their unique coastal community, Mr. Booker successfully brought a new City Hall facility, a state-of-the-art Public Safety building, the Shores Community Center, beautiful parks and recreational opportunities, a Public Works headquarters and storage facility, and utilities infrastructure improvements.    

According to a release issued by Daytona Beach Shores:

“Safety, financial responsibility, and the appearance of the community are highly valued. Shores voters approved a major beautification project to move utilities underground and upgrade streetlights, sidewalks and water/sewer lines and, in 2021, the City paid off that debt early, along with other debt in the general fund. As the City prepares to welcome a new city manager, it is officially debt-free.”

Impressive.

“Booker said he’s looking forward to spending more time with his wife and family during retirement. He’s been in treatment for cancer since 2020. Booker plans to take up the drums again and is excited to have more time to read about history and to travel.”

Thank you, Mr. Booker.

Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement – enjoy it in good health and happiness!    

In my view, Michael Booker is a credit to his difficult profession, someone who has worked diligently to improve the quality of life for residents of Daytona Beach Shores.  In doing so, he has raised the bar for the entire Halifax area and set a shining example of what can be accomplished when government works cooperatively with those it serves.   

We’re glad he passed our way. 

Quote of the Week

“Brower said he thought the perception was that Holly Hill had been given special treatment.

“We need to talk about that,” Brower said before quizzing staff on a number of matters, including asking why Pictona was allowed to use other local property taxes to serve as their match when it had been prohibited for others in the past.”

–Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower, as quoted by reporter Mary Helen Moore writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Pictona scores $2.5M grant,” Wednesday, January 19, 2022

From personal experience, I can report that the City of Holly Hill has never received preferential treatment from Volusia County – or any other public or private entity – in its hardscrabble 121-year history.

While I normally agree with Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower – in this case, he got it wrong.   

On Tuesday, the Volusia County Council considered the recommendations of their ECHO Advisory Committee and approved some $3.8 million in grant funding – including an “exceptional grant” of $2.5 million for the expansion of the popular Pictona at Holly Hill pickleball facility – a public/private partnership of the City of Holly Hill and founders Rainer and Julie Martens. 

A worthwhile project that Chairman Brower voted against. . . 

Look, I understand not everyone agrees with the Volusia ECHO and Forever programs – publicly funded initiatives that use tax dollars to protect and enhance our environmental, cultural, historical, and outdoor amenities.

However, in 2020, some 70% of Volusia County voters supported renewing these important programs which makes this well-vetted allocation something Mr. Brower could have hung his hat on without any political liability.    

In my view, the Pictona expansion represents the very essence of a mutually beneficial public/private project, and its extraordinary success is self-evident. 

In fact, the incredibly popular pickleball facility is a proven regional asset, and the coming 1,200 seat multi-use championship stadium will also serve as a venue for concerts, art festivals, and community events. 

There is no denying that the sport has legions of devoted participants and represents a growing national draw – one that has, quite literally, put Holly Hill and Volusia County on the map – with fitness-related businesses, a proposed luxury recreational vehicle resort, and other enterprises seeking to take advantage of Pictona’s increasing popularity.   

In my view, Chairman Brower attempted to play the role – publicly questioning a proven project that had already been thoroughly scrutinized during a rigorous evaluation process – before casting the lone “No” vote, safe in the knowledge the grant request would pass with a majority vote. 

Rather than show unanimous support for the most promising new addition to Volusia County in decades – Mr. Brower chose to engage in the same ridiculous preening and posturing normally exhibited by his “colleagues” – a shallow, time-consuming exercise in political theater that is patently disingenuous and, in my view, corrosive to the public trust. 

Does Mr. Brower not realize that these carefully choreographed dramatics – questioning worthy projects, while issues of real concern, like corporate welfare giveaways and tax breaks are ramrodded at warp speed – represent everything his long-suffering constituents abhor?

For instance, where was the same level of concern in November when this council voted unanimously – without any substantive public discussion of the detrimental impacts – to accept a $2.7 million proportionate share agreement and extend Pelican Bay Drive, dumping traffic from what will be Amazon’s massive industrial warehouse onto the already congested Beville Road? 

