In today’s world it is not uncommon to presume that people in positions of power and wealth control the government. We can say as much as we want about this being a democracy, but the truth is America is far from it. The everyday individual seems powerless. Citizens have very little say in the laws by which they live. Although, perhaps we as a people have become jaded. I admit that I myself fall victim to the notion that leaders are selfish and heartless. Could it possibly be that bad government is not one hundred percent to blame?
If you look at it on a local level, take the public records audit for example, where hundreds of people were denied their rights to access information. In October of 2008 the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors organized an audit to test local governments’ compliance with Florida public record laws. Our class was among the many chosen to partake in this experiment. Over the course of a few days, 56 counties were unknowingly visited. I was chosen to ask the Hillsborough County School Board for e-mails concerning the budget. I was one of the many people who had an unpleasant experience to say the least.
When I arrived at the school board I went to the office and simply requested copies of the emails. The secretary gave me a suspicious look and another lady from across the room walked over to glare at me and make me feel uncomfortable. They grilled me for my name, address, phone number, date of birth, you name it. I told them my name and asked if it was required to give them more information in order to retrieve the files. The secretary responded with, “I can’t just drop what I’m doing and spend hours finding emails. You’ll have to give us at least one week, so we need your information.” She then proceeded to explain how I would have to pay for all of the hours they would use looking for this information. I felt as though they weren’t so much trying to inform me, as they were trying to convince me to go away and not come back.
My initial reaction was to get angry at the government for hiding public records and making it impossible for regular citizens to participate in government. But after discussing the audit with my class, I realized that most of the secretaries had no clue about public record laws. Not only did they not know the laws but they behaved as though no one had ever requested the records before.
If the masses took it upon themselves to learn their rights, it would be much easier to be persistent and get the information requested. In the event that a person’s request for a record is denied, or the agency makes it difficult to attain the records, an informed citizen could site the statute and quickly resolve most dilemmas. People would be less intimidated and less likely to take no for an answer.
On the other hand, the public should not have to challenge agencies because agencies are required to know this information as well. The job of an agency like the school board or the sheriffs office is to serve the public. Before someone can be hired at any of these agencies, employees must have a certain amount of training. In that training should not only be included, but also stressed, that employees should encourage the public to take action and keep our government transparent so as to maintain a system of checks and balances within our communities.
But then does that responsibility lay on the governments who head the agencies? Shouldn’t the government mandate that their employees are up to date and well versed in Florida Public Record laws? Or is the answer all of the above? It is true that the government has no right to deny public records and there needs to be done something about that. But knowing that our government isn’t perfect, the citizens should regard it as their duty to educate themselves.
Hopefully one day Americans will be willing to work towards a true participatory democracy, but in order to get there you have to ask yourself why is it that these agency secretaries had never before been asked to retrieve public records. Why is it that they assumed only the media had access to public records? The answer is simply because not enough people have taken the time to even try and research their local government.
And then one last question to ask yourself is, why hasn’t the government done more to educate the population about their right to access this information? Is it because they feel as though an apathetic nation is one that can be easily controlled? Regardless what the answers to these questions are, it is most likely a combination of all of those factors. Everyone must get involved and fight to keep our rights, because if we don’t, we might loose them.
After thoroughly researching former County Commissioner Brian Blair, I’ve found more passionate opinions about him than facts. Whether people hate him or love him, Blair is definitely a noticeable figure in HillsboroughCounty. In order to understand Blair’s incessant need for the spot light, you would have to detach him from his public official title and see him as the fifty-four-year-old ex-wrestler republican whose faith in Christianity has blindly controlled every choice he’s ever made. The way in which Blair has lived his life has dramatically affected the community; some say more so than any other county commissioner in HillsboroughCounty history.
It all started in Gary, Indiana on January 12, 1954. Soon thereafter, Blair moved to Tampa, Florida where he began at LakeElementary School. Blair then attended WebbJunior High School and TampaBayTechHigh School. Here he grew into the self-proclaimed excellent athlete with “God-given ability”. Blair earned eight varsity letters for football and wrestling. Later he attended SaintLeoCollege in San Antonio, Florida for a year before going to the University of Louisville. Meanwhile Blair became known as one of the Killer Bees TV tag-team after making his name as a professional wrestler with the World Wrestling Federation, fighting well known wrestlers like Hulk Hogan. Blair married Toni Sabella with whom he had two children. Blair became a very successful business man when he and his wife developed Blair’s Health and Fitness Gold’s Gym. Blair wrestled until 2001 when he blamed Carrabbas Italian Restaurant for ending his career. In June of 2001 Blair tripped over a tray in the restaurant and hit his head. He was quoted saying "It knocked the dog doo-doo out of me." He then sued the Carrabbas chain for the trauma his children experienced when they watched their father fall. Blair also claimed that the fall gave him a physical handicap that could impair his working ability. However, four months later Blair was caught on tape wrestling in Japan. The lawsuit was settled out of court.
