What A Difference a Day Makes

We’ll get straight to the point.

Late this morning Mike Selby qualified to run for mayor of the City of Anna Maria. Selby will face P&Z Board member Sandy Mattick in the race. Thank you Mike for stepping up and offering your significant skills and expertise in business to publicly serve the citizens of Anna Maria.

Hold on, we’re not finished yet.

In a twist of sweet irony only this city can produce, Harry Stoltzfus has qualified to run for the very seat for which he is the target of a recall effort should that recall effort survive next week’s hearing and the September election actually takes place. Architect Gene Aubry has also qualified for the tentative election. City Clerk Alice Baird and City Attorney Jim Dye have both determined that there is no bar to Stoltzfus seeking to retain his seat. You can review the basis for their determination by clicking and reading Hurt v. Naples and THIS Florida Attorney General opinion.

We look forward to a...well...let’s say an active campaign season. My, what a difference a day makes.

Stay informed.

Friday Surprise?

So right now, less than 20 hours until the election qualification periods expire, Sandy Mattick is running unopposed for mayor. Chuck Webb and Joanne Mattick are running with no additional opposition for their city commission seats. And Gene Aubry has qualified to seek the "recall seat" should there actually be a recall election September 7th.

Will we see any additional qualifiers emerge before the noon deadline tomorrow? The short answer is yes, absolutely.

Check back tomorrow and we'll give you the low down. It's a good one.

Mattick Seeks Mayor's Office

We received word today that Sandy Mattick, current Anna Maria P&Z Board member and daughter of City Commissioner Joanne Mattick, is letting people know she has qualified to run for Mayor in the November election. Current Mayor Fran Barford has made it clear she intends to step down and will not seek re-election.

With one day left in the qualifying period, time is running out for someone to challenge Ms. Mattick for the office. Administrative acumen, a principled set of values and a sense of the dignity required of the office would be attributes we would hope for in at least one of the candidates.

Any takers?

Consider Public Service. Your City Needs You Now, Like Today.

In the first election qualifying period since PAR successfully ran off good and conscientious people from public service using an ex-inmate to create sunshine law hysteria and ugly divisive fall out, no one has yet stepped forward to challenge Chuck Webb and Joanne Mattick in the November general election for those two City Commission seats.

Coincidence? You decide, but it does not have to be the PAR way or the highway.

Qualifying runs through Friday July 30th and there is plenty of time for you to fill out the necessary paperwork and get busy getting elected to do good things for the city you love.

Your city is facing a crossroads. Don't be intimidated by the lawyers and the lawsuits and the public records recall Pine Avenue bully driven hysteria calculated to scare you off. Believe it, they are more scared of you and what your commission vote could mean than you are of them.

So, will you be a part of shaping Anna Maria's future or will you be content to watch that future shaped by others?

Act now, as in today.

Angler's Lodge Three: Red Flags, Alternative Realities and Democracy In Action

Last Friday, in the bumpy wake of Thursday’s city commission meeting, we said we’d “watch the fallout and the coverage” of the Angler’s Lodge fiasco after Sissy Quinn told the commission she no longer wanted to put the Angler’s Lodge in the middle of Pine Avenue’s only remaining public green space, the Anna Maria Island Historical Society’s park. As long as the Islander and Sun fairly and accurately reported the story we were content to let Quinn’s little circus fade into its inconsequential place in this city’s history. You can refresh your recollection of the background and the facts HERE and HERE.

We won’t waste time on deconstructing Quinn’s apoplectic rant aimed at this blog, this writer, the AMIHS’s president and its director, and “a few negative people”, whoever they may be (you can read it below). What concerns us, frankly, is not so much Quinn’s sad but foreseeable spiral into irrelevancy. The real lesson here is not the “leopards don’t change their spots” inevitability of her finger pointing, blame flinging and complete denial of personal responsibility. She’ll be a footnote soon enough.

Folks, this a wake-up call, a screeching alarm, a red flag, a cold shower and a cautionary tale all rolled into one. This week’s Islander and to a lesser extent the Sun should be considered case studies of exactly why this blog serves as a necessary and vital source of information to you the reader and particularly to the citizens of the City of Anna Maria. We have been both critical and supportive of the local press but the next time you pick up one of their papers to find out “what happened” consider these items after you hit the "Please Read More" link below:

Eugene Aubry Apparently Qualifies On Recall Election Slate

According to an email authored by City Clerk Alice Baird late this afternoon which you can read HERE, Gene Aubry has qualified to run in the Recall Election scheduled for September 7, 2010. The only related document attached to Baird's email was THIS "Candidate Name Pronunciation Request" form with Aubry's name and pronunciation instructions.

