The political skies are not so blue

If there’s one truth I’ve learned, it’s this:

Perception is 99% of reality, and the other 1% doesn’t count.

Perception is everything. Doesn’t matter if the sky is blue. What matters is the color I THINK it is.

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Nowhere is perception more prevalent than in government. We reach conclusions from how we perceive the prevailing winds.

Citrus County government has the potential for a significant perception problem at the moment. It’ll get far worse if not handled efficiently at Tuesday’s board meeting.

I loathe writing anything serious for Friday because I want to head into the weekend on an upbeat note.

But I have heard so much this week about the fallout from our blogs about the mysterious legislative request for C.R. 491 that I wanted to address it before the week comes to a close.

The community, with a few exceptions, is outraged that County Administrator Steve Howard and Chair Rebecca Bays sought $3 million in funding for C.R. 491 after the County Commission majority said not to. They did so in secret, outside a public meeting, and never said a word to other commissioners, the staff — or even our own senator. 

The fact that it was on behalf of a developer with a pending application for a mega development makes it more questionable. And it apparently was done in such a way to conceal the arrangement. The developer’s name doesn’t appear anywhere on the paperwork.

When four commissioners learn for the FIRST TIME from Just Wright Citrus that the county they represent asked the state Legislature for $3 million…not a good thing.

The Senate budget includes $1.5 million for C.R. 491. Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, who never saw the request, dropped into our blog conversation Wednesday night to denounce the arrangement.

“Not only was this project rejected by the BOCC, the parties circumvented the ethical and transparent process set up by my office and requested the money from another senator that does not represent the district,” he wrote. “All this was done in darkness and without my knowledge. Citrus County definitely deserves better than these shenanigans.”

Again...not good.

So, how does a local government avoid these pitfalls? Four tenets:

— Perception. We kind of talked about that. It’s huge. If citizens think politicians are making decisions behind closed doors, that shapes the perception of whether their voices count. 

Not much commissioners can do about negative perception other than to avoid situations that cause citizens to question their sincerity to transparency. Like this one.

— Unforced errors. I’ve seen more of those over the years than just about anything. Asking for trouble when it’s not necessary. 

The C.R. 491 funding request is an unforced error if ever there was one. Not a single reason why any of this couldn’t have occurred in public. None. Instead, it was done behind the scenes with one commissioner calling the shots. Now exposed, all five commissioners are forced to deal with it.

I made a public records request Thursday for emails associated with the lobbyist who got this ball rolling on behalf of its client, proposed Tuscany Ranch lagoon developer Metro Development Group. Turns out, I’m not the only one. The records include Commissioner Diana Finegan asking the county attorney for a slew of emails from multiple sources, so expect an inquisition at Tuesday’s board meeting.

That’ll be uncomfortable as heck. Most unforced errors are.

— Distractions. The Cross Florida Barge Canal renaming episode of a few months back is an example of a distraction. Same with all this DOGE stuff. It’s the flavor of the month. 

Weak politicians love distractions because it relieves them of deep thought. Not a whole lot of strategy involved in wiping out a work force or cancelling programs citizens use. Or renaming a ditch.

C.R. 491/Tuscany is a distraction because it takes energy, conversation, and focus away from all the community feel-good we’ve displayed the last few months. Fortunately, we’re a strong unit. This isn't fun, but we'll be OK. It won’t divide us.

— Trust. Wow. That’s the biggie right there. I know several officeholders whose political positions are polar opposite of mine, but I trust them because they are people of integrity. We don’t always agree, but they come from pure motives and back it with their actions.

Trust is earned, we know that. It’s also easily lost and difficult to retrieve. I want our local government to succeed. I want all five commissioners to shine and work in harmony with the public, even when they disagree. Harmony goes out the window when trust is at risk.

I don’t think commissioners have a trust issue here. I mean…the appropriation request is for widening 491. One of the documents I viewed pegged the county’s estimate at $67 million for the whole project. Gotta start somewhere paying for that.

However, the circumstances surrounding the request, including that it was done outside of public view and kept under wraps — even to other commissioners — until this week … well, that’s just difficult to ignore. Public trust will wane quickly if commissioners brush it off as an oops. Because it’s not. At all.

Perception. Unforced errors. Distractions. Trust.

All four are molded into this C.R. 491 issue. Commissioners, you’re up.

OK, enough seriousness. Have a great Citrus County weekend, friends.

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