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.

Patriot Day – September 11^th – honors the memory of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims who died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, and those who perished when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville,  Pennsylvania.

This day is also when we solemnly remember those valiant first responders who laid down their lives, courageously giving the ‘last full measure of devotion’ saving others – and those who continue to succumb to illnesses related to their extraordinary service at Ground Zero.      

These vicious attacks on our nation by radical Islamic terrorists reminded us of our external vulnerability – yet demonstrated how, in our darkest hour, American’s forget our differences and come together to protect those freedoms we hold dear. 

But what about our internal vulnerability on this day of reflection and national introspection?

Unfortunately, that sense of national unity and patriotism we felt in the days, weeks and months following the attacks has been replaced by disharmony, lawless rioting, and calls for anarchic change to our democratic system and the incredible freedoms it ensures all of us. 

Are we doing to ourselves what others tried and failed to accomplish?    

With our nation so terribly broken and divided by literally everything – race, age, gender, political affiliation, ideology – let us remember that this is the day we have set aside to recognize and honor those we lost – and the shared traits that bind us together as Americans – as we show the world our collective resolve and our enduring love for this great nation. 

Let us never forget.

Angel               B-CU President E. Brent Chrite

In a February 2020 letter to alumni, Bethune-Cookman University President E. Brent Chrite didn’t pull any punches.

“2020 will be a pivotal year in the history of B-CU,” President Chrite wrote. “It will be the year our beloved university prepared to close its doors, or it will be the year we turned a corner and began moving toward an exciting future.”

At that anxious time, B-CU was in its second year of academic probation after the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges demanded the elimination of an $8 million operating deficit and improvements to its system of governance.   

The loss of accreditation would have signaled the death knell for this challenged institution – one that has been financially gutted by mismanagement, a lack of oversight by its self-serving trustees, and voracious greed. 

Last week, Bethune-Cookman University learned that it will maintain its all-important academic accreditation, thanks to the collective efforts of so many faculty and staff, who have worked hard to right the ship under the extraordinary leadership of Dr. Chrite.

Under Dr. Chrite’s stewardship, the University was able to reduce expenditures, complete an extensive review of policies and protocols, and overhaul all contractual obligations and transactional relationships and “recalibrate” them to B-CU’s advantage. 

In addition, the school brought together experts in finance, accreditation, and academic governance, and increased private sector support to transform the University “…into a properly running institution of higher learning.”

Fortunately, thanks to the support of Volusia County’s own political powerhouse, Mori Hossieni, in March, Bethune-Cookman learned that it would receive a $17 million annual recurring infusion from the Florida Legislature. 

The funds will be used to assist students struggling to pay for their college education – and go a long way to restoring confidence and standing to this important HBCU.    

Kudos to Dr. E. Brent Chrite, and his inspiring team, for honoring Dr. Bethune’s dream and pulling this vital local institution from the brink of disaster. 

Asshole           Daytona Beach City Commission

I have a strong suggestion for the Daytona Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau’s next attempt at a marketing slogan:

“Daytona Beach: Where fun goes to die.”

On Wednesday evening, I watched in horror as perhaps the most anti-business City Commission in the history of the Halifax area crushed area merchants – many of which have been brought to the point of extinction by the economic collapse – when elected officials ignored the fervent pleas of area small business owners and refused to support a reasonable safety plan that would have allowed a toned-down Biketoberfest next month.   

The vote came on the heels of another harsh measure that all but ensures the death of Go-X scooter rentals on the beachside – a wildly popular attraction that some area hoteliers and other businesses have used to pay the bills during these disastrously lean times.

It became clear that the gluttonous City of Daytona Beach was trying desperately to siphon off private profits with onerous registration regulations and a “franchise agreement” with scooter operators, who will now be required to submit a proposal to city staff in the next 90-days – one that includes burdensome regulations and sets technological limitations on the devices – and, no doubt, includes heavy fees – for the privilege of doing business in our artificial economy. 

Ignoring the fact that many small businesses in our community have finally found a profitable venture that provides area residents and visitors with a fun means of personal transportation around our core tourist area – the discussion quickly turned to just how difficult the municipal government can make it on operators after Commissioner Quanita May felt slighted by Go-X representatives – who apparently didn’t pay proper fealty to her officious sense of self-importance when she insinuated herself into the private marketplace. 

Frankly, it was sad watching business owners and their employees literally beg their haughty elected representatives – explaining how the rentals have helped them feed their families and returned a sense of hope during this unprecedented economic downturn – while the owners of Go-X were publicly humiliated from the dais for having the temerity to do business without first coming before the Monarchy, hat in hand, and offering up their pound of flesh to the municipal government. 

But the true damage to our crippled local economy came when the majority exposed their pre-determined plan to reject Biketoberfest special event permits – and killed a well-thought, common sense coronavirus prevention strategy – which would have allowed Main Street businesses at the traditional epicenter of Biketoberfest to safely provide food and beverage service, entertainment, and outside vendors, while maintaining social distancing and other precautionary measures. 

Instead, despite the call by Commissioner Rob Gilliland to impose the safety regulations as a means of reducing exposure, the majority imposed their draconian will – voting to reject the Convention and Visitors Bureau’s safety plan out-of-hand – stopping outside vendors, and cruelly shitting on the hopes of some thirteen small businesses who signed a pledge to keep visitors and employees safe. 

My God.

Where is the “leadership” of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce who, rather than serving as sycophantic majordomos for the civic and economic elite, should be fighting tooth-and-nail for the very survival of their members? 

While the Daytona Beach City Commission callously plotted ways to deny area businesses the ability to safely take advantage of the thousands of visitors that will naturally come for the decades old special event – thoughtful leaders in Ormond Beach and Holly Hill were signaling their support for area merchants by formally approving special event permits, allowing concerts, and welcoming other entertainment venues and options during the event.   

If you live, work, or play in the City of Daytona Beach – I sincerely hope you will take the time to watch the archived video of Wednesday evenings travesty for yourself.

If you can stomach it. . .

Rarely will you see this level of abject arrogance by an elected municipal body intent on destroying the economic viability of the small businesses, employees and families that form the backbone of this struggling community.   

Angel              The Bridge Homeless Shelter

Kudos to the City of DeLand and all of West Volusia for opening a true low-barrier, come-as-you-are homeless shelter.

The Bridge, which will be operated by the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia, is a true community-based assistance center that will be capable of housing up to 30 people and provide daily services – such as showers, haircuts, and medical/mental health referrals – to many more each day.

Perhaps most important, it welcomes clients to a day care program – allowing homeless persons a place to spend time and receive essential services – rather than congregating in public spaces.    

In short, The Bridge is everything the massively expensive First Step Shelter isn’t. 

According to an excellent piece in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “We want people to come to The Bridge in lieu of hanging out downtown or in parks around the city,” said Susan Clark, executive director of the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia. “We want to have activities occurring on site, where folks are welcome to spend their day.”

I find that refreshing – a facility committed to helping those less fortunate – rather than simply existing to pay exorbitant salaries to high-titled hangers-on. . .

Although the shelter won’t open until September 28, at present, an onsite commercial kitchen prepares two hot meals each day, including lunch for anyone suffering from homelessness or hunger.  The meal is served by volunteers beginning at 11:30am.

This winter, facility will serve as an extreme cold weather shelter – providing refuge to an additional 75 people.

The Bridge is located at 421 South Palmetto Avenue in DeLand.

For more information on how you can help, please visit www.neighborhoodcenterwv.org .    

Asshole           Volusia County School Board

I made a promise to repost this screed earlier in the week – so, if you missed it on Tuesday, here you go:

As you can tell, I’m not a fan of the Volusia County School Board – not because I have any personal animosity toward the members – just a lifelong distain for those who ascend to positions of high responsibility and either cannot, or will not, step up and provide credible leadership during a crisis.

That’s wrong.  Because the School Board oversees a lot of moving parts – most important being the education and welfare of our children when we place them in the care of teachers and staff – and that should not be left to chance or experimentation. 

There is too much at stake. 

In my view, you can tell a lot about people and organizations by the way they react under pressure. 

In fact, I believe it is the only true litmus test for leadership. 

After all, we see someone’s true character when everything is in jeopardy – and it has become crystal clear that our elected officials on the Volusia County School Board do not have what it takes when the chips are down. 

Real soup-sandwiches. . .

Last week in this space, I took the board to task for their miserable failure to keep students, teachers, staff, and taxpayers informed during a pandemic – and their refusal to foster a free and transparent organizational culture where everyone feels comfortable openly expressing their opinions on the issues of the day and making substantive suggestions for bettering the system. 

Then something weird happened. 

Just days after education reporter Cassidy Alexander’s informative piece in the News-Journal announcing that district officials would not be releasing the numbers of positive coronavirus cases by individual school, Interim Superintendent Dr. Carmen Balgobin proved her malleability by immediately obeying the unilateral diktat of Chairwoman Ida Wright, who has obviously succumbed to the “circle the wagons” siege mentality that has gripped the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand.

At Chairwoman Wright’s personal direction, Dr. Balgobin sent an email under her hand to principals, departments, and “Cabinet Members,” ordering that all media communications be solely “facilitated” through Kelly Shultz, who oversees the district’s failed Office of Community (Dis) Information. . .

Trust me, Ms. Wright.  That horse has left the barn.

In my experience, once the recognized “leader” of an organization – like the board chair, or interim superintendent, of a school district with a bloated budget approaching $1 billion – begins suppressing the free exchange of information after losing their ability to control the message, well, it is impossible to put the toothpaste back in the tube. 

And Wright and Balgobin should have known that.

Now, these repressive actions appear petty and heavy-handed – an attempt to suppress the free speech of teachers and staff trying desperately to bring serious issues to light – and it telegraphs to everyone watching that senior leadership has lost internal control of the district. 

Make no mistake, Ms. Wright wasn’t trying to “mitigate risk” when she nervously ordered Dr. Balgobin to muzzle teachers and staff – she was protecting the district’s false narrative.

Given the continuing pattern of indecision, vacillation, and oddball policy reversals that have marked Dr. Balgobin’s short tenure at the helm – that’s a big problem. 

Following the board’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon it became apparent that our elected officials are now consumed with a paranoid effort to anticipate where the next criticism is coming from – obsessed with trying to outfox their detractors – rather than provide comprehensive leadership based upon a plan that supports the educational and operational goals of the district.

And this shit train continues to derail with no one at the switch. . . 

Inexplicably, instead of simply allowing Blundering Balgobin to fulfill her role as Deputy Superintendent in Dr. Scott Fritz’ medical absence – you know, what she was hired to do – the School Board took the unprecedented step of scratching the term “interim” from her current title – immediately elevating her to Superintendent without any formal evaluation, public input, or process – I mean, beyond the hyper-dramatic mewling and cooing of Board Member Jamie Haynes. . . 

Say what?

At the end of the day, I guess this means that the board has effectively launched Superintendent Fritz into the ether, literally from his sickbed?

It was all horribly confusing – just as School Board Attorney Ted Doran no doubt intended.

When talk turned to treating our “new” Superintendent to a massive pay raise commensurate with her title (we currently pay her $579.00 per day), the board strategically signaled that – while her raise/bonus is a lead pipe cinch – Balgobin will need to keep up appearances and wait until teachers and staff negotiate their paltry bump – which, at best, will amount to little more than crumbs off Dr. Balgobin’s groaning plate. . .   

My God. . .at a time when the School Board just took $11 million from reserves to balance its bloated budget – and set a proposed millage rate some 33.3% higher than the rollback rate?   

During these terribly uncertain times, rather than demonstrate sound leadership and a “lets pull together” resolve to meet the myriad challenges head-on, our elected officials promote a struggling deputy superintendent who is clearly over her head – and reward her amateurish fumbling with a substantial pay increase that well exceeds the annual salary of many of those teachers and staff who have lost confidence in her abilities.   

Mind boggling. 

Quote of the Week

“May we humbly suggest something, in the face of ongoing construction that  – along with COVID-19  –  has caused immense disruption to downtown Beach Street business owners? We suggest that permit  fees for the city should be negated in good faith for this billing year.  Brick and mortar shops need thoughtful and real-time consideration as we endure bridge and street constructions that has lasted years.”

–Allan Brewer, Ormond Beach, president and owner of Evans and Son Jewelers, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Letters to the Editor, Monday, September 7, 2020  

Let’s face it, Beach Street merchants have been the redheaded stepchild of Daytona Beach officials for years – but so have those who try to eke out a living on Main Street, Midtown, East ISB, etc., etc. 

Depending upon who you are in the Halifax area’s economic hierarchy, the City of Daytona Beach has proven that they could give two-shits if you live or die – especially if your business stands in the way of say, J. Hyatt Brown’s plans for our future – or any project pushed by Sir John Albright’s CTO Realty Growth – or if you refuse to obsequiously kiss the Monarchial ass of some pompous elected or appointed official. . .   

