Wednesday, October 08, 2008

ERROL JONES NEVER KEPT HIS PROMISES

In the October 11, 2002 St. Augustine Record column (below) ERROL JONES made certain promises that he never kept. He stated:

1. "I'm running for this office because I believe God has blessed me with a vision that would bring unity, respect and prosperity to the residents of St. Augustine."
Commissioner JONES does not show "respect" for citizens and is a divisive force on the City Commission, insulting residents.

2. "I am best qualified to administer the general purposes of a city commissioner, and possess the receptivity for other ideas and courses of city government actions."
JONES is a cognitive miser, who is hostile to new ideas.

3. "As an independently oriented candidate I am committed to equity and fairness."
JONES has not kept this promise.

4. "I have cultivated a proper sensitivity when it comes to cooperation with others inclusive beyond the so-called "influence."
This is incoherent, but JONES is not sensitive -- he is abrasive and mean.

5. "I understand that the role of an elected official is that of setting policy, and giving leadership and direction to management level staff."
JONES repeatedly defers to City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS, whom he defended in response to my question at the St. Paul's A.M.E. Church fora this summer.

6. "I want to ensure that you are a part of the vision of the city of St. Augustine plans for the future."
JONES is uninterested in your opinion unless you are CHESTER STOKES, ROBERT MICHAEL GRAUBARD, mouthpiece GEORGE MCCLURE or other tree-killing, wetland-destroying developers, whom County Commissioner Ben Rich has termed "worse than any carpetbagger."

7. "What I bring to the table is a new lens by which you see people, and understand how to value them."
JONES is hostile to people who have new ideas. He is a cognitive miser.

8. "I will be both accessible and friendly, allowing folks who wouldn't normally participate in government issues to contribute. I pride myself in knowing the pulse of the community.

9. "I make sure I'm hearing what the community is saying."
JONES did not keep these two promises -- he broke it when he made the motion November 13, 2007 to bring 40,000 cubic yards of contaminated solid waste back to Lincolnvile from the Old City Reservoir, where it was illegally dumped in secret on orders of City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS.

10. "I have studied and worked hard over the years to prepare myself for a responsibility of this statue. We need a fresh start. We need new energy, new blood, and new ideas. It is time for change in the way our city governs."
JONES is a solid vote for the status quo and for continued job security for City Manager for Life WILLIAM B. HARRISS, who can commit environmental crimes like illegal dumping and get away with it because JONES is a lapdog.

11. "If we continue to elect persons with the same mind set, same interest and same agenda as those in office, we are going to continue to get the same results."
JONES is now one of the people he warned us about.

12. "The general feeling is that we are experiencing an erosion of public confidence in our elected officials, and that they are no longer listening to the people. Some say that they continue to ignore or give token attention to your concerns or issues. Many of our problems exist because we created them. We created them through transgressions of commission and omission. It does not have to be that way. You do not have to simply accept things the way they are. I believe that just as we created these problems, we can solve them. We have to begin to act consciously and deliberately toward creating a commission, which we all can work with."
JONES has become part of the in-crowd, creating more problems.

13. "I will use town hall meetings (held in your neighborhood) as a vehicle to not only receive feedback and service as a sounding board, but to maximize the talent and expertise of the people of the community, giving you and your issues a new level of credibility and legitimacy. I will sit down and listen to what you have to say, what community issues are most pressing to you and your family."
JONES has not held such town hall meetings. He does not listen to residents.

14. "I will work to continue the revitalization efforts in communities such as Lincolnville and the protection of our pristine neighborhoods, like North City from encroachment by new developments."
JONES is not protecting our neighborhoods -- he screwed North City by giving CHESTER STOKES the third vote he needed to destroy the historic Donald Ross designed Ponce de Leon Golf Course, freeing pesticides (including arsenic and cyanide) covered by turf to be eaten by babies in houses STOKES wants to develop. JONES even voted to give STOKES tax credits (tax expenditures) by declaring the Golf Course a brownfield, an abusive use for which the brownfield law was not designed.

15. "As your commissioner, I will work for a balanced approach to growth and maintaining our historic past. I will work for affordable housing and encourage and foster economic development in outlying areas of our city."
JONES has done no such thing -- anything a developer wants, JONES rubber-stamps, including a Maryland developer's two million cubic foot boat storage building, that would have inflicted a 48-foot tall structure twice as tall as the Berlin Wall, blocking out the sunsets along Riberia Street.

16. "You need a commissioner who will be objective. To be objective one must remove self-interest from the equation. I can and will be that type of commissioner."
JONES is anything but objective. In voting to destroy the Ponce golf course (a beautiful place for wildlife as well as golfers), JONES said his "daddy" was not allowed to play golf there, saying it wasn't historic or worthy of preserving. JONES often plays the race card from the bottom of the deck, as only a Republican pro-develeoper turncoat can do with a straight face.

17. "I believe in St. Augustine. I believe in you. I believe that I am the best candidate for the job. I can and will represent all the people of St. Augustine.
I want to work for you."
JONES doesn't work for the residents -- he works for City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS, who made him the designated hitter against all who criticized illegal dumping in the Old City Reservoir and the attempt to repatriate contaminated waste to Lincolnville.

CONCLUSION: JONES NEVER KEPT HIS PROMISES.

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