We will keep you informed as new names, if any, and documents surface this week.

This Just In: Ox Gored, Messenger Shot

We won’t spend a lot of time this morning on the whole Angler’s Lodge thing at the City Commission meeting last night but we will tell you the Historic Park is safe for now. “With a heavy heart,” Sissy Quinn informed the City Commission that she was pulling her request to plop the relic in the middle of Pine Avenue’s only public green space.

We’ll wait and watch the fallout and coverage before deciding whether further comment is warranted but it is no understatement to say the finger was pointed directly and bitterly at this writer for posting THIS and THIS. For now we’ll just take comfort in the words of President John Adams:

"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of the facts and evidence.”

WWSS: What Would Shakespeare Say?

We think we have finally figured out why PAR insists on submitting more site plans and putting up more buildings when they can’t fill up the one’s they have now.

Lawyers. They’re making room for lawyers.

Think about it. Litigation is a growth industry in this little city. A year ago Anna Maria was involved in a single pending lawsuit, the Villa Rosa mess. They were essentially on the sidelines in that one and it is going away soon. But this year, the city itself has been sued directly four times and city personnel and policies are central to four other lawsuits. Take a look after clicking the "Please Read More" link below. As always, you can read pertinent documents by clicking the links red:

Angler's Lodge Part Two: Just Sit And Listen...

Welcome back.

So, where were we? Ah yes, “citizens be damned” and all that.

In case you missed it, take a look at Part One HERE. We could go on endlessly about PAR’s continuing campaign of intimidation and insipid influence over just about everything it covets, including a location for the Angler’s Lodge. That intimidation of citizens and dissenting business owners continued after we posted Part One and we expect it will continue as long as Micheal Coleman believes it works. And while we would love to continue to regale you with more tales of Coleman’s tactics, like sending his lawyer to City Hall to demand a look at the Historical Society’s leases with the City, we have come to realize what many others have already realized: the attempted intimidation is tired, boring and would verge on comical, if it wasn’t so, well, creepy. Just ignore him.

Let's get started with Part Two after you click the "Please Read More" link below:

Woodland Favors Parking Initiative; Signs Citizen Petition

The Citizen's Parking Initiative committee announced today that City Commissioner Dale Woodland is publicy supporting the petition currently being circulated for voter signatures.

Woodland himself has signed the petition. You can too. Print a copy of the initiative petition HERE and click HERE for information on how to make your signature count.

PYTEL's PROTEST AGAINST PARKING IN THE CITY RIGHTS OF WAY

The recent resignation of Frank Pytel from the Planning & Zoning Board was a tremendous loss to the City. Not least because he had a knack for seeing the bigger picture. The finer details of PAR's public parking option are not lost on him as his and Diane Milesko's letter of 7th July to the Mayor and City Commission clearly demonstrate.

Please take a moment to read his letter by clicking HERE.

Thanks And Thanks Again.

As Our Anna Maria races past 25,000 (and that's just since January 24th when we started counting) reads anytime now, we want to take a short moment to thank you all again for coming back so often.

We'll keep writing if you'll keep reading. So come back and see us.

And stay informed.

Angler's Lodge Part One: What's Really Going On Here?

As you may have heard, a little dust up is brewing over the fate of The Angler’s Lodge, the neglected circa 1915 structure located across from Bayfront Park just to the north of the humpback bridge on North Bay Street. The building and property upon which it sits are currently owned by Karl and Agatha Hebebrand. The parcel is currently listed for sale. The fate of the structure has ebbed and flowed the last few years like the tide at Bean Point with everyone agreeing it needs saving but no consensus or viable plan as to how to make that happen. There are plots and subplots and inevitable finger pointing about the who’s, the what’s and the where’s of the dusty jewel’s immediate future.

The story unfortunately pits the Anna Maria Island Historical Society ("AMIHS") and its unmarred twenty-year record of service and lauded accomplishments against a former AMIHS director whose recent passion for preservation has led her, oddly, to cozy allegiances with the multi-tentacled forces of aggressive no-holds-barred development here in Anna Maria. The story is far from over but some background and context may assist in clarifying one’s understanding of where it is all headed and how it should be resolved. A few things before we start: the AMIHS and its members are huge Angler's Lodge fans and they have publicly pledged their significant time, talent and resources to securing and ensuring its preservation. We'll talk more about that in Part Two. Second, this is a long piece, sorry. It's a long story. And, full disclosure, AMIHS's Executive Director happens to be my mother. Make your own assumptions about what that means to you in relation to what you'll read here. But these are my thoughts not hers and facts are facts, right is right and wrong is wrong. So have at it. Join us after hitting the "Please Read More" link just below...