For what seemed like an eternity, the Orange Avenue Bridge project disrupted the flow of business to downtown merchants with little, if any, of the grand promotion and mitigation the City of Daytona Beach promised would happen – you know, right before they went ahead with a plan to destroy the existing streetscape in favor of yet another streetscape? 

It is becoming clear that not everyone will survive the “progress.”

The growing number of vacant storefronts along Beach Street is a testament to what happens when the entrepreneurial spirit collides with the self-serving, ego-driven wants and whims of our well-heeled political insiders with a profit motive.

The fact is, the City of Daytona Beach does not have the best track record of attracting and nurturing small businesses in those areas where they are needed most – and many in our community are coming to the realization that this anti-business philosophy and strategic blight is being used to lower property values and make their ultimate acquisition more advantageous to those insiders who pay to play. 

What else could it be?     

Fortunately, surrounding cities continue to benefit from those startups who simply cannot – or will not – jump through the capricious hoops and laborious bureaucratic bullshit that marks any attempt to establish a new business in Daytona Beach. 

So, they simply move north or south to appreciative communities who welcome their enterprises with open arms. 

Given the withering pressures Beach Street businesses have historically experienced, my sincere hope is that Mr. Brewer and others will get some well-deserved relief.

I’m not holding my breath – and I’ll bet long-suffering downtown merchants aren’t either. . . 

And Another Thing! 

For reasons known only to him, earlier this week, Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick “Il Duce” Henry once again waded into the fetid swamp of social media to throw his weight around – this time to label the moderator of the increasingly popular Facebook political forum – Volusia Issues – as a racist and bigot.

Why?    

Earlier this week, civic activist Greg Gimbert posted an accurate jab at Mayor Henry’s backhanded endorsement of Volusia County Chair candidate Dishonest Deb Denys, stating:

“Breaking News: BLM Democrat endorses Developer Republican in the sellout of working-class Volusia. Poopy water at 11.”

Now, you don’t have to agree with me – or Greg Gimbert – but I didn’t see anything inherently inaccurate about his statement. 

After all, Mayor Henry’s acquiescence to the wants of real estate developers is self-evident – and his “experimental” toilet-to-tap scheme will have us all drinking our own sewage when massive population density exceeds the limits of our aquifer.

That’s now a given. 

And, Mayor Henry remains an ardent supporter of Black Lives Matter – an organization which continues to call for the murder of law enforcement officers and the defunding/abolishment of police departments, while these self-proclaimed “trained Marxists” continue to use violence and intimidation to “burn down” our democratic form government.

I’m sorry, but as much as I abhor racism, narrow-mindedness and intolerance in all its vile forms – I simply cannot accept the violent actions and rhetoric of this organization – one that advocates the wholesale slaughter of public servants and stokes violent chaos as a means to an end – and I am surprised that Mayor Henry would embrace it either.

Yet, he does. 

And anyone who disagrees with him is branded a “racist and bigot.”    

What bothered me most is when Mayor Henry made a wide leap and used Mr. Gimbert’s criticism to bully Volusia County Chair candidate Jeff Brower – insinuating that Mr. Brower was somehow complicit in what he described as a “bigoted agenda” because he refused to denounce Gimbert’s pointed personal opinion – something that confused both Mr. Brower, and many of the Mayor’s stunned constituents, who finally saw this tinpot tyrant for what he is.   

The Mayor’s post began as a weird boost for former County Chair candidate Gerard Witman’s recent endorsement of Brower’s opponent, the developer’s darling, incumbent Councilwoman Deb Denys. 

Then, Mayor Henry launched an unprovoked, sustained, and wholly mean-spirited personal attack on Mr. Brower’s character and reputation – diminishing Brower’s significant contributions and activism for Daytona’s forgotten residents in Midtown and beyond – and defaming his attempts to bring positive change to the stagnant status quo.        

In fact, many Daytona Beach residents and business owners told me later they were shocked by the tone and ferocity of Mayor Henry’s attack on Jeff Brower – using a loose association of a resident who simply supports his campaign (as so many of us do) – to force Mr. Brower to absurdly deny being a racist on a public forum. 

It didn’t surprise me. 

Mayor Henry and Ms. Denys share the same influential campaign contributors in the real estate development industry – so, I assume Hizzoner is just doing as he is told.  Like always. 

Things must be getting desperate over in Dishonest Deb Denys’ camp. . .

Wow.

Just when we thought the disastrous Mayor Henry could not stoop any lower – he astounds his critics and supporters alike with a despicable display of arrogance and pomposity rarely seen in Volusia County politics. 

This was not Mayor Henry’s finest hour. . . 

I hope you will join me tomorrow afternoon as friends and supporters of Jeff Brower for Volusia County Chair join together at Crabby Joes Deck & Grill on the beautiful Sunglow Fishing Pier, 3701 South Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, to raise funds and support Jeff’s final push to victory!

The “Take Back Your Power!” fundraiser goes from 1:00pm to 4:00pm with great food and drink specials, served up in a relaxed atmosphere.    

This is a great opportunity to meet Jeff, ask questions about the issues important to your family, while enjoying a beautiful setting with other residents concerned about the future of Volusia County.

Hope to see you there!

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

Loyal readers of these screeds will see this post again on Friday in our regular piece “Angels & Assholes” – our weekly roll call of those who tried to screw us – or tried to save us – during the week that was. 

You can find it in the Asshole column. . .   

In my view, you can tell a lot about people and organizations by the way they react under pressure. 

In fact, I believe it is the only true litmus test for leadership. 

After all, we see someone’s true character when everything is in jeopardy – and it has become crystal clear that our elected officials on the Volusia County School Board do not have what it takes when the chips are down. 

Real soup-sandwiches. . .

Last week in this space, I took the board to task for their miserable failure to keep students, teachers, staff, and taxpayers informed during a pandemic – and their refusal to foster a free and transparent organizational culture where everyone feels comfortable openly expressing their opinions on the issues of the day and making substantive suggestions for bettering the system. 

Then something weird happened. 

Just days after education reporter Cassidy Alexander’s informative piece in the News-Journal announcing that district officials would not be releasing the numbers of positive coronavirus cases by individual school, Interim Superintendent Dr. Carmen Balgobin proved her malleability by immediately obeying the unilateral diktat of Chairwoman Ida Wright, who has obviously succumbed to the “circle the wagons” siege mentality that has gripped the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand.

At Chairwoman Wright’s personal direction, Dr. Balgobin sent an email under her hand to principals, departments, and “Cabinet Members,” ordering that all media communications be solely “facilitated” through Kelly Shultz, who oversees the district’s failed Office of Community (Dis) Information. . .

Trust me, Ms. Wright.  That horse has left the barn.

In my experience, once the recognized “leader” of an organization – like the board chair, or interim superintendent, of a school district with a bloated budget approaching $1 billion – begins suppressing the free exchange of information after losing their ability to control the message, well, it is impossible to put the toothpaste back in the tube. 

And Wright and Balgobin should have known that.

Now, these repressive actions appear petty and heavy-handed – an attempt to suppress the free speech of teachers and staff trying desperately to bring serious issues to light – and it telegraphs to everyone watching that senior leadership has lost internal control of the district. 

Make no mistake, Ms. Wright wasn’t trying to “mitigate risk” when she nervously ordered Dr. Balgobin to muzzle teachers and staff – she was protecting the district’s false narrative.

Given the continuing pattern of indecision, vacillation, and oddball policy reversals that have marked Dr. Balgobin’s short tenure at the helm – that’s a big problem. 

Following the board’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon it became apparent that our elected officials are now consumed with a paranoid effort to anticipate where the next criticism is coming from – obsessed with trying to outfox their detractors – rather than provide comprehensive leadership based upon a plan that supports the educational and operational goals of the district.

And this shit train continues to derail with no one at the switch. . . 

Inexplicably, instead of simply allowing Blundering Balgobin to fulfill her role as Deputy Superintendent in Dr. Scott Fritz’ medical absence – you know, what she was hired to do – the School Board took the unprecedented step of scratching the term “interim” from her current title – immediately elevating her to Superintendent without any formal evaluation, public input, or process – I mean, beyond the hyper-dramatic mewling and cooing of Board Member Jamie Haynes. . . 

Say what?

At the end of the day, I guess this means that the board has effectively launched Superintendent Fritz into the ether, literally from his sickbed?

Why not simply allow Balgobin to fill the seat until Dr. Fritz is well enough to come back to work – or make a decision to fill the superintendent vacancy if, and when, he is unable to return using the normal selection process?

It was all horribly confusing – just as School Board Attorney Ted Doran no doubt intended.

When talk turned to treating our “new” Superintendent to a massive pay raise commensurate with her title (we currently pay her $579.00 per day), the board strategically signaled that – while her raise/bonus is a lead pipe cinch – Balgobin will need to keep up appearances and wait until teachers and staff negotiate their paltry bump – which, at best, will amount to little more than crumbs off Dr. Balgobin’s groaning plate. . .   

My God. . .

During these terribly uncertain times, rather than demonstrate sound leadership and a “lets pull together” resolve to meet the myriad challenges facing the district head-on, our elected officials promote a struggling deputy superintendent who is clearly over her head – and reward her amateurish fumbling with a substantial pay increase that well exceeds the annual salary of many of those teachers and staff who have lost confidence in her abilities.   

Mind boggling. 

Photo Credit: Fox 35 Orlando

Every election season we reach a point where truth blends with absurdity.

That does not happen by chance. 

The nature of modern political campaigns is to warp our perception with half-truths, spin and alterations – a form of cognitive manipulation where candidates and their handlers attempt to create a weird alternate reality where we forget about their record and how our needs and input were ignored.

Because, as the saying goes, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”

It’s political gaslighting at its worst, and includes all the classic techniques – blatant lies, words that do not match past actions, marginalizing those things that are dear to us, projecting their own faults on others, portraying others as liars or lunatics, using confusion to craft an alternative narrative and keep constituents guessing. 

Sound familiar?   

We have come to expect that, and smart people recognize the smokescreen for what it is.

But what about when that manipulation becomes a part of our civic lives?   

Here on Florida’s Fun Coast, we are lied to so frequently by those we have elected and appointed to represent our interests that we no longer know what to believe anymore – and our distrust of local government and those who have hijacked it for their own self-serving purposes – has made true civic and economic progress impossible. 

For instance, last year, the City of Ormond Beach spun a fantastic yarn about how the 20-year old police facility on Granada Boulevard was suddenly vulnerable to storm surge in the event of a hurricane, along with a handful of easily corrected routine maintenance issues that were painted as insurmountable – a threat to the building’s continued viability.  

Rather than simply explain to citizens that the property now represents valuable real estate, vital to the completion of the downtown streetscape project that has transformed our community, a potential commercial space better returned to the tax rolls – or explaining that the police department should move west as the community expands – the first thought of our elected officials was to lie to us – blatantly and with confidence. 

To facilitate the ruse, the Ormond Beach City Commission even hired a local developer to identify potential relocation sites – at a cost of $30,000 from the city’s general fund. . . 

More recently, Daytona Beach City Manager Jim Chisholm engaged in a weird, clearly orchestrated scam – a feint maneuver designed to mislead citizens into believing they need a new $25 million dollar City Hall complex – all while shilling for a Tampa-based developer who seeks $15 million in public funds to underwrite a parking garage for a downtown apartment complex. 

It was cheap, clearly choreographed in advance by those ‘in the know,’ and when the shim-sham was exposed – it left us all feeling gullible and set upon – as our elected officials continue to play their scripted role as the uninformed rubes who need “more information” before putting their constituents even further on the hook to help another private developer maximize profit. 

This weekend, The Daytona Beach News-Journal published an intriguing article on how our return on a $40 million public investment in the woefully underperforming private shopping complex, One Daytona – which was originally sold as a means of producing some 4,300 “direct and indirect jobs” and $250 million in local taxes – “are nowhere close to its original projections.”  

In another article, Beat Kahli, the developer of the proposed Avalon Park Daytona project – a city within a city – that, once complete, will add 10,000 residential properties and one million square feet of commercial space to the already overdeveloped area west of Interstate 95 – is now telling us we “misinterpreted” his request for a $75 million bond backed by the City of Daytona Beach and the County of Volusia.   

“Kahli said he was willing to issue the bond himself but wanted assurances from the county and city that the money could be counted against the impact fees paid on Avalon Park Daytona as it is built out.”

Whatever you say.   

