Charlotte Greenbarg sounds the alarm about Broward back-scratching in action: Bob Norman: Lieberman in China; Looks, walks & quacks like a duck? Duck!

Thought you'd find this of interest, though some of you may've already received Broward Coalition president Charlotte Geenbarg's email.

At the bottom, I've added Charlotte's spot-on email to the Broward County Commission yesterday, plus the copy of the amendment Comm. Lieberman wants to have heard on the 14th, after her trip to China, which I sent many of you on Monday.

I've seen ducks up close before -this ethics amendment of her's looks like a duck to me.

Perhaps we should all get a t-shirt printed-up reading: "One of my commissioners went to China but all I got was much-weaker ethics laws."

By the way, for those of you who don't know your Texas geography, Tarrant County includes Fort Worth, and it's county pop. is 1.7 million, says the guy whose family first moved to the Hill Country of Texas in 1855.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charlotte Greenbarg
Date: Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 12:59 PM
Subject: Bob Norman: Lieberman in China
To: Charlotte Greenbarg

This probably isn't the best time to visit China;
all travel should be on hold until the County gets it act together, ethically and fiscally.

Personal note: When we were in business late 70s, 80s and until 1993 when we sold and retired, the Chinese government offered to provide at no cost to us for 2 years all the labor we needed to manufacture our orthopedic soft goods and the famous black belt w/suspenders that my late husband perfected. We said no thanks. First, we'd have to lay off the factory full of people who supported families, many single moms, and second, we knew that once they made our goods, they'd go back to China and undercut us, probably with inferior products.

Charlotte

-------

BrowardPalmBeach NewTimes

Daily Pulp blog
Lieberman In China
By Bob Norman, Tue., Aug. 31 2010 @ 10:43AM

While the Chaitgate corruption investigation rages on, Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman won't be at today's commission meeting. She's gone to China.

Lieberman's office confirmed she left for Beijing yesterday as part of a delegation representing the National Association of Counties. She will be there for ten days to "promote econcomic development."

​The commissioner, who has come under intense scrutiny in the State Attorney's Office investigation of the dealings of dirty developers Bruce and Shawn Chait, is currently the president of the Florida Association of Counties, which is affiliated with the national group.

Read the rest of the column at:
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/08/lieberman_in_china.php

Reader comments at:
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/08/lieberman_in_china.php#comments

------
Charlotte's email to the Broward County Commission last night at 7:50 p.m.:

Ladies & Gentlemen:

You've just had (5 p.m. today) an item added to tomorrow's agenda, dealing with the selection of an insurance provider. Staff tied on the selection (Commissioners are no longer on selection committees now that the Ethics ordinance has passed) between Coventry and Aetna.

Problem is that the Florida Assoc. of Counties (FAC), President of which is Comm. Ilene Lieberman, contacted each Commissioner re: this selection. Turns out that the FAC would get $2/month for each enrolled employee if Aetna gets the contract. This is a statewide "arrangment" that FAC has with Aetna.There's nothing wrong per se with the company Aetna; but the "arrangment" waddles and quacks.

Furthermore, FAC Pres. Lieberman is presently in China representing FAC.

So how is this connected to Item 51? Well, we need an open record of who gets and gives what to whom. We wanted
full public disclosure when we demanded an Ethics ordinance. When FAC has an event (and the National Assoc. of Counties and others likewise), there are sponsors for the open bars, for example, and those sponsors are often law firms and lobbyists that do business with counties or have clients who do. But we don't know that, do we? It's not easily available information. And there's the rub.

You need to let the Ethics Ordinance continue to take effect before you begin to make any changes, and Item 51 is a very large change.

I am copying my members on this communication, and know from many, many meetings, emails and conversations that they totally agree with this position.

Sincerely,

Charlotte Greenbarg

President

The Broward Coalition, Inc.

-------

Wendy Murray's cc of her email to the Broward County Commission

Thank you, Wendy!

Charlotte

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 8:03 AM

Subject: Re: Poster Child for why Item 51 should not be passed

Dear Commissioners,

I agree with both Charlotte and Don.

