Thursday, October 17, 2024

Ed Slavin for Mosquito Control Board -- my response to WJCT/Jacksonville Today questionnaire

Here are my updated responses to the WJCT (NPR affiliate) and Jacksonville Today questions on my candidacy to be a Commissioner of the Anastasia Mosquito Control Commission of St. Johns County (AMCD), Seat 1:


Age

67

Background

A summary of the candidate's background

I've lived in St. Johns County since November 5, 1999 -- 25 years ago. First visited in 1992. Fell in love with St. Augustine, its history and nature. "We, the People" love this magical place and I have worked to preserve, protect and defend our democracy, our precious historic and environmental heritage. Let me use my problem-solving abilities to protect the people of St. Johns County. In 2006-2007, I helped persuade the five person board of our independent mosquito district to cancel an unwise, illegal, no-bid, supposedly "sole source" luxury $1.8 million helicopter contract with Bell Helicopter. It took nine months of effort. Finally, after replacing several attorneys, our mosquito control district commissioners listened. We, the People in St. Johns County were finally heard and heeded. AMCD won a full refund of our 10% deposit to the helicopter manufacturer. My dad told me, as JFK's dad told him, that you have to stand up to people with power, or else they walk all over you. At age 26, as Appalachian Observer Editor, I won Department of Energy declassification of our frail planet's largest-ever mercury pollution event (Oak Ridge, Tenn. Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant), a national scandal, triggering nationwide cleanups; our Appalachian Observer newspaper was recommended for a Pulitzer Prize by Anderson County DA. Clerked for USDOL Chief Administrative Law Judge Nahum Litt and Judge Charles Rippey. Intern and junior staffer for Senators Ted Kennedy, Gary Hart & Jim Sasser. B.S.F.S., Georgetown University.; J.D., Memphis State U. (now University of Memphis). Advocate for worker rights. Your watchdog, termed an "environmental hero" by FOLIO WEEKLY (after reporting City of St. Augustine's illegal dumping of 40,000 cubic yards of contaminated material from a landfill in a lake). Helped encourage state and federal governments to remedy the City's illegal dumping and illegal sewage effluent pollution in our saltwater marsh). Shall we ask questions, demand answers & expect democracy? It is up to us.

Campaign website

Your plans

How do you believe the role on the Anastasia Mosquito Control District can best be used to benefit the residents of St. Johns County?

In 1943, my dad was bitten by a mosquito in Sicily, as an 82nd ABN DIVN paratrooper: he recovered in Army hospitals, but suffered lifetime effects. The mosquito is the most dangerous animal on Earth, killing some 600,000 people annually. Controlling fatal disease-spreading mosquitoes requires both good government and good science -- asking questions, getting answers and expecting democracy. Let's help make our Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County work wisely and safely. To protect our way of life, we must assure that AMCD will practice good science and safeguard our tax dollars, protecting public health, the environment and public funds, advancing research and education while protecting scientific integrity and employee whistleblower rights; We must safeguard the independence of AMCD, an independent scientific and technical organization. We must assure that "whistleblower" ethical employees are heard and heeded whenever they raise concerns. Let's resist any further effort by the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to take over independent AMCD, as was attempted by misguided leaders, misled by a longtime former SJC County Administrator, fired in 2019. I opposed hiring of any more AMCD lawyers without Florida Bar Journal ads and thorough statewide searches and vetting. I oppose evergreen audit contracts. I oppose arbitration clauses in AMCD contracts: the late Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist said that the Seventh Amendment right to civil jury trial ia "bulwark against oppression." Yes, I've been a watchdog of mosquito control environmental protection and spending since December 2006.

Why?

Why should voters choose you?

I am the only child of well-read working class parents. My dad was an 82nd ABN DIVN paratrooper who helped liberate the first French town from Nazi oppression, taking it back before the sun rose on June 6, 1944. I am blessed that my parents, my teachers and my mentors taught me to ask questions, demand answers and expect democracy. I support strong effective mosquito control measures, advancing research and education while protecting scientific integrity and employee whistleblower rights; safeguarding the independence of AMCD. AMCD must remain an independent scientific and technical organization; protecting public health, the environment and public funds. Let's assure that "whistleblower" ethical employees are heard and heeded whenever they raise concerns. Let's resist any further effort by the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to take over independent AMCD, as attempted by a misguided former SJC County Administrator. I oppose allowing arbitration clauses in AMCD and other government contracts, Yes, I've been a watchdog of mosquito control environmental protection and spending since December 2006. Yes, it is up to us to do this right.

Biggest issue

What is the biggest issue the Mosquito Control District faces? How do you propose the district combat it?


