Commissioners should reject contract with dodgy corporate law firm to take over St. Johns County Attorney job. Firm co-owned by next Florida House Speaker, Rep. SAMUEL PAUL GARRISON. Good column by Nicole Crosby from Jacksonville, Florida Times-Union:
St. Johns County residents want politically neutral attorney who commits 100 percent
A major political battle is being waged in St. Johns County over the supposedly apolitical position of county attorney.
Richard Komando was installed as interim county attorney one year ago, yet residents only learned in March that the county hired him permanently through his law firm, Bradley, Garrison and Komando. One of the firm partners, Rep. Sam Garrison, is 2026-27 Florida House Speaker-designate.
For context, Komando was basically hand-picked for the interim position by four developer-supported commissioners in the wake of their censure of the lone "slow-the-growth" commissioner, Krista Joseph. These same members attempted a criminal prosecution of Joseph, who happens to be a Gold Star mom.
Her so-called crime was stating while on the dais that there was hope for those who oppose overdevelopment, referring to the 2024 election (still nine months away at this point). Joseph had to file a federal lawsuit to protect her First Amendment rights and to stay out of jail, but she was cleared.
Komando's household donated $1,000 each to two of those censuring commissioners while he was acting as our interim county attorney — so much for remaining apolitical. He only recently disclosed that he represents six government clients plus private clients that he wouldn't name.
According to a March 20 article in the Times-Union, however, [two] of those clients was convicted and sentenced to prison for a payroll tax scam.
Residents believe the county’s more than $1.5 billion budget should not have to share an attorney with neighboring counties, criminals and other clients. Yet Komando was selected in a 3-2 vote, despite plenty of public opposition.
The tie-breaking commissioner, Clay Murphy, seemed to imply that influence may have played a role in his decision when he said he thought that Komando's “… firm … could help us bring home the bacon," a possible reference to the future House Speaker, Rep. Garrison.
Some of Komando’s earlier decisions have not sat well with residents, such as his cursory investigation of sexual harassment and retaliation allegations from county staff. One alleged victim reportedly has remained on administrative leave for over two months at taxpayers' expense, but has apparently not been given an explanation as to why.
Our residents want a county attorney who will be 100% committed to that job and no other. We deserve political neutrality in the position.
Nicole Crosby is a St. Johns County community activist. She lives in Ponte Vedra Beach.
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
6 comments:
You want an attorney who doesn't vote, have any friends, and hasn't taken cases in the past? Well that's not realistic and that's not gonna happen. At the end of the day, they already picked someone and you'll have to get over it. Move to North Korea if you don't like democracy.
Ms. Crosby's column is unrebutted. "Pete" is a liar. Pete is a serial prevaricator who defends the indefensible. Who is "Pete?"
Once again, "Pete" presumes to tell people where to move. Shopworn cliche. How trite. Where did "Pete" get his law degree? Trump University?
You're the liar. I asked you for proof and evidence for multiple claims and you provided nothing but irrelevant diversion. How do you come to the conclusion that I'm the liar? What have I lied about or what bogus claims have I made?
You associate with Trump supporters Slavin. Not me. You don't like the outcome of a democratic appointment, not me. You want to overturn the results of a democratic process, not me. Were you also at the Capitol on January the 6th?
You know what I noticed about a lot of so called Democrats in SJC? They come down here and put down Republicans but after a while they start thinking like conservatives... their opinions on more social issues than not are actually in line with conservatives. It's nauseating and pathetic, and part of the the reason why people just go ahead and join the GOP.
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