FOLIO WEEKL:Y: dept. of flummery, dupery & numskullery

dept. of flummery, dupery & numskullery
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007




The St. Augustine City Commission distanced itself from one of its most zealous critics last week — by legislating him out of the city.

City boundaries now exclude the home of activist Ed Slavin (pictured), who has made a vocation out of criticizing both the St. Augustine City Commission and the board of the Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County. Mayor Joseph Boles and Vice Mayor Don Crichlow both say the purpose of the resolution is to “clarify” city boundaries, and was not intended to target Slavin. But Slavin believes the action — what he labels “flummery, dupery, numskullery and malfeasance” — is retaliation for his role in exposing illegal dumping by the city and the dubious $1.8 million helicopter purchase by the Mosquito Control District. What’s more, Slavin says the city changed its boundaries without notifying homeowners affected by the change, and without recognizing his legitimacy as a resident. (He’s voted in every municipal election since 2000.)

Slavin intends to fight what he calls “banishment.” He says he will apply to have his Casanova Road property annexed by the city. Both Boles and Crichlow say he can do this, but Crichlow notes the city will annex only properties that add value to the city.

Slavin, who is known for his confrontational style and long and bullying e-mails, doubts that most commissioners think he meets that test, but he doesn’t believe it should be necessary for him to prove his worth. He contends a survey done when he bought the home in 2002 and a survey done by St. Johns County when he tried to run for the City Commission last year both showed his house within the city limits. (His backyard, however, is in the county.)

“We are in the city and we are in it for good,” says Slavin. “They are not going to run me out of town.”

The issue arose previously, in 2006, when Slavin turned in his paperwork to run for the seat that Crichlow now holds. At the time, he says a Supervisor of Elections employee questioned whether he was, in fact, a city resident. He recalls, “They didn’t even want to take my paperwork.” In the end, Slavin says, a county survey determined he was a city resident and the Supervisor of Elections assigned him to a city precinct.

Crichlow’s memory is a little different. He says that the supervisor couldn’t decide where the boundaries were, so it became the city’s responsibility to do a survey to determine the county boundary. “If the county did a survey, the county did not provide the city with the information,” says Boles. “And anyway, the county is not going to do a survey that is definitive about the city borders. It is the city’s responsibility to convey that to the county.”

Anytime there is a dispute about a boundary, it is the city’s duty to hire a surveyor and an attorney to review the survey to determine the city limits, says Boles. But Slavin points out that the attorney the city hired may have a bone to pick with him over his criticisms of the Mosquito Control District. Geoffrey Dobson was the attorney for the Mosquito Control District until he resigned abruptly in January, saying he refused to be insulted any longer — by Ed Slavin. The activist frequently criticized Dobson on his blog.

Vice mayor Crichlow insists the survey wasn’t intended to silence Slavin. If it was, it probably wouldn’t work anyway, he says. “I don’t think it will make any difference to Mr. Slavin whether he is in the city or not,” says Crichlow. “It’s not going to change his opinion of how the city is run — and you don’t have to be a citizen to speak at meetings.”