Please inject ethics and integrity into the Broward County Commission by acting openly and with the avoidance of perceived mischief.

Being an elected official is an honor bestowed upon you by the votes of the residents you serve. Public service should be discerning and in the best interest of the residents. It should not be self-seeking nor give the appearance of such.

Truly, I thank you for your service and hopefully, I observe your actions to avoid all perceived mischief while embracing the arms of integrity and character.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Wendy Murray

P.S. Please forgive any typos as sending from phone. Thank you.

Wendy Murray, FEMV, CMCA, LCAM
Director of Business Development
Association Services of Florida
10112 USA Today Way
Miramar, FL 33025
www.associaflorida.com
954-922-3514

----------

Per my email yesterday

http://www.broward.org/commission/Pages/Meetings.aspx

Meeting Agendas

AI-6294		Item #: 51.
Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Date: 08/31/2010 Director's Name: Jeffrey Newton Department: County Attorney
Information
Requested Action
MOTION TO ADOPT Resolution directing the County Administrator to publish Notice of Public Hearing to be held on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 422 of the Governmental Center to consider enactment of a proposed Ordinance, the title of which is as follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE CODE OF ETHICS; AMENDING SUBSECTION 1-19(b)(1) OF THE BROWARD COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES, TO ALLOW COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO ACCEPT ACCOMMODATIONS PROVIDED FOR OR ARRANGED BY PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS NACo AND FAC TO ATTEND OR PARTICIPATE IN OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS OR EVENTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (Sponsored by Commissioner Ilene Lieberman)
Why Action is Necessary
The proposed Ordinance was prepared by the Office of the County Attorney at the direction of the Board of County Commissioners at its Commission meeting of August 17, 2010.
What Action Accomplishes
The proposed Ordinance amends the Code of Ethics to provide an exception to the gifts restriction and prohibition, allowing County Commissioners to accept accommodations to attend official events and functions that are provided for, or arranged by, state, regional, national, and international organizations, including the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), which promote the exchange of information or the professional development of elected public officials, thereby saving Broward County the cost or potential cost of such attendance.
Is this Action Goal Related
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/ Background
The proposed ordinance amends the Code of Ethics to provide an exception to the gifts restriction and prohibition, allowing County Commissioners to accept accommodations to attend official events and functions that are provided for, or arranged by, state, regional, national, and international organizations, including the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), which promote the exchange of information or the professional development of elected public officials, thereby saving Broward County the cost or potential cost of such attendance.
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary:
Fiscal Impact Statement by Office of Management and Budget attached as Exhibit 3.

------
See also: http://205.166.161.204/adv_search_results.cfm?fp=ADVSRCH
for the Motion to Direct and Motion to Adopt requested by Comm. Lieberman and County Attorney Jeffrey Newton.

------

In case the link to Bob Norman's column of last Monday above -which mentioned Hallandale Beach mayor Joy Cooper- doesn't work for you:

Our Politicians at the Trough
By Bob Norman, Mon., Aug. 23 2010 @ 3:23PM

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/08/florida_league_of_cities_dinner.php

------

Speaking of ducks, if only South Florida news reporters would start paying closer attention and boning-up on the context and backstory of these sorts of stories, maybe even showing-up en masse to the County Commission meetings just to humor citizens like myself, and started channeling Le Canard enchaîné.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Canard_encha%C3%AEn%C3%A9

Of course, the Chained Duck intentionally has very limited info on le Internet, which they explain away thusly at http://www.lecanardenchaine.fr/:

"Mais notre métier, c'est d'informer et de distraire nos lecteurs, avec du papier journal et de l'encre. C'est un beau métier qui suffit à occuper notre équipe."
But our job is to inform and entertain our readers, with newsprint and ink. It is a wonderful profession that's sufficient to occupy our team.

If only the Sun-Sentinel and Herald were both like-minded and high-minded, and focused their energies on the very large task before them in Broward County, a target-rich environment for corruption with a Capital "C" rather than waste their resources. But no.