I guess it all depends upon who’s asking, eh? 

Talk about special treatment. . . 

To their credit, Holly Hill Mayor Chris Via and City Manager Joe Forte stood firm, advocating for this valuable project, and the future of their community:

“It’s already shown to be a success,” Mayor Via explained. “Doubling this facility will only make it greater, into a world-class facility… This is an opportunity to put Volusia County on the map, Holly Hill on the map.”

Early in his presentation, Mayor Via made the cogent point that the City of Holly Hill does not ask for much – and Brower’s insinuation that this small community received an undue advantage in the open and extensive approval process is laughable.  And wrong.

To his credit, Councilman Danny Robins was the voice of reason reminding Chairman Brower that Volusia ECHO was overwhelmingly approved by voters during the 2020 election:

“We’re not talking about a 50-50 split in the community,” Robins said. “There is an extreme vetting process for this. It’s expensive, but the public voted for it.”

Nothing has ever been handed to Holly Hill – a community that has historically been treated like a red-headed stepchild by Volusia County government – and snidely maligned by some who have never lived or done business there.    

If it sounds like I take Mr. Brower’s pandering “No” vote on an issue of vital importance to the economic future of Holly Hill and beyond as an insult – that’s because I do. 

I can tell you from personal experience that Holly Hill City Manager Joe Forte, the elected officials, and staff get the most from every tax dollar they receive while providing a full range of responsive and efficient essential services to a grateful constituency. 

In fact, Volusia County government could learn a valuable lesson about fiscal stewardship, inclusivity, and the lasting benefits of working cooperatively to reach civic goals from The City with a Heart.

Congratulations to the City of Holly Hill and Pictona on this monumental award – one I am certain will pay dividends for all Volusia County residents for many years to come.

And Another Thing!

I am not an educated man. 

Perhaps best described as a hedonistic simpleton who squandered his early educational opportunities – the boy who couldn’t be told – a maladaptive daydreamer with a hyperactive imagination rivaling Thurber’s Walter Mitty. 

As a mimic of the admirable qualities found in others, I always felt Winston Churchill’s famous insight, “It’s a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations” was sound advice. 

In my experience, there is much to be learned from the musings of the great thinkers, and their anecdotes have helped shape my ability to think critically on the issues of the day.

For instance, I frequently use Einstein’s definition of insanity as a metaphor for Volusia County politics.

We do the same things – electing the same perennial politicians over and over again – each time expecting a better outcome than before.  

Fitting, don’t you think?

Because history always repeats for those who refuse to learn from it (George Santayana), this week we learned that the Volusia County Council’s own éminence grise – The Very Reverend “Dr.” Fred Lowry – will challenge incumbent Ruben Colón for the District 5 Volusia County School Board seat.

My God.  The more things change, the more they stay the same (Alphonse Karr). . . 

At present, “Dr.” Lowry has now been in elective office for the past 12-years – having been elected to the Deltona City Commission in 2010 – then elevated to the Volusia County Council in 2014 and again in 2018.

In my view, this important history lesson bears repeating.   

During his first term on the Volusia County Council, by any estimate, “Dr.” Lowry was an almost ethereal presence in the chamber – rarely heard from on the critical issues – voting as he was no doubt instructed by those who so deftly manipulate the rods and strings of their malleable politicians – always maintaining lockstep conformity with Volusia’s “Old Guard” – fiercely committed to maintaining the stagnant status quo.    

Then, in January 2021, following the election of Chairman Jeff Brower – an outsider who beat the ultimate insider with a voter mandate for change – Lowry seemed to emerge from a weird chrysalis, transforming before our eyes from an ineffectual lump – an inanimate houseplant perched on the dais of power who didn’t say two words during his first term – into a virtual parliamentary expert who relished publicly spanking the neophyte Brower for every procedural faux pas using arrogant histrionics, annoying “Hear!, Hears!,” and toad-like puffery to get his point across.

