As our community waits for the next shoe to drop in the investigation by federal authorities of local government actions, it is time for elected officials to answer some basic questions.
It is true, that in a court of law everyone is innocent until proven guilty. However, to maintain the credibility of government institutions, public servants and elected officials should answer basic questions about pressing issues.
Their failure to do so erodes confidence in our system of government.
The off the record statements by a number of people close to the investigation indicate Tallahassee has a real problem.
This coupled with the subpoenas recently delivered to city hall and the public statements about the breadth of the investigation raises the level of concern about the actions of some of our elected officials.
It is unfair for this community to be saddled with public officials who are hiding actions that have not yet been deemed illegal, but raise questions about their ability to serve.
It is time for all elected officials to answer the following questions:
Over the last two years have you taken any trips to Las Vegas on a private plane with developers interested in CRA projects and/or people named in the subpoenas?
If yes, what was the purpose of the trip?
Over the last two years have you taken any trips to New York city on a private plane with developers interested in CRA projects and/or, people named in the subpoenas?
If yes, what was the purpose of the trip?
Over the last two years have any of your family members been hired by developers or lobbyists with an interest in CRA developments?
The bottom line is that waiting on federal indictments is no way to determine if our elected officials are fit for office.
It may be an appropriate legal strategy for private citizens to lawyer up and ignore the media, but our elected officials owe the community more. We have entrusted them to conduct public business for the public good.
If our elected officials desire the privilege afforded private citizens, they should resign. Public service requires a higher standard.
Stewart’s Blog: Commissioner, were you on a flight to Las Vegas? added by Staff on
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How certain are you about these trips actually taking place? Then, what is the likelihood that the FBI is aware of these trips?
Bruce they have a special place for people like you, It’s called Chattahoochee. If you will give us your full name and address we will send help ASAP.
Todd & Bruce…why don’t both of you go spread your senseless trolling somewhere else. You both have no other means of communication than to throw the proverbial mud without one shred of facts. And Todd, was there some point when you dipped a toe in the political water here locally? Or do you just go around and shout from the sidelines because of your own fear of no one showing up to cast a vote for you and your paltry view?
Gee Steve… Why not just run again and lose like u always do… Ur apocalypse look at the city sucks… Losers like u will always be a loser… But Britebart might hire u…
The process and procedures for Historic Preservation Overlay rezoning were revamped to create the appearance of far more control by property owners.
There remains the rights of your neighbors to rezone your property. There is no way to opt out.
There remains the HUGE loophole of unilateral (with no-recourse) HPO rezoning by a majority of the city commissioners.
If Historic hysteria arrives in your neighborhood, you will not come out of it unscathed. Not in Tallahassee.
https://tallahasseereports.com/2011/07/04/billion-dollar-theft-planned-by-city/
It might be illuminating to current readers of TR that the FBI became interested in RICO activity in Tallahassee government at about the time of the above linked article which was published July 4, 2011.
Thanks for the link, Mark. That is indeed a very frightening story – that the city could take away all your property rights by designating your neighborhood a “Historic District” and thus controlling every tiny detail of your property and rights to do anything with it. Sadly, I live in one of the areas that could get this treatment (not Lafayette Park) and I’m wondering if I should finally just pull up stakes and leave Tallahassee before this scam decends on my neighborhood.
Do you or Steve know where this is at now? Was the ARB reformed and/or city code changes made to prevent this from happening, or is it still looming out there?
My best friend Scott Maddox and his sidekick Andrew Gillum were never ready for the big time – only the big house!
I am looking forward to sitting in my private seats in the Champions Club and watching some FSU football. However, I am even more excited about watching the vacation videos that the FBI has of Scott and his crime family in Las Vegas from my front row seat at his trial! FBI videos with Mike Miller and Gillum in New York should be equally entertaining! I told the FBI I don’t want a thank you, I only want a front tow seat at their federal trials!!!
I’m loving this Steve. Keep on digging!!
If it happens in Vegas…
…It’ll stay in Tallahassee Reports!
Great point! Now let’s impeach Trump!
Why?
Trump has done nothing even remotely illegal.
In spite if the Progressive whining, Trump still enjoys the broad support of the citizens who duly elected him. Deal with it. We dealt with Obama for 8 years. Now it’s your turn to “sit in the back of the bus”, as your messiah once said.
Ah, the hypocrisy of this site’s readers emerges yet again.
It’s already proven that Trump is using his office to enrich himself. Of course you don’t care what he does because he is a Republican. But if a COT commissioner buys a house, it’s a huge outrage and scandal.