Recallers Get Another Lawyer. Maybe That's A Good Thing.

After swearing off lawyers at the front end when he could have used the advice, Recaller-In-Chief Robert Carter first retained a last minute appellate lawyer and he has now obtained an attorney in the twelth hour to handle the matter at the trial level.

Fred Moore of the Bradenton firm Blalock, Walters, Held & Johnson, P.A., filed a Notice of Appearance today which you can read HERE.

Blalock Walters is a well respected 80 year-old firm of qualified and diligent professionals. Let's hope Mr. Moore finally brings some sanity and reason to the recaller's efforts.

Recall Election Set; Judge Notes Pending Litigation May Affect Dates

Chief Judge Lee Haworth this morning issued his order setting the date for the recall election on September 7, 2010. You can read the order by clicking HERE. The qualifying period for potential candidates is July 21st through July 30th which overlaps the qualifying period for the general election.

Judge Haworth goes to great lengths to point out that pending litigation in Manatee County, namely Stoltzfus v. Carter and Barfield v. Stoltzfus may very well affect the qualifying dates and the election date itself.

We attended yesterday's hearing in the Barfield case. Judge Nicholas notified Richard Harrison that his request for an expedited hearing challenging the validity of the recall petition has been considered and that the Judge's office has provided a date to all parties for the hearing in mid-August, well in advance of the now scheduled election. That should be resolved today. We will keep you updated on the precise date and time.

Chuck Webb’s Lesson In Motivations

Granted, City Commissioner Chuck Webb is a smart guy. A Marine officer with a degree from a prestigious law school (full disclosure: my law school, too) and a successful 25 year legal practice throughout the State of Florida. He is typically reserved unless provoked and it takes a lot to provoke him. His opinions appear to come with some thought and consideration of facts and circumstances instead of personalities and agendas. There have been hints and whispers of particular sympathies to and representation of aggressive development but his repeated insistence that current Pine Avenue green space remain untouched and that future plans require more green space is a welcomed sign.

And for those reasons his letter in this week’s Islander and Sun is just so, well, bizarre. Maybe he was rushed by the paper’s deadline or busy with a pending jury trial and ran out of time to actually read what he wrote but much of the piece is simply unsupportable and actually argues in favor of the Citizen’s Initiative petition he seems to be arguing against. We break it down after you hit the "Please Read More" link just below:

Nice To See You Again Judge. Uh, Can We Get To That Ruling Now?

Last Friday we were discussing the recall appeal and intimated HERE that “any number of different scenarios could play out between now and next Friday so check back here often for updates.” Well, it didn’t take anywhere near that long.

In the wake of the certification of the second round of recall signatures by Supervisor of Elections Bob Sweat last Friday, Attorney Richard Harrison today filed an expected Amended Complaint seeking Judge Nicholas’ order invalidating the recall petition. You can read it by clicking HERE but it essentially re-argues the numerous reasons why the petition is simply legal nonsense and that the second round of signatures did nothing but delay that reality. The exhibits to the Amended Complaint can be found by clicking HERE. Due to the clock now ticking on the date of a recall election, Harrison has also, again, asked for an expedited hearing on the matter as is mandated by Florida law. You can read that motion by clicking HERE.

Remember, Judge Nicholas pointedly stated in his May 26th order HERE that he would address the validity of the petition “after, and only if” the recall committee were successful in obtaining a second round of signatures. That has now happened so expect a hearing soon.

So what about the recall appeal? An argument could be made that the primary issue ripe for appeal, that is whether Judge Nicholas was correct in waiting until after the second round of signatures to rule the petition facially invalid, is now moot since it is back in his lap and he can rule post haste anyway. Technically though, the Second District retains jurisdiction over the issues remaining before it. The recallers’ reply brief is due in four days and the Court could then rule on the matter and determine themselves as a matter of law that the recall petition simply fails to meet the basic requirements of law. We’ll keep you posted.