Miami TV news reporters have no such excuses.
Instead, the latter do "news stories" on eyelash operations, or get sucked into doing stories on bus shelter advertising signs bought by Hollywood film studios to promote an upcoming film with the word "virgin" in it, which got on the air last night on Channel 4 at 11:11 p.m.
http://cbs4.com/watercooler/Still.A.Virgin.2.1887590.html

Which only makes me ask: If a dog chases its own tail, is that news?
As we all know from personal viewing experience, in South Florida TV circles, dogs that chase their own tails are golden!

Will Lady Dracula, Ilene Lieberman, successfully suck the life out of Broward County's ethics/IG proposal for the benefit of her family and cronies?

2008 Royal Mail stamp of Hammer Films' Dracula, 1958.

This is a follow-up to my post of last Thursday, August 5, 2010
Broward County Comm. Ilene Lieberman is the creepy anti-ethics monster that just won't die. She's the 'Mummy' of Broward County!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/broward-county-comm-ilene-lieberman-is.html

You know what they say, if a horror mask fits...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDTxHg7wyP0




After all the insider talk for a week about what's going to happen Tuesday afternoon on Andrews Avenue at the Broward County Commission meeting at 2 p.m., it's finally time for everyone who's anyone to stand up and be counted and be held publicly accountable.

If it was up to me, of course, I'd love to see a few local high-profile folks in particular show up and say what they personally think about the proposals, so that it's all out there for voters to see, since South Florida pols are notorious for ducking high-profile showdowns on issues like this, even the reformist candidates.

I'll leave it to you readers to figure out why I'd like to see them, but if you are a fairly regular visitor to this space, you probably already have a pretty good hunch why: Chris Smith, Steve Geller, Dan Gelber, Dave Aronberg, Kelly Skidmore, Ellyn Bogdanoff, Ari Porth.

Will any Hispanic or African-American Broward residents speak during public comments, whether high-profile or not? Hmm-m-m... that's a very good question.
Sadly, probably not.

Hey, isn't THAT a news story?
Yes, in other parts of the country, but here in polyglot South Florida, such politically and socially uncomfortable stories like THAT usually never see the light of day.

The afternoon agenda and back up documents are here:
http://205.166.161.204/agenda_publish.cfm?mt=ALL&get_month=8&get_year=2010&dsp=ag&seq=191#ReturnTo0

For those of you unable to get away to downtown Fort Lauderdale to watch the rhetoric and metaphors fly at the three-ring circus, you can watch it LIVE via the Internet but you must use Internet Explorer, as I learned the hard way last year, to my chagrin when using Firefox, with predictable results.
Why IE, I can't say, but that's the deal.
http://www.broward.org/video/

-----

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/07/1766485/villains-of-ethics-reform-in-broward.html

Miami Herald
Villains of ethics reform in Broward dream up new strategy
By Fred Grimm
August 8, 2010

You've got to appreciate the brazen hand behind this latest attempt to eviscerate ethics reform in Broward County. Same way you watch, with perverse fascination, horror movie villains creeping back from oblivion to wreak more mayhem.

In June, a mighty burst of public outrage cowed the sinister forces behind a contrivance to kill reform. Rather than vote an ethics package up or down, the novel strategy would have shipped the proposed ordinance off to the black hole of judicial review, leaving it to languish until after the fall elections.

The notion dripped with contempt for public sentiment. As if commissioners could ignore the county's spate of scandals and indictments and guilty pleas. Or the federal and state investigators bumping into one another around county hall.

Just a few days before County Attorney Jeff Newton (on behalf of ethically conflicted Commissioner Ilene Lieberman) offered up the subterfuge, ousted commissioner Josephus Eggelletion was in state court to face sentencing on a bribery conviction. (Added atop his federal prison term.)

Such a howl went up across the county that Newton's proposal quickly disappeared, leaving the commission with a deadline and -- everyone assumed -- only two options. Either adopt the ordinance created by the Broward County Reform Commission, word for word, or the measure automatically would be placed on the fall ballot.

