Rooney votes against disaster relief

Damage from last year’s Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle. (Photo: Bret Bostock, Wikimedia Commons)

467 days (1 year, 3 months, 13 days) since Rep. Francis Rooney has met constituents in an open, public, town hall forum

June 4, 2019 by David Silverberg

Updated June 5 with Steube, Gaetz votes and Patronis statement.

Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) joined 57 Republican colleagues yesterday, June 3, in rejecting federal aid for areas hard-hit by last year’s disasters, including the Florida panhandle devastated by Hurricane Michael.

The bill, Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019 (House Resolution 2157) passed by a vote of 354-58.

By contrast, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-25-Fla.), joined the 354-member bipartisan majority in passing the $19.1 billion measure. He was joined by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-1-Fla.), a normally staunch, pro-Trump conservative, whose district covers the most affected areas of the panhandle.

The bill provides assistance to people and jurisdictions pounded by Hurricanes Michael and Florence, other storms, floods, tornadoes, typhoons, volcanic activity, snowstorms, and wildfires during 2018 and 2019 by providing funding to virtually all the agencies of the federal government.

In a statement on his vote, Rooney explained that he opposed the measure because the bill exceeded the administration’s initial funding request:

“It has become all too common for Congress to use disaster funding to break through spending caps that are in place,” declared the statement. “There are legitimate needs for funding to assist with recovery from horrific natural disasters that affected Florida and other states around the country, however I could not support a bill that is completely fiscally irresponsible.”

Rep. Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.), whose district includes a large portion of south-central Florida, also voted against the bill for similar reasons. “While I’m glad the panhandle received the funding it desperately needed, I could not in good conscience vote for the Supplemental Appropriation which was filled with outrageous spending and no plan to pay for it,” Steube said in a statement. “I ran for Congress refusing to add to the national debt, and this bill had a high price tag with no offset.”

Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s Republican chief financial officer and a native of Panama City, which was hard-hit by Hurricane Michael, was outraged by the nay votes.

“If I was in their district, I’d vote ‘em out,” Patronis told reporters in Tallahassee. “Those individuals that do not realize the harm and suffering that’s happening in Northwest Florida and the recovery that we’re trying to endure right now, for them to put themselves over the better good of the recovery of other citizens in the United States is shameful. Unfortunately, it’s a round world and they’ll probably get what’s coming to them somewhere, somehow.”

The Senate approved the measure by an 85 to 8 vote on May 22, with both of Florida’s Republican senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, voting in favor of it. The bill passed by the House yesterday has now gone to the president for signature. However, in a since-deleted tweet yesterday, Trump erroneously stated that the bill would be going to the Senate.

Trump initially opposed the bill for providing money for Puerto Rico disaster relief and pushed for $4.5 billion for his wall on the southwestern border. However, while he publicly relented on his opposition, during the congressional Memorial Day recess, as lawmakers in the House tried to expedite the measure with a “unanimous consent” agreement, three Republican lawmakers: Reps. Chip Roy (R-21-Texas), Thomas Massie (R-4-Ky.) and John Rose (R-6-Tenn.), refused their consent, meaning that the bill—and the people it would benefit—had to await yesterday’s formal vote.

The bill will provide a wide variety of assistance across federal agencies to aid those harmed by the disasters.

While Southwest Florida is not specifically mentioned in the legislation, the bill appropriates money to combat flood and storm damage, which will likely benefit the region. The US Army Corps of Engineers is appropriated $1 billion “for necessary expenses to prepare for flood, hurricane and other natural disasters and support emergency operations, repairs, and other activities in response to such disasters,” as well as $35 million to investigate means of reducing future flood and storm damage.

Liberty lives in light

Trump tariff tantrum targets typical taxpayers—and tomatoes

06-03-19 Trump as tomato 2

June 3, 2019 by David Silverberg

Another day, another tariff and more pocketbook pain for the everyday people who play by the rules and pay their taxes.

This time it’s a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods that President Donald Trump is threatening to impose. He announced last Thursday, May 30, that the tariff would go into effect one week from today, on June 10. After that it’s 10 percent on July 1, 15 percent on Aug. 1, 20 percent on Sept. 1 and 25 percent on Oct. 1, after which the 25 percent rate becomes permanent.

The tariffs are intended to force Mexico to stop the movement of Central American migrants to the US border.

