How much 'scrutinizing' has the Mayor done???

I read in this weeks' Islander that the Mayor 'has been scrutinizing a number of applicants to fill a vacant position on the Anna Maria Planning and Zoning Board'. She plans to 'recommend Bob Barlow for the P & Z vacancy.'

I sincerely hope that the City Commission will see this recommendation for what it is and vote against her recommendation. It has been well publicized during the last year that Mr Barlow is being groomed to replace Mayor Barford when she steps down next year.

The following emails should leave nobody in any doubt where Mr Barlow stands and his affiliation to PAR - no surprise therefore that our current Mayor is recommending him! (The recipient of the email has been removed from the post). I guess if she can't appoint Mike Coleman himself then this is the next best thing.

Email number 1:

From: rbarlow9@tampabay.rr.com; "callahan" ; "tom aposporos" ; "Wallis,Dick" Cc: "David Grybosky" ; Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 5:08 AMSubject: ElectionOn September 10th a private blog administered by former commissioner Duke Miller, with significant contributions by Robin Wall, announced the candidacy of Harry Stoltzfus. This blog, whose stock in trade was false logic, character assassination and misinformation has since been thoroughly discredited and is now all but defunct. It's unfortunate fruit has been a divisiveness among former friends and current neighbors not seen in recent memory. Not surprisingly, the platform issues first born out of the false paradigm described above have failed the "reality" test and, much like the blog where they started, are now discredited and abandoned. "Running on Empty" illustrates what happens when emotion and rhetoric encounter fact and logic, when "monkey wrench" proposals confront rational basis. Feel free to share with friends and neighbors. Just copy and paste to your own email list. If those of you on this list each reach two we'll have 600 voters operating on a factual basis. That's a good thing.Running on Empty, The Stoltzfus Campaign Then and NowHe was running as part of a slate first advanced on Duke Miller’s discredited Blog. Now, not so much … Then, Duke breathlessly posted, “I'm... ecstatic !....we have a candidate....he had conversations with both John Quam and Dale Woodland"…Harry said, ..’I’m hoping my efforts joined with theirs’” ...Now, in the papers “he is not running as part of any collective…..”He was against rentals, now he's dropped the issueFirst Harry wrote the city commission “no rentals please”. Now he’s changed. No issueHe was running to protect the residents from an expanding business district that won't and can't expand. All candidates, sitting commissioners, the Mayor and developers are on the record vigorously opposed to expanding the business district. No issue.He was running to hold the line against a motel that will NEVER be builtThis idea was rejected by Commissioner Tollette and everyone else. No issueHe was running to turn back laws that were never passed Harry has vowed to address “major concessions” regarding parking that were supposedly granted to developers this past winter. The current parking laws were passed in 1996. No issue.He was running to change a unanimously approved comp plan, years in the making. Harry is quoted “a lot of concessions have been made…..it was a mistake…and they should be taken back”. Since the laws governing the ROR were established in the Comprehensive Plan, this is a non starter. No issueIn short, all of his initial campaign issues are non issues.More recently, Harry has been called on to address real issues.Like the budget. That's something real. Here's what he said about that, paraphrasing ‘I have no expertise in budgets….everyone at this table is better equipped than I am in this area’. Startling admission, given this is a top city priority item.Like the Community Center. That's something real. Here's what he said about that, again, paraphrasing "let them eat cake, so long as it's not wedding cake".Seriously, before a gasping audience of residents who actually pay attention to broad community issues, Harry said "the community center is doing fine financially”. He then went on to warn "don't talk about weddings to the neighbors" . So, let's see, the city shouldn't help and the center shouldn't be allowed to help themselves by doing what they've been doing for twenty years.Harry leads the pack on non issues with emotional appeal and divisive content. However, when it comes to real issues touching us all, like the budget and the hub of our community life, the Community Center, he is no match for Chris Tollette.Chris has been consistent in her positions. She knows the Comp Plan because she helped write it. She knows budgets because she’s helped balance four of them. Perhaps most importantly, Chris knows her community, and it’s center, because she has devoted herself these past eight years to serving both.In reality, there’s no contest. Re-elect Chris Tollette Nov 3rdPol.AdPd. for and approved by Christine Tollette for Anna Maria Cty Comm (non-partisan)

The contents of his email are not even worth commenting on except it proves his affiliation. The rest as they say is history.

Email number 2: (again the recipient has been removed from the post. 'Mike' is Mike Coleman).

----- Original Message ----- From: Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 8:53 PMSubject: Harry & Wine Tasting> Mike, Thought you would get a chuckle out of this.Betsy Hills invited > Marcia and to a wine tasting at her Mango House this evening. We were > warmly greeted by Betsy and 2 of her staff at the door Very nice occasion > with food and about 20 people in attendance.Harry was right there waving > an e-mail and acting like a crazy man till many guests were looking at > him. He had a copy of the running on empty e-mail and he started ranting > at me on the litany of issues in the e-mail. Finally his wife and Betsy > convinced him that this was neither the time or place and he moved on with > the copy of the e-mail that I had sent to Betsy.He continued the evening > by reviewing the e-mail with anyone that would listen.We have the feeling > he turned off a lot of voters. He must have enjoyed the wine. Bob

Mr Barlow was seriously deluded (as the results of the election showed) if he really believed what he wrote to Mr Coleman. C0mmissioner Stoltzfus was neither waving an email or behaving like a crazy man, nor was he ranting. In fact it was Mr Barlow who looked highly embarrassed and left after ten minutes as it was very clear Commissioner Stoltzfus was surrounded by friends and supporters.