Not in this movie. Newton and the unseen hand (AKA Lieberman) have dreamed up yet another strategy to undo reform. Newton would have commissioners adopt the reform ordinance at Tuesday's meeting, keeping it away from the angry voters. Then commissioners would adopt a series of amendments designed to exempt the commissioners and their family members and county staffers from most of the new reforms.

Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger characterized Newton's amendments as a "thinly veiled political attempt to kill ethics reform.''

Newton's so-called "glitch'' ordinance would allow commissioners to keep their seats on bid selection committees. They could still lobby other local governments. Their family members and staffers will not, after all, face strict limits on lobbying. The restrictions on lobbyists' gifts for family members would be gutted. And sitting commissioners would be exempt from certain ethical rules that would be applied to new, incoming commissioners.

"I was absolutely appalled, disgusted, fed up,'' said Broward Ethics Commissioner Robert Wolfe Jr, suffering from an unhappy sense of déjà vu. "We just went through this a couple months ago.''

The ethics commission had spent a year hammering out a package. Not as tough as some wanted. But adopted unanimously. All the while, Wolfe said, certain county politicians, some with profound conflicts of interest, worked behind the scenes to dilute the effort. Now comes this so-called glitch amendment. (Hardly more than a week after Broward Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin was formally charged with seven counts of unlawful compensation.) "There's a culture here that just doesn't get it,'' said the frustrated Wolfe.

It's the sequel to Nightmare on Andrews Avenue. The same scary, sneaky creatures back from the murk, still determined to kill reform.

Reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/07/1766485/villains-of-ethics-reform-in-broward.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1

-----

Robert Weschler picks up the ethics baton and carries it forward at his excellent blog at www.cityethics.org

Yet Another Underhanded Attempt to Water Down the Broward County Ethics Commission's New Ethics Code Fri, 2010-08-06 14:36
http://www.cityethics.org/content/yet-another-underhanded-attempt-water-down-broward-county-ethics-commissions-new-ethics-code

-----

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward Politics blog
Broward County Attorney Newton denies effort to thwart ethics reform
By Brittany Wallman August 9, 2010 09:34 PM

Broward County Attorney Jeff Newton wrote a letter Monday defending his latest proposed changes to the Code of Ethics county commissioners will vote on Tuesday.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/08/broward_county_attorney_newton.html

Broward County Attorney Jeffrey J. Newton's letter to Miami Herald re Fred Grimm column here:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/BdCCResponsetoFredGrimmColumn080910.pdf

-----

This was the 2009 Broward Politics video interview with Bill Scherer on ethics in Broward County that I had on the blog for quite some time.
His comments still ring true!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsXY8oaABoA





See also:
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=32300674&mediaId=76000716
http://www.hammerfilms.com/news/uk-cult-classics-celebrated-on-royal-mail-stamps

To see the Royal Mail stamps commemorating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games:
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=123500769&mediaId=126000848

Broward County Comm. Sue Gunzburger's email to Broward civic activists about ethics reform and Tuesday's Commission meeting

On Thursday, Broward County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger, who represents me here in SE Broward, sent the email brlow out via her campaign office to her supporters, Broward civic activists and the South Florida news media to make them aware of what was afoot with next Tuesday's Commission meeting, the subject of my blog post yesterday, concerning Buddy Nevins comments at Broward Beat.

Outrage: Commissioners To Debate Gutting Ethics Reform
http://www.browardbeat.com/outrage-commissioners-to-debate-gutting-ethics-reform/

The email below was sent to super-activist Charlotte Greenbarg, the President of the Broward Coalition, who thoughtfully forwarded it to me. http://www.browardcoalition.org/

------

Stand with Sue for Ethics Reform

** Urgent Action Needed **

Dear Charlotte,

It seems County Attorney Jeff Newton, working again in stealth coordination with at least one of my colleagues, is conspiring for a second attempt to torpedo ethics reform. Click here to read respected political journalist Buddy Nevins' new column exposing this latest scheme to derail ethics reform.

In the Agenda and backup for next Tuesday's Commission meeting (Item 8 -- and the related amendments -- on the 2 PM Agenda), Mr. Newton is actually proposing that we adopt the proposed Ethics Code (Agenda Item #7) ... and then vote minutes later to totally gut it. This is outrageous!