For now, Mr. Kahli is busy insinuating himself into the local political scene with campaign contributions and a three-year $10,000 commitment  to Team Volusia – becoming a “board level” investor in Keith Norden’s public/private travel club – which immediately resulted in Mr. Norden assuaging our growing fears with, “I haven’t met Beat, but I’ve heard good things about him.”

I’ll bet you have. . .  

Most recently, we are being led to believe that Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick “Il Duce” Henry has had a change of heart on affordable housing for the thousands of residents in his community and beyond who are living at or below the poverty line – with many now standing in breadlines as their businesses and ability to support their families are crippled by draconian state and local regulations ostensibly designed to show that our politicians are doing something to stop the spread of coronavirus. 

After years of green lighting massive sprawl in “New Daytona,” adding catastrophic pressure to our wholly inadequate transportation infrastructure and water source, only now does Mayor Henry suggest its time for developers – who have hauled untold profits out of our sensitive pine scrub and wetlands – to actually give something back to the community in the form of workforce housing?

All while other elected officials wring their hands and tell us that if we “…burden developers too much, they’ll invest somewhere else.”

Bullshit. 

And the list goes on. . .

We believe because we want to believe.  We need to believe.

And those who hold the power use this illusion of truth to continue ramrodding their hidden agendas and profit motives, hoping against hope that we will simply come to accept that civic stagnation and malignant blight in our core tourist area and elsewhere is somehow off-set by massive theme communities and shopping centers to the west – exploiting and destroying our natural places in their perverse idea of “economic development.”

In November, you and I will have the opportunity to ensure that our voices are heard – just as we did during the grassroots effort to overturn last years shameless money grab in the guise of a half-cent sales tax increase – and unseat incumbent politicians who have sold us out to the highest bidder and pursued this continuing deception as a means to an end for well-heeled insiders. 

I have said this before – please vote like your lives and livelihoods depend upon it.

This ones important.

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               Holly Hill City Hall

I tend to develop a strong attachment to places and things. 

People?  Not so much. 

Social scientists describe this bond as a “strong sense of place,” yet, the causal factors remain elusive.  Essentially, it comes down to developing a visceral connection to spaces and environments where we gain a certain indefinable sense of well-being that we long to return to.    

For me, this person-to-place connection evolves over time – but once we become emotionally joined, the spaces and places where I live, work and play become part of my identity – and I want to explore and learn everything I can about them.

The excellent website “The People, Place, and Space Reader,” which brings together the writings of scholars from a variety of fields to help make sense of the way we “shape and inhabit our world,” explained the concept of “place identity”:

“A sense of place identity derives from the multiple ways in which place functions to provide a sense of belonging, construct meaning, foster attachments, and mediate change. The place identity of a person can inform their experiences, behaviors, and attitudes about other places. Place identity is a versatile concept upon which many psychological theories of human–environment relations are built.”

For most of my adult life – I had the pleasure of working in a beautifully unique building that exuded a sense of civic strength, permanence, stability and “monumentality” – which is defined as a “spiritual quality inherent in a structure” that conveys the feeling of its eternity. 

The cornerstone of Holly Hill City Hall was laid in 1939 by Works Progress Administration laborers, and after two-years of heavy construction, the citizens of the community celebrated completion of the building on Labor Day weekend 1942. 

According to a report from the day:

“A handsome and spacious structure of native coquina stone, concrete and steel, the new municipal building faces Ridgewood Avenue from the middle of a nine-acre park. One Of the largest public buildings in the county, it houses the town’s municipal offices, two school rooms and a manual training room for the high school, the fire department, police department, an office for the state road department and a fully equipped first aid room for the defense council.”

During the dedication ceremony, Bernard M. Beach, president of the town council and mayor pro tempore, “…told his townspeople and their guests that the building was “a monument to a people unafraid to plan, to sacrifice and to serve.”

The massive stone building became my second home (sometimes my first) and no matter what happened in my life, I knew that if I just get back to that building, there were people there who loved and cared about me – I knew everything would be okay – and I cared for her as she cared for me.

Thanks to preventive maintenance, the commitment of community leaders to preserving the past, and a daily TLC by those who work within, this weekend we celebrate Holly Hill City Hall’s 78^th Birthday – and honor her continuous service to the citizens of this wonderful community!

In my view, that is the very essence of stability and permanence – something sorely lacking in east Volusia – where we destroy our past in the name of “progress” every time. 

Congratulations to the elected and appointed officials, city staff, and the citizens of Holly Hill – past and present – for your ever-lasting courage and undaunted willingness “to plan, to sacrifice and to serve.”     

Happy Birthday, old friend.

Asshole           Volusia County School Board

“Policy making invariably involves taking measured risks in the face of uncertainty, for one has neither a prior template nor the luxury of indecision.”

― Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Earlier this week, Volusia County students returned to school in all its various forms, despite the continuing fears of parents, teachers, and staff – who rightfully remain concerned about the safety of classroom instruction during a global pandemic. 

What a week its been. . . 

Last Sunday evening, some parents were still taking to social media, begging for answers to their myriad questions just hours before the start of school, adding to the trepidation that many families are feeling this week. 

I felt deeply sorry for them. 

It was distressing to watch confused parents grasping for information, trying desperately to do right by their children on the very eve of the school year – all while mixed signals continued to flow from a variety of district officials – the concept of a single point of contact be damned. . .

Then, we made national news after throngs of students at a local high school were photographed congregating in a common area, as kids will on the first day of school, seemingly oblivious to the clearly unenforced social distancing requirement. 

And, on Thursday, we learned that the district’s do-nothing custodial contractor has been employing the sickening (literally) practice of using toilet water to “clean” bathroom floors and fixtures.  Gross. 

(Hey, what do you want for $14.2 million annually?  Well-trained janitors using modern disinfection practices?  Pshaw!) 

Whatever.

In my view, it was the weird U-turn on the district’s non-policy of keeping mum on coronavirus cases in Volusia County schools that, once again, exemplified the depth of dysfunction that perpetuates this culture of mediocrity and keeps students, teachers and staff guessing.           

Everyone understands that this is a complex situation, and no one is completely comfortable, regardless of the method of instruction they have selected.    

However, for many families, it is imperative that students have choices – including a return to brick-and-mortar schools for those who simply cannot thrive in a virtual environment – or where domestic constraints prohibit online learning, close supervision, etc., while parents earn a living outside the home to keep a roof over the child’s head. 

So, we must accept the fact that, with some 40,000 students returning for face-to-face learning this week, it is not if, but when, there will be a coronavirus outbreak. 

But how will families, teachers and staff know if they have been exposed so immediate disinfectant and quarantine procedures can be implemented to prevent the spread among vulnerable family members?

The short answer is – up until Wednesday, they wouldn’t have.  

According to a disturbing article in last Sunday’s Daytona Beach News-Journal, entitled “Volusia Schools won’t publish virus info,” we were shocked to learn that:

“Although guidance from the U.S. Department of Education authorizes school districts themselves to release COVID-19 case information, the Volusia County school district will not be keeping track of positive cases or outbreaks of COVID-19 at schools, spokeswoman Kelly Schulz confirmed. It will not be notifying students or staff who come into contact with individuals who test positive on campuses.”

Instead, the district simply abandoned its duty to protect children, families, and staff by transferring that sacred notification obligation to those close-mouthed, almost paralytically ineffective, bureaucrats at the Volusia County Department of Health.  

Incredibly, when Department of Health mouthpiece Holly Smith was asked by the News-Journal to confirm a “rumored outbreak” at a school,“…she refused to provide any information.” 

You read that right.

Ultimately, Ms. Smith gave one of those typical non-committal answers we have come to expect from the Volusia County Department of Health, “The Department of Health is continuing to review and determine the most appropriate method for reporting outbreaks in schools.”

My ass.

So, the wild speculation and scramble for substantive information continued unabated.    

According to News-Journal education reporter Cassidy Alexander’s informative piece, several social media sites have been established – including a great site I follow called Anonymous Volusia Teacher – which is described as the “Unofficial Twitter for those Volusia County School Teachers afraid to speak out.”

(Can you believe that in 2020 – after the horrific scandals at Mainland High School and beyond – teachers and staff members are still afraid to speak out on important matters that affect the lives and education of Volusia County students?  So much for that ‘culture change’ we were promised, eh?)

Some staff members began reporting potential COVID-19 exposures at area schools, openly expressing concern that the district’s administration was silent on the potential danger. 

Recently, when a staff member at Flagler County’s Bunnell Elementary School tested positive – families received a timely notice from the principal advising of the situation and explaining what those who may have been in “close contact” (based upon contact tracing) could expect – and Orange County Public Schools have effectively used social media platforms to spread the word on potential outbreaks.   

In my view, that represents prudent and effectual public engagement during a pandemic.   

The idea of a school district – or public health organization – remaining mute on the potential spread of this contagion is a reckless abdication of their personal and professional responsibility, a spineless stance which puts students, faculty, and staff in jeopardy. 

Then, everything changed.  Again.

On Wednesday, with little official explanation beyond “The Florida Department of Education has requested COVID-19 reporting, blah, blah, blah,” district administrators reversed course – now reporting that it will list coronavirus cases on a district “dashboard” twice each week. 

Although the online postings differentiate between students and staff, it stops short of correlating the number of positive cases with individual schools – turning the whole sordid mess into a weird parlor game.   

Better than nothing, I suppose. . .

Unfortunately, this unconscionable wavering and perpetual lack of a cohesive plan has resulted in chaos – adding more confusion and upheaval to an already difficult situation.  In fact, it is quickly becoming a cautionary tale for other districts – a textbook example of how not to manage a crisis.   

This institutional hesitancy and vacillation is wrong, and it cannot continue.

Clearly, this administration no longer has the luxury of indecision.

Unfortunately, this latest official about-face fell on Interim Superintendent Carmen Balgobin’s tenuous watch. 

Under any reasonable system of accountability – our elected representatives would demand that Ms. Balgobin come down from the Ivory Tower of Power and reassure stressed parents and staff that someone is actually at the helm of this foundering ship – or resign and make way for someone who can.  

Instead, in keeping with Volusia County’s practice of rewarding abject ineptitude, next week the School Board will vote to give Ms. Balgobin a pay increase commensurate with her responsibilities. . .  

My God.

By any metric, this asinine flip-flopping on important communication strategies in the face of a pandemic is contrary to the standard of leadership we expect from those who hold the health and safety of our precious children in their hands.

Angel               Volusia Councilwoman Heather Post

I admit, District 4 Councilwoman Heather Post and I have not always seen eye-to-eye on the issues.

That’s okay. 

I’m a cantankerous asshole who enjoys passing the time arguing with people – and Ms. Post is a very active and involved elected official who must prove her worth to the people she serves every four years. . .

And, in the often-skewed playing field of Volusia County politics, keeping your seat at the table can be a tall order – especially when the elected official refuses to “go along and get along.”

But one thing her detractors must admit: Ms. Post has demonstrated a true willingness to get down in the trenches and fight hard for her constituents, despite the withering criticism and eye-rolling horseshit of her compromised “colleagues” on the dais of power.

Recently, I became curious after County Attorney Mike Dyer announced (with a straight face) that Volusia County taxpayers expended just $1,988.83 on the County Council’s protracted litigation seeking to overturn the will of voters and exempt Volusia from Amendment 10, which rightfully returns constitutional sovereignty to elective offices.

Having traded with both private and public attorneys most of my adult life – it seemed incomprehensible to me that a legal challenge going all the way to the First District Court of Appeals – with the possibility of being heard by the Florida Supreme Court – could have been pressed for less than the cost of a kitchen appliance.

So, I placed a public record request seeking hard answers from the County Attorney’s office.

(Stop snickering, dammit.  I tried, okay?)     

When it appeared my simple intreat was falling victim to the old shim-sham of bureaucratic jukes and sidesteps – cleverly designed to put time and distance between the question and answer – I reached out to Councilwoman Post for help.

To her great credit, she immediately went to bat for me. 

Ultimately, my request, and Ms. Post’s helpful intervention, was all for naught as my worst fears were realized: No one currently employed by Volusia County knows for sure what the litigation actually cost!

That’s right.  Nobody knows.    

In a memorandum between Deputy County Attorney Kevin Bledsoe and his apparently clueless boss, Mr. Dyer, I learned that the “hard costs” paid by Volusia County amounted to $2,073.89 – just $85.08 more than what Dyer announced to the County Council. 

Close enough for government work as they say, eh?

It seems that under former County Attorney Dan “Cujo” Eckert, “No itemized accounting of attorney work hours was maintained,” and Mr. Eckert was the “…attorney of record in these proceedings.”

According to Mr. Bledsoe’s report, apparently, Cujo Eckert actually went into his own pocket –  spending $915.46 of his own money – to cover case-related expenses, including “filing fees, hearing transcripts, and service fees.”

Really?  Talk about dedication. . .