As was the case when he last threatened to close the U.S.-Mexican border, Trump may be lashing out at Mexicans and Central American migrants but it’s everyday Americans who will feel the lash.

Prices for everything are going to rise if this latest tariff goes into effect. Tariffs both disrupt international trading relations and serve as an effective tax on the American consumer.

This is the case for Southwest Florida as much as the rest of the country—and indeed, while much of the focus on the tariffs’ impact has been on the states directly adjacent to the southwestern border like California and Texas, Florida has a flourishing trade with the neighbor to the south that stands to take a big hit.

Florida’s trade with Mexico is substantial. In 2018 imports and exports of merchandise were worth $6.8 billion, according to Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development organization. Top Florida exports to Mexico included civilian aircraft, engines and parts; pleasure boats and yachts; and cars. Top imports from Mexico included cars, trucks and gold. Mexico is the third largest export market for Florida companies after Brazil and Canada.

06-02-19 Florida-Mexico trade trends under NAFTA Also, Mexicans have been investing in Florida real estate, particularly in the southern part of the state, according to the RealWealth Network.

06-02-19 Florida-Mexico trade as of 2017

As with all his tariffs, a chorus of voices, including many who are traditionally conservative, are speaking out against this latest round of unnecessary trade measures.

One of the most surprising critics was Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a normally staunch conservative and chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. “Trade policy and border security are separate issues. This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent,” Grassley declared in a May 30 statement. “I support nearly every one of President Trump’s immigration policies, but this is not one of them. I urge the president to consider other options.”

Lawmakers, experts and officials are also worried that Trump’s arbitrary tariff imposition will threaten negotiation of the US Mexico Canada Agreement, the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump trumpeted as a vast improvement to its predecessor.

As with all tariffs, it’s consumers—in Southwest Florida and around the nation—who will suffer as prices rise. From fruits, nuts and vegetables to beer and tequila, to home appliances and cars, the cost of all Mexican imports will rise.

Fun interactive activity: Check the “Made in” labels of home appliances like washers and dryers and see how many are made in Mexico.

“Duties are harmful to the American consumers,” Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, told NPR. “It’s a tax on consumers. And that’s the wrong way to go with fruits and vegetables.”

Tomatoes are likely to be the first product that Trump’s tariffs will squeeze in the shopping cart. Florida tomato growers had been pushing for restrictions on Mexican tomatoes for some time, as riper Mexican tomatoes grabbed a larger share of the market. Now the growers may get their wish—but it’s everyday shoppers who will get juiced.

Liberty lives in light

It happened here: The 1924 Fort Myers lynching, 95 years later

05-21-19 black-neighborhood-fort-myers-med

The African-American neighborhood of Fort Myers in an undated photo.

May 22, 2019 by David Silverberg

Saturday, May 25th, will mark 95 years since two African-American teenagers were seized by a white mob and lynched in Fort Myers, Fla.

The anniversary comes amidst a rise in hatred and racism in the United States and serves as a stark reminder of where bigotry ultimately leads. It’s also a demonstration of what happens when the rule of law breaks down.

It can happen here—and it has.

It’s also worth remembering; history does not have to repeat.

What happened

This account draws from two sources: One is an article in The Fort Myers News-Press on the event’s 90th anniversary. That article, “Lynching history spurs call for closure, 90 years later” by reporter Janine Zeitlin, was published on May 21, 2014. The account drew on people’s recollections and the work of Nina Denson-Rogers, historian of the Lee County Black History Society, who pieced together fragmentary information on the incident.

The other is the original, unbylined article that appeared in the Fort Myers Press on May 26, 1924, headlined, “Negroes pay penalty for horrible crime committed yesterday.” (Referred in this article as the “1924 account.” The article is posted in full below.)

According to Zeitlin, on Sunday, May 25, 1924 two black teenagers, R.J. Johnson, 14, and Milton Wilson, 15, (given as “Bubbers” Wilson and Milton Williams in the 1924 account) were spotted by a passerby swimming with two white girls on the outskirts of Fort Myers, then a segregated city of about 3,600 people. Lee County was home to about 15,000 people.

“The lynchings happened after R.J. and Milton went swimming at a pond with two white girls on the outskirts of town,” according to the Zeitlin article. “They were said to friends with the girls, maybe more. Perhaps they were skinny-dipping. There were rumors of rape, though one girl and her brother denied it.”