You have no ethical high ground to criticize anyone if you still support Trump.
Are you really that brain washed!
I would say he is that brainwashed
Brainwashed? If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.
Sad, sad, sad…
Bruce…what proof? What has been proven? If you are referring to the only story I know of – hotel related – you know nothing of the law and of conflict of interest or a host of other issues. It is not any kind of conflict if anyone, in or out of the government stay at Trump properties and pay fair market rates. There is no benefit, etc. Now, if you know of something else, drop it out here…if not, troll elsewhere. Tallahassee’s issues stand, or fall, on their own. These issues have been documented by the public record. Not inuendo or political bias…facts. Did Dozier do something illegal? My hunch is we will see…did she do something ethically wrong. Absolutely.
Preston, glad to see I upset you. You and I both know the proof is there. More and more comes out each and every day, and no, I’m not going to recite it to you either. You know how Trump conducts himself in office is ethically wrong and likely ilegal. Same with plenty of other politicians YOU support. Does Rick Scott ring a bell? Why did he take the Fifth again?
Here’s my point, Preston. It’s not that the COT has behaved illegally. They have and should face the consequences. My issue is the double standard many readers of this site share when it comes to holding Republican politicians accountable as well.
And no, I’m not going to go “troll” somewhere else. If you don’t like what I have to say, you can either ignore it or debate it. I will give you some credit on trying to articulate a response, but you didn’t really argue anything. You made an absolute statement, which we both know is false. Accusations of collusion, violations of the emoluments clause, and misconduct in office are not going to go away. The question is are people like yourself going to stand for one side and one alone, or will you take a balanced approach?
The choice is yours, Preston.
Bruce – your mind is fixedly made up on Trump, you desperately WANT to believe this unsupported-by-facts garbage about his hotel in DC and the emoluments clause. Since you so desperately want to believe it, it must be true – just as all the Lib Dems in DC are crying. But what has to be presented is incontrovertible proof, and none has been found so far. Certainly not to the point of a case. Same with the ridiculous “Russia Collusion” investigation. All that Dem outrage while they utterly ignore the proven and documented “Pay for Play” scheme run by Hillary and Bill. If Trump had smashed Blackberries laying around and illegal email servers stuffed in bathrooms somewhere in Denver, you and the Dems and CNN would be howling for his blood, but since it the Devine Ms. Hillary, there’s “nothing to see here”. So this hypocrisy you decry seems to cut both ways, there’s no denying that. One thing is inarguably true: Hillary nor obama could withstand one-tenth of the investigative and journalistic digging that Trump has thus far. obama’s documented past is still locked away and hidden, and lib journalists utterly ignored that and they still attack anyone who won’t. Where is the “hypocrisy” you detest now? You increasingly sound like Maxine Waters with her “Impeach Trump” screeching.
I completely agree with you that Republicans who are committing corruption and/or enriching themselves with the advantages of their position deserve to be prosecuted and punished, just as Dems who are corrupt. Political affiliation is no excuse for wrongdoing, period. I’d convict one of them as quickly as a Dem who was proven guilty.
However, this publication and website are generally about local issues and we waste space by going far afield – there are plenty of other sites dealing with the national and state issues you want to discuss. If you want to “troll” and disrupt and criticize other TR commenters, you are simply the digital equivalent of a Soros-paid street or town hall protester. If your intent is to disrupt, you’re accomplishing that, but little else.
Looks like CNN is missing one of their twenty or so steady viewers, since one has time to recite their deluded mantra here at TR.
Whenever reporting of corruption shines lights where liberals don’t want it, the trolls report for duty. Can’t wait for this scandal involving Debbie Wasser-whatever and the DNC’s pet Pakistani Programmers to break wide open. More smashed hard drives, anyone?
Great reporting TR, and I imagine your same questions will later be asked in court, along with many others. The atmosphere at City Hall must be tense, to say the least. Long overdue.
So just because I disrupted your little anti-COT pep rally, I’m automatically a liberal. Once again, this site’s readers reveal their hypocrisy. You don’t know what my views are because I have never stated them. You assume I’m a liberal just because I mentioned that some commenters are hypocritical, and that’s not the case.
I’m more or less a moderate. You know, the people that agree with both sides on various issues.
I originally started reading TR because of the Democrat’s lousy reporting on city hall, but the level of hatred hurled towards the other side is appalling. Liberals are not your enemy, and they are not going to destroy this country anymore than conservatives are.
Heard there were a few elected officials on those flights.