Commissioners Play Dirty Pool
Not content with blocking free speech during the December 10th Commission meeting it now seems that our beloved Commissioners are resorting to attacking opponents of the road through any means possible.
Dr. Steadman, a resident of Timbercreek, spoke at the recent Daphne Council meeting on the subject of the suitability (lack thereof) of the dredgings from Lake Forest to be used in a road project.
As a good neighbor and Baldwin County tax payer he is obviously concerned about the criminal waste of tax dollars that building the I-10 Service Road would represent and he had written to County Engineer Cal Markert to request a copy of the traffic study that is supposed to justify $9million of your tax money being spent on Richard Miller’s private road scheme.
The Commission’s response?
To get the County Attorney to approach Dr. Steadman’s employer and to consult with the Alabama Ethics Commission. (See agenda item below)
Where are the goalposts?
So, let’s see if I’ve got the rules of this game straight.
If we, the taxpaying public of Baldwin County ask questions about the source of political funds and why an unbudgeted $9million is going to be spent on a road that only a handful of special interest people want – we get threatened with expulsion from the County Commission Chambers.
If the County Engineer deliberately disobeys his boss’s orders for 6 months by not withdrawing permit applications, actively working against their directions by pursuing traffic studies for a cancelled road and steadfastly refuses to issue timely information to the public under the Freedom of Information act – he gets rewarded with a new contract.
But if a concerned member of the public voices an opinion they get threatened with action that could potentially end their career.
Dirty, dirty pool.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone
Who hasn’t used their company email to send a personal letter?
Who hasn’t “accidently” left a Post-It pad and a couple of highlight pens in their briefcase when they left the office for the day?
Who hasn’t taken thousands of dollars in “political contributions” and then re-paid that in spades by hiring the law form that gave you money or by reducing the building and permit fees for your buddies in the trade?
Who hasn’t fed on the guile and financial support of an old politician to get elected and then feel obliged to do his dirty work for him?
Who hasn’t spent $190.34 on paint (plus $200 for labor) for his office before he even took the Commissioner’s oath? Seriously Mr. Dorsey, how big is that office of yours? However big it is, don’t get too comfy in it if this is the way you are going to treat your constituents.
Neighbors need good neighbors
I understand that Dr. Steadman is unable to attend the Commission meeting next week to defend his good name; I would urge all TimberCreek residents to show their support, either through emails to the Commissioners or by attending the meeting.
Commission President Frank Burt: FBURT@baldwincountyal.gov
Assistant County Administrator: BREWER@baldwincountyal.gov">DBREWER@baldwincountyal.gov
If you do send an email, please make sure it isn’t from your company account..!
It's unbelievable that Baldwin County's Commission would take such a vindictive action against Dr. Steadman. Hell, if he shows up at in person at a Commission meeting the Chair may just have the sheriff deputy shoot him on the spot. Gosh dog, I feel lucky, and I bet Tom O'Hara does too. Commissioner Burt just threatened to stick the sheriff on both of us when we spoke against the proposed I-10 service road during a recent Commission meeting. Revenge is what this is all about. It seems to me that Commissioner Burt has a lots of scores to settle and he is using the two new Commissioners in his endeavors. Former president Ronald Regan referred to Iran, North Korea and the former Soviet Union as a being the "Axis of Evil". I think we now have another sort of axis of evil in Baldwin County based on the way our Commission is acting. When one closely analyzes the proposed I-10 service road and its multitude of dismal economic problems, and then considers that two companies stand to benefit most from the road, taxpayers must be aghast!!! And after analyzing again how the Commission hopes to punish Dr. Steadman, he must have really stepped on their toes mighty hard. What a sad state of affairs that our Baldwin County Commission has stooped to a new low.
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It just kind of burns me up that no less than public officials would question an accepted University mission of being a public service. To question the public service mission as a conflict of interest is deeply at odds with the investment that taxpayers have made in public universities and colleges.
To verify that Dr. Steadman's actions were on solid ground and of ethical nature I referred to the "University of South Alabama Long-Range Planning Goals and Objectives (2008-2013)". Goal 4 is to "Enhance the public image of the University". Specifically in support of Dr. Steadman's request are Objective 4.2 (Increase USA participation and visibility in community service and environmental projects), Objective 4.4 (Continue to foster relationships with civic, government, and business leaders), and Objective 4.6 (Enhance USA's image in a broader geographic area). The entire USA document can be read at http://www.southalabama.edu/goalsandobjectives.pdf .
Further the "University of South Alabama Conflict of Commitment Financial Conflict of Interest Policy" basically says that "there are many avenues for Employees ... to participate with external entities in .... professional activities ..... professional associations serve the academic, research and public service missions of the University." "The existence of potential Financial Conflict of Interest and/or Conflict of Commitment in and of themselves is not automatically detrimental; in fact, their presence indicates a robust professional and research environment. But these potential conflicts must be actively identified, monitored and managed to ensure that the University's endeavors remain, above all, objective and free from bias.
The university is an institution of public trust and must maintain levels of public support to carry out its mission." This USA policy is consistent with Alabama State Ethics Law. Since Dr. Steadman is receiving no financial interest and is only providing an engineering opinion from established civil engineering practice, his public service participation should be well within the bounds of acceptable ethics.
The complete USA ethics policy can be read at http://www.southalabama.edu/researchcompliance/pdf/fcoipolicy.pdf .
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I will be at the Dec 7 meeting & will signup to speak on this & other items.This tactic is by the same group that said "PALUMBO DR" inclusion in there road item was "A CLERICAL ERROR" Yea right !!!
A BIG thank you to Dr Steadman for sharing professional information. I personally believe that if the silt was a good idea, John would have said so, but it is not. PLUS, does anyone have a copy of that traffic study? We must continue to ask questions & let these people continue to show how "abuse of power and unethical conduct" is sadly done.
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