So, at the end of the day, they blamed the lack of a comprehensive accounting on poor departed Dan Eckert – who has taken up the rocking chair after being unceremoniously launched into forced retirement earlier this year after four decades of public service. 

Of course, it would have been gauche for anyone in a position of authority or oversight to have picked up a phone and asked Ol’ Dan if he recalled how much time he spent on the challenge.

So, no one did. 

Whatever.

At the end of the day, we will never know exactly what the Amendment 10 challenge cost Volusia County taxpayers – because that is what the inner-circle wanted from the beginning – knowing full-well that their constituents would quickly tire of throwing good money after bad simply to keep Sheriff Chitwood and the other constitutional officers under the thumb of a politically unaccountable manager. . . 

But, just maybe, something positive came out of this.    

As I understand it, under the county’s current management and accountability protocols, attorney timesheets are only generated when there is an expectation of recovering fees from an opposing party – otherwise, I guess it’s ‘do whatcha wanna’ – just look busy whenever Internal Auditor Jonathan “Le Fantôme” Edwards ethereally drifts through the office, eh?    

Is it physically possible that absolutely no one in county government – from Mr. Dyer to County Manager George Recktenwald – knows what anyone who works for them are doing from day-to-day? 

I’m asking because that is the perception.   

According to Mr. Bledsoe’s thorough enlightenment of the strategically ill-informed Mr. Dyer, in the aftermath, “we” will now track attorney time in “significant litigation” such as the Amendment 10 challenge, “for reference purposes in the future.” 

You know, as opposed to taking someone’s word for it. . . 

What a hell of a way to run a railroad.

Thank you, Ms. Post. 

I sincerely appreciate your dedication – and your assistance.

Quote of the Week

“I will join my fellow alumni in calling for the immediate removal of Mori Hosseini from the Board of Trustees of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and, if that is not pursued, then the immediate resignation of President P. Barry Butler for abetting in this blatant offense toward the communities involved.”

–Michael Von Kreuzfaufsteiger, writing in Medium.com, “Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Complete Disregard of Safety Procedures for Board Members Shows an Extreme Lack of Leadership,” Sunday, August 30, 2020  

Strong words, following equally strong disappointment among ERAU students who – after weeks of draconian measures designed to ensure campus compliance with COVID-19 prevention protocols – discovered that a “retreat” was held for the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees in their student union – sans face coverings, social distancing or common decency. . . 

According to an excellent article in the student newspaper, The Avion, entitled, “Double-Standards: Controversy arises as Embry-Riddle hold first external event,” on August 27, our High Panjandrum of Political Power, Mortenza “Mori” Hossieni, as Chairman of the Board of both ERAU and the University of Florida (?), hosted the elegant soiree at the 177,000 square foot aeronautical athenaeum which bears his name – the Mori Hossieni Student Union. 

Clearly, that level of hypocrisy did not sit well with the student body – nor should it. 

Many outside the university have questioned, “What’s the big deal?  So, what if Mori and his sycophantic pals didn’t wear masks.” 

The problem is, in an aviation and engineering environment, an omnipotent safety culture exists to save lives – and the shared beliefs, values, and rules of adherence and conduct are equally applicable to everyone – from the top of the organization to the newest incoming freshman. 

Because once weakened or ignored, safety procedures become functionally and operationally meaningless.    

This circle of safety is not limited to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – because, as an emerging aerospace research hub and trusted feeder to the global aviation industry – ERAU is part of the aerospace and aviation community as a whole, a place where safety management is only as effective as its weakest link.

Pilots do not mitigate risk some of the time – they do it all of the time – so that safety and professionalism become ingrained in everything they do.

After all, would you put your family on an airplane designed, built, and flown by people who embrace a convenient “do as I say, not as I do” approach to risk management?  

In my view, when the senior leadership of a prestigious aeronautical university – those charged with enforcing the rules and tenets upon which a positive safety culture is built – flippantly violate acceptable prevention strategies in the vulnerable environment of a crowded campus, it destroys trust, and undermines the foundational elements that have made ERAU the premiere aviation and aerospace university in the world.    

And Another Thing!

Guess what? 

Earlier this week, former Volusia County Chair candidate Gerard Witman, a virtual unknown who was eliminated during the primary, threw his support to the incumbent, Dishonest Deb Denys.

I know, who saw that coming, right? 

More important – who cares? 

Frankly, Mr. Witman lost me the minute he gave his bizarre answer to The West Volusia Beacon’s cogent question, “What are one or two of the big issues (facing Volusia County)?”

“From all I’m hearing, the COVID-19 is the big thing. Some cities say you have to wear a mask or get penalized, and I don’t know that you ought to penalize them.  The masks are going to help, because they do stop droplets. Aerosols are 0.5 microns, and droplets are large. The cloth masks are effective.”

I’m not kidding.  That was Mr. Witman’s answer.  

I immediately thought, “Is this some sick joke?” 

It wasn’t. . . 

Yet, some 15,000 wholly out-of-touch Volusia County voters either Christmas treed their ballot in the interest of time – or  thought it better to cast their sacred vote for a no-name meddler with absolutely zero grasp of the issues – rather than return Dishonest Deb Denys for another bite at the apple.  

Suddenly, Mr. Witman, who, in my view, looked uncomfortable and oddly out-of-place during the “debates,” is now Ms. Denys poster boy – a newly minted pseudo-expert in the administration of Volusia County government – who is now making an odd appearance on her paid political advertisements.   

Bullshit. 

In coming weeks, we can expect to see a full-court press as the Denys campaign attempts to get off the defensive and remake their candidate into something, well, remotely likeable – because she damn sure cannot stand on her abysmal record.

Last week, I received a call from a politically astute friend of mine who had been asked to run interference for a well-to-do group of Denys supporters who were righteously indignant that I referred to Dishonest Deb as an Asshole in this space.   

I happen to like both the caller, and those who asked him to intercede, but I did not apologize. . .

Because ‘them’s the rules’ on Friday – you know, the whole “…the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way,” thing?

In my view, there has been ample evidence over Ms. Denys eight unremarkable years on the Volusia County Council to support my assertion that she has detracted from our quality of life by selling out her long-suffering constituents, flip-flopping on past promises, and doing exactly what she is told by our civic and social elite who purchase her loyalty through massive campaign contributions. 

Hide and watch. 

The next two months will exemplify the fetid shit show that is Volusia County politics in all its foulness, as those with a chip in the game and their hired guns expose their fangs, and do everything in their considerable power to marginalize Jeff Plan B Brower.

Trust me.  Things are about to get vicious, now that Mr. Brower has demonstrated that he is ready, willing, and able to challenge the entrenched status quo. 

As the knives come out, ask yourself this important question:

Why would anyone seek to continue the toxic environment in DeLand – a cheap oligarchy totally devoid of optimism or substantive public participation – marked by hidden personal agendas, gross ineptitude, and insider influence that has destroyed the public’s trust in their government – by returning someone to power who has enjoyed nearly a decade at the trough, yet has accomplished nothing of substance for her long-suffering constituents? 

Look, this is a long-term affliction that has rotted the very soul of Volusia County – jeopardizing our civic, economic, and ecological future – with thousands of families living at or below the poverty line – and is not something anyone can correct overnight. 

However, in my jaded view, it is past time to staunch the bleeding and remove the malignancy caused by these craven incumbent marionettes and the puppet masters who control them.

In my view, that is vital to the healing process – and electing Jeff Brower is a good place to start.  

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

Some days this blog writes itself. . .

As a homegrown mechanism for pointing out the political absurdities and hypocritical horseshit that permeates our haughty government offices and defines our social and civic elite here on Florida’s Fun Coast, this blogsite was founded on watching from the cheap seats and writing down the farcicalities I observe.

And the orchestrated shit shows I see through a bloodshot eye rarely disappoint. . .

For instance, in 2016, I watched intently as the Volusia County Council ponied-up $1.5 million in public funds to underwrite struggling startups at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Complex – while simultaneously authorizing the sale of public property near Clyde Morris Boulevard and Bellevue to the University for half  its appraised value.

In my view, at that point, you and I – the long-suffering taxpayers of Volusia County – became de facto members of ERAU’s prestigious Jack L. Hunt Society in grateful recognition of our generous endowment to the University.

So, for the past four years, I have taken it upon myself to keep an eye on our investment.

You’re welcome. . .

In that time, I have come to understand that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – our own Harvard of the Sky – belongs in toto to our High Panjandrum of Political Power, Mortenza “Mori” Hossieni – and the students, faculty and staff are just visiting.

As I’ve previously noted in this space, Mori’s Machiavellian attempts to control virtually every aspect of University operations and administration – including unilaterally selecting the university’s senior leadership – has not been well received by those who pay tuition or prepare and present the best curriculum in aerospace education.

In April 2016, student government representatives going back 15-years issued an open letter denouncing the actions of the ERAU Board of Trustees and expressing their collective concern for the future of the University.

Then, in August of that year, the faculty senate took the courageous step of issuing a vote of no confidence against the board – the most powerful statement of disapproval available to faculty members – many of whom felt marginalized under Mr. Hosseini’s dictatorship.

In Mori’s expansive world, he controls organizations and institutions with the dominance of a Feudal lord – and those who get crossways with the Big Man suffer the personal and professional consequences.

And this unbridled power – which seems to exempt Mr. Hossieni and his hand-select minions from the rules, decrees and social imperatives that control the rest of us – has never been more evident than during this most recent escalating brouhaha – one that has left ERAU student’s righteously pissed off.

What?  You didn’t hear about it?

Well, that shouldn’t surprise anyone – because it is the last thing The Daytona Beach News-Journal is going to tell you about. . .

According to an excellent article in the student newspaper, The Avion, entitled, “Double-Standards: Controversy arises as Embry-Riddle hold first external event,” last Thursday, Mori – as Chairman of the Board of both ERAU and the University of Florida (?), hosted an elegant soiree at the 177,000 square foot aeronautical athenaeum which bears his name – the Mori Hossieni Student Union – for the UF Board of Trustees.

With student’s and staff having been warned, in the gravest of terms, that any violation of the University’s stringent COVID-19 safety protocols would result in draconian punishment – up to and including being sent home – it became apparent that the rules only apply to the little people. . .

As The Avion’s news editor Oliver Du Bois and staff reporter Mike Shekari so aptly explained:

“On Thursday, Aug. 27, a retreat was hosted for the University of Florida Board of Trustees by the Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Campus. As part of this retreat, on Thursday night a banquet was held in the Student Union for the Board of Trustees, which shares its chairman with Embry-Riddle’s board, Mori Hosseini. Based on photographs taken by students during the banquet, it appears that over 30 individuals attended. The images also show that tables at the banquet seated six people and did not have any form of divider. Whereas students are only allowed to eat in groups of four and most other campus areas where food is consumed is required to have dividers. Banquet attendees were also in the Student Union without masks. However, what is truly disturbing about this incident is that the university violated its own COVID-19 control policies, which mandates the wear of face coverings and physical distancing of tables and chairs during events.”

Wow.

Facing growing outrage by students who rightfully perceived this event as a dangerous double-standard, on August 28, University President P. Barry Butler issued a lame mea culpa, calling the gross violation of safety protocols a “valuable learning experience.”

In addition, Dr. Butler explained that all attendees had been screened and tested for COVID-19 – while admitting that “…social distancing was insufficient and face coverings were not consistently worn. Moreover, the appearance of the event, particularly as visitors were dining and talking without face coverings, was bad optics to say the least, as it appeared hypocritical and may have caused some of you to think that our rules are ‘good for thee, but not for me.’”

My ass.

That’s exactly what it was – the arrogance of power on parade.

It appears the ERAU Student Government Association didn’t buy Butler’s bullshit either and issued their own statement to students on Friday, which read, in part:

“Chairman Hosseini and his guests attended a dinner in the Mori Hosseini Student Union [building] that was not in compliance with the University’s COVID-19 policies … The SGA [Student Government Association] Executive Board has heard you, and we agree that the actions of Mori Hosseini and the UF [University of Florida] Board of Trustees on Thursday were absolutely unacceptable … Everyone must be held to the same standard. Our safety is non-negotiable.”

Now, students have scheduled an “Accountability Protest” this morning at the Jim W. Henderson Administration & Welcome Center – as calls grow for Chairman Hossieni’s removal.  (See more here: https://tinyurl.com/yxun63vj )

Trust me.  Despite Dr. Butler’s fervent desire – this is not going away anytime soon.

Nor should it.

This is a big deal.

Because it has eroded the omnipotent safety culture that is critical in an aeronautical environment – one that holds everyone to equal standards of safety and conduct – and has personally insulted the efforts of students, faculty, and staff to safely reopen the University’s residential campuses to face-to-face instruction in keeping with the Board of Trustees’ desire.