The two boys and girls lived near each other, were long familiar and played with each other as children, states Zeitlin. The swimming was reported by someone as a rape. The 1924 account simply states that the boys “attacked two young Fort Myers school girls.”

The black community first learned that something was amiss when evening church services were canceled. Just before sunset the rape report resulted in white residents on foot, horseback and in cars gathering at a white girl’s residence. From there they began invading black homes and yards in a search for the two boys.

During the evening, chaos spread through the city as the search continued. At one point a gas truck was driven into the black community with the intention of burning it down if the boys weren’t found.

05-20-19 Sheriff Ed Albritton Lee County lynching — Lee County Sheriff J. “Ed” Albritton in an undated photo. (LCSO)

At some point R.J. Johnson was found. According to the 1924 account, he was arrested by Sheriff J.E. Albritton and put in the county jail.

“Hearing of this the armed citizens went to the jail and demanded the prisoner. The request being lawfully refused by the sheriff, he was overpowered, the jail unlocked and the negro led out,” states the 1924 article.

According to that article, once seized, Johnson was “taken before one of the girls” where he was identified and confessed. According to Zeitlin, however, one of the girls and her brother denied that there had been any rape.

In the Zeitlin account, Johnson was taken to a tree along Edison Avenue, hanged and shot. According to the 1924 account “his body was riddled with bullets and dragged through the streets to the Safety Hill section.”

The search then continued for Wilson, who was found at 4:46 am the next morning by a railroad foreman, hiding in a railroad box car on a northbound train. He was taken from the box car, hanged, castrated and shot multiple times. His body was then dragged down Cranford Avenue by a Model T.

“It was like a parade, some evil parade in Hell,” according to Mary Ware, a resident who was quoted in a 1976 article in the News-Press. The crowd broke up when the sheriff and a judge appeared.

05-18-19 lynchingclip On Monday the afternoon edition of the Fort Myers News-Press was headlined “Negroes Pay Penalty for Horrible Crime Committed Yesterday.”

On the same day a jury convened and absolved the sheriff, attributing the lynchings to “parties unknown.”

“That the rape had taken place, the black community definitely felt never occurred, that it was prefabricated by this white man who came across them swimming,” said resident Jacob Johnson in a late 1990s interview with the Lee County Black History Society, quoted by Zeitlin. “Everyone felt … these boys had just been killed for no reason, other than they were there with these white girls.”

Commentary: Learning from history

As stated at the outset, this is where racism and bigotry lead.

But it’s also a lesson in the need for the rule of law. The two accused teenagers were never able to assert or prove their innocence, were presumed guilty from the outset, were never granted a public trial and were punished according to the whims of the mob, all violations of basic personal, legal and constitutional protections.

As the rule of law is eroded in this country, flouted from the president on down, every American loses the protections that law provides. The result can be something like the 1924 Fort Myers lynchings—and can lead to the deaths of innocents.

And as for false accusations and mistaken impressions leading to dangerous consequences, those are with us too.

The Sunday before last, on May 12, at the Off-the-Hook comedy club in Naples, Fla., when comedian Ahmed Ahmed made a joke about organizing a terrorist group with the Middle Easterners in the audience, a patron called 9-1-1 to report a possible terrorist incident.

Because of a joke. By a comedian. In a comedy club.

Liberty lives in light

26 May 1924, Page 1 - News-Press at Newspapers.com saved 5-18-19 cropped

Below is the full text, with original capitalization and usage, of the article on the Fort Myers lynching as published on the front page of The Fort Myers Press, on May 26, 1924:

NEGROES PAY PENALTY FOR HORRIBLE CRIME COMMITTED YESTERDAY

Two negro youths, “Bubbers” Wilson and Milton Williams, met death at the hands of “unknown persons” early this morning following their positive identification as the two negroes who yesterday afternoon had attacked two young Fort Myers school girls.

Within a few hours after word of the happening had reached town a systematic search was started independent of the efforts of Sheriff J.E. Albritton who with his force was on the job immediately upon hearing of the crime.

A general round up of suspicious characters by the sheriff’s office netted Wilson, who was lodged in the county jail.

Hearing of this the armed citizens went to the jail and demanded the prisoner. The request being lawfully refused by the sheriff, he was overpowered, the jail unlocked and the negro led out.

