Commissioners’ push to install Conrad as administrator seems fishy (Ed Slavin, St. Augustine Record column, January 25, 2020)

Holding our governments accountable is a task for every citizen.  Here's my January 25, 2020 St. Augustine Record column on oligarchs' hiring of HUNTER SINCLAIR CONRAD as County Administrator without a job application, without an ad, without a background check.  From St. Augustine Record: 

Guest Column | Commissioners’ push to install Conrad as administrator seems fishy

Ed Slavin, St. Augustine

It happened in America, in St. Johns County, Florida, which Dr. King called "the most lawless place in America“ on the day after the MLK birthday celebration.

Jan. 21, 2020, is a date that will live in infamy.

Five Republican St. Johns County Commissioners voted to bestow our County Administrator's position as a political patronage plum, to their longtime family friend, Hunter Conrad.

The County Administrator position was neither posted nor advertised. Wonder why?

Hiring a permanent County Administrator was not on the agenda.rudely, crudely rejected any search or advertising.

A cabal of (white male) Republican county commissioners relied upon word-of-mouth, illegally hiring another Republican elected official in a position for which he does not meet minimum qualifications.

EEOC must investigate. Now.

This hiring decision does not pass the "laugh test," or the "smell test."

Our Florida Constitution, Sunshine laws, and County ordinances were violated.

On recruitment, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission websites states it's "illegal for an employer to recruit new employees in a way that discriminates against them because of their race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. For example, an employer's reliance on word-of-mouth recruitment by its mostly Hispanic work force may violate the law if the result is that almost all new hires are Hispanic."

This isults every single qualified person who might have applied. Not one woman or minority candidate was considered. This decision stinks.

EEOC states that it's "illegal for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant" in recruiting. "For example, an employer may not refuse to give employment applications to people of a certain race. An employer may not base hiring decisions on stereotypes and assumptions about a person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information."

Commissioners shared stereotypes and assumptions against hiring "outsiders." Commissioner Paul Waldron admitted that he did not want to hire anyone from California to run "my county." One speaker bragged about Conrad's religious beliefs.

Religion or political affiliation are not bona fide occupational qualifications.

In his 1998 cover letter, former county employee Cory "Duke" Mara, who later ran for elected office, touted both his religion and political affiliation.

Irish-Americans once encountered signs stating, "No Irish need apply." Commissioners have signaled that women and minorities are unwelcome in their top job.

Sole surviving son of a widow, my father volunteered for the 82nd Airborne the day after Pearl Harbor, at age 28. My mom and dad taught me to speak out against injustice, just as JFK's dad taught him: You must stand up to people with power or they walk all over you. In that spirit, I worked to win victories for whistleblowers and other employment discrimination victims.

Commissioners later agreed that the negotiation meeting between Chairman Jeb Smith and Mr. Conrad will be open to the public under the Sunshine law. That's small consolation for blatant government lawbreaking.

Enough louche lawbreaking here in my county. If hindsight is 20/20, we should find it all the more unreasonable if this unjust decision stands. A right without a remedy is simply a suggestion.

As our City's namesake, Saint Augustine of Hippo wrote: "An unjust law is no law at all."

Ed Slavin is a local citizen activist.