At one point, Mr. Touart tells Mr. Valentino that fellow Commissioners Mike Whitehead and Grover Robinson will support the purchase of a certain parcel of land, indicating that he has spoken with each of them. Florida’s Sunshine Law prohibits individual from acting as conduits through which board members communicate with one another, or through which opinions of one board member about public business are passed to other board members. Mr. Touart even says to Commissioner Valentino, “You didn’t have this conversation with me,” indicating he knew he was doing something he shouldn’t.

Here’s the problematic exchange:

Mr. Valentino: George, I want you to know that if I vote for option two it’s going to cost me with the voters.

Mr. Touart: How can it cost you, Gene? How can it cost you? It’s the right thing to do. There’s only one side of the story being told. I can’t talk. The newspaper is persecuting and I can’t say a word. My lawyers are on top of this like white on rice and told me that if I open my mouth they’re not gonna represent me. Gene, I have done nothing wrong. I almost wish they would do an investigation so we could get this bullshit over with. There’s nothing wrong with that property. It’s the best piece of property. Mike and I talked about it yesterday. He’s gonna support the property. Between you and me, Grover’s gonna support the property.

Mr. Valentino: By the way, it’s in his district. Everyone thinks it’s in mine.

Mr. Touart: Mike and Grover are gonna support the property, I’ll just give you my word on that. And you didn’t have this conversation with me.

Mr. Valentino: I understand.

Mr. Touart: They’re gonna support the property. Keep in mind, Neil Nash is the one who talked Grover into running for office.

Mr. Valentino: Are you sure they’re going to support it? Because Whitehead was out on option three.

Mr. Touart: Yes.

Mr. Valentino: How do you know?

Mr. Touart: Because I talked to Whitehead yesterday. Mike wanted option three. I said Mike, forget it. I just want to get on with life. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep.

Here’s the audio again. The exchange starts around 13:45:

Audio: Valentino-Touart conversation

In the wake of Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino’s indictment, the rumor mill is spinning. Rick’s Blog is reporting one or more sources as saying Governor Charlie Crist will suspend Commissioner Valentino from office, even going so far as to discuss potential replacements. Florida law allows the governor to suspend or remove from office any public official indicted or convicted of a crime.

We hope there’s some truth to the rumour. Mr. Valentino, put simply, lacks the integrity we should demand of our elected officials. He has shown in the past to have no respect for Sunshine and public records laws. Now he’s accused of soliciting a campaign contribution from a businessman in his County Commission office.

Only in Escambia County would such issues not kill a re-election campaign.

Eight years after the soccer complex scandal which led to the removal of four of five Commissioners and the conviction of W. D. Childers, we still aren’t holding our elected officials to the higher standard we deserve and that is necessary to shake the perception of corruption that surrounds our County government. We doubt very much that yesterday’s indictment was the first time Commissioner Valentino crossed the line; more likely, it was simply the first time he got caught.

Mr. Valentino is alleged to have solicited a campaign contribution from businessman Dan Gilmore in his County Commission office last November 5.

Here’s the statute in question, s. 106.15(4):

No person shall make and no person shall solicit or knowingly accept any political contribution in a building owned by a governmental entity. For purposes of this subsection, “accept” means to receive a contribution by personal hand delivery from a contributor or the contributor’s agent. This subsection shall not apply when a government-owned building or any portion thereof is rented for the specific purpose of holding a campaign fund raiser.

Violation of the statute is a first degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

In a statement to the Pensacola News Journal, Commissioner Valentino denied the allegations:

I am angered by the continuous character assassination of me and my family over the last 12 months. I will stand strong in court with my family and defend myself and at the end of the day, you will find me innocent of all of these charges.

As Rick’s Blog points out, the Florida Constitution allows the governor to remove from office any public official indicted or convicted of a crime.

Promise presentation video. Rick’s Blog has the video from Monday’s presentation of the Pensacola Promise proposal to the City Council.

“How to kill an idea.” Rick Outzen criticises Pensacola City Council members for “destroying innovative ideas.” According to Mr. Outzen, “Instead of figuring out how to make the Pensacola Promise proposal better and make it work, they shred it apart.” The editorial features video of several critical Council members. Be sure to check out Councilman Ron Townsend’s clip, where he confesses he may have missed some information “while he was out getting a cracker.”

Mayoral candidate forum today. There’s a forum today for mayoral candidates hosted by the Women for Responsible Legislation. The forum runs from 11 AM-12:30 PM in the Hagler/Mason Conference Room, second floor, City Hall, 222 West Main Street.

O’Brien’s take on Promise discussion. PNJ columnist Mark O’Brien offers his take on Monday’s City Council discussion of the Councilwoman DeWeese’s Pensacola Promise proposal.