Taken before one of the girls he was identified by her and then taken away where he confessed to his captors, following which his body was riddled with bullets and dragged through the streets to the Safety Hill section.

The search for his accomplice was then carried out with increased vigor, all outlets from the city being carefully guarded. The hunted man was located about 4:46 a.m., on a north-bound train pulling out of the railroad yards. Following his positive identification, he met the same fate as the first negro.

The following jurors were sworn in by County Judge N.G. Stout, coroner ex-officio, this morning: C. J. Stubbs, C.C. Pursley, Vernon Wilderquist, Alvin Gorton, W.W. White and Thomas J. Evans.

Charged with ascertaining by what means the two negroes met their deaths, the jurors reported as follows: “the said “Bubbers” Wilson and Wilton Williams came to their death in the following manner, to-wit:

By the hands of parties unknown, and we herewith wish to commend the Sheriff and his entire force for the earnest efforts made by them, in their attempt to carry out the duties of their office.”

# # #

Trump tariffs poised to impoverish seniors, retirees in SWFL and nationwide

Sand and surf may soon be all that’s affordable for SWFL’s seniors.

May 16, 2019 by David Silverberg

Tariffs of 25 percent imposed by President Donald Trump on 5,000 different Chinese goods will likely raise consumer prices across the board, with especially devastating impacts on people with fixed incomes like senior citizens and retirees.

This is likely to be particularly painful in Southwest Florida with its high proportion of fixed-income residents.

According to the US Census Bureau, of Lee County’s 754,610 residents (as of July 1, 2018), 28 percent were 65 years old or older, thus likely to be on a fixed income. Of Collier County’s 378,488 residents in the same period, 31.5 percent were 65 years old or older.

Trump’s escalation of his trade war with China, China’s retaliation and the current impasse in negotiations will likely result in higher prices on all goods, including groceries. A wide variety of goods are affected and product categories include raw materials for manufacturers, cars, electronics (vacuums, televisions), large appliances (washers, driers, air conditioners), clocks and watches, furniture and bedding, glassware and ceramics, precious jewelry and head gear.

Brett Biggs, Walmart’s chief financial officer, warned that consumers would feel the pain. “As we have said before, our goal is to be the low-price leader,” he said on CNBC today. “We want to manage margins with customers and shareholders in mind. We have mitigation strategies that have been in place for months. But increased tariffs will increase prices for customers.”

Grocery items affected include fruits, nuts, vegetables, meats, pasta and breads.

“As is so often the case, the weak will only get weaker as a result of the higher prices that these tariffs will bring. Lower-income Americans, small businesses and retailers already stressed will feel the pain most,” wrote Pamela Danziger, retail reporter for Forbes.

While Social Security may see a 1.7 percent cost of living adjustment next year, it may not cover the cost of goods if they rise too high. The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group for senior citizens and Social Security recipients, found in a report released on Monday, May 13, that despite cost of living increases since the year 2000, Social Security benefits have actually lost 33 percent of their buying power since then.

“One would think that a higher cost-of-living adjustment in 2019, combined with relatively low inflation, would lead to an improvement of buying power in Social Security benefits,” Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for the League and the study’s author explained in a statement accompanying the report. “But any improvement was offset by spiking costs of essentials, including out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs.”

Those expenditures will likely soon include anything manufactured or imported from China.

Liberty lives in light

SWFL spared Russian election hacking in 2016

05-15-19 RussiaElection-TA

(Illustration: Wired)

May 15, 2019 by David Silverberg

Updated 12:18 pm with Lee County comment

Lee and Collier counties were spared Russian election hacking in 2016, according to their election supervisors.

Yesterday, May 14, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced at a Tallahassee press conference that two Florida counties had been hacked by the Russians in the 2016–but he did not reveal which counties.

DeSantis made the announcement following a briefing from agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding 2016 election hacking. The hacking was first made public in the report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which stated that Russian agents sent spearphishing e-mails to 120 Florida counties. The e-mails had an attached Word document containing code that allowed the Russians to get into voting systems.

The Mueller Report stated that one Florida county was hacked but did not name the county. Yesterday DeSantis revealed that the Russians hacked two counties but would not reveal which ones.

