'Ro' Cuchens Leadership

[coppertone10]

Be informed!

If you are the type of person who is an informed voter please take time to read this. This is information from Commissioner Comander.

From Sara Comander...

Election season acts on some people like catnip. It makes them go all crazy and loopy.
Over the last couple of months, you may have heard and read some pretty outlandish things about me. My friends know better, but I realize that a lot of people do not know me and they might wrongly assume that whatever they?ve heard is true.

With that in mind, here are the facts.

I have been accused of not embracing transparency and accountability because the entire board voted to increase the fees for making copies of public records. The change was long overdue because our rates only included the clerk?s hourly wage and did not include their benefits. The board felt the person requesting the information should bear the cost and not the taxpayer.

The increases are different depending on the time needed to process the request. The bigger the request, the longer it takes and more expensive it becomes to process them. Though higher than before, the fees are not exorbitant and are governed by Florida Statutes.

I have been accused of falsely signing documents regarding our compliance with public records laws. Mr. Pridgen, Mr. Brannon and Mr. Jones and I have all signed the same document, the same as every other commission chairman, based on clear assurances by the Clerk of Courts staff, which keep and maintain our meeting minutes and documents. The Clerk?s office was then and is now in compliance with Florida?s public records laws, so the certification was correct.

As for the resulting lawsuit, meeting transcripts prove that I was in favor of processing and delivering the records that were requested. However, the county attorney strongly advised the board to engage in the lawsuit ? until just days before the trial was set to begin, at which time he advised us to settle. That attorney no longer works for the county. Part of the settlement allowed one resort property to keep its umbrellas and chairs on the beach overnight.

Regarding health insurance for my family, after being elected, I was told by the county Human Resources Department that health care for my husband was a standard benefit for commissioners, so I accepted it. I was already a county employee so I had no paperwork to sign. When I learned that, although it is a legal and allowable benefit, the county staff member did not have the authority to authorize the benefit, I immediately canceled the insurance - quietly and without fanfare. I did not wait to announce my decision in a public meeting or notify anyone other than HR.

I have worked for 40 years in Walton County to build a reputation for trust, honesty and integrity and there is nothing that would make me abandon my lifelong ethics and values.
If you have any questions, thoughts or concerns, please contact me any time at 850-830-1661.

 

[idlewind]

I like the soft sell on the " Part of the settlement allowed one resort property to keep its umbrellas and chairs on the beach overnight." If you read teh BEach Breeze article on the subject it is clear that the commissioners including Ms. "I don't Know" were intimidated by testifying in open court after Gaetz tore them up in depositions and gave Edgewater carte blanche to do whatever they want on the beach. If you give those rights to one landowner I can't see how you can't give them to all. What makes it even worse is the fact that if they had waited a couple of months the Supreme Court ruling would have greatly bolstered their case. In the words of a great American, they had no cojones to fight on. But they do have the nerve to claim they are protecting turtles and helping the tourist industry.

 

[Andy A]

You know, Idlewind, there is plenty of blame in the Edgewater case to go around. It is the same with any decision facing the Commission. You might want to consider running for the office yourself since you appear to be, as many others are, unhappy with the decisions being made by the present board.
I agree with you about land use rights. I do not agree that any part of the beach should belong to one person or group of persons. It is, IMO, there for all to use. Yet, here we have the HCP (Habitat Conservation Plan) being literally pushed down the throats of beachfront property owners and the Commission asked to assist in that endevour. Its not easy being a Commissioner and they will make mistakes and every decision made by them will have its detractors. I have observed them frequently the last seven years, and find that considering all the various problems they have to deal with, overall, they do a creditable job.

