Time for Gulf Countians to do the Right Thing

Life is full of difficult decisions. There are a few rules of thumb that can make these decisions simpler. They are speak the truth, honor your word and just do the right thing.

Unfortunately some long standing members of our county commission seem to have abandoned these principles.

When commissioners Traylor and McLemore promised to pursue countywide voting all the way to the Supreme Court or resign their seats they did not speak truthfully nor honor their words. They had no intention of giving up single districts.

Mr. Peters orchestrated and the court established single districts several years ago. Do we still need this them today? This system established 5 separate fiefdoms and disenfranchised 80 percent of our voters. Mr. Peters could easily reverse this injustice but he along with Mr. Traylor and Mr. McLemore have stonewalled every attempt to accede to the voters wishes.

The BP disaster is certainly a lesson in doing the right thing. With a 10 percent unemployment rate in our county Mssrs. Traylor and McLemore show up at the employment line and walk away with well-paying jobs on top of the county jobs they already have. Jobs that out of work Gulf countians would love to have. To rub some salt in that wound we taxpayers get to fill their gas tanks so they can drive to their BP jobs on our dime. Not the right thing.

Now we have Mr. Traylor singing the praises of these BP polluters who promoted him from laborer to foreman in the wink of an eye. In a News Herald article he states "why try to bully around somebody (BP) when a little bit of honey will go a long way.” He should know because it sure went a long way for him. As for Mr. McLemore not speaking to reporters on the orders of his BP bossman I would remind him that said reporter is a taxpayer also and that his allegiance belongs to Gulf County, not to BP. So what are you covering up Mr. McLemore?

The right thing? No, the wrong thing.

As for Mssrs. Peters, Traylor and McLemore being responsible for a functionally impaired board how about Mr. Yeager making the motion that no BP employee or relative of a BP employee, past or present can serve on the board of Gulf County Commissioners, seconded by Mr. Williams, Mssrs. Peters, Traylor And McLemore have to abstain. motion passes 2 to 0 and those three are outta here. They are then free to go to work in Russia with their good friend Tony Haywire. I'm sure he will share some of his 17 million with them, and they won’t have to worry about getting any tar balls on their toes, just a little frostbite.

The Right Thing? You Betcha!

Speaking of the right thing, a small percentage of our voters, those in districts 2 and 4 have an opportunity to do a good and right thing for all Gulf Countians. In August and again in November they have the power to move us towards a truly representative form of government by nominating and electing a qualified candidate who is not afraid to face all Gulf County voters.

Respectfully,

Tom Knoche

Port St. Joe