“I’m not allowed to name the counties,” DeSantis said at his press conference. “I signed a [non]disclosure agreement. I would be willing to name it for you guys, but they asked me [not] to do that, so I’m going to respect their wishes.”

The hacking did not affect the counts of the 2016 results, according to DeSantis. “There was no manipulation or anything” although the hackers accessed voter data. “That voter data, I think, was public anyway. Nevertheless, those were intrusions. It did not affect voting or anything like that,” said DeSantis.

“…As Collier goes, we did receive one of the spearfishing emails, but it was identified as suspicious and was immediately quarantined and then removed. None of our partners at [Department of Homeland Security] or the FBI have disclosed information leading us to believe that Collier is of the two counties affected,” stated Trish Robertson, public relations officer of the Collier County Supervisor of Elections, in an e-mail to The Paradise Progressive.

“The Lee County Supervisor of Elections has never been made aware of any intrusion into our voter registration database in 2016,” Vicki Collins, public information officer for the Lee County Supervisor of Elections also stated in an e-mail to The Paradise Progressive.

Liberty lives in light

© 2019 by David Silverberg

Closed Rooney Roundtable proceeds despite protests from public and press

439 days (1 year, 2 months, 15 days) since Rep. Francis Rooney has met constituents in an open, public forum

May 7, 2019 by David Silverberg

Updated with WGCU/Twitter reporting, May 8, 2019

Despite anguished protests from Floridians affected by impure or polluted water and outraged demands for public and press access, federal, state and local officials held a secret, closed meeting today at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Emergent Technologies Institute to discuss harmful algal blooms.

The roundtable was attended by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) as well as a variety of officials from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. State officials from a variety of agencies attended as well as officials at the county and municipal levels.

Although DeSantis and Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) held a press conference after the very brief meeting, the public was kept at a sufficient distance from the lectern and speakers so that they couldn’t be heard. No transcript is expected.

A second, public, streamed event on the topic of harmful algal blooms is scheduled to be held Friday, which will be more of a public airing and include local activist organizations. However, the press and public will likely never know what decisions were reached at the closed roundtable held today.

Some live clips from the meeting courtesy of WGCU via Twitter:

On the impropriety of closing the meeting: https://twitter.com/wgcu/status/1125802351992897537

On the threat to democracy from improper secrecy: https://twitter.com/wgcu/status/1126156718780637184

A panoramic view of the site where the Rooney Roundtable was held. The orange cones mark the closest distance that the public was allowed to get to the building. (All photos by the author.)

A small but vigorous group of people tried to make their concerns about Southwest Florida water quality heard but were ignored by the officials at the Roundtable. A number were protesting the mining activities of the Mosaic Co., which they say is polluting waters in central Florida.

A protester demands clean water and the chance to speak to government officials and lawmakers.

Darlene Lucas, a retired nurse, and Jan Fennessy drove to Fort Myers from Venice to try to learn about the health effects of algal blooms. Lucas said she had seen severe impacts from impure water in her practice.

Eric Larson, a student at the Emergent Technologies Institute. Larson had hoped to show Gov. DeSantis the facility and some of his work but wasn’t permitted in the building and was kept outside on the lawn with other members of the public.

The closest the public was allowed to get to the outdoor press conference by DeSantis and Rooney.

The secrecy of the Rooney Roundtable was a violation of the spirit and intent of Florida’s Sunshine Law, which holds that decisions affecting the public should be made in public, WINK-TV lawyer Karen Kammer stated in a May 3 letter to Rooney.

Commentary

Rooney and DeSantis’ ability to exclude the press and public from a forum making decisions critical to Floridians’ health and wellbeing sets a dangerous precedent and is a blow to the rule of law in a state with one of the most comprehensive government transparency laws in the nation.

The secret decisions taken at this meeting will now likely trickle down to the county and municipal levels but in what forms and to what ends the press and public may never know.