Grand jury meeting in Valentino case. A grand jury is set to convene today to consider charges against Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino. Mr. Valentino is suspected of soliciting campaign contributions from a contractor whose bid was before the Commission.

Tree fund. Mark O’Brien notes that there’s about $840,000 in the City’s Tree Fund, but no plan for when or how to spend it.

Water fluoridation. The PNJ reports on a debate about water fluoridation at yesterday’s meeting. Fluoridation has a troubled past in Pensacola, and now a group of anti-fluoride activists are pushing for ECUA to once again remove fluoride from the water system.

Cohen speaks to developers. Mark O’Brien covers CRA Director Thad Cohen’s speech to a group of developers and investors.

Commissioners’ phone records in Maplewood bid. The News Journal‘s Jamie Page continues his excellent reporting on the continuing saga of the County Commission’s botched bid process on a Maplewood drainage project. Mr. Page obtained Commissioners’ phone records, including several previously-undisclosed calls from contractor Roads Inc. to Commissioner Gene Valentino. What was discussed in the calls? “I don’t recall,” says Valentino.

Recycling program going well. The News Journal‘s Troy Moon checks out the County’s recycling facility and discusses the City’s mandatory curbside recycling program, which was implemented last year. The City’s recycling program currently has a diversion rate of about 19.1%, which translates into around 74 tons of material which each week is recycled rather than ending up in the landfill.

Poker room opening soon. The Pensacola Greyhound Track is set to open a 25-table poker room this Wednesday. The project has been controversial, initially getting voted down by the County Commission before a reversal allowed the project to go forward. So far, the poker room has hired about 90 employees, and could hire more.

Police union protests tennis courts. Officers of the Pensacola Police Department picketed outside the Roger Scott Tennis Centre Friday during the unveiling of 10 new clay tennis courts. The officers’ union feels that the money would have been better spent on the Police Department, as officers have gone without raises and the Department has faced budget cuts. The officers may have been misguided, though, in their choice of a protest venue; the funding for the tennis courts came from Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) revenue, which must be used for capital projects and expenses rather than salaries.

Commissioner Valentino initially told Pensacola News Journal reporter Jamie Page that the November 24 meeting was not about Roads Inc.’s bid on the Maplewood project but rather an opportunity for him to seek Mr. Rawson’s support for an upcoming reelection campaign. Florida law bars candidates for office from using government buildings or resources in furtherance of their campaigns and specifically prohibits the solicitation of campaign donations in government buildings.

Commissioner Valentino later backtracked, saying that he only told Mr. Rawson that he wished to speak to him about the campaign at a later date.

The News Journal also published yesterday a statement from Commissioner Valentino on the issue.

Mr. Page’s first report on Thursday raised concerns that Commissioner Valentino had sought campaign contributions from his Commission office, which would violate state campaign finance law:

“The meeting was not about this bid issue,” Valentino said. “I was going to seek their campaign help. I am on the political campaign trail now and I have to go out and get political support. He (Rawson) was one of a list of 75 to 100 local contractors and architects and engineers I was planning to talk to (for support).”

s. 106.15(4) Florida Statutes prohibits candidates from using government buildings to solicit political contributions:

No person shall make and no person shall solicit or knowingly accept any political contribution in a building owned by a governmental entity. For purposes of this subsection, “accept” means to receive a contribution by personal hand delivery from a contributor or the contributor’s agent. This subsection shall not apply when a government-owned building or any portion thereof is rented for the specific purpose of holding a campaign fund raiser.

Commissioner Valentino backtracked over the weekend, telling Mr. Page that he had misspoken, and he hadn’t discussed campaign support at that meeting:

“I admit it to you, I did say it, but it was inaccurate. I misspoke,” he said. He said he actually only told Rawson that he wanted to talk to him later about campaign support.

“I may have given the impression that I had Cody Rawson in my office for campaign contributions. But what happened, I told him ‘I will talk to you after hours about the campaign, not now.’”

If the meeting wasn’t about the Maplewood bid, and it wasn’t about Commissioner Valentino’s campaign, what exactly was the 45-minute meeting about?

The fundraising leader is District 2 incumbent Gene Valentino with $14,310 in contributions. District 4 incumbent Grover C. Robinson IV raised $6,760. District 2 challenger Robert Kelley raised $100, while two other District 2 challengers, Andy Kowalski and Scott Gauvin, reported no contributions.

Reports for District 2 challengers George Touart and Karen Sindel are not yet available.

Gene Valentino

Mr. Valentino, the incumbent in the District 2 race, raised $14,310, including a $1,000 loan from himself, and 15 separate legal maximum donations of $500.