 

[idlewind]

You know, Idlewind, there is plenty of blame in the Edgewater case to go around. It is the same with any decision facing the Commission. You might want to consider running for the office yourself since you appear to be, as many others are, unhappy with the decisions being made by the present board.
I agree with you about land use rights. I do not agree that any part of the beach should belong to one person or group of persons. It is, IMO, there for all to use. Yet, here we have the HCP (Habitat Conservation Plan) being literally pushed down the throats of beachfront property owners and the Commission asked to assist in that endevour. Its not easy being a Commissioner and they will make mistakes and every decision made by them will have its detractors. I have observed them frequently the last seven years, and find that considering all the various problems they have to deal with, overall, they do a creditable job.

Would it be so hard for them to say what they stand for in an open meeting? Every single one of them says they are against big government and every single one of them continue to support it by their votes. I can say whatever I want to but what really matters is how I vote.

 

[idlewind]

You know, Idlewind, there is plenty of blame in the Edgewater case to go around. It is the same with any decision facing the Commission. You might want to consider running for the office yourself since you appear to be, as many others are, unhappy with the decisions being made by the present board.
I agree with you about land use rights. I do not agree that any part of the beach should belong to one person or group of persons. It is, IMO, there for all to use. Yet, here we have the HCP (Habitat Conservation Plan) being literally pushed down the throats of beachfront property owners and the Commission asked to assist in that endevour. Its not easy being a Commissioner and they will make mistakes and every decision made by them will have its detractors. I have observed them frequently the last seven years, and find that considering all the various problems they have to deal with, overall, they do a creditable job.

Who can afford to run for office? The huge amounts of money required to be competitive requires either a sellout or being independently wealthy. Besides I have to work for a living in order to pay the tax bill.:shock:

 

[Alicia Leonard]

Who can afford to run for office? The huge amounts of money required to be competitive requires either a sellout or being independently wealthy. Besides I have to work for a living in order to pay the tax bill.:shock:

Maybe we should go into the political sign printing business. They seem to do well this time of year

 

[idlewind]

Maybe we should go into the political sign printing business. They seem to do well this time of year

You may be onto something. I am down with making money anytime.

 

[TreeFrog]

Wait until you see the ads coming out on Aug 17 -- "I don't know," citing Mrs. Comander's testimony. I could show you some video from last night's forum, and it looked just the opposite, with Commissioner Commander seeming to know quite a bit about county government, and Ro looking more stunned than anything. His answers to the panel's questions were rambling and reaching at best.

Is that video available online anywhere?

 

[Botes]

If you are the type of person who is an informed voter please take time to read this. This is information from Commissioner Comander.

From Sara Comander...

Election season acts on some people like catnip. It makes them go all crazy and loopy.
Over the last couple of months, you may have heard and read some pretty outlandish things about me. My friends know better, but I realize that a lot of people do not know me and they might wrongly assume that whatever they?ve heard is true.

With that in mind, here are the facts.

I have been accused of not embracing transparency and accountability because the entire board voted to increase the fees for making copies of public records. The change was long overdue because our rates only included the clerk?s hourly wage and did not include their benefits. The board felt the person requesting the information should bear the cost and not the taxpayer.

The increases are different depending on the time needed to process the request. The bigger the request, the longer it takes and more expensive it becomes to process them. Though higher than before, the fees are not exorbitant and are governed by Florida Statutes.

I have been accused of falsely signing documents regarding our compliance with public records laws. Mr. Pridgen, Mr. Brannon and Mr. Jones and I have all signed the same document, the same as every other commission chairman, based on clear assurances by the Clerk of Courts staff, which keep and maintain our meeting minutes and documents. The Clerk?s office was then and is now in compliance with Florida?s public records laws, so the certification was correct.

As for the resulting lawsuit, meeting transcripts prove that I was in favor of processing and delivering the records that were requested. However, the county attorney strongly advised the board to engage in the lawsuit ? until just days before the trial was set to begin, at which time he advised us to settle. That attorney no longer works for the county. Part of the settlement allowed one resort property to keep its umbrellas and chairs on the beach overnight.

Regarding health insurance for my family, after being elected, I was told by the county Human Resources Department that health care for my husband was a standard benefit for commissioners, so I accepted it. I was already a county employee so I had no paperwork to sign. When I learned that, although it is a legal and allowable benefit, the county staff member did not have the authority to authorize the benefit, I immediately canceled the insurance - quietly and without fanfare. I did not wait to announce my decision in a public meeting or notify anyone other than HR.