Liberty lives in light

Activists show up early at Rooney Roundtable

05-07-19 Tim Ritchie and activists at FGCU ETI

Tim Ritchie (left) and fellow activists Samuel Tarpening and Frank Coz, show up early at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Emergent Technologies Institute to press their case for clean water after a drive from Punta Gorda. Ritchie is founder and organizer of March Against Mosaic, which seeks to ban phosphate mining in Florida. The trio was on hand for the opening of a “private” roundtable organized by Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) to show their concern to officials discussing harmful algal blooms. Rooney closed the meeting to press and public in possible violation of Florida’s Sunshine Law. Nonetheless, public activists will seek to make their voices heard throughout the day. (Photo: David Silverberg)

WINK-TV lawyer to Rooney: Closed roundtable violates Sunshine Law

04-30-19 Emergent Technologies Institute

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Emergent Technologies Institute where a closed discussion on harmful algae blooms is scheduled to take place on May 7. (Photo: FGCU)

437 days (1 year, 2 months, 13 days) since Rep. Francis Rooney has met constituents in an open, public forum

May 5, 2019 by David Silverberg

The Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) roundtable scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, will violate Florida’s Sunshine Law if it is closed to the press and public, argues an attorney for WINK-TV, based in Fort Myers, Fla.

“However well-intentioned the notion of closing the HAB Meeting to the press and public may have been, such closure in our view violates Florida’s Sunshine Law,” writes Karen Kammer, a lawyer with the firm Mitrani, Raynor, Adamsky and Toland, Miami, Fla., and counsel to WINK-TV.

Kammer delivered the opinion in a strongly-worded May 3 letter to Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.), who organized the meeting (referred to here as the Rooney Roundtable). After publicly announcing the meeting of federal, state and local officials in April, Rooney subsequently declared that the meeting was “private” and press and public would be excluded.

“Respectfully, on behalf of my clients and the public we must object strenuously to closure as a violation of Florida’s Sunshine Law, Section 286.011, Florida Statutes,” argued Kammer.

Kammer noted that the Sunshine Law only allows very narrow exceptions to opening meetings to the public and these exceptions must be made by the legislature, not individuals.

Kammer cited five objections to Rooney’s closure of his roundtable:

He has no legal standing to close a meeting of state and local officials;
The reasons he cited for closure (privacy, personal relationships and unrestricted discussion) don’t exist in Florida law;
Action and decisions based on the roundtable may be taken by public boards and commissions and so it must be open to press and public;
It appears that invitees were chosen specifically to evade the Sunshine Law’s requirements;
Any concerns that Rooney might have about decorum or order during the course of the meeting is not a basis for closure.

“The devastating effect of the algal blooms on the health and welfare of Florida’s citizens, as well as on the state’s economy, is worthy of continued discussion to devise efforts to combat it. Nonetheless, such efforts must be conducted in the sunshine as Florida law requires,” wrote Kammer. “Accordingly, we urge each of you to honor our objections and insist the Meeting be made open to the press and public in the manner described above.”

There is no response to the letter or any other comment on the Roundtable on Rep. Rooney’s website. A query has been sent to Rooney’s office.

This report will be updated as circumstances warrant.

Liberty lives in light

“You’re not invited”—How the Rooney Roundtable went from success to mess, an analysis

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Emergent Technologies Institute where a closed discussion on harmful algae blooms is scheduled to take place on May 7. (Photo: FGCU)

436 days (1 year, 2 months, 12 days) since Rep. Francis Rooney has met constituents in an open, public forum

May 4, 2019 by David Silverberg

It takes special effort to transform an impending success to an ongoing mess.

At the end of April, by all conventional measures, the roundtable discussion of harmful algal blooms organized by Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) was looking to be a great success.

He had pulled together all the key players, federal, state and local, who could actually do something about Southwest Florida’s water crisis. They were going to meet each other in the flesh and have a substantive discussion and perhaps reach some decisions. He had commitments that they would show up—no small feat! He had arranged a time and a venue in Southwest Florida. He was burnishing his credentials as a green Republican who cared about his local environment and getting kudos for it. He had the local media playing it up, simply accepting his press release.

But when that media started scheduling their actual coverage of the event, they discovered something startling: they weren’t invited. Neither was the public. For all the promotion, all the preliminary publicity they’d given this event, they were excluded.

Not only that but all the participants were public officials on the public payroll and they were going to conduct public business on vital matters. In a state with perhaps the most sweeping sunshine law in the country, Rooney had simply decided to lock the doors and keep the press and public out—and it seemed that his attendees, all public servants and many in publicly elected offices, were in on the game.