And we can't sign off without pointing out the puzzling public pronouncements from the recall camp regarding Commissioner Stoltzfus "hiding" and "avoiding" being served with the certification of signatures. Florida law requires "notice" of the signature certification to the recall target. It does not, as the pro bono recallers would have you believe, require service of process by a licensed process server lurking behind the hedge to catch the target unaware while yelling "Gotcha!" It simply requires that City Clerk Alice Baird notify him of the certification (which she dutifully did at 11:16a.m. Friday morning) and the clock starts ticking. The entirety of City Hall and much of the City is fully aware that the commissioner is on a long planned family vacation, one he and many others take this time of year every year, and will not return for several weeks. The usual suspects chimed in with the expected juvenile pablum but even Ricinda Perry, Bradenton Beach City Attorney and PAR spin-meister extraordinaire, waded into the muck. At 3:19 p.m. Friday (4 hours after he was lawfully notified by Ms. Baird) Perry thought it would be appropriate to log onto Facebook and say she had (and I quote her directly) "heard that Stoltzfus is trying to avoid service of the petition." Really Ricinda? From whom? Certainly not from Alice Baird or anyone at City Hall, the legal entity that had already notified him. Come on, you're better than that and the good people of Bradenton Beach deserve better than that from their city attorney. Say what you want about Jim Dye, but you won't find him spouting recklessly false middle school level nonsense about public officials in public, regardless of his personal feelings. Unbelievable, really.

Bill Yanger

Recall Lawyer: That's Just Your Opinion, Judge.

We knew you would not want to head into this glorious weekend without your weekly Recall fix so here you go. Last month Recaller-In-Chief Robert Carter asked the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland for an extension of time to file his legal brief because, as he said, “Since I am representing myself and am not an attorney, I need all available time to draft my reply.” You can read it yourself by clicking HERE and you can read attorney Richard Harrison’s objection to the extension by clicking HERE.

Since then, Carter found a lawyer willing to file an appearance in the appellate case and that appearance apparently convinced the Second District yesterday to grant a one week extension until next Friday, July 16th to file the brief. You can read the order granting the extension HERE. Barring The Resurrection (no, really, at least some of this new lawyer's eschatological fan's apparently think it could happen any day now...take a look HERE) there will be no further extensions. But based upon the second set of petition signatures being certified today by the elections supervisor as expected, any number of different scenarios could play out between now and next Friday so check back here often for updates.

Oh yeah, and one more thing. Should Carter’s new lawyer actually file a brief by next Friday, it will be interesting to see whether the judges in the Second District Court of Appeals agree with her take on judicial opinions in general and the role of judges in particular. Read her rather frank and unabashed assessment of the judiciary in America by clicking HERE and decide for yourself.

Enjoy your weekend.

Bill Yanger

And The Cagnina Chase Is On...

You will remember that last month the Florida Ethics Commission (“FEC”), without so much as a second sniff, summarily bounced Holmes Beach resident John Cagnina’s ethics complaint against Commissioner Harry Stoltzfus. You will also remember that Richard Harrison, Stoltzfus’ attorney, offered City Attorney Jim Dye an opportunity to limit the City’s potential exposure for fees and costs associated with the Cagnina’s lame effort. However, Dye chose to risk further exposure to the City by advising that it ignore the reasonable offer therefore forcing Harrison to rack up even more fees and costs pursuing Cagnina first. Of course, should that prove unsuccessful, the tab, once again courtesy of the City’s thoughtful friend Cagnina, will be significantly higher.

On Thursday, Harrison filed a petition with the FEC seeking those fees and costs directly from Cagnina. You can view the fee petition and attachments by clicking HERE. We’ll keep you posted on Cagnina’s response, if any, and how much the FEC awards. For the sake of the City, and perhaps Dye’s track record of advice to his client, let’s hope Cagnina decides to man-up and pay his debt so the taxpayers do not have to do it for him.

UPDATE JULY 12th: The FEC has formally notified Cagnina of the fee petition HERE.

Michael Barfield: A Zealous Accuser, Yes. But A Willing Witness? Not So Much.

Michael Barfield - Paralegal

Photo Courtesy of Michael Price - www.michaelpricephotography.com

In the midst of so much fun, like the understandable excitement surrounding the Citizens Ballot Initiative regarding parking on Pine Avenue, the withering echo of the recall effort, PAR’s smirking reluctance to sue its own City, and the well organized but Captain Renault-esque hysteria over anonymous local snitches ("I'm shocked, shocked to find that ordinances are being ignored around here!"), one tends to forget that PAR’s, er, Michael Barfield’s lawsuit over public records cruises right along down at the courthouse.

But it seems Barfield, a/k/a Inmate #15549-075, no longer desires to be the swashbuckling spear gun toting sunshine-law musketeer the Mayor and the Islander made him out to be in those heady days of front page “shadow government” headlines. In what some may consider just another form of the plea bargaining he apparently spent the 80’s, 90’s and the early part of this decade perfecting, it now appears he’s tried to cut a yet another deal designed to dodge his legal obligation to testify in the lawsuit he, with a shameless shove from Micheal Coleman and PAR, filed with so much flourish and conviction (pun intended) back in April.

