13 minute read
Letters
from PCO 10 01 20
Dear Editor:
Like a spoiled child, at the Sept. 9 County Commission meeting, Joe Mullins again lashed out at fellow commissioners by calling Greg Hansen a “fat son of a b----” while immaturely posing as if ready to fight and then childishly belittling Charlie Ericksen for his lack of mental sharpness.
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This isn’t the first time Mr. Mullins has publicly disparaged his fellow commissioners, nor was it the first time he has disrupted commission meetings. At the same Sept. 9 meeting, he refused to wear a mandated mask while endorsing and joining a group of non-mask-wearing protesters, even though the meeting protocol mandated masks.
With this in mind, when fellow commissioners Donald O’Brien and Dave Sullivan were presented with Mr. Mullins’ censure on Sept. 21, rational and objective citizens would think that Mr. Hansen’s and Mr. Ericksen’s fellow commissioners would censure him to restrain his repeated pattern of inappropriate, unprofessional and repugnant behavior. But, no!
O’Brien and Sullivan, in essence, endorsed his belligerent behavior by offering hollow excuses and quoting Biblical scripture on behalf of Mr. Mullins. Commissioner O’Brien even had the impudence to blame Mr. Hansen for antagonizing Mr. Mullins, as if Mr. Mullins wasn’t personally responsible for his vile and emotional outbursts. By holding Mullins harmless, these spineless commissioners are actually enabling his hateful and disparaging behavior instead of curtailing it.
O’Brien and Sullivan lack the courage, fortitude and moral decency to do what is right and just because — like the schoolyard bully who intimidates his classmates — Mullins will not only continue to disparage and disrupt, he will magnify it!
Meanwhile, we have this untethered “loose cannon” administering our local government with weak fellow commissioners, O’Brien and Sullivan, who can’t or won’t make the right decision for the people of Flagler County. Caspar Milquetoast would be proud!
BILL GREEN Palm Coast
Editor’s Note: O’Brien, Sullivan and Mullins were offered a chance to respond to Green’s criticism by email.
Mullins wrote: “As far as I’m concerned, this issue is resolved, and it’s time to get focused on Flagler.”
O’Brien wrote: “While I agree with what [Green] has written regarding Commissioner Mullins’ behavior at a recent commission meeting, I think he has unfairly recapped my position ... during our discussion about a resolution of censure at the meeting. A portion of what I read at the meeting is as follows:
“ ‘Commissioner Mullins, your behavior at our last meeting was embarrassing and hurtful. There are no excuses;
you did it, and you should own up to it. The meeting was tainted and undermined. I told you that day man-to-man how I felt about it. We serve on a collegial board of equals. This is not a vessel for national politics; it is results-oriented, close-to-the-people local government. We do things that impact peoples’ lives locally. We represent everyone. There is a time for expressing our national political preferences, but when we do not temper that in our local government work ... it detracts from our results. This nonsense and lack of leadership results in a huge distraction and waste of time. A waste of time that citizens write us or contact us with their views and suggestions on your behavior instead of on the important issues facing us.’
Sullivan wrote: “As I stated publicly on Sept. 21, Commissioner Mullins’ actions and words at the Sept. 9 meeting were unacceptable, especially since they were directed specifically at Commissioners Hansen and Ericksen. As far as the word censure goes, it does not remove a member from their office, so they retain their title, stature, and power to vote.
“Before I spoke at the Sept. 21 meeting, Mr. Mullins publicly apologized to the two commissioners and all present for what he had said at the Sept. 9 meeting. I believe my responses at both the Sept. 9. and 21 BOCC meetings were both measured and appropriate, and I stand by both. At this point my problem with your letter is that you have taken a specific incident not involving politics and attempted to turn it into an anti Republican Party talking point, which you intend to damage the party and the Flagler County BOCC organization as a whole.
“As far as my personal courage, fortitude and moral decency go, I do take strong exception to the words in your letter. I’ve been around a while, and my 28 years of active duty in the U.S. Navy retiring as a captain, 12 years a director for Hughes and Boeing classified space programs, U.S. Navy League national director and finally having the guts to run for Flagler County commissioner once and now just winning a second fouryear term, I’ve faced many much more important and tough decisions than those you mention.
“Don’t be a back bencher, Mr. Green. Get of the bench and into the fray. Facebook commentary and other social media dribble do not do much to make Flagler County a better place for all of us. My objective as a county commissioner is to make Flagler County safe, secure, business and family friendly and better overall as we all move into the future.”
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FCSO urges locals to ‘remain peaceful’ after Trump supporter disrupts rally
JONATHAN SIMMONS
NEWS EDITOR
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 25 issued a news release titled, “Sheriff encourages community to remain peaceful during election season” after a supporter of President Donald Trump drove through a proBiden event screaming profanities and threats at attendees.
The man, 50-year-old Palm Coast resident Christopher Feeney, posted a Facebook Live video of the event taken from inside his truck, writing, “I DESTROYED THESE WACKOS. DEMONCRATS,” followed by a series of laughing-face emojis.
The Sheriff’s Office’s news release does not name the political affiliations of the two sides, describing the incident as “a local resident acting aggressively towards a large gathering of people who came together to show support for a particular presidential candidate. ... In the video, the person in support of the opposite candidate drives down the street where the group is gathering while screaming profanities and at points threatening members of the group.”
The incident occurred Sept. 19 in Town Center, where Biden supporters had gathered.
Feeney had opened the video by stating, laughing, “OK folks, here we are, we’re going to see the Democrats ... I’m coming right in the middle of these mothereffers.”
Then, shouting out the truck’s open window, “Get the f--- out of here you piece of s---. F--- ing touch my truck I’ll f----ing kill ya. ... F---cking idiots, get your brains out of your a--es! ... Look at all the nutcases, look at them all. Triggered liberals, yeah! Trump 2020!”
He continued driving through the crowd, yelling insults. A few from the Biden group yelled back.
When a Biden rally attende e a p p roa c h e d Fe e n ey ’s truck threatening to call police — which he later did — Feeney claimed to be “buddies” with Sheriff Rick Staly. Feeney then left, according to an incident report, and deputies found him at a Trump event, where he admitted to heckling the Democrats.
“I do not personally know this individual, and I certainly do not condone his aggressive behavior,” Staly said, according to the news release.
The attendee who’d called the Sheriff’s Office told deputies that Feeney appeared to be trying to hit people with his truck. A deputy who reviewed the video found that allegation unfounded. Feeney has not been charged with a crime.
“Emotions are high this election season,” Staly said, according to the news release. “If you choose to support a political candidate, please do so peacefully and respect the rights of others who may not agree with your views. We will protect everyone’s First Amendment rights.” “It is behavior like this that causes serious and sometimes deadly incidents. I have directed our Homeland Security Section to look into this troubling video.”
RICK STALY, Flagler County sheriff
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