The County Attorney's so-called "glitch" ordinance proposal (Item 8) is a joke. It is nothing but a thinly veiled political attempt to kill ethics reform. It provides a lengthy "cooling off" period of many months before the ethics reforms would even take effect.

Why is this lengthy delay needed? Do any of my colleagues really need 120 days or more time to become ethical and comply with the new Ethics Code before it takes effect? I hope not.

In reality, the proposed delay is a stalling tactic to allow some of my colleagues to orchestrate lawsuits which would seek to kill ethics reform before the effective date. It would also eliminate any criminal penalties for violating the Ethics Code,

Even worse are the proposed amendments, which are purportedly instigated and authored solely by the County Attorney. These amendments would:

• Totally kill the proposed ban on County Commissioners simultaneously collecting a public salary while also earning big bucks leveraging public office by serving as a paid lobbyist.
• Totally exempt Commission spouses/domestic partners from the gift ban.
• Exempt Commissioners, spouses/domestic partners, and Commission personal staff from most of the new ethics bans.
• Exempt all current commissioners from complying with strictest parts of the proposed new Ethics Code.

With your help in June, we were able to scuttle the plot to kill ethics reform with a ridiculous "declaratory judgment" lawsuit. In response, the County Attorney hired -- at taxpayer expense -- attorney E. Bruce Johnson to weigh in with a "legal opinion" denouncing the proposed Ethics Code. Mr. Johnson's lengthy opinion letter seemingly parroted the County Attorney's absurd stance that any real ethics reform was unconstitutional.

What the County Attorney and Mr. Johnson failed to disclose was that Mr. Johnson has a significant financial conflict of interest that should have prevented him from rendering any opinion. You see, Mr. Johnson's own law firm earns money from having one of their attorneys (State Senator Chris Smith) engage in the same shady "lobbying down" conduct that we are seeking to ban. Thus, it was no surprise that Johnson put forward an opinion that the questionable conduct -- the same conduct which puts money into his own pocket -- is fine with him.

On my own, I inquired last month of respected former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth on this issue. He told me he reviewed the proposed Ethics Code and saw no problems with it. In fact, Attorney General Butterworth told me there was no reason he saw for bringing any declaratory judgment action against it nor for legitimately questioning the constitutionality of the ethics proposals.

Despite this, the County Attorney (and presumably one or two of my colleagues) will not stop until ethics reform is killed. With the sad and disappointing headlines of the past year -- the arrests and convictions -- I couldn't think any better argument would be needed to urge adoption of a tough code of ethics.

HERE IS WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP. NOW.

Please call or email the Broward County Commissioner who represents your district. Demand that s/he vote on Tuesday to adopt the proposed Ethics Code (Public Hearing Agenda Item 7) and reject the so-called "glitch" ordinance (Public Hearing Agenda Item 8) and ALL of the County Attorney's proposed amendments to Item 8.

If you stand with me in support of real ethics reform, please contact your own Commissioner and let him/her (or all of them) know your views on this important issue. Here is the contact information:

District 1 - Ilene Lieberman - 954.357.7001 - ilieberman@broward.org
District 2 - Kristin Jacobs - 954.357.7002 - kjacobs@broward.org
District 3 - Stacy Ritter - 954.357.7003 - sritter@broward.org
District 4 - County Mayor Ken Keechl - 954.357.7004 - kkeechl@broward.org
District 5 - Lois Wexler - 954.357.7005 - lwexler@broward.org
District 6 - Sue Gunzburger - I already stand with you 100% for real ethics reform.
District 7 - John E. Rodstrom, Jr. - 954.357.7007 - jrodstrom@broward.org
District 8 - Vacant
District 9 - Albert C. Jones - 954.357.7009 - acjones@broward.org

Be very clear in your comments to them. Let them know you will not be fooled by any slick political spin or intentionally complicated legal gibberish offered as excuses. The bottom line: Any Commissioner who votes in support of the "glitch" ordinance (Item 8) or ANY of the proposed amendments to Item 8 is an ENEMY OF ETHICS REFORM.