Overdevelopment, flooding and climate change. The University of Florida's Institute on Emerging Pathogens identifies "development" as one of three (3) co-factors to the growth of mosquito-borne diseases in Florida. Mosquito control issues must be considered in St. Johns County's comprehensive plan and development application approvals. Is our St. Johns County government rubber-stamping overdevelopment? You tell me. Some 33 neighborhoods suffer from excessive flooding, much of it due to poor planning, with some approved by a titled County Engineer, who was not a licensed engineer. Mosquito control scientists must be heard and heeded on the effects on public health of sticking large subdivisions adjoining swamps. Too often, governments chill and retaliate against free speech. Too often, people in government are discouraged from speaking out and doing their jobs "too well." Let's base public policy on good science and protect our free speech rights as Americans.  As the late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said, "If our Constitution had followed the style of Saint Paul, the First Amendment might have concluded--"But the greatest of these is speech." In the darkness of tyranny, this is the key to the sunlight. If it is granted, all doors open. If it is withheld, none."  Mosquito control employee free speech rights must be protected and not neglected: no illegal gag orders.  We're protecting public health and  combatting deadly mosquito-borne diseases, using natural and chemical pesticides and three helicopters.  Let's do it right, with good science and sound management. I would be honored to have your vote. 


Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
(904) 377-4998


Elect Ed Slavin to Anastasia Mosquito Control Board of St. Johns County, Seat 1

To St. Johns County voters: May I please have the honor of your vote -- either early, or on November 5, 2024 -- for a seat as Commissioner of the Anastasia Mosquito District of St. Johns County, Seat 1?

Here's my Q&A with the League of Women Voters:

What motivated you to run for office?

It's our money. I've been a watchdog on mosquito control since 2006. Mosquitoes could bring us the next global pandemic. We will be prepared with data, research, education, and environmentally-friendly, non-toxic natural pesticides. My dad was an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper, infected with malaria in Sicily. Dad recovered in Army hospitals, but we saw dad suffer lifetime effects. LWV's Ms. Robin Nadeau asked me to help her investigate Anastasia Mosquito Control of St. Johns County, buying a $1.8 million no-bid, luxury Bell Jet Long Ranger helicopter incapable of killing a single skeeter, not unlike buying a Porsche to use with a snowplow. We persuaded AMCD to cancel illegal, no-bid helicopter contract, saving $1.8 million in 2007.  

What do you see as the most pressing issues for this office and how do you propose to address them?
Advancing research and education while protecting scientific integrity and employee whistleblower rights; safeguarding the independence of AMCD, an independent scientific and technical organization; protecting public health, the environment and public funds. Let's assure that "whistleblower" ethical employees are heard and heeded whenever they raise concerns. Let's resist any further effort by the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to take over independent AMCD, as attempted by former SJC County Administrator Michael Wanchick and County Commission Chairmen. I oppose allowing arbitration clauses in AMCD contracts, Yes, I've been a watchdog of mosquito control environmental protection and spending since December 2006.

What training, experience, and characteristics qualify you for this position?

Helped persuade our independent mosquito district to cancel unwise, no-bid luxury $1.8 million helicopter contract. Won declassification of our frail planet's largest-ever mercury pollution event (Oak Ridge, Tenn. Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant),triggering nationwide cleanups; recommended for Pulitzer Prize by DA. Clerked for USDOL Chief Administrative Law Judge Nahum Litt and Judge Charles Rippey. Staffer for Senators Ted Kennedy, Gary Hart & Jim Sasser. B.S.F.S., Georgetown U.; J.D., Memphis State U. Your watchdog, termed an "environmental hero" by FOLIO WEEKLY (after reporting City's illegal dumping of landfill in lake and illegal sewage effluent pollution of our saltwater marsh). Shall we ask questions, demand answers & expect democracy?

How important are environmental concerns when making decisions for the Anastasia Mosquito Control District?
Very important

Explain your answer.

Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" informs good science and use of non-toxic natural pesticides as much as possible. Amid global climate change, the next pandemic could be a mosquito-borne disease. Let's protect AMCD independence, education and applied research to protect public health and our environment. I support AMCD's leadership on natural pesticides. I once reported FEMA and AMCD to federal environmental law officials when bald eagles were exposed to organophosphate pesticides. Support AMCD working with other mosquito control districts and officials to share scientific knowledge to protect all of us "non-target species": mosquito control workers, residents, tourists, pets, horses, livestock, bees and other pollinators, flora and fauna. 

St. Johns County is growing rapidly. How does this impact the management of mosquito control?

Overdevelopment increases the expense of mosquito control and increases exposure of families to mosquitoes from wetlands. St. Johns County Commissioners, developers and their big money clout decide way too many unwise development decisions. This requires our nimble small mosquito control special taxing district to innovate, with sensitive adaptation of mosquito control techniques to protect entire new neighborhoods, which seem to spring up overnight, adjoining wetlands. Public education, applied research, sound science-based policies and non-toxic mosquito control methods, are all essential to protecting public health from mosquito-borne diseases. AMCD exists to prevent any outbreaks of deadly mosquito-borne diseases. We must do it right!



