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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2007

Recall The Recall

I have read every letter to the editor and article in two daily newspapers about the attempted recall of Dade City Commissioner Camille Hernandez. I do not like recall elections or impeachment of elected officials unless there is overwhelming evidence of unlawful activity. Recalls and impeachment lead to instability in government and can be much more harmful than an elected official serving out their term.

I have only spoken to Hernandez on two occasions - once before she was elected and once after. I have noticed she is not talking to the press; only the recall group is doing that. Perhaps she does not want to air this situation in the newspapers, and that is to her credit but also allows her no defense.

I have visited the recall Web site and read the statutes. I do not believe that every charge Hernandez has leveled can be easily disputed by public record, especially the accusations of the city violating state Department of Environmental Protection regulations. Dade City has a history of DEP violations, but perhaps Curtis Beebe, the recall committee chairman, has not lived here long enough to know that.

As for the accusation in his recent guest column in the Tribune ('Recall Of Commissioner Is Best Choice For Dade City,' Aug. 26) that she is the reason for an 'all-time low' in employee morale, this assertion is ludicrous. I guess he missed the real 'all-time low' about 20 years ago. I always found employee morale to be caused not by a board member of some type but by administrators directly in charge of employees.

I suggest that Hernandez serve out her term, and if the public is not satisfied with her service, elect someone else. If the recall group really had a case, people like Ronda Storms, Charlie Miranda, Brian Blair and even Jeb Bush should have been booted out of office, as they meet some of the criteria mentioned by the Dade City recall group.

JEAN McNARY

Dade City

Deer In Headlights

As a concerned citizen of Dade City who lives less than a mile from the proposed landfill site, it was important to me to attend the Dade City Commission landfill workshop Aug. 28.

When I arrived promptly at the designated time, I saw that the commission meeting room was packed with other concerned citizens. When I made it inside to a standing-room-only crowd, I was surprised to see that several commissioners were not in attendance. As time went by, the missing commissioners trickled in, one 20 minutes late for the half-hour workshop.

During the course of the workshop, it was apparent that only Mayor P. Hutchison Brock II had done his homework and knows what the issues are. While Mayor Brock presented many important questions to both speakers, the rest of the board had the look of deer in headlights. They were clearly unprepared and possibly unconcerned about an issue that has evoked strong emotions from a large body of their constituents.

As Mayor Brock asked the rest of the board if they had any questions, the only other commissioner who managed to sputter out a few meager questions in an attempt to understand Angelo's Aggregate Materials project manager John Arnold's statements was Scott Black.
Dade City commissioners are elected for staggered, four-year terms, with three terms expiring in 2008. I plan to vote only for Mayor Brock.

ED BANK

Dade City

Spirit Of 1773

Regarding the proposed east Pasco landfill:

Is democracy in east Pasco County real, or is it an illusion, a lie?

It appears that a large majority of east Pasco homeowners oppose the establishment of a for-profit landfill on some of our few remaining rural acres. If a majority of our citizens oppose this dump, why is there even a question about allowing it?

I'm writing in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party. This is about our rights and quality of life. And it's a question of holding our elected officials accountable to the people, not to the big-money corporations.

This is, after all, our home.

FERN WILLIAMS

Zephyrhills

A Higher Place

Would Bill Bunting, Lee Hanson and their Second Amendment club members ever tell women to never bring a handgun into a home that has small children or teenagers, aged or sick adults, family members on drugs, or where there are frequent quarrels or unsavory visitors? Would they tell these women to lock up their guns and ammunition? No. But I would!

I would tell them at least a dozen studies have proven a handgun in the home is a much greater danger to the family than it would be to any intruder. I also would tell them my records for Pasco County shows only two legitimate case of self-defense with a handgun in the last five years. You can read about the carnage these weapons cause in the paper on a daily basis and also learn that Florida is the murder-suicide capital of the U.S. with handguns that were brought into the home for self-defense.

Get all the training you can from the Second Amendment Club and Bunting, the head of the Pasco Republican Party who also is a National Rifle Association-qualified concealed handgun instructor. Bill will expose you to the Florida law of self-defense, which was modified by the NRA last year to allow you to literally execute anyone on your doorstep you deem threatening - a real plus for any woman defending her home.

Just ask your pastor. He will confirm that the NRA has elevated the gun to a higher place than God.

ARTHUR C. HAYHOE

Wesley Chapel

The Wild West

Shame on Pasco County commissioners for allowing developers to saturate this county without either a plan or a budget for more and better schools, roads, police and other services. And now they are demanding these agencies cut their already emaciated budgets.

What surprises me the most is their ruthless slashing of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office budget, line by line, denying an increase to the very service required to protect the people who pay taxes for these services. Shame on commissioners for putting people's lives in harm's way.

But thanks to Commissioner Pat Mulieri for rejecting a budget cut that would have prevented officers from receiving bullet-proof vests!

It's time we vote out those wanting to send our local heroes out to fight the war on crime without some protection for themselves. Maybe we can find some money in the budget for bow and arrows or some water guns. Or maybe we can return to the days of the Wild West! Anyone up for a good gunslinging?

ANNE MARIE BAKER

Dade City

The writer is executive director of the Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Inc.

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