Jim Sutton, We Hardly Knew Ye

St. Augustine Record Opinion Editor Jim Sutton's cognitive impairments require expert help. Pray for him.

Those who know and love and respect Jim Sutton feel sorry for him in his dotage.

Sutton's current sloppy style is to talk to an ex-girlfriend, an ex-City Manager or his boss, the corrupt Sheriff or other "hangers-on" and suck his thumb, writing uninformed editorials like the one he wrote on City traffic studies.

Sutton never goes to government meetings.

Sutton's got cognitive impairments that impair his editorial judgment.  A once good journalist who exposed corruption, Sutton has a mean streak.

Sutton attacked B.J. Kalaidi and Tom Reynolds last year as "hangers-on," misusing a political synonym for apparatchiks, which they are not.

Sutton even attacked me twice last year, calling me a "conspiracy theorist and political gadfly" and implying I file too many Open Records requests, a view shared by the unaccountable officials whose misdeeds we expose.

Sutton balks at printing a column on official oppression that mentions Sheriff DAVID SHOAR is under FBI investigation. Record reporters have known about that since 2014.

Sutton graduated Flagler College in the early 1970s, working under racist ex-Record Publisher A. H. "Hoppy" Tebeault, a Flagler College Vice President who supervised and censored the Gargoyle, sometimes destroying an entire monthly issue and throwing the layout sheets in the trash. Tebeault's Record printed advance notices of KKK meetings, printed the name and address of African-American children desegregating local schools, resulting in violence, firebombings, firings, unemployment and blacklisting. So much for being pro-family.

In 2014, Sutton was arrested and pled guilty to charges involving drinking and taking Ambien, hitting a telephone poll and a mailbox, and driving off with a man who attempted to stop him on the hood of his car.

Has his plea deal ruined his objectivity?

Is that why he refuses to run a column on SHOAR and official oppression, attacks activists and defends crooks like ex-Mayor JOE BOLES?

Sutton badly needs a referral to a good neurology professor at the University of Florida, a sleep study, an ethics refresher course and a sabbatical.

Now.

Before he commits more journalistic malpractice.

Sutton should not attack activists -- Margo Pope and Peter Ellis praised activists, while Sutton insults them.

Sutton should "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable," and not the other way around.

Sutton should know that Lincolnville is not in West Augustine.

Prima facie evidence of his cognitive impairment is the following letter, and Sutton's louche response:

Letter: Sutton needs a compass
Sutton needs a compass
Posted: April 25, 2016 - 8:49pm

By Marty Lewis
Sutton needs a compass

Editor: I am amazed that, as someone who knows the city well Jim Sutton, that he placee the new Preserved restaurant in West Augustine. Jeez, Lincolnville is the locale! The water mains are in West Augustine but not this new eating place.

St. Augustine

Opinion Page Editor’s note: Marty is correct. I thought business was within located within the West Augustine Community Development Area. It is not.