Top 10 Scrooges of 2012

The holiday season is a great time for reflection before heading into a new year. And sometimes, it’s important to look back and remember the top Scrooges to our community. Here’s a short recap of some of the worst offenders:

#10 – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio

Senator Marco Rubio is a proud Tea Party darling and this year he continued to show he is no friend of the people. He endorsed the Ryan budget which would slash Medicare and Social Security for seniors, voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, and has also expressed his opposition to the Dream Act and in state tuition for undocumented youth. Now, Rubio seems more interested in what the people of Iowa think of him, as he sets his sights beyond Florida.

#9 – Orange County Democratic Party Chair and Tax Collector-Elect Scott Randolph

Scott Randolph started the year as chair of the local party with a lot of hope. But that quickly faded as Randolph alienated those not in his inner circle. Randolph refused to meet with Democratic candidates he did not support, including many minority candidates. Similar tension existed since his days representing minority communities, and minorities have loudly demanded more inclusion and opportunity in his local party. Recently he endorsed a candidate who critics say was a lobbyist for a firm that purged black voters from the voting rolls. He kept busy this year as a state representative set on re-election, before debating a run for state party chair, before switching to replace Earl K Wood and be elected Tax Collector. He also wouldn’t provide his text messages from the House, so he better watch out now that he is a County Constitutional officer. The year ends with Randolph’s Party facing a moral crisis and 2013 will be very telling to see if this Scrooge moves up the list or jumps back on the side of the people.

#8 – UCF President John Hitt

John Hitt prides himself on growing UCF to enormous proportions, but it is clear he does not necessarily care about the well-being or quality of life of his workers and students. Despite making a whopping salary of $741,500, Hitt wanted a raise of more than $26,000 while raising tuition and charging high fees to low wage workers. Students with SLAP at UCF protested the pay hike, but their voices were not heard. Hitt has also been more active with Chamber politics, speaking at the recent all-day retreat and Chamber Fiesta with our state legislators.

#7 – Orlando Police Department

The Orlando Police Department ended 2011 intimidating and arresting peaceful protestors and those who were simply trying to help feed the needy, doing the bidding of the mayor of course. 2012 started with a major ruling against the unlawful OPD arrests and imprisonment for the crime of sidewalk chalking. Officers are known to slam party-goers on the sidewalk downtown, but this year Orlando cops also got beaten up outside of a downtown club. Cops also shot a woman outside the Roxy, saw headlines of a wife-beating cop, and suffered more than one black eye.

#6 – Orlando Venues Director Allen Johnson

Orlando Venues Executive Director Allen Johnson is definitely “buddies” with some in City Hall, but not the hard-working employees and people he benefits from. In an ongoing struggle, Orlando Venues workers still feel betrayed by Johnson’s actions against them. Don’t forget the fence they put around the Amway to keep the “regular folk” away while blocking out the minority-owned businesses next-door to Amway.

#5 – Former Appointed County Commissioner Lui Damiani

Lui Damiani was appointed to the County Commission by Charlie Crist and replaced by Rick Scott. But in his short time he worked hard during redistricting to draw his way back Commission while dividing up the Hispanic community his district was supposed to represent. Lui Damiani partied with Power Players, not the real people in his campaign. But the Hispanic community was awake and mobilized behind Pete Clarke to defeat Damiani in the run-off.

#4 – County Commissioner Jennifer Thompson

When she’s not sleeping during Commission meetings, Commissioner Jennifer Thompson showed us this year she may be busy texting lobbyists. She also took the lead as attack dog for the Chamber of Commerce during the Sick Time debacle. Thompson still has not released her text messages to the public, despite ongoing records requests.

#3 – Governor Rick Scott

No Scrooge list is complete without Governor Rick Scott. Rick Scott remains the most embattled Governor in the country ahead of his 2014 re-election. While he spent most of 2012 trying to cover up the evils of his 2011 agenda, things got worse. He led a mean-spirited political purging of voters ahead of the Presidential election, continued to deny ex-felons their right to vote including some who voted in 2008, and was forced to do an about-face on cutting early voting days and opportunities. On top of everything else, Rick Scott continued his big giveaways for big corporations, while funneling money to charter schools instead of public schools and refusing to implement healthcare reform. This naughty scrooge better look out for Charlie Crist.

#2 – Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer

Orlando Mayor “Not My Buddy” Dyer really out did himself once again. Facing the same legal defeats and public outcry for ordering his henchmen to arrest people feeding the homeless, to arrest people for protesting and to arrest sidewalk chalkers, Dyer showed beginnings of the making of a local dictator. And while he liked arresting other people, when it came to his son hitting a house with his car and fleeing the scene, just a small fine would do.

Dyer’s questionable management of the venues and development projects continue to threaten Orlando taxpayers. Dyer had to go to the County to bail him out for the Citrus Bowl renovations, and phase 2 of the Performing Arts Center is not likely going to be a reality for some time, if ever. At the same time, Dyer has increased payouts to the various arms and interests of the Chamber of Commerce. Big Business Buddy’s loyalty to the Chamber of Commerce was evident by the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash he received from them in his re-election. 2012 reaffirmed Buddy Dyer as a “bought and sold” Chambercrat.

But what’s worst of all is the fact that Buddy Dyer may have past the point of no return. He looked directly in the eyes of Orlando voters and promised he would serve all four years if re-elected. Then just months later, Dyer floated he may run for Governor. Perhaps being scared of losing to Charlie Crist again, rumors then swirled of Dyer’s exit via appointment. Either way, he could have ended all speculation at any time. Will he become “Buddy Dyer the Liar” in 2013 if he abandons Orlando? There’s no doubt Buddy Dyer is a strong contender for Scrooge of the Year, but just like his attempts at statewide office, he comes up just short.

#1 – Chamber of Commerce Godfather Jacob Stuart

No one in town controls more than the Chamber of Commerce Godfather, Jacob Stuart. After getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer handouts, it is known Stuart has long owned the City of Orlando. In 2012 he doubled down to re-elect #2 on this list, spending over $250,000 on his campaign. The County Commission seemed ready to his bidding with a few simple text messages. And despite overwhelming Democratic victories and people-powered momentum in November 2012, Jacob Stuart summoned all our state legislators to his Chamber Fiesta this month to give them orders before they head to legislative session.

Jacob Stuart has implemented a complicated shell game to keep his power. The various arms of his Chamber of Commerce include the Central Florida Partnership, Orlando, Inc., BusinessForce, MyRegion.org, and Leadership Orlando. Stuart has turned public-private partnerships in Central Florida into a toxic nightmare for taxpayers while padding the pockets of his enterprise.

Considering most of the people on this Scrooge list report to Jacob Stuart (and follow his orders when he calls), it is likely his shadow over Orlando will continue into 2013.