Believe in a Better Pensacola mailer
Below is the mailer many will soon be receiving from pro-charter group Believe in a Better Pensacola. The mailer features the endorsements of three sitting members of the Pensacola City Council, Mayor Emeritus John Fogg, and numerous community leaders.
The mailer lays out the group’s case in support of the proposed charter, arguing that the proposed charter provides better leadership and accountability, and highlighting the charter’s additions of term limits and recall and initiative provisions.
Believe in a Better Pensacola mailer
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Nancy Fetterman: Nice lady but doesn’t vote in the city.
John Fogg: Testified to CRC in June 2008 recommending a full-time Leadership Mayor Council-Manager form of government like they have in Austin, Texas. Has now decided he was wrong back then but is on the right side of the issue now.
Scott Remington: A stylish dresser (dig the bow ties) and front man for Escambia All For One. Desires the elimination of the present City of Pensacola. Said consolidated government wouldn’t work in Santa Rosa or Okaloosa Counties because they have too many governments. Claimed we’ll “never” have “any” economic development without a consolidated government. Cut the chamber “some” slack!
Larry Hicks: Head of this faction and one of six CRC member who openly said he wants a consolidated government.
Sam Hall: Political consigliere to Strong Mayor and Consolidated Government agenda-plotting factions and unofficial mini-mayor and political kingmaker. Received major campaign contributions from CRC Chairwoman Crystal Spencer’s husband, law partner and their business partner. Gave them a freebie by accusing the UWF independent consultant to the CRC of “character assassination” when he tried to describe the CRC process to the council. “We (the council) can’t take the truth!”
Maren DeWeese: Disappointing she doesn’t believe the citizens deserve to read the still missing CRC Final Report. Also doesn’t believe the citizens should be allowed to speak to the CMPA Board of Trustees during public meetings. Thinks all city taxpayers should be on the hook for the baseball stadium. Presume her views will be unchanged in a new government. Husband Jeff is part of this gang and #1 Pelicans fan. Nothing like ten seats for every fan at the ball game.
Larry Johnson: Likes “Green.” So I guess he’s not neutral on this charter issue (“beige”) after all.
Robert Lepinay: Marcus Pointe neighbor of Strong Mayor/Consolidated Government guru/spokesman John Peacock. Recently wrote a PNJ Viewpoint in which he urged us to adopt a Strong Mayor form of government like they have in Greenville, South Carolina. Apparently unaware, perhaps no access to the Internet, that Greenville has the exact same Council-Manager form of government he proposes we city folk dump. They have no term limits, the same mayor since 1995 and I think 5 of 7 council members are ladies. Go Greenville! That place rocks.
Mrs. Whibbs: Probably doesn’t know but doubt she appreciated Bob Holmes and John Peacock lecturing the council that her husband wasn’t a “Strong” Mayor because the Council-Manager form of government made it impossible for him to be a leader.
The Good News: If the charter passes it can easily be amended. Retroactive eight year term limits will bring even more energy. Eliminating the two at-large seats will give the remaining seven even more political power! We can put back that the citizens can challenge new taxes imposed without our consent! We can even get rid of lifetime state pensions for part-time council members serving at least six years. Yeah Charter!
This is an incredible group of people! Shows the broad base of support that Charter has, unlike the “other group”. CJ’s comments illustrate how out of touch he is with the people of Pensacola.
Janes S. — this “incredible group” has money & wants to spend it to buy our city government. Those against having a strong mayor don’t have the money to send out flyers & put up huge signs around the city. I can’t identify with those you consider incredible. They wouldn’t give me the time of day because I don’t have the money to buy my way into their group.
From CJ Lewis Announcement that he was running for Mayor
Why I’m running?
First, I believe the city council needs to give more than lip service to its stated but mostly ignored top goal: “Improve communications between citizens and government.” I don’t believe that cutting the Neighborhood Leadership Academy and Citizen’s Police Academy, cutting the simple monthly Neighborhood Notes newsletter, allowing city staff to operate an archaic webpage, etc. show much commitment to both keeping the public informed and actively soliciting their input. It’s our city, they work for us. Would also want to see all board, authority and commission charters reviewed and/or amended to ensure they were authorized to proactively provide unsolicited advice and guidance to the city council. Right now the city staff mantra is that these extensions of the city council are best seen but not heard, unless directly asked a very specific question posed by or approved by city staff. Citizens volunteer their time and energy to serve their community and should do far more than just rubber stamp city staff recommendations. The city council should also look at all meeting times & locations seeking to encourage great citizen attendance and/or input. Let’s try having some city council meetings on at least a few days and times in the year when it’s reasonably convenient for regular people, like a quarterly meeting on a Saturday afternoon at a community center or gym within rotating districts, etc. All city council and board/authority/commission meetings should be televised or immediately available on-demand via a broadband link. Sarasota, Greenville, Ashville, etc. can all figure this out and so can Pensacola.