Significant donors include:

• Julian MacQueen, who gave $2,000 via four companies (Perdido Key RV Resort, Perdido Hospitality, Seaside Hospitality, and CCR Hospitality)
• James Cronley of developer Terhaar & Cronley, $500
• Ray Russenberger, $500

Some statistics:

• $3,175 (22%) of the contributions came from businesses, with the remainder from individuals.
• Excluding Mr. Valentino’s self-loan, the average contribution was around $118.
• Of the contributions, $4,405 (33%) was collected from 18 donors outside of Escambia County.

The full finance report is included below (or download pdf):

ValentinoBOCC2-Q4finance

Grover C. Robinson IV

Mr. Robinson, the District 4 incumbent, raised $6,760, including a $500 donation from himself. He also collected nearly $4,000 in in-kind contributions.

Other donors giving the $500 legal maximum include:

• Rodney Rich, insurance firm owner
• Tammy Bohannon, real estate agent
• Fred and Susie Donovan, $500 each
• Cody Rawson/Rawson & Co. (also owns Roads, Inc.)

Some statistics:

• $1,380 (20%) of the contributions came from businesses, with the remainder from individuals. Additionally, engineering firm Baskerville-Donovan gave $498.39 in in-kind contributions, labelled as “postage, printing, and food.”
• Excluding Mr. Robinson’s own $500 and in-kind contributions, the average contribution was about $202.
• Of the contributions, $1,130 (17%) was collected from 7 donors outside of Escambia County.

The full finance report is included below (or download pdf):

RobinsonBOCC4-Q4finance

State Senate

District 2

• Greg Evers (R): http://gregevers.com/
• Mike Hill (R): http://mikehill4senate.com/
• Dave Murzin (R): http://www.davemurzin.com/

State Representative

District 1

• Doug Broxson (R): http://dougbroxson2010.com/
• Matt Dobson (R): http://votemattdobson.com/
• Mathias Venditto (NPA): http://mathiasvenditto.com/

No web presence: Matt Dobson (R) and Ferdinand Salomon (R)

District 2

• Clay Ingram (R): http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44918618636
• David Karasek (R): http://www.karasek4staterep.us/

No web presence: Daniel Mendoza (R) and Jesse Horn Jr. (R)

District 3

• Clay Ford (R): http://www.clayford.us/

Escambia County Commission

District 2

• Gene Valentino (R) (i): http://genevalentino.com/
• Robert Kelley (R): http://www.robertkelleydistrict2.com/

No web presence: George Touart (R), Andy Kowalski (R), and Scott Gauvin (NPA).

District 4

No web presence: Grover Robinson IV (R) (i) and Dennis D. Green (R).

Escambia County School Board

District 1

• Jeff Bergosh (i): http://jeffbergoshblog.blogspot.com/

No web presence: Hosea Pittman

Districts 2 and 3

None of the other declared School Board candidates

Valentino files. Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino has filed to run for reelection to his District 2 seat. Two challengers have already filed, and Rick’s Blog is reporting that former County Administrator George Touart will file within the next week.

PNJ building sold. Rick’s Blog is reporting that the Pensacola News Journal has sold its building on East Romana Street. The News Journal is looking to lease space for its reduced workforce. Should we start taking bets on how long it will be until the PNJ ceases print operations? How long until it exists at all?

Maygarden editorial. Former Pensacola mayor Jerry Maygarden penned an editorial in this morning’s News Journal, taking the position that local government should not be involved in economic development. He also said that he doesn’t believe a change to a strong mayor would improve Pensacola’s economic development efforts. Rick’s Blog has published somewhat of a rebuttal.

Commissioner Valentino issued a statement earlier this month stating he “strongly disputed” that a civil infraction occured, going on to say that “there is factually no evidence and factually no truth that I withheld any public record.”

Progressive Pensacola again calls for Commissioner Valentino to resign. Aside from his violations of Sunshine law, the bulk of which we believe are yet uncovered, he has habitually acted unprofessionally and contemptuously toward his constituents.

Mr. Outzen has in recent weeks and months published many emails related to Commissioner Valentino’s violation(s) of Sunshine law and has been increasingly critical of Mr. Valentino’s backroom dealings with casino developer Cy Keefer and others.

It is indeed very clear that Commissioner Valentino has violated Sunshine laws on at least one occasion in recent months, and more likely on other occasions in the past. Commissioner Valentino’s obnoxious behaviour and nefarious tactics are completely unacceptable, and perpetuate the stereotype that Escambia government is backward, corrupt, and incompetent.

With that said, Progressive Pensacola will join the call for Commissioner Valentino’s resignation, but we don’t hold out any hope that he’s listening. We hope, though, that a viable candidate emerges to challenge Mr. Valentino’s reelection next year (and we don’t mean George Touart).

Link

• Rick’s Blog: “Valentino misused chairmanship”