Forgive Ken Frink if he's distracted

One of the biggest challenges from writing a daily one-person blog is remembering what I’ve already written.

Let’s take Ken Frink as an example.

You may have heard that Ken, who is marrying Councilwoman Cindi Guy and leaving a full-time city manager job, has applied for the position vacated by Councilman Pat Fitzpatrick’s death.

---

If the council appoints him, and I can’t see why it wouldn’t, Frink will serve until a special city election at the presidential primary in March. And then the winner of that election is on the ballot again in November.

My plan was to break it all down, how we got here, that sort of thing. But when I went looking for some background, I saw that I covered essentially the same stuff in April.

(Crickets.)

Fortunately, I’ve learned to get 700 words out of nearly anything, so here goes.

First off, Ken Frink is the happiest man on the planet. He’s marrying his soulmate in a few weeks (they apparently have a death wish — chamber CEO Josh Wooten is officiating) and his last day on the job is Aug. 2.

We had a nice Cattle Dog chat in Crystal River on Tuesday. I wanted to talk about politics and Ken is never shy about that.

Ken’s decision to seek the open council seat isn’t a surprise. Immediately, of course, folks wanted to know whether a married couple can serve together in office.

The answer, as I am keenly aware, is yes! 

Stephanie and Joe Adams are both elected members of the Mosquito Control Board. I mentioned that in a Facebook post Monday and Joe was kind enough to send me an Attorney General’s opinion that says married folks can serve together in office.

The concern, of course, is always the Sunshine Law. If you're new to this, it’s a no-no for members of the same board to discuss public business in private. That’s really the simplified explanation and it’s much more detailed than that, of course, but you get the idea.

The 1989 Attorney General’s Opinion states it’s not a Sunshine violation for married folks to serve together, so long as they follow the same rules as everyone else in office. That makes sense. We shouldn't assume wrongdoing simply because two council members go home together.

So that’s not an issue.

Then there’s the appointment. Deadline for applications is Aug. 4 and the council will decide on Aug. 14. If it’s like most local governments, the council will interview whoever applies and then vote to appoint someone. (Cindi Guy can’t vote for Ken because of a conflict — his joining the council increases their monthly income by a few hundred bucks.)

The appointment is good until the next general election which, oddly, is the presidential preference primary on March 19.

That normally would be death knell since those things are losers in the voter turnout department. But two certain high-profile Republican candidates are garnering a little bit of attention in the Sunshine State and the GOP turnout for the primary should be, oh, roughly, 300%. Seriously. Is there a Florida Republican who’s skipping that dance?

As for non-Republicans, though, we can probably count their presidential primary turnout on both hands and feet.

With Republicans holding the lion’s share of voter registration, this city election in March should actually have a decent turnout.

The winner of that special election is in office for all of nine months because the seat Frink is seeking is on the 2024 ballot. Along with two others.

This all happens as Crystal River welcomes a new city manager in Doug Baber, and he will be hiring a new assistant to replace the retired Jack Dumas. 

Fortunately, Crystal River is in tremendous shape for transition. The city recently celebrated its centennial and it has a very cool vibe. Crystal River also recognizes its challenges and doesn’t shy away from facing them.

We wish Ken Frink and Cindi Guy all of God’s love and success in their marriage.

And that’s nearly 700. Hope I remember it.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page.

​