While I admire – and wholeheartedly support – the valiant efforts of ERAU students to transform this beleaguered University and begin the difficult process of rebuilding trust, my fear is nothing will substantively change, and this cloistered institution will remain deeply embroiled in these recurring controversies so long as it is aggressively controlled by one man who casts a very large shadow on campus and off.

 

Photo Credit: The Avion

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

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.

It’s been an unsettling week here at Barker’s View HQ.

Many years ago, when Patti and I scrimped and saved to obtain a mortgage on our little wood frame cracker box up here in north Ormond Beach, the selling point for me was a beautiful old-growth oak tree that graced the front yard.

We bonded from the minute I saw her.

The spectacular Southern live oak was complimented, just across the cracked front walk, by an equally majestic Florida maple that graced us with its spectacular color change each year when the weather turned cool.

The towering trees provided shade, cooling and shielding the front of our little house, and they paired well with a stand of cedars and several young oaks in a way that enhanced the landscape and gave our arrogantly shabby home some “curb appeal.”

Because I have been cursed with a brown thumb – a horticultural malady that automatically ensures the untimely death of any plant, shrub, or flower that I touch – these trees were the landscape.

Unfortunately, in time, the maple fell victim to high winds during one of the glancing coastal hurricanes – dropping with a mighty crash and completely blocking the street – leaving a huge divot in our yard as the root structure pulled the lawn up like a tattered carpet.

A short while later, we learned from a practicing arborist that the gigantic oak tree – which I guess was well over 100-years old, and appeared to be comprised of several trees that comingled and fused over time – was decaying from the inside out, leaving the compromised structure in jeopardy of collapsing onto our house, or worse. . .

During my working years, I once investigated a terrible tragedy wherein a lady was killed, instantaneously, by the crushing weight of a falling water oak – a tree, that by all outward appearances, was strong and healthy – when the enormous trunk toppled onto her car as she drove past on a quiet residential street.

Call it bad luck, destiny, or fate – but I have never forgotten the horror of that scene – and the incomprehensible odds that the victim would be passing at the very moment of the trees demise.

So, for the best of reasons, after receiving another opinion from the City of Ormond Beach, it was confirmed that my wonderful old friend must come down.

So, it did.

With a municipal permit in hand, my majestic specimen was felled by the herculean effort of a team of skilled tree surgeons, using heavy equipment and roaring chainsaws, in a nine-hour effort – one that saw hundreds of gallons of water flow from the diseased trunk as, piece by heavy piece, my beautiful old girl was reduced to so much sawdust and fireplace logs.

The superintendent of the job told Patti that his crew got many dirty looks from passersby – and one concerned neighbor even stopped his car and angrily took pictures of the ugly scene – no doubt documenting evidence of the environmental atrocity for proper authorities. . . But, I assure you, no one was sadder than me to see her go.

Hell, I don’t blame them for being mad at me.  The neighborhood lost something incredibly special – and the entire block has a different feel.

In fact, I could not bring myself to watch the arboreal euthanasia.

Instead, I took to the bed, listening again-and-again to the weighty “whump” as her limbs were severed and fell to the ground – my situational depression was comforted by our dogs, Nola and Benny – who seemed to sense something unfortunate was happening outside.

I am told the old gal put up quite a fight – with her damp and rotted wood crimping the mechanized blades as she wept water and slowly succumbed. . .

Now, the yard looks barren – and our house stands out like a sore thumb – with the blemishes of its well-past-prime paint job now more prevalent than ever, as curb appeal suddenly gave way to a certain down at the heel’s dreariness.

Fortunately, the cycle of life will begin anew in coming weeks when we replace both trees with young, sturdy hardwoods – something of a leap of faith – as I doubt either Patti or I will live to see them in their natural prime.

But our grandchildren will. . .

When you think about it, planting a tree is a leap of faith, an act of hope for the future, the slow transformation of a thing of beauty, over decades, that others will enjoy long after the planter shuffles off this mortal coil.

As farmer and WW1 veteran, Nelson Henderson, so aptly put it:

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”

There now.  Somehow, I feel better. . .

Thanks for listening, friends.

Angel              Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom

I know something about small town managers.

I have worked for great ones – the best in the business – who, by their personal example, inspire their staff to greatness – and I have endured the worst of the worst – craven jacklegs who can do serious damage to a hapless community in a very short period of time.

Rarely is there a happy medium.

Small town city managers typically fall into two categories – young, inexperienced neophytes clutching a newly minted degree in public management, seeking to gain experience and make a name for themselves in the maelstrom of tiny town politics – or the grizzled veterans on the run – fresh off the dreaded “managers in transition” list – trying hard to put time and distance between their last disaster and ‘what comes next.’

So, when a community finds a professional chief executive with a solid track record of civic progress and a noble willingness to serve – smart elected officials hang on to that rare commodity at all cost – because that quality of care, commitment and concern is worth more than gold bullion.

Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom was sui generis – a city manager who embodied the important personal and professional attributes of a true servant-leader, embraced values-based public service, and made an enduring impact on the citizens and staff he served so well.

In a wonderful piece last week, FlaglerLive.com wrote:

“Beloved by his staff and fiercely protective of it to the point of willingly risking his job in his staff’s defense, Newsom was outspoken, folksy, at times salty-tongued and unafraid to be confrontational. . .”     

I admire that.

Larry Newsom died Sunday at AdventHealth Palm Coast.  He was 56.

His enormous contributions to the City of Flagler Beach, one of the last quaint vestiges of Old Florida, will be sorely missed.

Requiescat in pace.

Asshole           Daytona Beach City Commission

 At the risk of coming off like the egotistical shitheel I am:

When I am right – I’m right!

Earlier this week, I published a screed entitled “Cui Bono? To Whose Benefit?” speculating that Daytona Beach City Manager Jim Chisholm’s surprise “Daytona Emerging” announcement was little more than a ruse – a confidence game designed to conceal the fact he and Sir John Albright of CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (formerly known as Consolidated Tomoka Land Company), want to use public funds to underwrite a parking garage for an apartment complex at International Speedway Boulevard and North Ridgewood Avenue.

In order to do that, Mr. Chisholm – acting as a shill for the Tampa-based developer Framework Group – threw a lot of dust in the air to keep our focus off the actual prize.

His elaborate scheme included detailed architectural renderings of a multi-million-dollar City Hall complex, a grocery store, five-story parking garage and a “multi-family building” complete with rooftop pool.

Then, on Wednesday, during a weird meeting of the Daytona Beach City Commission – which was apparently called by Mr. Chisholm (?) – the true scam was revealed when citizens learned that their lame duck City Manager is acting as a cheap facilitator for CTO Growth Realty and an out-of-town developer with an unsustainable plan that, by his own admission, cannot succeed without an infusion of millions in public funds to construct the apartment complex’ parking garage.

Don’t take my word for it.

According to an article by the intrepid Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal:

“Phillip Smith, president and founder of the Framework Group, told commissioners his Daytona Beach apartment project is at a crossroads because the rent he would charge won’t support the cost of the garage.”

Say what?

Naturally, Mr. Smith then baited the hook with the classic J. Wellington Wimpy dodge, you know, the old, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today” ploy, when he told the slack-jawed elected officials that if his first venture in Daytona Beach is successful, he’ll be back to “tackle more residential projects.”

My ass. . .

Now, many of you are wondering, “Hey, Barker, why didn’t you just bestow the Asshole of the Week award on Mr. Chisholm and place blame where blame is due?” 

 After all, the News-Journal described commissioners as “cool” to the idea, what gives?

Because, rather than tell Mr. Chisholm to focus on his own desk in the waning months of his tenure – or explain to Framework Group that they should go back to the drawing board and come up with a plan they can afford – Mayor Derrick “Il Duce” Henry, Commissioner Rob Gilliland, and others encouraged Chisholm to “explore” the specifics of the project and put together details on how the city could possibly afford the project’s $15 million price tag.

In my view, that’s a tall order, given the fact they have all but exsanguinated the Downtown CRA with an $800,000 annual commitment to J. Hyatt Brown for maintenance of his riverfront esplanade. . .

Weird how you can paint yourself into a corner when you fail to plan, eh?

Look, I’m not going to gloat and say I told you so – that would be pompous and arrogant.

But I told you so. . .

Now that the groundwork has been laid, you can bet your sweet bippy that the citizens of Daytona Beach will soon expend CRA funds to underwrite a for-profit project for our new friends at the Framework Group.

It is going to happen.

Why?

Because no one wants to be perceived as holding up “progress” – not on CTO Growth Realty property – which sits ugly and vacant since the churches and surrounding structures were demolished. . .

It is becoming clear that residents of Daytona Beach are being groomed with elaborate, pie-in-the-sky plans on the front page of the News-Journal – dramatic depictions of all the wonderful hotels, retail, bistros and penthouse apartments (that may or may not happen) as Burgoyne Properties – which has sat on a huge chunk of Downtown Daytona for more than 80-years – scramble to secure changes to the city’s comprehensive plan before Jim “Sugar Daddy” Chisholm takes up the rocking chair early next year.

Now, all the usual patsies and cheerleaders are crowing about how “fantastic” the future of our downtrodden downtown is, now that J. Hyatt’s glass and steel monument is preparing to open later this year, and Burgoyne Properties is getting zoning changes they can sit on for years.

And, time is of the essence.

God forbid, the next city manager might actually encourage city officials and stakeholders to develop a coherent, transformational and comprehensive plan resulting in an ideal urban center – rather than a patch-work hodgepodge of projects designed to ensure that all the right last names have unfettered access to the public trough.

In the meantime, do yourself a favor and keep asking the important question:  Cui Bono?  To whose benefit?

Angel              Volusia County Council

I am on a roll this week, kids!

On Tuesday, my deep, focused, and fervent prayers were answered. . .

Last week in this space, I submissively prostrated myself in front of our all-knowing, all-powerful Monarchs on the Volusia County Council and reverently beseeched them to abandon their two-year legal challenge to the voter approved (63% of Florida voters and 54% of Volusia County voters) Amendment 10, which returns constitutional sovereignty to certain elective offices.

Back in December 2018, instead of accepting the voter’s decision, our doddering fool of a lame duck County Chair, Ed Kelley, began telling tall tales that the transition would cost taxpayers $10 million – then, led the charge to have former County Attorney Dan “Cujo” Eckert use public funds to challenge the people’s decision in the courts.

Of course, the Volusia County Council’s Royal Decree to contest the results of a fair and lawful election came during a typical off-the-agenda ambush.

Ultimately, the fight was joined by the doyen of the Volusia County Old Guard, Dr. T. Wayne Bailey, and his co-chair of the group that a half-century ago cobbled together the county’s original charter, Dr. P. T. “Bud” Fleuchaus.

Inexplicably, you and I – the long-suffering taxpayers of Volusia County – paid all legal fees and administrative expenses related to Bud and T. Wayne’s attempt to exempt Volusia County in the name of “protecting” us from ourselves by warding off any challenge to the omnipotent charter that leaves very little power or influence in the hands of citizens.

Last week, the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee upheld a previous ruling by a Leon County circuit judge rejecting Volusia County’s ill-thought opposition to Amendment 10.

On Tuesday, the Volusia County Council agreed to drop the legal challenge going forward.

To their credit, it was the right thing to do – and Councilman Ben Johnson was correct in his depiction of the challenge as “divisive” and a “waste of time.”

Now, Drs. Bailey and Fleuchaus, the old lions of Volusia County politics, will have to pay for their own damn attorney if they want to continue this asinine push to retain and consolidate power in the hands of a politically unaccountable manager, while relegating our constitutional officers to little more than elected figureheads.

In keeping with tradition, Old Ed, and his sidekick, Dishonest Deb Denys, droned on, trying their level best to convince their constituents that the challenge was intended to protect provisions of the sacrosanct charter – not overturn the people’s right to self-determination at the ballot box.

Right.

I should also say that the county’s staff worked diligently, under often changing and unclear circumstances, to prepare for the transition and ensure that essential services will be available to residents in January – because they did.

Unfortunately, serious questions remain. . .

During his oddly muted response, County Attorney Mike Dyer stated for the public record that the total cost of Volusia County’s aggressive two-year challenge of Amendment 10 cost taxpayers just $1,980.88 – that’s it.

Really?

For less than the cost of a household appliance, the full-might of Volusia County government – including the research, preparation and all necessary legal work of former County Attorney Dan “Cujo” Eckert (who was paid approximately $109.15 per hour) and our current representative, Mr. Dyer (who receives approximately $79.33 per hour) and their staff – mounted a protracted legal argument that went all the way to the First District Court of Appeals for less than $2,000?

My ass. . .