Now coverage of what we’ll call the Rooney Roundtable is a matter of intense public interest and an important point of contention—because if Rooney gets away with closing this matter of vital public importance, it means that the Florida Sunshine Law is a sham and doors will start slamming on the press and public in Southwest Florida and throughout the state in the future. When matters of vital public importance are discussed, no longer will the public know what’s being decided or done in their name or to them. The media, their eyes and ears, will be unconstitutionally blinded and muted.

This comes at a time of heightened awareness of government secretiveness at the national level over topics like the Robert Mueller report, the president’s tax returns and Russian election meddling. Rooney’s promise to hold a press conference after his roundtable smacks suspiciously of what will likely be a local replay of Attorney General William Barr’s deceptive summaries of Mueller’s findings. Rooney may summarize what was said at the roundtable but the public, who pays every attendee’s salary, will not know who said what or which agency each speaker represented. Overall, Rooney is appearing to be cut from the same secretive cloth as his hero and mentor, Donald Trump.

From a political perspective, Rooney’s insistence on secrecy has turned his roundtable from a triumph to a debacle. He now seems to be doing something illicit to the public rather than on their behalf. He has turned what was previously a largely supportive, supine and somnolent local media establishment against himself and the bitterness from this is likely to linger. Whether it will still be remembered next November is questionable. But if Rooney faces a primary challenge, which is likely, it will add fuel to his adversary’s fire.

Rookie mistakes

The most revealing thing about Rooney’s thinking was a statement he made that was quoted by NBC-2’s Dave Elias: “to obtain the participants we have, the forum must be private and technically oriented.”

The statement reveals that Rooney has still not made the mental transition from private businessman to public servant, nor does he understand the nature of public business.

In inviting public officials to his roundtable, Rooney assured some potential attendees—probably all—that their comments would be off the record and shielded from public scrutiny.

First, he did not have the power or authority to do that. There are no “private” government meetings. They’re either open or closed, public or classified. In private life and business he could do whatever he wanted. But every listed participant in Rooney’s Roundtable is a public official doing the public’s business on the public payroll dealing with a matter of vital public interest. As a congressman and public servant, Rooney had no authority to move this off the record and out of public sight. If he was going to do it behind closed doors he needed to declare it a classified meeting and meet all the standards and requirements for classification, which would mean that all participants would be sworn to secrecy and revealing the roundtable’s contents would become a federal crime.

Secondly, Rooney has argued that the roundtable does not violate Florida’s Sunshine Law because no two participating officials are from the same agency. It’s a nice bit of Jesuitical hair-splitting but the intent of the Sunshine Law is to open proceedings affecting the public to public scrutiny and this meeting more than meets the standard. Further, if Rooney is wrong, his attendees from Florida jurisdictions could be guilty of a crime and face a fine. If they’re elected officials they will be giving potential opponents ammunition in their next elections.

As for the contents of the roundtable being too technical for the press and public to understand, that’s just plain arrogance. Every Southwest Floridian has been living with the consequences of harmful algal blooms for over a year. There’s excellent, deep and widespread understanding of the issue, the forces surrounding it and the government mechanisms for dealing with it. If Rooney is saying the press and public are too stupid to understand this topic then he’s also saying they’re too stupid to understand any public issue and ultimately, that they’re too stupid to vote. This is an argument that has no merit whatsoever.

Rooney is accustomed to being the head of a major corporation, to holding board and operational meetings where his word is law and his decisions are final. Like another inexperienced businessman thrust into a high-profile public role, he’s unaccustomed to constitutional and legal restraints on his actions and to meeting public requirements. He’s accustomed to being a ruler, not a servant so he finds the role of serving the public uncomfortable and unfamiliar.

With his roundtable, Rooney is trying to have it both ways. He wants publicity and public credit for organizing it but doesn’t want it to be publicly open and he wants a crisp, decisive meeting that reaches firm decisions without the kind of public sunshine required by law.

What is more, he’s not terribly reflective. As he said in his remarks at The Alamo gun range and store in May 2018, “we need a nation of do-ers, not philosophers.” Well, he didn’t philosophize much or think this through and what he’s doing is putting his foot into a quagmire very, very deeply.