Wednesday, October 16, 2024

ETHEL KENNEDY, R.I.P. -- Eulogized by 3 Presidents, Celebrities and Grandchildren. (NY Times)

Watch C-SPAN video of Ethel Kennedy memorial service, here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?53926

Ethel Kennedy Is Eulogized by 3 Presidents, Celebrities and Grandchildren

The memorial service in Washington drew major names from the Democratic Party and celebrities, including Sting and Stevie Wonder.

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Biden Memorializes Ethel Kennedy in Eulogy

President Biden on Wednesday delivered a eulogy for Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and mother of the former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Ethel was always there for so many people, and she played an essential role in my life as well. Maybe a little different than with others. She was there as soon as I entered political office in 1972 as a 29-year-old kid before I got sworn in. I was in her brother-in-law’s office, Teddy’s office, hiring staff. I was only 29. You had to be 30 years old to be sworn in. And I wasn’t 30 yet. And I got a phone call from the fire department by my house saying been an accident, tractor trailer broadsided my wife’s automobile, Christmas shopping, the Christmas tree on top, December 18, and killed my wife and killed my daughter, and my boys weren’t expected to live. When I lost my family, and she was there.

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President Biden on Wednesday delivered a eulogy for Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and mother of the former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.CreditCredit...Eric Lee/The New York Times

Reporting from Washington

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and matriarch of a political dynasty, was remembered on Wednesday by three presidents, star musicians and many, many relatives during a memorial service in Washington.

President Biden eulogized Mrs. Kennedy, who died last Thursday at 96, as “a hero in her own right, full of character, full of integrity and empathy, genuine empathy.” Growing emotional, Mr. Biden credited her for encouraging him to stay in the Senate after a car accident killed his first wife and infant daughter in 1972.

“Ethel Kennedy would hear none of it,” Mr. Biden said in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. “Fact is, like she did for the country, Ethel helped my family find a way forward.”

It was the second service this week for Mrs. Kennedy, who died from complications of a stroke. Her stature in American politics was recognized by big names in the Democratic Party: Mr. Biden and two former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, gave speeches. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi honored Mrs. Kennedy “from an official standpoint and from a girlfriend standpoint.” Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the civil rights leader, compared Mrs. Kennedy to his mother, saying she built “beautiful bridges of greater understanding.”

Several of Mrs. Kennedy’s 34 grandchildren told stories of her tenacity in tackle football and her love of sailing. Sting and Stevie Wonder performed, with the latter replacing the chorus of the hit song “Isn’t She Lovely” with “Ethel is lovely.”

Mrs. Kennedy, born in Chicago in 1928, married Mr. Kennedy in 1950, and they had 11 children. She was known for her passion in politics and was often said to be “more Kennedy than the Kennedys.” After her husband’s assassination in 1968, Mrs. Kennedy dedicated her life to her family and advocacy while hosting politicians at her estate in Virginia, known as Hickory Hill.

“It was a lesson of how to survive, how to summon the courage to overcome your fear for the sake of someone else, for the sake of a greater cause, and to do it with a loving heart,” said Kerry Kennedy, the seventh child of Mrs. Kennedy.

The memorial brought together a family that has been thrust into the election-year news cycle. Kerry Kennedy led a group of her relatives in endorsing Mr. Biden earlier this year and has pushed back against her brother, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ended his presidential campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald J. Trump. (The younger Mr. Kennedy attended the service, but did not give a speech.)

Many of the speakers spoke of Mrs. Kennedy’s humor and mischief.

Mr. Biden said that he once received a Valentine’s Day card from Mrs. Kennedy with a picture of them both surrounded by hearts. “I’m not Biden my time waiting for you, Valentine,” Mrs. Kennedy wrote on the letter, Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Clinton began by saying he feared he did not have much to add to the procession, before telling the Kennedys: “I thought your mother was the cat’s meow.”

“She would flirt with me in the most innocent ways,” Mr. Clinton said.

Mr. Obama recalled the story of Mrs. Kennedy pushing Arthur Schlesinger Jr., the influential historian, “and several cabinet members” into a pool fully clothed.

“And, of course, the rotating cast of the family pets, dogs, horses, chickens, cats, goats, turtles, reputedly a hawk, an armadillo and a seal,” Mr. Obama said. “Not sure where they kept the seal.”

Mr. Obama recalled meeting Mrs. Kennedy, a “small woman with this huge smile and these twinkling eyes,” for the first time after he spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 in Boston.

When Mr. Obama tried to express formalities, he said Mrs. Kennedy cut him off.

“Oh, stop it,” Mr. Obama recalled her saying. “You know you’re going places. Just make sure you enjoy the ride.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent, covering President Biden and his administration. More about Zolan Kanno-Youngs