So, with great trepidation, earlier this week I virtually entered the murky labyrinth of the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Building in DeLand when I emailed a public records request seeking an itemized accounting of all expenses related to the litigation.

Initially, my simple request to the point of contact listed on the Volusia County website for the County Manager’s office was returned by the former employee – who retired in November 2019 – directing me to yet another deputy clerk, Karissa Green, which resulted in a canned response advising that she is working “remotely.”

So, I asked my duly elected representative, District 4 Councilwoman Heather Post, for help negotiating the bureaucratic maze – and to her great credit – she reached out to both the County Manager and County Attorney to clarify for me exactly how much the Amendment 10 legal challenge cost taxpayers – she even managed to get the contact information corrected on the website!

In my experience, most lawyers do not work for free – and billable hours is their stock in trade.  Even salaried government attorneys (one would assume) must account for their time as a managerial necessity – but, I have yet to receive an official response to my inquiry.

So, like you, I sit and speculate. . .

My fear is that I am about to enter the rabbit hole – hoping against hope that Mr. Dyer and Mr. Recktenwald do not try to equivocate that Volusia County cannot produce an accurate accounting for the legal fight because none exists.

I suspect they will ultimately blame poor old (now forcibly retired) Cujo Eckert for not keeping accurate records of the time he, his deputy, and staff spent formulating a strategy and preparing their case – essentially telling me (and you) that the only factual expenses related to the Amendment 10 challenge add up to just $1,980.88 in filing and administrative fees.

Bullshit.

The fact is, anyone who has ever employed an attorney knows that this protracted litigation cost far more than what we are being led to believe.

And there is absolutely no reason to lie about it!

In my view, if our “new” County Attorney has mislead both the County Council, and the citizens of Volusia County, by quibbling the cost for political expediency – then he must resign or be terminated immediately – because he will have lost the trust of those he serves.

Unfortunately, Mr. Dyer will have no one to blame but himself.

Time will tell. . .

Quote of the Week

“The County Charter Architects of the old days have always sought to abolish the people’s Sheriff’s Office and replace the elected sheriff with an appointed one. They, along with a County Council majority that does whatever it’s told, tried their best to defeat Amendment 10 on the ballot and in court, and they failed.

There is no point in continuing to lie about it, but I have a feeling that Ed Kelley’s lies won’t be finished until the day he steps down from office. November can’t come soon enough.”

–Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood announcing an end to the County Council’s asinine legal fight against the voter approved Amendment 10, which returns constitutional sovereignty to his office and others, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Well said, Sheriff Chitwood.

And Another Thing!

As usual, “Barker the Bitcher” has a problem.

During council member comments at what passed for a Volusia County Council meeting on Tuesday, the always arrogant Councilwoman Deb Denys – a current candidate for the County Chair seat – used her lofty position to direct County Manager George “Wreck” Recktenwald to provide water quality and wetlands protection information in response to campaign criticisms leveled by her opponent, Jeff “Plan B” Brower and others.

You read that right. 

 Now, to be clear, Dishonest Deb attempted to couch her “request” as a council action, a means of answering “purposeful misinformation” during an “election cycle” – but it was clear to everyone watching what her true motivations were.

Don’t take my word for it, watch the archived video of the meeting here:  https://tinyurl.com/y6eapn8q – the action begins at 3:56:31.

Rather than formulate a cogent response based upon her appalling “go along and get along” record with developers – one that has contributed to continuing water quality issues at Blue Spring, DeLeon Springs and Gemini Springs, each of which have been declared “impaired” – fish in the St. Johns River developing ulcerated lesions linked to pollutants – and the slow death of the Indian River Lagoon, where nitrogen runoff from fertilizer and leeching sewage has had a devastating impact on underwater vegetation – now, Dishonest Deb wants you and I to pay Mr. Recktenwald and his staff to collect oppositional research to bail her out.

That’s bullshit.

And probably illegal. . .

Back when I was playing government, public officers were statutorily prohibited from using their official positions to obtain a special privilege or benefit for themselves or others.

Since Ms. Deny’s critics and political opponent do not have an equal ability to turn to the County Manager from the dais of power and suggest he produce mitigating evidence on water quality and wetlands protections to answer her detractors during an election cycle – I’d call that a ‘special privilege’ directly related to Deb’s political campaign.

Or am I missing something?

Because it sure looked as if Mr. Recktenwald was attempting to run an uncomfortable interference for Ms. Denys when he gave a cursory glance looking for majority approval.

Anyone who lives on the Fun Coast understands the injurious effects sprawl and unchecked development have had on our sensitive wetlands and over-stressed aquifer – and they can see right through the gauzy disguise of Ms. Deny’s shameless attempts to weaken environmental protections as she pursues her weird goal of luring “space-related” industry to endangered areas of Southeast Volusia and beyond.

Also, I think everyone understands that the absurd “hurt here, help there” wetland mitigation scheme currently in use will ultimately prove to be an ecological disaster.

Perhaps Ms. Denys disagrees.  But she should speak for herself.

In my view, if Dishonest Deb wants to stand on her dismal environmental record – marked by brazen posturing, weird photo-op’s, and her never-ending game of musical chairs in dubious “leadership” roles with various political insulation committees – so be it.

But she should simply admit that Volusia County is experiencing unprecedented growth with little consideration to the long-term effects on wetlands or the continuing degradation of water quality in our lakes, rivers and estuaries – then tell us what she plans to do about it.

In my view, it crosses a very bright ethical line when a sitting elected official who is seeking higher office blatantly directs career civil servants – who accept public funds to serve in the public interest – to compile reports and studies that she can use to deflect political flak and criticism.

That is what paid political consultants and campaign hangers-on are for.

In short, if Ms. Denys wants to mount a defense to the withering condemnation of her abysmal record by her opponent – and her constituents – then she should pay for the research without arrogantly expecting Volusia County taxpayers to pick up the bill.

Like Sheriff Chitwood so eloquently said – November can’t come soon enough. . .

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

 

 

“Lucius Cassius ille quem populus Romanus verissimum et sapientissimum iudicem putabat identidem in causis quaerere solebat ‘cui bono’ fuisset.”

“The famous Lucius Cassius, whom the Roman people used to regard as a very honest and wise judge, was in the habit of asking, time and again, ‘To whose benefit?”

― Marcus Tullius Cicero

So much of what prompts me to write involves the esoteric shenanigans of local government, or the buffoonery of our local elected and appointed “leadership” – who always seem to pull defeat from the jaws of victory – whose mismanagement and ham-handed subterfuge has left the greater Halifax area a “tarnished jewel,” as our local newspaper puts it.

But this one’s different.

This weekend, we learned of disturbing plan being hatched at the City of Daytona Beach – and the timing and scope of this strange and evolving situation involves all of the elements that raise the hair on the back of my neck – and then some. . .

In the immediate aftermath of the primary election that returned Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick “Il Duce” Henry to the throne of power in this increasingly challenged community, lame duck City Manager Jim Chisholm throws a surprise party of sorts, announcing that the municipality is ready to spend between $18 and $24 million for a new City Hall?

Yep.  At a time when many are watching their financial lives collapse due to the pandemic, major shopping centers declaring bankruptcy, strategic closures of local businesses, and our area tourism industry on a downward slide, the City of Daytona Beach is suggesting the time is right for a multi-story Taj Mahal municipal complex.

You read that right.

During my long career in government, I became adept at recognizing a good, old-fashioned game of civic Three Card Monte when I see it.

Traditionally, the scam is a classic confidence game, where a practiced grifter takes the ace of hearts and two queens from a deck of playing cards and bends them into a tent shape.

Then, with a skillful hand, the con artist flips them around – betting some unsophisticated bumpkin in the audience that he can’t keep his eye on the money card.

Looks simple enough, right?

But he can’t.

You see, the dealer has mastered the art of deftly manipulating the cards – and to ensure the deception – the swindler employs a convincing shill or two in the audience who distract the rube just long enough. . ., well, you get the rest.

The uninitiated will never guess the right card unless the grifter wants to build your confidence – so you double-down and bet the farm – because that’s the way the scam is intended – to separate you from your hard-earned money without exposing the intricate mechanics of the ruse.

In this variation of the scam – now renamed “Daytona Emerging” – taxpayers are being shown a new City Hall complex, a public/private parking garage, and a mysterious “shovel-ready” apartment building.

One of them represents the “real” reason our elected and appointed officials are looking to spend $24 million in public funds during these desperate times. . .

Now, just try and keep your eyes on the real prize.

City Manager Chisholm, a master illusionist who is retiring in less than six-months, is working the cards, keeping the public guessing on the true motivation behind the scheme, while his adroit accomplices – Mayor Henry and John Albright, chief executive officer of CTO Realty Growth Inc. (formerly Consolidated Tomoka Land Company) – work the crowd, providing just the right diversion in the newspaper.

First, residents are being led to believe Daytona Beach City Hall – a modern 60,000-square-foot, two-story facility built in 1975 and remodeled in 1988, complete with recent upgrades to the roof and HVAC systems – is suddenly “functionally obsolete.”

Now, we are being shown an expensive rendering of a palatial, multi-story municipal complex on property owned by CTO Realty Growth, Inc. at International Speedway Boulevard and North Ridgewood Avenue – complete with the five-story parking garage abutting a new “multifamily building” fronting North Palmetto Avenue to the east.

As we watch the game unfold, many are questioning why the City of Daytona Beach would abandon a perfectly functional building to build an incredibly expensive “new” City Hall – which will not add one dime of tax revenue to the all-important Ridgewood Avenue frontage – in an area slated for a slew of off-the-tax-roll government buildings, to include a massive courthouse complex and county offices north of ISB between Third Avenue and Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard.

Others are openly speculating that the move is necessary to accommodate J. Hyatt Brown’s need for additional downtown office space – essentially vacating the current City Hall building so it can be acquired as a cheap annex for the new Brown & Brown headquarters on Beach Street.

In my view, the true motivation for Mr. Chisholm’s mini-moves are slowing coming into view:

The municipal government wants to spend some $15 million in Downtown Community Redevelopment Area funds to support the profit motive of CTO Realty Group by underwriting a parking garage for the mysterious developer of the proposed apartment complex.

According to an article by the intrepid Eileen Zaffiro-Kean in The Daytona Beach News-Journal:

“Chisholm said the new development would evolve in stages, with the parking garage built first and a City Hall built later. The company that owns most of the Ridgewood Avenue block between International Speedway Boulevard and Bay Street, CTO Realty Growth Inc., has a developer under contract to build apartments on the site but could use help with the expense of a parking garage…”

There is another old-time ruse employed by developers and their shills to ensure needs on both sides of the dais of power are met.

For instance, if a developer is seeking to build a 100 unit residential development, they make application to the county or municipal government listing 350+ units – so that, ultimately, the vote to approve the land use amendment gives the appearance that elected officials are sensitive to environmental and infrastructure impacts – and not afraid to hold the speculative developers feet to the fire.

It’s all horseshit – civic theatrics – a foregone conclusion, where the fate of the project is never seriously in doubt – because everyone who is anyone is in on the ruse, with all players ostensibly getting what they need – including the public, who don’t realize they were never part of the end game.

And this is no different.

In the case of “Daytona Emerging” – we are being baited with a massive new municipal building which is both unnecessary and horribly expensive – while CTO Realty Growth and its customer walk away with millions in public funds to partially finance their private project and guarantee a profit.

Look, I’m not saying that J. Hyatt won’t ultimately assume physical control of the “old” City Hall building (let’s face it, he already has actual control of the government) as Brown & Brown employees begin their move to his publicly supported glass and steel edifice on Beach Street.

However, in my view, this latest confidence scam is being orchestrated to camouflage yet another “business as usual” corporate welfare scheme – and set the precedence for the use of public funds as Downtown Daytona slowly begins its artificial “renaissance” – and We, The Little People, once again line the pockets of all the right last names.

At the very least, these backroom machinations once again beg the question:

Cui Bono?  Who ultimately benefits?

Trust me.  This one bears watching. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Labels are what we use to tell us what is inside – or to describe ourselves and others.

Sometimes those descriptors are accurate, other times not.

We use tags not only to describe the content, but list the ingredients, or, in the case of people, to classify individuals and groups by their differences – gender, race, color, religion, income, intelligence, sexual orientation, size, shape, age, republican, democrat, etc., etc.

We use these marques to separate and maintain order, allowing us to keep things of like type together; after all, without them, we wouldn’t be able to tell a can of corn from one containing green beans, because cans typically all look the same with the labels removed. . .

It gets more confusing when you consider that there are an infinite diversity of green beans – bush and pole types, French-style, sliced, Italian cut, mixed, fancy – or broken down further by the different brand name they are sold under – Green Giant, Del Monte, Libby’s – over time, we pick our go-to favorites and become “brand loyal,” rarely going outside our preference to try other varieties of the same product.