I have worked for 40 years in Walton County to build a reputation for trust, honesty and integrity and there is nothing that would make me abandon my lifelong ethics and values.
If you have any questions, thoughts or concerns, please contact me any time at 850-830-1661.

I appreciate Ms. Comander taking the time to address these issues, but recognized a common thread with all of her responses. She seems to bring somebody else's name into the issue. She mentions all the other chairs in her reasoning behind signing the report about the records. I am sure that none of the chairs really know how the Clerk's office keeps records, but she quickly pulls other names into the issue.
Also, with the settlement with Edgewater. She mentions the former county attorney as some how shifting in his advice. She claims that when she signed that report that WC was in accordance with State regulations on records retention. I agree with her on that, so why did she vote to settle a lawsuit if we were not in the wrong? The Herald's article on the settlement last week brings up some interesting questions. We, the taxpayers, got stuck paying something around $250,000 for something that could have gone to court with a high likelihood of a win.
I don't really like any of our options for D 4, but it speaks volumes when you are not able to stand alone for your decisions. People are not perfect. Our public officials will make decisions that we do not agree with, but they need to be strong enough to make decisions on their own, and to stand on those decisions even when it is not popular. That speaks to character which is lacking in today's politicians.

 

[coppertone10]

I think you may have misunderstood Comander's response. She didn't say that she signed the documents because everyone else had. She said she signed the documents because she had been assured by the Clerk's Office that their record-keeping was in compliance with state law. She mentioned that all other chairpersons had also signed the same document as a simple statement of fact, though she is the only one being crticized.

The attorney did change his advice. After weeks of urging that the county go to court, a few days before the trial, he suddenly told the commissioners to settle the suit. The commissioners followed the county attorney's advice because the lawsuit wasn't about whether the records were being kept properly. The lawsuit was about a request for records from the county that the county had not fulfilled.

Transcripts of the executive meeting show that Comander agreed to settle only because she feared that the cost of going to court and rolling the dice could potentially be much higher than the settlement. After all, the records request had not yet been satisfied. The question for commissioners was whether to settle for a specified amount or take a chance on a much heftier judgment, as well as attorney fees - that would all be paid with taxpayer dollars.
Though the commissioners followed their attorneys advice both times, it's interesting to note that the attorney no longer works for the county.

Comander has repeatedly displayed the courage of her convictions and has never been afraid to cast the dissenting vote. Don't take my word for it. Check the records for yourself.
The recently proposed millage and tax increase is a perfect example. Four commissioners voted yes, but one commissioner had the courage to stand alone and vote against raising taxes. That's what speaks volumes about her character.
This is the kind of integrity I want in local government. I only wish we had four more just like her.
My best advice is to call her and talk to her yourself. Then you'll know what I know - that she's the commissioner we keep.

I appreciate Ms. Comander taking the time to address these issues, but recognized a common thread with all of her responses. She seems to bring somebody else's name into the issue. She mentions all the other chairs in her reasoning behind signing the report about the records. I am sure that none of the chairs really know how the Clerk's office keeps records, but she quickly pulls other names into the issue.
Also, with the settlement with Edgewater. She mentions the former county attorney as some how shifting in his advice. She claims that when she signed that report that WC was in accordance with State regulations on records retention. I agree with her on that, so why did she vote to settle a lawsuit if we were not in the wrong? The Herald's article on the settlement last week brings up some interesting questions. We, the taxpayers, got stuck paying something around $250,000 for something that could have gone to court with a high likelihood of a win.
I don't really like any of our options for D 4, but it speaks volumes when you are not able to stand alone for your decisions. People are not perfect. Our public officials will make decisions that we do not agree with, but they need to be strong enough to make decisions on their own, and to stand on those decisions even when it is not popular. That speaks to character which is lacking in today's politicians.