In 2004 Blair was elected Hillsborough County Commissioner where he served for four years until he lost his position to democrat Kevin Beckner. Over the course of the past four years Blair has been recognized for an outstanding number of achievements. Blair has served on the Citizens Advisory Committee, the Florida Association of Counties Urban Caucus, HARTline, Juvenile Justice Council, Old Gandy Bridge Oversight Committee, Tampa Bay Partnership for Regional Economic Development, Hillsborough County Regional Transportation Authority, Tampa Chamber of Commerce International Committee and the Value Adjustment Board. Blair is also known for more than 6,000 hours of community service. Blair has volunteered for Florida Sheriff's Association, Great American Teach-In All Children's Hospital Telethon, Forest Hills Youth Baseball, The Children's Home, Florida Children's Wish Come True , Mary Help of Christians School, Make a Wish Foundation, Fraternal Order of Police, Faith Children's Home, Say No to Drugs Foundation, American Heart Association, SERVE Volunteer, Save the Children, Concerned Women of America, and was recognized as a Bay News 9 Every Day Hero.
However, Blair may be more famous for his controversial moral shortcomings. Since 2004 Blair has become known for discriminating against minorities, violating public meeting laws, banning books, stealing taxpayer dollars, and pushing his religious agenda. When Kevin Beckner questioned Blair about his prejudices against minorities in an interview with Flashpoint Blair replied;
I’ve coached black kids, black children stay at my home almost every weekend. For anybody to say, I was born in Gary Indiana, you know where Gary Indiana is Kevin. There was very few white people in my neighborhood And I didn’t know what prejudice was, probably the two white people in my neighborhood was myself and Michael Jackson. And those were. My friends were all black, so for anyone to say that I’ve been prejudice against African Americans is flat out wrong.
Later in the interview Blair said;
We’ve taken God out of our school, we’ve taken the nation, the pledge of allegiance out of school, look where our nation is headed to based on, and go back to when we recognized God, when we said the pledge of allegiance, those were times when people had more respect for our country, more respect for our creator, and this is a nation that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and I have nothing against Muslims or any other religion, nobody has worked harder for the Muslim community and their school system and their traffic congestion on Sligh avenue at Sligh and Orient than I have.
In the same interview Blair said, “you can call me a lot of things, but one thing you can’t call me is being frivolous with your tax dollars.” There is clear evidence that his statement could not be farther from the truth. One example is when Blair tried to take $985,000 of taxpayer money to replenish the 8-acre lake in front of his house. Blair clamed that the county was responsible because there were drainage problems, therefore the county should pay to resolve the situation.
Another very interesting thing I found was that his house at 518 West 130th Avenue in Tampa has major financial discrepancies. At first I was surprised to find that the assessed value of his home was only $124,502 as it states on the HillsboroughCounty tax Collectors website. I checked to see if there were other properties under his or his wife’s name and there were not. I did additional research and found that under the Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests his home was appraised at $425,000. The location for this home is undisclosed but it states that the house on 130th Ave is only his rental property. It also reveals that he has $375,000 in stakes and bonds. As of December 31, 2008 Blair’s net worth was $1,333,000. (This information was given to me by Senior Assistant County Attorney DeBora Cromartie-Mincey with the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office 813-272-5670 and County Attorney Renee Francis Lee with the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office 813-272-5670)
After that, I collected emails sent from Blair concerning an event that outraged the entire community. In April of 2008 Blair surpassed his sleazy reputation when he sent mass email to public officials, the school board, and parents urging them to protest the “Day of Silence”. This annual event is not school sponsored and promotes students to take a day in silence in commemoration of a particular cause. This year the students from Blake, Bloomingdale, Brandon, Riverview, Tampa Bay Technical, St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Hernando and Lecanto high school chose to devote the day to Lawrence King, an eighth grader who was murdered due to his sexual orientation. The day was meant to teach about hate crimes and stop bullying. Blair’s email said that;
The observances are no more appropriate than noting the heterosexual orientation of soldiers killed in Iraq. I have always believed that all citizens are equal and should be treated accordingly. On the other hand, no group of citizens should be given government sanction and support to promote their social and sexual agenda upon the rest of us and especially, our children. Considering the fact that the same school system does not want to allow just one Minute of Silence in the classroom for God, this is preposterous.
Needless to say, people shouted out in anger against Blair’s comments. One would think that Blair, if for no other reason than because he would soon be running for re-election, would revoke his statement and play it off as a misunderstanding. However, Blair did the opposite. When asked about the incident on Flashpoint Blair said that he wasn’t discriminatory against homosexuals. Although, he firmly believed in passing the gay marriage ban Amendment Two, but he has a gay friend so it’s OK. Apparently Blair’s gay friend and his partner respect Blair for his decision- somehow I find this hard to believe.
Today Blair is no longer the Hillsborough County Commissioner. Now that Blair has been replaced by openly gay Kevin Beckner, there’s no telling what Blair will do with the rest of his time on earth. But regardless what he chooses, I have no doubt in my mind that he will continue to charm people’s hearts and piss people off.
the least.