Often, with a single word, a label can communicate things like quality, brand, taste – and they are carefully crafted by manufacturers, marketers and snake oil salesmen to present the contents of the package in the most attractive light possible – so, its up to us to determine the actual value and worth based on our own personal experience with individual brands.

I recently reflected on the use of labels and descriptors in our modern lives and political debates – the need to differentiate between those we agree with, and those we don’t – and separate ourselves by our own notions of self-identity, good and bad, black and white, rich and poor, smart and stupid – I do it all the time.

Increasingly, some in our society have come to using racial, gender and other “identifiers” to divide us into specific categories – usually based on their weird notion of what is “fair” – and our merits are no longer as important as our genetics.

And don’t get me started on the depth of the political divide. . .

Following last week’s primary election, I followed with interest a social media dust-up between newly re-elected Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry and several of his constituents, during which the Mayor described one participants argument as “lunacy and heretical” – labels which were clearly meant to transfer to the person.

That is the nature of our political discourse in this foul year 2020 – and I am just as guilty as Mayor Henry, or anyone else – of lowering the bar and calling names.

Don’t expect anything to change.

For instance, get ready for some major mudslinging and imaginative descriptors as the two predominant political parties square off in the battle for the Big Enchilada this November.

Unfortunately, the idea of labeling ourselves, and each other, to set ourselves apart from our broader commonalities – then forming exclusive socio-political alliances which always pigeon-hole those who are different from the group – and use exclusionary rhetoric, even violence, as a means to a radical end seems to be increasing in popularity.

And, over time, one group’s ideas and vision for the future become morally and ethically superior to others – based solely on their external differences or cultural experience – leaving no room for social, civic or political compromise, as any differing opinion is immediately labeled racist, homophobic, misogynistic, lunacy, heretical, etc.

Then, my life matters more than yours – and our political and ideological differences are reduced to fistfights, rioting or worse.

And it seems there is not a damn thing we can do about it.

The cities of our nation are on fire – and no one who should seems to care about stopping it, so long as the mayhem serves a perverse political need on both sides of the political divide.

Fortunately, that is not my personal experience – and my wonderfully diverse family love and help one another unconditionally.

I found it interesting that the front page of Sunday’s Daytona Beach News-Journal carried a piece by editor Pat Rice entitled, “The News-Journal will reflect reader diversity,” oddly suggesting that the racial and gender composition of the newsroom determines how the news is reported.

“In newsrooms, diversity is important because it impacts how we determine what makes news, and it impacts how we cover it.”

Say what? 

Frankly, I have never cared about the cultural identity of reporters, so long as they got the who, what, when, where and why of a news story reasonably correct and present the facts in a clear and unvarnished way.

Over the years, the News-Journal has lost an incredibly diverse pool of talent to “downsizing,” an evolving industry, and good old-fashioned mismanagement – so, with the newsroom now whittled down to a precious few, why would Mr. Rice place ultimate importance on the color of a reporters skin, rather than the quality of their skills and journalistic integrity?

According to Mr. Rice, “Much more often, newsroom diversity is important because it impacts how we as a group determine what to cover and how to cover it.”

Really?

Because, those of us who pay for the privilege of consuming the news from our local newspaper – regardless of our race, color or creed – would prefer that Mr. Rice and his bosses at Gannett simply focus on bringing us quality local news in a comprehensive and unbiased way – rather than stuffing our daily paper with pap and fluff from the Palm Beach Post and other members of the “USA Today network.”

At first, I thought Mr. Rice’s article was a joke – one of his lighthearted Sunday asides – then I realized he was serious.

In my view, diversity in the workplace and beyond is extremely important – but race, gender or ethnicity should have no influence on how the basic facts of a news story are investigated, compiled, or reported.

That’s not fair to anyone.

With all of print media on a rocket sled to oblivion – and our newspaper seemingly changing fonts and formats every other edition in a weird strategy to remain relevant in a digital world – the fact our local newspaper chooses to focus on the notion of selecting reporters based upon their gender, race and “life experience” – rather than their learned and innate ability to ferret out the stories and information that make a difference in the life of our community – is astounding.

To the reporters and staff who work for Mr. Rice and those like him – my heart bleeds for you – as he suggests the color of your skin or gender dictates how you should report the immutable facts and circumstances of incidents, accidents and the administration of government.

I cannot think of anything more inherently presumptuous, or, dare I say, “racist.”

Are current employees going to be fired or run-off to make vacancies for employees who do not look like them?

Will The News-Journal use forced attrition to ensure demographic equality with the community – or use money they clearly don’t have to hire more employees (while excluding others) who meet Gannett’s engineered idea of what the newsroom should look like?

Exactly, how does Mr. Rice plan to achieve this corporate idea of a social utopia over on 6^th Street?

Unfortunately, as the regionalization and homogenization of The Daytona Beach News-Journal continues, we can expect more of the same as the executive focus turns from quality reportage to some warped idea of “inclusion” in its rapidly shrinking newsroom.

Sorry, folks.  It is not about reporting the news anymore.

Our “local paper” has clearly lost sight of what is important to us, regardless of our race, color, or creed – and abdicated it’s important role in our community to political correctness – even as our coastal version of Rome continues to burn.

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              First District Court of Appeal

In December 2018, Sheriff Mike Chitwood made headlines when he rightfully called six members of the previous Volusia County Council “scumbags” for “violating the public trust and circumventing the will of the people,” when all but Councilwoman Heather Post voted to seek a legal exemption from Amendment 10, the ballot measure returning sovereignty to constitutional officers that was approved by 63% of voters.

Instead of accepting the voter’s decision, our doddering fool of a lame duck County Chair, Ed Kelley, began telling tall tales that the transition would cost taxpayers $10 million – then, he led the charge to have former County Attorney Dan “Cujo” Eckert use public funds to challenge Amendment 10 in the courts.

Of course, the Volusia County Council’s decision to contest the results of the election using a weak “home rule” argument came during a typical off-the-agenda ambush.

It was all bullshit, a bald-faced lie – Old Ed and The Funky Bunch knew that – yet, the majority continued to defend the Old Guard’s status quo, regardless of cost.

To his credit, at the time, Sheriff Chitwood courageously called on Chairman Kelley to “…resign from office for his lack of leadership.” 

Unfortunately, the Sheriff’s astute suggestion fell on Old Ed’s tone-deaf ears and we have been stuck with this obstructionist asshole ever since. . .

Earlier this week, we learned that the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee upheld a previous ruling by a Leon County circuit judge rejecting Volusia County’s asinine opposition to Amendment 10, clearing the way for a return to political accountability in key county offices.

Unfortunately, if we have learned anything about Kelley’s régime – a wholly compromised plutarchy that takes it’s marching orders from wealthy political insiders who have controlled the Chairman like a ventriloquists dummy for years – it is that Old Ed and his handlers have no qualms using the peoples own money to subvert their will.

Earlier this week, the consigliere of Volusia County’s ruling elite, Dr. T. Wayne Bailey – who, a half-century ago, served as co-chair, along with Dr. P.T. “Bud” Fleuchaus, of the 21-member group that cobbled together the county’s original charter – continued to challenge the appeals court ruling in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, saying:

“My view as a citizen is that the issues raised in the case are such that there ought to be a Supreme Court determination because it is a constitutional issue.”

That’s horseshit, T. Wayne. . .

I can’t think of anything more unconstitutional – more inherently un-American – than using public funds to underwrite an effort to overturn the will of the people – and reverse a voter-approved measure that fundamentally changes our local government by increasing transparency and ensuring political accountability.

Next week, the Volusia County Council will have one more bite at this expensive apple when they decide whether to take their daft fight against Amendment 10 to the Florida Supreme Court.

It’s time for this governmental defiance to end.

Maybe this will help:

I have washed my feet, donned my sackcloth robe, reverentially genuflected and prostrated myself on the floor, forehead to the carpet, arms outstretched in utmost humility and submission, dutifully facing west toward the Ivory Tower of Power at the Thomas C. Kelley administration building in Deland.

There now (in my best Gregorian chant):

“Oh, Great and Powerful Monarchs of the Volusia County Council – In your infinite and infallible wisdom – your faithful taxpayer, Mark the Nobody of Ormond Beach, does humbly and meekly beseech you to allow our collective voices to be heard, as erring and imperfect as they may be, and stop the expensive challenge of Amendment 10 to allow our High Sheriff and the other constitutional offices of our all-knowing, all-seeing government to have slight independence from your powerful prince, the politically unaccountable County Manager.  Verily I beg of thee.  Amen and Amen.  Selah.”

Whatever. . .    

Here’s hoping that, for once, common sense prevails, and this ill-thought challenge of the peoples sacred right to self-determination at the ballot box is brought to an end.

Wait.  Damn.  Can somebody help me get up off the floor?

Asshole           Daytona Beach City Commission

This week, the Daytona Beach City Commission voted without discussion on a non-committal resolution “…approving the selection of preferred design options to be used in the construction of improvements to East ISB.  The City Commission wishes to support the design of either FDOT option C – “SR A1A Roundabout Concept Plan” or a plan for intersection improvements using the current “T” intersection configuration, whichever is most efficient as determined by FDOT.”

In other words, we are either getting an almost universally despised roundabout – or a proper signalized intersection at the most heavily used beach access point in Volusia County – but the ultimate decision is being left to the Florida Department of Transportation as Daytona Beach officials succumb to political cowardice and abdicate any responsibility.

Why? 

Because to make a difficult decision, one that will effect the lives of thousands of residents and visitors, takes courage – true political backbone – and that virtue simply does not exist in a place where elected officials callously turn a blind eye to the malignant blight that continues to consume the Halifax area’s core tourist strip, Main Street, Mid-Town, Downtown, East ISB, beachside/westside, etc., etc.

Of course, we are told the equally weak-kneed Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce will pass a similar wishy-washy resolution supporting the “whatever you guys want” approach to traffic infrastructure improvements on the ruined remains of East ISB.

Considering that, for decades, every in-coming president of the chamber has stood in their finery and crowed, ad nauseum, about the need to revitalize the “ISB Gateway” during their haughty acceptance speech at their annual high society Grand Gala – so, one would have thought the chamber’s “leadership” would have demanded that Daytona Beach city commissioners get off the fence and fight for what their members and constituents want?

In addition, the Hotel & Lodging Association of Volusia County – and Sons of the Beach – Florida’s premier beach driving and access advocacy, will also be asked to pass similar watery resolutions.

Say what?

My sincere hope is that SOB President Paul Zimmerman gives a one-finger salute and tells those Caspar Milquetoasts at the City of Daytona Beach to stuff their political insulation ploy where the sun don’t shine. . .

What a crock of shit. . .

Since this foul idea’s inception, residents and veteran traffic engineers have fought against the ludicrous idea of placing a traffic roundabout at the intersection of East ISB and A-1-A – a plan that was inexplicably supported by the City of Daytona Beach – despite all best evidence that it will result in a nightmare of gridlock during peak season and compromise traffic flow year-round.

It is not that traffic circles don’t work – it’s that the dynamics of this particular intersection make a weird loop-de-loop inappropriate.

Then, in April, during a meeting of the ISB Coalition attended by Florida Department of Transportation Interim District Secretary Jared Perdue, Daytona Beach City Commissioner Rob Gilliland “suggested the signalized intersection idea be dusted off and reconsidered.”

A glimmer of hope!

According to Secretary Perdue,  “If the community is not wanting this roundabout, we’ll go back and look at that.  We don’t want to deliver a project the community doesn’t want.”

In short, FDOT was begging for direction!

Instead, rather than get the project moving, Daytona Beach elected officials decided to punt. . .

So, why won’t the Daytona Beach City Commission, and their sycophantic stooges over at the Regional Chamber of Commerce, get off their collective ass and lobby for what residents and business owners have been demanding from the beginning?

At a time when Daytona Beach needs a comprehensive vision for the future of the beachside and beyond, on Tuesday, 6,090 voters returned the city’s Monarchical Mayor Derrick “Il Duce” Henry to the throne – ensuring more of the same indecisiveness, vacillation, uncertainty, political insulation tactics and fence straddling that always occur in the absence of strong leadership.

Next month (I hope) the Florida Department of Transportation will hold a virtual public hearing on the future of the intersection.

That meeting may well be our last/best opportunity to be heard on this important matter, now that the City of Daytona Beach has decided it does not want to get involved in the decision-making process. . .

My sincere hope is that residents and stakeholders will scream, en masse, that – despite the total abdication of responsibility by our elected officials – We, The Little People, who live and eke out a living in the Halifax area, fervently oppose the imposition of a nightmarish roundabout at East ISB and A-1-A.