There can be no compromise on ethics. No matter how upset some of my colleagues may be with me for continuing to advance this most honorable cause.

Please get involved right now. I need your help. This cause is too important for anyone to stay silent. Will you stand with me for ethics reform?

Sincerely,
Sue
-------------
This email was the subject of Bob Norman's Daily Pulp blog column Thursday.

BrowardPalmBeach NewTimes
Morning Pulp
By Bob Norman Thursday, August 5 2010 @ 9:04AM

In the latest outrageous bit of behavior from our delinquent Broward County Commission, there is a new plan afoot to gut the new ethics reform. The insidious plan (as it appears on the agenda): The commission will pass the ethics proposals put forth by the Broward County Ethics Commission as they are, as required by law, and then immediately vote on amendments that would exclude themselves and family members from having to follow some of them. Among them is the key provision to bar them and their relatives from lobbying in Broward County.

Read the rest of the post here:
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/08/broward_county_ethics_reform.php

The subject of the Broward County Commission possibly gutting the Broward County Ethics Commission's work was also the subject of a number of posts by Brittany Wallman at the Broward Politics blog of the Sun-Sentinel.
These are in chronological order.

Ban on doing business with the county could hit Broward commissioners
By Brittany Wallman August 5, 2010 08:00 AM
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/08/ban_on_doing_business_with_the.html

Proposed county ethics "glitch'' law lets commissioners go after their complainants
By Brittany Wallman August 5, 2010 11:45 AM
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/08/commissioners_still_could_acce.html

Ethics reform dismantling draws quick foes in Broward
By Brittany Wallman August 5, 2010 05:30 PM
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/08/ethics_reform_dismantling_draw.html

Rearguard action against Broward County ethics proposals continue; Debra J. Saunders: University of Anarchy and No Consequences at Cal-Berkeley

And you thought summer Sundays were going to be boring?

To me, the key sentence from Debra J. Saunders excellent piece below that I got via The Rasmussen Report on the situation at Berkeley is this one: "Moreover, the rules as written are not enforced consistently."

If you had never heard of the particular problem she opines about out at the home of the University of California's mother-ship campus, you can be forgiven for thinking that this spot-on sentence sounds exactly like one that you or I might used in conversations with friends
to describe the ethical problem, writ large, in South Florida from top-to-bottom, and Broward County and Hallandale Beach in particular.

There's the written law, there's the written and un-written ruies of normal social behavior, and then there's what too many people with power or influence down here -and their pack of cronies- think they can reasonably get away with, often right in front of us, and then look at us
like we're the ones who have a problem.

They just keep nibbling away, never satisfied, undermining our laws and our concept of what local government is supposed to be like thru their sheer ego and avarice.

The larger problem for residents of South Florida is that, in large part, the very elected or appointed people who are actually supposed to enforce those written (and un-written) laws, whether Broward County SAO Michael Satz or Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti or HB City Attorney David Jove, far too often for a healthy democracy, are either oblivious to what's going on right in front of them, or, sadly, looking the other way, so that "the rules as written are not enforced consistently."

The desultory results of that longstanding inconsistency are pretty obvious all around us, and one of the by-products of that is the sheer level of genuine taxpayer anger among so many people who were previously apathetic about local government.

Fortuitously, while I was writing this, I received a timely email from Charlotte Greenbarg that consists of Comm. Gunzburger's email to Broward County Attorney Jeffrey J. Newton
about the needed Ethics Comm. proposals, the same one I referenced Friday and Saturday in some emails to selected people throughout the area about the rearguard action by some on the County Commission to thwart their implementation, by hook or by crook.
Now you can see for yourself what's what.

On Saturday, in responding to my email of Friday, Comm. Gunzburger reminded me again of her own role to get some real teeth in the Broward Ethics Commission proposals, something I've noted and seen for myself since last year.