Don’t take my word for it.  Steel yourself with an antiemetic suppository and watch a Volusia County Council meeting. 

Trust me.  It will be 8 or 9 interminable hours of your life you will never get back – and you will somehow be dumber for the effort – but you will come away with a better understanding of how things work around here. . . 

As 2021 wore on, it became obvious to even a casual observer of that bimonthly théâtre de l’absurde that His Eminence was leading a blatant effort by those stalwarts of the status quo (inside government and out) to marginalize Chairman Brower and diminish any political momentum he may have enjoyed after decisively defeating the preferred puppet of Volusia’s well-heeled insiders.  

After four-years of virtual silence, Rev. Lowry had come into his own – and he aggressively fulfilled his marching orders to wrest power from Chairman Brower and return it to those elite political insiders who believe they have rightfully purchased it with massive campaign contributions to their political handmaidens. 

The Right Reverend repeatedly put the boots to the often-clumsy Chairman Brower, then sat back, arms folded with an overconfident hubris, as his “colleagues” on the political tag-team joined in the near non-stop beatdown of Brower, Councilwoman Heather Post, and everything they stand for.  

In turn, it looked certain to many observers that Rev. Lowry was on his way to the at-large seat in 2022.

Then, the hopes and dreams of Rev. Lowry’s uber-wealthy handlers went off the rails. . .

As often happens at the nexus of politics and religion, His Eminence virtually imploded in the pulpit of the Deltona Lakes Baptist Church during a May 30, 2021 sermon to the faithful – a weird allocution that ran the gamut of half-baked political nuttery – from wild conspiracy theories to descriptions of macabre Satanic rituals involving child sacrifice, even a puzzling denial of the Coronavirus pandemic – bizarre pontifications, literally from the lunatic fringe, that left many of his constituents horrified.

Some openly questioned Lowry’s clearly tenuous grip on reality. . .   

In a subsequent blockbuster op/ed by the Orlando Sentinel’s Editorial Board we learned:

“…a Facebook Live video shows one of Volusia County’s top elected officials preaching to the congregation about satanic rituals and torturing children and using their blood to extract a compound called adrenochrome, which is then used in the belief it brings on hallucinations, intensifies personalities and slows the aging process.

“This issue is supposed to be rampant I hear in Hollywood and among the elite,” Lowry told his flock. “I don’t know if it’s true, but where there’s smoke …” Lowry then held his hand behind his ear and awaited the answer he was looking for: “Fire.”

You read that right.

I am certainly not going to pick Rev. Lowry’s weird thoughts apart – because I don’t want to understand that level of batshit craziness – but, needless to say, the fallout was immediate and included calls for his resignation by the Volusia County Democratic Black Caucus and others who rightfully felt “Dr.” Lowry’s outrageous beliefs had no place in the policy-making chain.

Now, in a scenario that could only happen on Florida’s fabled Fun Coast – “Dr.” Lowry announced this week that he will seek a voice on the Volusia County School Board – no doubt to provide a better vantage point from which to protect our youth from the rampant scourge of “left coast” Adrenochrome fiends. . . 

Look, The Right Reverend is free to spew any bilgewater he wants from the comfort and protection of his haughty pulpit in Deltona, and no one, other than those unfortunate souls who choose to listen to his tripe, will be the worse for it.

In my view, regardless of your thoughts on Ruben Colón’s service, to elevate Lowry’s abject lunacy to a policymaking role on the Volusia County School Board – one that will have a direct and lasting impact on the formative education of our children and grandchildren – boggles the mind and proves that this shameless shill knows no boundaries in his perennial quest for power and prestige.      

I know it is hard to believe – but we deserve better than this.      

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

________________________________

On Monday, January 24, Barker’s View will join GovStuff Live! with Big John on the fastest two-hours in radio! 

We will take an in-depth look at the local issues and take your calls at 386-523-1380 beginning at 4:00pm. 

Please join us locally on WELE 1380am The CAT – or online at www.govstuff.org (Listen Live button). 

Thanks!