Now, it is up to us.

As one intrepid civic activist aptly described the City Commission after the vote:  “No brains.  No balls.”

Quote of the Week

 “Responsibility falls on both government and citizens to create the civic sphere and shape the future of their communities. We know that Florida needs a visionary and workable planning process that relies on an informed and active citizenry. Improvements to public participation by modernizing and updating public participation ordinances, increasing transparency by providing public notice in a broader range of media formats and empowering citizens through programs like the Citizen Planning Bill of Rights will move us closer to protecting and creating the vibrant, sustainable and livable communities that contribute to outstanding quality of life.”

–Excerpted from “Best Practices for Citizen Participation in Community Planning,” 1000 Friends of Florida, August 2020

This week I did something I rarely do anymore.

I actually agreed with the News-Journal’s editorial board in their informative op/ed, “Involve citizens in growth decisions.”

Admittedly, I was not familiar with 1000 Friends of Florida – but after reading the non-profit organization’s impressive stand on smart growth initiatives, environmental sustainability, and building better, more resilient, communities – I want to be their friend, too.

I have long been an advocate of the charette procedure – a concept where all stakeholders come together in intensive planning sessions to brainstorm ideas, resolve conflicts, map solutions to common problems and keep a project true to its intended purpose.

As a result of these collaborations, everyone involved – citizens, creatives, designers, developers, planners, government, business owners and others with a stake in the project – become co-authors of the mutually inclusive plan.

The very concept is verboten here.

I mean, can you imagine a civic project or real estate development scheme anywhere on the Fun Coast where residents would be permitted substantive involvement at the planning stage?

That is, beyond some canned “neighborhood meeting” a savvy real estate attorney needs to check off a box on their way to another land use amendment that will change the face of our community forever. . .

I would encourage everyone who cares about our sensitive environment and the nature of unchecked sprawl in east Volusia County to review the Citizen Bill of Rights proposed by 1000 Friends of Florida, which would, among other provisions, provide citizens standing in the planning process and protect comprehensive plans from the “shell game” of last-minute changes,” off-the-agenda public policy by ambush, and other legislative sleight-of-hand.

The Citizen Bill of Rights ensures Floridians:

The right to shape changes to your neighborhood, community and region.

The right to a process free of last-minute changes.

The right to a super-majority vote on major land use decisions.

The right to more easily challenge decisions made by your local government.

The right to be free of fear of unwarranted legal retaliation.

At present, some seven Florida counties and municipalities have adopted the Citizen Bill of Rights to include enhanced public participation provisions in the planning process and ensure the integrity of comprehensive plans and land use regulations.

Perhaps this innovative commitment to true smart growth initiatives is something our local governments should consider going forward?

For more information, please see www.1000fof.org

And Another Thing!

As I said earlier this week, the bedrock principle of our American democracy – that all power is derived from the consent of the governed – is rooted in the conduct of fair elections, the idea of “one citizen, one vote,” that purely American concept of political egalitarianism.

On Tuesday, the system worked.

Some were elated with the results – others horribly disappointed – while many more simply stayed home and shrugged the whole thing off as a rigged sham. . .

Unfortunately, far too many Volusia County residents have fallen victim to the malignancy of political apathy – that feeling of disinterest and indifference born of having the rug pulled out from underneath them one too many times – the sense that their vote doesn’t count, or their collective voice can be silenced if their decision at the ballot box goes against what the entrenched ‘ruling class’ wants.

Sound familiar?

Perhaps this election year is a time for new beginnings – and a restoration of public confidence in the system.

In my view, that fundamental change must begin with those we elevate to higher office.

Let’s face it, politicians have never had the best reputation – ranking somewhere below used car salesmen and lawyers on the Trust-o-Meter – and, by and large, it’s their own damn fault.

In over three-decades in municipal government – I came to understand that the virtue of integrity is omnipotent – because once the public’s trust is lost, it is almost impossible to regain.

At the risk of preaching the obvious – the “do as I say, not as I do” gospel according to Barker – I would like to extend some unsolicited hard-learned advice to our newly elected officials, and those still in the running, that may help foster a culture of honor in the Halls of Power throughout Volusia County and beyond.

Take it or leave it:

For those candidates who won outright this week, I encourage you continue your life of public service with an unwavering commitment to those ethics and ideals that drew you to this often-difficult path in the first place.

Many politicians become everything they hated when they first stood for public office, and that has wide-ranging implications, because reneging on campaign promises and developing a moral malleability are confusing, and corrosive to the public trust.

When human beings with inherent faults and weaknesses ascend to high office, an adherence to strong core principles and a demonstrated commitment to values-based service are a critical anchor point.

Be open to criticism – do not take it personally.  You are a politician, and you will have detractors.

Use today’s often-caustic political discourse to understand the issues that are important to your constituents – but avoid rolling around in the social media mud.

That does not mean elected officials shouldn’t have their own mind – or be constantly swayed by which side screams the loudest, or kowtowed by blowhards like me, who have all day to nitpick decisions and complain, ad nauseum – and they should not be afraid to make difficult decisions, knowing that honest mistakes aren’t always politically fatal.

And they should not become subservient to the social and civic elite with the wherewithal to externally manipulate the political system with massive campaign contributions as a means of seeking a return on investment.

Do the right thing, dammit – for the right reasons – even if it means going against your “colleagues” on the dais of power.  (Never forget – they’re just as confused as you are.)

Be open to outside counsel.

Remain attentive to the voice of your constituents and never succumb to the arrogance of power and trappings of office that breed a false sense of infallibility.

Stay humble.

If you ever – even once – find yourself uttering the words, “Do you know who I am?” – in any context – resign immediately. . .

You cannot be all things to all people.  But you can be kind to those who voted for you – and those who didn’t.

It takes just as much time during a public meeting to be remembered as an attentive representative as it does to be labeled an arrogant shithead – and political grudges or personal agendas waste precious time.

Remember, 99.999% of those you represent simply want someone to listen.

Respect the process.

The “staff” are career civil servants with families, professionals with a true desire to provide effective and efficient essential services to your constituents.  They are dutybound to serve the people’s representatives with equal enthusiasm.  Listen to what they have to say – and never compromise them for political expediency.

Set a good personal example.

Be a role model who embodies community standards, serve in the finest traditions of the public service, and become a mentor to others who seek elective office.

Look outside the box and challenge the status quo.

Search for new and innovative ways to serve your constituents and refuse to accept administrative stagnation and foot-dragging.

Read Florida’s Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees and abide by it – its not a suggestion – it’s the law.

If you were born a congenital asshole like me – then find someone with the personal qualities and moral courage you respect and emulate them.

As an elected official who took an oath to serve others – make honor and integrity a way of life.

There.  I’ll get off my soapbox. . .

Now, we must be willing to meet our elected officials halfway.

Rather than be sucked into the pit of malaise and apathy that lumps all elected officials into the same scum bucket, I tend to look at the individual and their record over time – because I have known some exceptional servant-leaders who, by their personal example, improved the community, maintained the public trust, and elevated the art and science of public policy design.

I hope you will join me in wiping the proverbial slate clean for our first-time elected officials – and those who have been returned to office on their merits, rather than the size of their campaign account – as they gain experience, learn the role, and, hopefully, continue to respect the voter’s confidence in their vision and abilities.

They deserve the opportunity for a fresh start – and so do We, The People.

At least until their words, actions and policy decisions prove otherwise. . .

When that happens, I will be standing ready to call foul, and protect our quality of life through my old-fashioned notion of political accountability – I hope you will, too.

After all, that is how our democratic system and our inalienable freedom of self-expression is supposed to work.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the challenges of a global pandemic – amid a backdrop of social unrest, political polarization, and the rise of radical ideologies that seeks to destroy our system of governance – a national nervous breakdown – thousands of Volusia County voters cast their ballot yesterday and let their voices be heard.

Once again, the system worked – and I want to extend my sincere appreciation to all candidates and voters who participated in this sacred process – that includes our intrepid Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis, her impressive staff, and legion of volunteers who make it all work, maintaining the public trust by ensuring the integrity of our elections.

The bedrock principle of our American democracy – that all power is derived from the consent of the governed – is rooted in the conduct of fair elections – “one citizen, one vote,” the purely American concept of political egalitarianism.

Each vote carries equal weight, and, in theory, an equality of representation through political accountability.

At least it should.

Now, as most you know, I’m a cynical asshole – but I don’t (yet) subscribe to the maxim often attributed to Mark Twain which says, “If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.”

It does make a difference.

I still believe voting is the most important civic responsibility that citizens of a free and democratic society have – because it separates citizens from subjects and ensures our basic rights under the law – which permits blowhards like me the freedom to vent my frustrations, call out basic unfairness and challenge the close-knit plutocracy that continues to erode and manipulate our democratic system in Volusia County.

Our system both unites us in the common goal of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people – and divides us among party lines and various political philosophies.

Hell, if nothing else, the electoral process secures our right to complain, right?

In my view, if, through apathy, lethargy, or cynicism, you fail to cast a ballot – then you forfeit the right to criticize the very government that demands your hard-earned tax dollars and sets public policy that controls our lives and livelihoods.

Yesterday’s primary sorted the wheat from the chaff – paring down the field – setting the stage for the final contests on election day, and for the most part, I was encouraged by the results.

Several races were decided last night.

In a few key contests, candidates that I supported acquitted themselves well – and I feel all self-congratulatory this morning, because I rarely get it right. . .

For instance, the impressive Danny Robins, easily took the Volusia County Council District 3 seat, with an energetic Matt Metz outright winning the hard-fought Public Defender race, while County Judge Chris Miller was returned to the bench.

In municipal races, my dear friend Bill Hall was reelected Mayor of South Daytona – as was hard-working Mayor Don Burnette in the City of Port Orange.

Unfortunately, in the City of Daytona Beach, the incumbent Monarchical Mayor Derrick “Il Duce” Henry was returned to office after claiming slightly over half of the 12,152 votes cast in that race (from a population of over 70,000. . .)

I felt that Mayor Henry’s challengers, Ken Strickland and Sherrise Boyd, ran principled and committed campaigns which drew a bright light to the myriad issues facing this challenged community – standing firm to their conviction that the people of Daytona Beach deserved better.

They can both be proud of the effort.

So, in my view, the subjects of the Duchy of Daytona Beach have no one to blame for the stagnation and malignant blight that continues to consume the Halifax area’s core tourist strip, Main Street, Mid-Town, Downtown, East ISB, beachside/westside, etc., etc. – while Mayor Henry continues to do as he is told by his wealthy handlers and champions the unchecked sprawl on Boomtown Boulevard and beyond.

Clearly, the vast majority of Daytona Beach residents oppose being forced to drink recycled sewage as their municipal government maxes out its permitted share of our fragile aquifer – even as it facilitates more residential and commercial development on our sensitive wetlands west of I-95 – so why do they continue to bend over and take it?

Repeatedly.  Again, and again and again?

Whatever.  The 6,090 who took the time to reelect Mayor Henry sealed the majority’s fate. . .

Last evening, we also learned that the grassroots campaign of Jeff “Plan B” Brower is seriously threatening the entrenched status quo as voters in the all-important Volusia County Chair race made it clear that there is some shit we won’t eat – and proved Dishonest Deb Denys isn’t going to sail into the catbird seat on a sea of insider money.

In an incredible showing, Jeff Brower flogged the incumbent darling of the Big Money set – soundly beating her by 4,706 votes in the primary – yet failing to reach the tipping point of 50% plus one that would have carried the day.

Now, the gloves come off.

You can bet your sweet bippy there are some high-level confabs taking place today as the Denys campaign licks its gaping wounds and decides on a no-holds-barred strategy that will simultaneously cloak her abysmal record of political cowardice and kowtowing, and use her sizable war chest to sound advantage.

That is, if Deb’s uber-wealthy sugar daddies in the real estate development industry decide they still want to throw good money after bad in the general election. . .

You can bet they will.

When it comes to ensuring a place at the public trough and buying influence with massive campaign contributions – nobody does it better than the East Volusia Elite who continue to control everything but the ebb and flow of the Atlantic tides on Florida’s Fun Coast.

The stakes just got a whole lot higher.

After all, who else is going to carry the water for speculative developers and the entrenched insiders as their puppets on the dais of power begin to go away, eh?

Despite yesterday’s outstanding results – now is not the time to let our packs hit the ground.

I encourage everyone to keep a close eye on the County Chair race – this one’s important – and given the competing interests in this presidential election year, you can bet the turnout will be far greater than what we saw yesterday.

Please show your personal and financial support for Jeff Brower’s energized campaign to take back Volusia County government and ensure a bright and equitable future for all citizens.

Learn how you can help at www.jeffbrowervcc1.com

The fight continues.