Here is what she wrote me:

FYI I wrote a memo to Atty. Newton and distributed it to 2 members of the ethics committee after the vote. That is why the emergency meeting was called.
Sue Gunzburger-


Also, since my blog post of Thursday, the Sun-Sentinel's Brittany Wallman, who, alone, was on top of that recent Broward MPO re-organization story -see my May 20th post re her story, County: MPO is laying off some employees, then bumping up salaries
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/brittany-wallman-is-on-top-of-broward.html- has posted several posts on the Ethics fight on the Broward Politics blog, including one today about Legislative Delegation chair, State Rep. Ari Porth, zeroing-in on Stacey Ritter. Links to those posts of her's are at the bottom.

If you know anyone who works at the Miami Herald, be sure to tell them that you appreciate their completely sleeping on this Ethics story this week, with zero news articles in print, plus this misleadling blog post
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2010/06/will-a-brow-judge-let-commissioners-work-as-lobbyists.html since you know that yet another story about Cuba in the Broward edition of the Herald's Local & State section is a small price for Broward readers to pay.

To paraphrase what others have stated before, in the case of Hallandale Beach in particular and Broward County in general, we may well need some plate tectonics to put us in Cuba before the Herald ever starts putting out a quality product for its Broward residents reflecting where they live.

In the year 2010, while the Herald has a Gay-centric blog and and number of Spanish language blogs, plus ones dedicated to individual TV shows, there are still ZERO Broward-centric columnists and ZERO Broward-centric government/politics blog.
ZERO.

Hardly anyone I know and respect from Broward County bothers to read the Herald's Naked Politics blog anymore because they so rarely have something of interest to Broward County.

Most of the people I know are already hip to the fact that the St. Pete Times Buzz politics blog and the Orlando Sentinel's Central Florida Political Pulse are far superior in every way in their coverage of the rest of the state to the Herald's.

Meanwhile, Broward County remain terra incognita for One Herald Plaza -and it shows every single day you look at the newspaper.

----

Rasmussen Reports
University of Anarchy and No Consequences
A Commentary By Debra J. Saunders
Sunday, June 20, 2010

When activists (who are not necessarily students) were able to delay construction of a UC Berkeley sports center by living in trees for 21 months, there was no review of what went wrong.

When protesters with torches vandalized UC Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's home, there was no review.

But when UC police arrested 46 people demonstrating against higher-education cuts by occupying Wheeler Hall on Nov. 20, there were complaints that police overreacted.

And so -- with authorities, not anarchists in the sights -- a review was born.

Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_debra_j_saunders/university_of_anarchy_and_no_consequences

See also: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/

------------------------------

From: Sue Gunzburger

Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 8:34 AM
Cc: recipient list not shown:
Subject: Fwd:My Email to Jeff Newton

Many on the commission are trying to water down the ethics code. This is what I sent to our attorney last night.

Mr. Newton:

With little reasonable advance time for review, you submitted a substantive legal memorandum to the Commission for immediate review dated just one day before Tuesday's meeting. In the memo ("Our File: 10-026 - Re: Portions of Proposed Ethics Code that Exceed Charter Authority or are Otherwise Legally Invalid"), you boldly -- and I believe incorrectly -- stated a lobbying ban on the Commission is likely "unconstitutional." This is very troubling.

In said memo, you stated lobbying is a "core First Amendment right" which cannot be restricted except for the narrowest of reasons. You further wrote that a "ban based on the identity of the lobbyist (i.e., County Commissioners, ...)" may be an "impermissible" regulation of speech. You seem to miss that lobbying bans have been routinely upheld and enforced. Congress, the federal executive branch, and the Florida Legislature, even the City Of Hollywood -- among others -- have all adopted long-standing lobbying bans of imposing a ban of varying amounts of years (typically 2 years) during which a former official is prohibited from lobbying his/her former agency or branch of government. These were put in place to prohibit the appearance of impropriety, and all are based upon the identity of the lobbyist (to wit: a former official). To date, not a single one of these bans has ever been struck down by the courts. See:

· Art. II, Sec. 8(e), Florida Constitution - "No member of the legislature or statewide elected officer shall personally represent another person or entity for compensation before the government body or agency of which the individual was an officer or member for a period of two years following vacation of office. No member of the legislature shall personally represent another person or entity for compensation during term of office before any state agency other than judicial tribunals. Similar restrictions on other public officers and employees may be established by law." NOTE: The restriction prohibiting current legislators from lobbying "any state agency other than judicial tribunals" is virtually analogous in purpose to the "lobbying down" ban the Ethics Committee suggested we adopt for sitting County Commissioners. Further, the lobbying ban set forth in the Florida Constitution is explicitly based on the identity of the lobbyist (to wit: a "member of the legislature"). Clearly, your analysis was severely flawed if you failed to note in your memo this nearly on-point provision from within Florida's own constitution.

