![]() Just when I think I’ve heard it all, comes this ridiculousness. There is a movement in Citrus County government to rename the Cross Florida Barge Canal to — ready? — the American Freedom Canal. No idea where this originated. County Administrator Steve Howard’s name is attached. I’ve heard Sen. Rick Scott is said to be in favor. At least two commissioners are on board as well. The rest of us should be appalled.
Tuesday’s County Commission agenda includes a proclamation to rename the barge canal the “American Freedom Canal” in recognition of its role in “safeguarding national security.” Yeah, that’s how I always think of the barge canal. Our first line of defense against Inglis. You may wonder what possible advantage Citrus County would have in renaming a ditch. Here’s my guess: Kiss-up time. We’ve noticed recently a significant uptick of political smooching to the White House. Our own governor can’t get lovin’ from Republicans in the Legislature because they’re shining the other man’s shoes. This canal proclamation is in direct response to the president renaming that large body of water just to our west. I’m going to guess that the brain trust figured we’d get extra special attention for our barge canal boat ramp project from the feds by going all super-duper Trumper Town. I have some observations: —This idea will divide the community, not unite it. My goodness, wasn’t the stress from the election enough? We want to drag that stress into our neighborhood? — Some will compare it to Commissioner Diana Finegan’s border resolution. Same, but different. That was one commissioner performing for her right-wing base. The canal proclamation is the administration placing Citrus County squarely in the bullseye. On purpose. — Commissioner Jeff Kinnard must be sweating bullets. That barge canal boat ramp project is his top priority. He’s seeking support from surrounding counties. It’s on the county’s legislative wish list. A grandstanding proclamation will hurt the effort and Kinnard, no doubt, knows that. — it’s a joke, right? That was my first thought. — Man, what will it take for commissioners to stay in their lanes? I mean…how difficult is this? We don’t have enough issues (taxes, growth, roads, homeless, office space, hurricane damage, etc.) to keep them busy? They need to invent work? — These things are killers to progress. There’s a reality that politicians ignore. What happens one day affects the next. Just as a board builds up public support with each success, it drags the structure down with each failure. Renaming the barge canal to satisfy politicians is a colossal failure. — Remember the New York Times debacle? This proclamation is worse. Why? The Times thing started with a minor item on the board’s agenda. So, commissioners were acting in an official capacity when they went off half-cocked. — This is a self-inflicted wound. The public will not trust county commissioners if they can’t handle the simple stuff. We can talk all we want about needs and planning. None of it means a thing without public trust. — Reading the tea leaves, I’d feel fairly certain that Commissioners Kinnard and Holly Davis won’t go for it. I’m also fairly certain the other three might. — I just lauded Rebecca Bays recently for her leadership as chair. She wants to move the county forward. I believe she has that ability. She also has the ability to run it into the ground. That’s what this proclamation does. — Finally, I have to say I’m a little angry. I’m angry that we still have people in the Courthouse who think this is proper. People who think that a valuable way to spend county staff time and energy is writing up a proclamation that has zero redeeming purpose. American Freedom Canal. Give me a break. Have a great Wednesday, friends. Join the discussion on our Facebook page. Enjoying the blog? Please consider supporting it at Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 36 years. Archives
February 2025
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