Fact or Fiction?: Elections follow-up

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Politicians are famous for telling the facts in a way that would benefit them the most. Let’s see whether they’re telling fact or fictions.

Herb Whitaker

Herb Whitaker, whom we endorsed over incumbent George Hanns for the County Commission, claimed he was not removed from the Planning and Development Board, but that the board was “canceled entirely.” That contradicts Hanns' claim that Whitaker was removed when the board was restructured.

From our research and reading the minutes found on the Flagler clerk's website, the board was restructured into eight positions. Those who were previously on the board were required to re-interview for it, attempting to gain one of these eight positions. Whitaker, along with 17 other candidates, interviewed.

Following his answers, Whitaker was questioned by Commissioner Alan Peterson as to his vote on the Curley's Place variance issue, to which Whitaker responded he voted against it. However, following the interview, Peterson noted to the commission that Whitaker, though he had seemed against it and raised several issues on it, voted for the Curley's Place variance.

Whitaker received two votes to gain a seat on the new board — both from Peterson. In the end, he was not appointed. Therefore, though Whitaker was not the only one to lose his position on the board, the board was also not simply canceled. He had just as good of a chance to be put back on the board, but did not have the support.

We’ll say that Whitaker’s claim that the board was canceled entirely is MOSTLY FICTION.

Whitaker’s second point was that Hanns has not taken part in the training offered by the Florida Association of Counties, which has offered a particular course since 1996. He further stated that Hanns “has not dedicated the time to these educational advantages in his 20-year tenure.”

In reality, Hanns took a different course with the Florida Association of Counties in 1993. So, while it is a FACT that he didn’t take a class after 1996, it is FICTION that Hanns never took classes in his 20-year tenure.

Heather Beaven

Heather Beaven also raised an objection to the wording in our endorsement of her opponent, Ron DeSantis. We wrote this:

“She says that to help the country become energy independent, the federal government should eventually convert its vehicles to natural gas and use that leverage to only award contracts to companies that will also convert to natural gas.”

She sent this as a follow-up: “For the record, I do not support a measure that would require a company to use natural gas as a prerequisite to getting a federal contract. What I do support is the federal government kick-starting the creation of new industries.” She notes the highway system as a good example.

This confusion is our mistake. When we said the government would only use a company that would “convert to natural gas,” we meant that the company would have to start producing natural gas to get a contract, but not that it would have to actually use natural gas as a company. In other words, if Exxon Mobil Corp. wanted to get a contract to supply the federal fleet with fuel, it would have to start supplying natural gas because the federal government would no longer be in the market for regular unleaded; but, Exxon itself wouldn’t have to convert its own fleet.

So, for that bit of unclear writing, we have to give ourselves a big, fat FICTION. But, we still disagree with the idea that the federal government should be in the business of kick-starting industries.