Second, the city council budget focus should be more comprehensive than just looking only at cuts volunteered by city staff. I’m wasn’t aware of the city council having a single original idea during the recent budget workshop, at least none for which they could muster six votes, and basically they just rubber stamped what was presented by city staff. The recent $4.7M cuts were an easy first round. Every line item in each department budget should be carefully reviewed, maybe by a new board created specifically to provide an independent citizen assessment of how their money is being spent. Procedures and policies should be scrutinized to eliminate those which promote inefficiencies, or fail to give front-line city workers the authorities they need to do their jobs. A significant proportion of Penny for Progress funds, perhaps 85%, should be spent for “bricks & mortar” projects which will last for generations, not just police cars that wear out at 120,000 miles. Fire pumpers & ladder trucks or very expensive sanitation trucks are appropriate vehicle expenditures using these monies but should be the exception. Future city staff cuts, if any, should be focused at the top, not at the bottom where they have the greatest negative impact on the citizens, e.g. Parks & Recreation Department cuts leading to citizens being given litter sticks to pick up trash in the parks, etc.
Third, the Pensacola city council needs to focus on the City of Pensacola. We need to develop our unique brand so families want to live in the city not just near it. There may be 25 zip codes where mail is delivered to a Pensacola, Florida address but most of them are outside the city limits and in Unincorporated Escambia County. Pensacola has become a negative growth community which encourages flight to the suburbs. Every city policy and program should be scrutinized to assess whether or not it attracts people and business to come to or remain in the city. City of Pensacola Small Business Enterprise designation should be limited to city businesses, not a two county Pensacola Metropolitan Statistical Area. “Future” city employees should be required to reside within the city limits.
Fourth, Pensacola should implement coherent environmental policies and aspire to become “Florida’s Green City.” Let’s figure out the recycling equation, to include working with ECUA to provide economic incentives for a recovered glass recycling facility to locate in this region, so the glass isn’t just ground up and used for county roads, and let’s recycle green waste, and let’s do it within budget, without extra recycling fees which discourage participation and/or breed citizen resentment. Other municipalities have had recycling programs for decades, it isn’t hard. The city council also needs to restore the Environmental Administrator position it just eliminated, the only city staff position solely focused on environmental issues. If the Community Development Department really wants nothing to do with environmental issues then put the position or maybe even multiple positions a small special staff department reporting directly to the City Manager. Empower the city council’s Environmental Advisory Board and force city staff to proactively bring them into the loop on all environmental issues impacting city residents. They shouldn’t have been the next to last to find out about the East Hill recycling pilot project, the last being the city council itself.
That’s a start.
Semper Fi,
CJ Lewis
Christopher J. Lewis
Dang, these are great ideas. Too bad Council cant do them under our current form of government. Illegal. Misdemeanors.
You should be Strong Mayor….ohhh…I forgot….You are agsainst it
Jane S.
Just to recap the Charge to the CRC was:
I. Charge of the Charter Review Commission
The City of Pensacola Charter Review Commission is charged with the task of undertaking a comprehensive review of the Charter of the City of Pensacola. The CRC shall make recommendations to the City Council at the conclusion of its deliberations. The CRC is authorized to make recommendations regarding any and all issues related to the amendment of existing provisions of the Charter, the deletion of existing provisions, or creation of new provisions. The City Council has chosen not to limit the scope of the CRC’s authority with regard to these matters.
The CRC shall prepare its recommendations for amendments, deletions, or new provisions as a single item in a final report to the City Council. The CRC shall not issue interim or partial recommendations to the City Council.
The final report of recommendations of the CRC shall be approved by a vote of not less than seven (7) members of the CRC.
Now if you go to the City of Pensacola’s web site what you see bold and clear is “City of Pensacola Final Report/Revised Charter Released: 10/13/2009:”
I ask you or your so called “incredible group of people” where in any of these documents is a report? A report that articulates the different forms of governance, the pros and cons of each and most importantly an objective assessment as to why the “Strong Mayor” is the best alternative for the City of Pensacola Tax Payers!!!
That’s what I a City of Pensacola voter expect to see. But, no, we have not a report; we have a proposal for a new form of government. So to me you and your “incredible group of people” are yet again out there to pull the wool over the voter’s eyes, bait and switch, treat us like mushrooms.
You say Mr. Lewis illustrates how out of touch he is with the people of Pensacola. How about you take a look in the mirror!
I VOTE NO!!!
I will be spending my weekend knocking on all my neighbor’s doors and taking with every City of Pensacola Voter that I know or run across and state my VOTE NO POSITION and encourage to do the same until such time as there is a report that clearly demonstrates all options!!!!
We didn’t get a review.
This incredible group of volunteers wrote us up a new form of government proposal.
imagine-people had the audacity to claim Ms. Spencer had another agenda just because her husband’s partner was Ray Russenberger who developed the vibrant go to place-Palafox Pier CRA plan with retail shops and restaurants,
and after an exhaustive search, that is where we found our last CRA director- an architect working for for R. R.
Oh wait, that CRA plan ……
“When you swim in the sea/And an eel bites your knee/That’s a moray”