· Section 112.313(9), Florida Statutes - Establishes lobbying bans explicitly targeted at individuals based on the identity of the lobbyist. See the lengthy list of covered job titles encompassed within this section's lobbying ban. I can find no court rulings invalidating, or even questioning, the constitutionality of this provision. Further, many states have virtually identical laws -- all of which appear to remain good law. See: http://www.ncsl.org/Default.aspx?TabId=15334

Secondly, I have questions about wasting tax dollars on a declaratory judgment action that appears concerned only with some general, speculative fear of future harm that may possibly occur at some time in the indefinite future. Until the voters enact it and there is a justiciable controversy, the County cannot in good faith make any showing of a real threat of immediate injury. If and until such time that the voters enact the proposed Commission Ethics Code, any declaratory judgment action would appear unripe for court review. See: State v. Florida Consumer Action Network, 830 So.2d 148 (Fla. 1^st DCA, 2002). What is the purpose of going to court to expend significant tax dollars to challenge reforms that have yet to even be adopted by the voters? This makes no sense from a public policy perspective.

Finally, I have serious concerns about whether the County is the appropriate party to bring the declaratory judgment action seeking to undermine the proposed ethics reforms. Are you proposing -- even if done through contracted outside counsel -- that the County retain outside counsel to bring a legal challenge against the County (i.e., our own Ethics Committee, for which the County Attorney is also legal counsel). Doesn't this raise ethical questions of bringing a lawsuit in which "the fix" is in place, and undermine public confidence? Wouldn't your office also be the legal entity responsible for defending the provisions in court (i.e., the entity against which you are filing the declaratory judgment action)? If yes, it would seem that the “adverse” parties we essentially agents of one and the same master, seemingly intent on derailing ethics reform. It further suggests the two sides would be able to enter into manipulated and deceptive stipulations in court while posting as faux "opposing" parties with the goal of invalidating the reforms. If not an actual ethical conflict for your office, it certainly doesn't pass the smell test for avoiding the appearance of conflict of interest. Further, wouldn't the appropriate party to bring a declaratory judgment action and bear the costly financial burden of the suit be a member of the public (or perhaps one of my colleagues, if s/he feels so inclined) who seeks to invalidate a portion of the Commission Ethics Code once it has been adopted? I simply do not understand why the County is seeking to act as a legal roadblock to thwart the public's very appropriate desire to enact significant ethics reforms for the County Commission.

Let me be very clear: I fully support enactment of the entire proposed County Ethics Code. I am very disturbed by this legal attack -- seemingly coordinated with the assistance of your office -- seeking to undermine these important ethical reforms.

Please share with me your thoughts on the concerns I expressed above.

Sincerely,

Sue Gunzburger
Vice Mayor

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Broward Politics blog
Broward political ethics reform vaporizing
Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 19, 2010 08:11 AM

Broward voters asked for a wholesale cleanup of county government, and it appeared a sure thing. Until now.

The political ethics reform that voters demanded two years ago is headed not to the ballot, not to the Broward County Commission rule books, but to courts.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/06/broward_political_ethics_refor.html

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Broward Politics blog
Broward delegation chairman singles out county's Ritter
Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 20, 2010 09:13 AM

Broward delegation chairman Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, singled out Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter in a recent op-ed column in our newspaper.

I'm re-publishing it now because Porth lambasted commissioners in a written statement today for sending proposed ethics reform to court rather than passing it. He accused commissioners of opposing state efforts at corruption reform, and when I asked his office to name names, this is what they sent.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/06/broward_delegation_chairman_si.html