As with any litigation, both sides are required to provide to the other, under oath and subject to penalties for perjury, basic information known to or available to them regarding the facts of the case and, in most instances, related to the background and credibility of witnesses. Under Florida law, and frankly the laws of all states and the federal government, the criminal history of a witness, particularly a felonious history involving crimes of dishonesty such as theft, conspiracy, fraud and perjury, is highly relevant, discoverable and admissible at trial. The theory behind such admissibility is self-evident: if the guy on the witness stand has served felony time for, in effect, being a thieving con-artist who has willingly lied under oath before, the judge and/or jury must be given the opportunity to consider those particularly ignoble character traits when weighing the value of the lying thief’s testimony. Stay with us by clicking the "Please Read More" jump below:

Mayor "Barlow"? Freud Must Be Chuckling Somewhere...

Last Monday we told you HERE that PAR had sued the City over the denial of PAR's 308 Pine Avenue site plan application and that Valerie Fernandez was representing PAR in that action. But a funny thing happened on the way to the courthouse.

When a plaintiff files suit, the papers or "summons" must be "served" upon the person being sued or upon a representative of the entity being sued. That "service of process" is performed by a Deputy Sheriff or licensed process server. It is then filed with the clerk of the court to serve as proof that the defendant person or entity has actual notice of the lawsuit and starts the clock ticking on the defendant's obligation to file a response.

Well, apparently a Deputy Sheriff did serve the papers on June 29th, but according to the "summons" prepared by Ms. Fernandez, they were to be served upon The Honorable Fran Barlow, Mayor of The City of Anna Maria. Yes, "Barlow" not Barford. You can view the summons yourself by clicking HERE.

Now, normally we would not nit pick typos and scrivener's errors (we make enough ourselves) but (1) Mayor Barford is referred to as "Barlow" not once but twice in the document; (2) this is not some everyday inter-office memo or email - it is a legal document with potentially significant and wide ranging legal effect upon this City, its officers and its citizens, and because of that, (3) one would think that PAR's lawyer and, perhaps more importantly, PAR itself would find it critical enough to read, say, at least once before suing the City in which they live and work and that they profess to love. Just saying.

Of course, we could spend paragraphs on the freudian aspects of the name that Fernandez and PAR chose to use instead of Barford. Their fantasy preview of the November mayoral election? Has P&Z Board member and PAR cheerleader Bob Barlow told them something he hasn't told the rest of us?

But we won't go there. At least not yet.

Bill Yanger

Pine Avenue Parking Citizens' Ballot Initiative Committee Issues Press Release

On Thursday we reported HERE that the committee heading up a new Citizens' Ballot Initiative regarding parking on Pine Avenue had filed its petition and had begun collecting signatures. Today, the committee has issued a press release providing additional information related to its efforts and goals. According to the release:

The Committee, a group of Anna Maria residents who felt it was time that the citizens had the chance to have a real say in the direction our City is headed, released this statement: “It recently became apparent that the legislative process in our City’s government was not addressing the interests of the majority of the voters who wish to see our Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations enforced and upheld.”

“This Initiative” according to the Committee “takes an existing ordinance in our Land Development Regulations and adds further clarity to ensure that the parking in our mixed-use district remains compliant with our current Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations which state that commercial uses provide adequate off-street parking leaving the City rights of way available for both residents and visitors.

The release invites voters to contact the committee should they wish to sign the petition. You can view the full press release by clicking HERE. You can view and print the petition by clicking HERE. You can forward your signed and witnessed petition to P.O. Box 4174, Anna Maria, Florida 34216 or you can call (941) 778-1242 to make arrangements for getting your signature on the petition.

We will keep you updated as word of the committee's progress reaches us. So, return here often to...

Stay informed.

This Just In: Citizen's Ballot Initiative Seeks to Limit Developer Control of Parking in Public Right of Way

On Tuesday, we suggested HERE that more news on the Pine Avenue parking saga was inevitable and today that suggestion became reality.

A ballot initiative petition was filed today with Anna Maria City Clerk Alice Baird which you can read by clicking HERE. The initiative seeks to place a proposed ordinance on the ballot that essentially requires all new commercial development to contain parking on-site and to preserve the use of City rights-of-way for public purposes.

We understand that signatures are already being collected today and that effort will continue in earnest in the coming weeks. Check back for more details as this story unfolds. And, of course,

Stay informed.