The options

So what can Rooney do now? Options include:

The right and best option: Declare the meeting open. Tell his attendees that he made a mistake and that press and public will be in attendance and the meeting is on the record. Those who can’t handle it will simply drop out. Then release an official text of the proceedings.
Cancel the whole thing permanently.
Cancel this session but regroup and try to do the same thing again, only the right way, perhaps under the auspices of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) or the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, with those institutions setting the groundrules and guidelines and handling invitations. Another alternative is to hold a formal field hearing or a hearing in Washington, DC, following the rules of the House of Representatives. And, of course, keeping everything open to the press and public.
Plow ahead as planned and just hold the roundtable as a “private” gathering excluding the press and public. But remember—this is like plowing a field sowed with landmines. You never know which one is going to blow up. Rooney may get his roundtable as originally conceived but he jeopardizes the wellbeing of his participants, whether civil service or elected. Moreover, this course may work to Rooney’s own detriment in unforeseeable ways.

The aim of the Rooney Roundtable is commendable but the process of putting it together as currently planned was ignorant and inept from both procedural and political standpoints. Its execution may actually be illegal.

So far as this author knows the roundtable is still scheduled for Tuesday, May 7 at the Emergent Technologies Institute of FGCU, 16301 Innovation Lane, in Fort Myers, Fla., which is just off Alico Road, east of Route 75. It’s a good guess that invitees will start showing up between 8:00 am and 9:00 am. Whether anyone else gets in will be up to Francis Rooney.

The press and public should be there. Let’s see if there’s still sunshine in the Sunshine State.

Liberty lives in light

Pressure ramps up on Rooney to open government roundtable to press and public

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Emergent Technologies Institute where a closed discussion on harmful algae blooms is scheduled to take place on May 7. (Photo: FGCU)

435 days (1 year, 2 months, 11 days) since Rep. Francis Rooney has met constituents in an open, public forum

May 3, 2019 by David Silverberg

Pressure ramped up this week on Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) to open a scheduled roundtable on harmful algal blooms to the press and public.

The roundtable discussion on harmful algal blooms (HABs) is scheduled to take place Tuesday, May 7 at the Emergent Technologies Institute of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) at 16301 Innovation Lane, in Fort Myers, Fla. It is closed to the press and public.

On April 30, NBC-2 News reporter Dave Elias filed a report on the meeting, in which he quoted Southwest Floridians complaining about being shut out. “There’s something that government officials don’t want us to hear, that’s what I get out of it,” said Emanuel Dimare, a Fort Myers realtor quoted by Elias.

On Wednesday, May 2, the Naples Daily News called for Rooney to open the discussion in an editorial, “Congressman Rooney should let public in on toxic algae discussion at FGCU,” written by Brent Batten for both that newspaper and the Fort Myers News-Press.

On Thursday, May 3, in an investigative report, “Officials schedule private meeting for SWFL water crisis,” WINK-TV reporter Lauren Sweeney attempted to contact all the announced attendees.

“Federal, state and local legislators are coming together in Southwest Florida to fight the water crisis, but you’re not invited,” Sweeney reported. She reported that WINK is considering legal action to open the meeting. (Sweeney’s report also contains a complete list of scheduled attendees.)

Also on Thursday the Naples Press Club, a non-profit, non-partisan organization of active and retired journalists and communications professionals, passed a resolution calling on Rooney to open the meeting. “…Organizers of this meeting should immediately open it to full, live coverage by the press and attendance by the public throughout its duration,” stated the resolution, adding “that no future meeting of this sort attended by public officials and of vital interest to the press and public should be closed to the press and public.”

Rooney press secretary Christopher Berardi had stated that a press conference would follow the meeting but has not yet announced a time.

Closing the meeting may violate Florida’s Sunshine Law (Florida Statute 286.011(1)), which states that any government meeting where decisions are made must be open to press and public in its entirety.

According to Sweeney of WINK-TV, in a statement Rooney maintained that since no two officials at the conference were from the same agency, the law did not apply. Elias of NBC-2 quoted a Rooney statement that declared “to obtain the participants we have, the forum must be private and technically oriented.”

The roundtable is intended to compare notes on the kinds of HABs that plagued Southwest Florida last summer. Officials will examine best practices and discuss preventive measures.

The attendees represent a cross section of federal, state and local officials.

Announced attendees include key federal officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Key state officials will come from the Florida departments of Environmental Protection, Economic Opportunity and Emergency Management. Local officials will come from Lee and Collier counties, the cities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Bonita Springs and the Village of Estero, as well as representatives of the Lee Health system and FGCU.