Finegan's tenure is at a crossroads

A story from yesteryear:

Very early in my Chronicle career, we had a county commissioner who had a knack for controversy.

He was one of those politicians who believed his title afforded him better access to the government than ordinary citizens. Privileged, you might say.

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Along came a zoning issue. I forget the particulars, but this commissioner had a financial interest in the case, and he walked his future business partner through the permitting process himself. Literally. The commissioner accompanied this man to staff meetings.

Not surprisingly, the staff was all for it. Unfortunately, it needed zoning approval. I wrote about the commissioner’s involvement, and the zoning board spiked the plan.

Several months later, when the commissioner lost his re-election by one of the widest margins I’ve ever seen an incumbent lose, this is what he told me:

“I guess I shouldn’t have walked that plan through Lecanto.”

No, Commissioner, you should not have.

Along comes the Chronicle story Tuesday about county crews clearing Commissioner Diana Finegan’s street from muck and debris following Hurricane Helene.

The story — which reads like a Finegan press release — quotes Finegan as saying she did nothing wrong. She only alerted the county administrator about the condition of her street and that of her neighbors. What the administrator did was up to him.

That is an incredibly naive and immature approach from a commissioner. If this stood alone, no big deal. But it’s a pattern for Finegan, who two years in office, has shown not one whit of wanting to help. No initiatives. None. Instead, she attracts attention for all the wrong reasons.

Let’s get into it.

— That phrase, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first,” applies to politicians.

The only way Commissioner Finegan should be calling County Administrator Steve Howard regarding muck and debris cleanup after a hurricane is for a conversation that goes like this:

Finegan: “Hi Steve. I just wanted to make sure you knew all the streets down here in Old Homosassa are in really bad shape. Please open them up as soon as you can!”

Howard: “Of course, Commissioner. Where's your street?”

Finegan: “It’s South Blue Water Point. But please take care of the other streets first. I’m out here helping my neighbors and we can wait.”

That didn’t happen. Instead, the Chronicle quotes the administrator as saying he barely recalls the conversation and doesn’t even know what street she lives on. And we buy this, right?

— The very phone call is a mistake. No kidding. A commissioner, in this circumstance, should avoid calling the administrator and mentioning his/her street or business. No matter how innocent it sounds. A commissioner says, “Oh, Steve, do the best you can.” The administrator thinks, “Get on it right away.”

It’s only human nature. Finegan’s the boss. She called her employee. He jumped on it, as one would expect. How do we know if the commissioner is off base? The administrator is forced to make vague excuses when asked about it.

— This wouldn’t be an issue if Diana pulled her weight as an active commissioner. Diana’s been in office for nearly two years. I can’t name a single initiative for her district. Not one.

I talk to my Homosassa friends every so often about a host of subjects. I had a Cattle Dog chat with someone a few months back and asked how Finegan was doing in the district.

He just looked at me. “We’ve given up on that,” he said flatly.

Given up on that? Given up on getting decent representation from a county commissioner? In Homosassa? How is that possible?

— Finegan is very skilled on the dais. She understands completely that a win is getting at least two other votes, and doesn’t care who she bowls over to get there.

Instead of wanting to use those persuasive abilities to improve our community, she’s gone all scorched earth Library Guy approach: Unite us by dividing us.

Finegan is the perfect Citrus County Commissioner — for the 1990s. The 21st-century commissioner should be looking forward, bringing fresh ideas to a county that desperately needs them.

— Two more years with this commissioner’s term. I hope, in that time, at least one of these two things take place:

• Diana morphs into a public servant instead of whatever she’s doing now.
• She stops being so negative and offers up some ideas to help her community.

That’s a commissioner’s job. Simple, really.

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