It was reported at the November 13 (Monday night) City Commission meeting by Tree Advisory Committee Chair and environmental activist Ms. Gina Burrell that City of St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Director MARK KNIGHT threatened to fire all of the members of the City's Tree Advisory Committee -- every single one of them -- over their resisting approval of the City's Tree City USA application, based upon their belief there has been a lack of support from the City for tree preservation efforts.
CITY COMMISSIONER ERROL JONES and Mayor GEORGE GARDNER both implied that the citizen advisory panel members' withholding their vote resembled "blackmail."
Nothing could be further from the truth. As Edmund Burke said, government officials owe the public their independence and their thinking -- they should not be rubberstamps.
Obviously, HARRISS, KNIGHT and Commissioners expect "their" appointees to advisory committees to agree with them and tolerate threats to fire them if they disagree.
Not one Commissioner criticized City Planning and Zoning Director MARK KNIGHT for his threatening appointees to what was defensively characterized as a "staff advisory committee."
With such disrespectful attitudes, why in the name of all that's holy would anyone volunteer to serve on a City Board again, knowing that they are expected to be merely rubberstamps and lickspittles for the likes of City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS and City Planning and Zoning Director MARK KNIGHT?
The City of St. Augustine is run by a small group of unenlighthened and willful men who have repeatedly violated citizens' First Amendment rights, as held by Federal Courts in the case of St. George Street artist and Bridge of Lions Rainbow Flags.
Not criticizing KNIGHT -- and not reprimanding him -- shows that all five City of St. Augustine Commissioners are in on the First Amendment violations. It's their party and you can't disagree.
If you want to save trees, and refuse to approve the package the staff proposed for Tree City USA certification, you're going to be fired.
Our Commissioners don't want public involvement to be meaningful -- they use boards and commissions as doormats to justify their prejudices.
They're willing to let MARK KNIGHT threaten the ladies and gentlemen of the Tree Advisory Committee.
Why? What governmental purpose is served by ratifying such threats? Is the purpose fo MARK KNIGHT's threats to show how powerful he is and to put the fear of WILLIAM B. HARRISS into everyone who lives and works in our Nation's Oldest City?
Pursuant to Supreme Court precedent, our Nation's Oldest City must adopt a whistleblower protection ordinance and protect City employees, members of City Boards and City residents from such outrageous threats and retaliation.
Penalties for any future whistleblower rights violations should include fines, mail terms and firing. Enough Nixonian tomfoolery, flummery and dupery.
What do you think?
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