The Lies That Bum…er…Brummer Told Us

Or

“White Man Speak With Forked Tongue” 

Forgive the obvious racist subtitle for just now, but that’s how I feel about this whole situation. During last Monday’s town hall meeting at the Dr. James R. Smith Neighborhood Center the only truthful thing that Commissioner Bum…er…Brummer told the assembled was his name, and I understand that someone is fact-checking that. All kidding aside, if this weren’t so serious it would be farcical.

The meeting was hastily arranged by Orlando City Commissioner Samuel Ings and Beverly Neal, president of the Orlando chapter of the National Congress of Black Women. The invitations went out to the county commissioners and a panel of community leaders was put in place. The time factor worked against everyone because two commissioners who were invited and wanted to come were advised by their lawyers that there was not enough time for official notice and that they should stay away. The time factor also worked against the panel because they didn’t always get their facts straight. In fact, the only person that came completely prepared was the uninvited Tax Collector, Scott Randolph, the target of one of Commissioner Bum…er…Brummer’s charter amendments. County Commissioner Scott Boyd did attend; however, he declined to participate and stayed strictly as an observer.

What’s the difference between a corporate special interest lobbyist and a paid petitioner? The only difference is in style and money. The lobbyist wears Armani suits from $1200.00 up with matching 24 carat gold cufflinks and $300.00 Marco Rubio haircuts. Lots of the funds that pay for that sartorial splendor do not come from the district. Some of those lobbyists do not live in the district either. The petitioner is also a lobbyist for the people. The average petitioner doesn’t earn in a month what those cufflinks cost. Where the money comes from is inconsequential and Citizens United and the recent McCutcheon Supreme Court rulings have seen to that. What Commissioner Bum…er…Brummer is engaging in is the age-old Republican practice of projection, a term for blaming your opposition for doing what you yourself are doing. It’s old hat and we’ve seen it before. What’s really happening here is that Bum…er…Brummer and his cohorts on the BCC are finally getting a dose of their own medicine and they don’t like the taste.

In this first video Bum…er…Brummer’s arrogance shows through. Dressed as though he were either community theatre version of Nathan Detroit or Big Jule from Chicago he struts about and refuses to equate the paid sick time initiative with the petitions he currently wants to quash. He conveniently forgets Textgate and the fact that this was exactly the impetus for what’s happening now, again projecting outside money and interests as the culprits. What he does show is an astonishing ignorance of what the Tax Collector does, and he completely misstates his numbers. In this second video his whole attitude changed as soon as Tax Collector Randolph showed up. All of a sudden he was like a deer in the headlights and couldn’t wait to leave, giving the excuse that he had another engagement. Strange, because he was supposed to be a member of the panel. His numbers on redistricting were also preposterous. For an accountant to misstate numbers is a gross insult to his audience. He thought he could maybe put one over on voters in a minority district but it didn’t work.

The panel discussions, moderated by Sheena Rolle, started with remarks by the Rev. Randolph Bracy, past president of the NAACP in Orlando, who is against every proposal and stated his reasons why. Next panelist was current president of the NAACP, Kram Riley, who was also a member of the redistricting board and the Tax Collector Task Force. Unfortunately, Mr. Riley added to the confusion on redistricting rather than adding clarity to it. He did, however dispute Bum…er…Brummer’s allegation that the county would save any money by elimination of the office, and in a left-handed way alluded to Bum…er…Brummer’s lack of knowledge of what the Tax Collector does.

Next up was Marcos Vilar of Florida New Majority who pointed out the obvious flaws in the redistricting amendment. He also came up with the idea that if a complete redistricting does take place, then the voters should be electing all six commissioners instead of just two.

Following the panel discussion Commissioner Ings made his statements. Afterwards public questions and answers were solicited for the panel to respond to. Some of these questions and answers are startling. All panelists warned against accepting the amendments on face value, and Rev. Bracy added that this is nothing more than a power grab to keep power at the expense of the voters.

It was then time for Orange County Tax Collector, Scott Randolph to speak. Randolph explained in detail how the Tax Collector’s office works refuting Bum…er…Brummer’s reasons, surgically, in a straightforward manner. It is apparent that the Commissioner is either willfully ignorant of the responsibilities, or he has a personal agenda. Here’s an idea worth looking into; tax deeds. Randolph touched on the subject but only to the extent where churches and not-for-profits are concerned. Churches and NP’s are exempt from ad valorem taxes, however they are not exempt from non-ad valorem taxes. When taxes are in arrears, those amounts can be sold as tax deeds by the city or county. Randolph explained this in detail and how his office is working with many organizations and municipalities to correct this. What he didn’t touch on are the millions of dollars in tax deeds that the county is sitting on and not selling. Why? Could it be that many of these deeds are on donors to these commissioners? A simple records search could clear that up and it might be surprising to see who these people are and their connections. Here’s another thought; voter suppression. Currently the Tax Collector’s office through the Mobile Voter program registers an enormous amount of voters. Bringing that into the county would definitely suppress the vote because six Republican members of the BCC would quash that immediately. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been pushing state and local governments in that direction for several years and, yes, it has found its way here. Randolph explains at 3:44 of the video how it works.

Beverly Neal spoke briefly about the need to be together and united on these issues. The surprise she told the audience was that the BCC figures that the abolishing of the Tax Collector’s office is already a done deal. She said that they already have a hand-picked candidate to fill the job. That’s interesting, because the Mayor’s race is not a given, nor is District 2. Jennifer Thompson in District 4 has a very credible challenger and the stench of Textgate hangs over all of the Republican Commissioners. This is not the time to stir up a hornets’ nest, but which side will win? Will wisdom trump Armani suit money and arrogance?

Laura Johns of Organize Now, representing Orange Rising, talked about the Vote Local program. Vote Local is gearing up for a voter education drive that will reach voters in the hundreds of thousands with canvassing, phone banking and literature geared to educate voters in all six districts as to how local governments either work or should work, and why they should vote, especially in primary elections.

So, why was Fred Bum…er…Brummer the point man on this? It’s because he has nothing to lose. He’s leaving the commission and has no penalty to pay for his lies and his irresponsibility. The worst that will happen is that his proposals will not pass, either the commission vote or the elections themselves. The man did absolutely nothing for seven years and all of a sudden he needs to be involved in good government that “empowers” voters. No way, Fred! Because you’ve been a good soldier you stand ready for some kind of appointment to a commission or a state university. Wow! Some punishment! And about a commission that could support this, Rev. Bracy said it right from his testimony; this is a con job that will take power away from the voters, and his citing of Daniel 5:27 “You have been weighed in the balance, and art found wanting” is spot on.

Referring to my subtitle at the beginning of this article, a generation ago South Africa ended Apartheid, a system of government instituted racial segregation where the minority ruled the majority and did everything in its power to keep it that way. We in America were aghast at the racism and did everything in our power to end it. Individuals like myself stopped buying or selling to South Africa and entertainers such as Frank Sinatra refused to perform there. Once Apartheid ended we celebrated by bringing it here only in very subtle ways. ALEC, under the direction of Paul Weyrich had a lot to do with it. It is still here and the only way to beat it is to get the vote out. Then we can kiss the Fred Bum…er…Brummers of the world goodbye.