A few weeks before Matt Morton resigned but not long after he’d been slandered publicly by Victor Barbosa–the man cave-runaway playing the role of a Palm Coast councilman–a colleague of Morton’s gifted him a pair of socks. The stitching near the cuff read: “Ringmaster of the Shit Show.” (Whoever gave it to him has a social conscience: proceeds from the socks’ sale go to Doctors Without Borders, some of whom might need to set up a MASH unit at City Hall.)
I thought the gift misplaced. Morton was the show’s casualty, not its ringmaster. But now we have a winner. Someone should give rookie Councilman Ed Danko a pair.
Danko’s performance, starting at a council meeting two weeks ago and growing horns in his door-to-door lies to the point of drawing disbelief and denunciation from the governor’s office is all a new abyss for a council that over the past eight months, since the arrival on the council of those two dynamites Danko and Barbosa, has managed to turn the city into a farce, shame the council and publicly insult the city’s civil servants almost on cue every other week.
Danko’s attack on City Attorney Bill Reischmann, the last man standing between banana Republicans and the rule of law, and his slander of Denise Bevan, the interim city manager who managed to log 14 spotless and tireless years with the city until Danko smeared her in 14 seconds, was a disgraceful ploy to deflect attention from the investigation focusing on Danko’s own boorish behavior toward three employees. If the independent investigator Bevan properly hired to further the investigation needs irrefutable evidence about Danko’s tactics, his behavior toward her, in public, was as much of an exhibit as the individual complaints and statements filed by three city employees about him.
And this Danko is the man who is running the campaign of Alan Lowe for mayor. This is the Danko who’s been lying about former Milissa Holland getting threatened by the governor (the resign-or-else lie), the man dragging in Holland’s daughter into his campaigning schemes only to slander her (“couldn’t be too ill”), the man lying about Morton’s “severance,” an echo of Lowe’s lies about Morton’s “golden parachute.”
This is the type of demolition derbies staring Palm Coast in the face. This is what you’re voting for, if you vote for anything associated with these assassins of civility and governance.
Let’s give Danko the benefit of the doubt and take even his slanders as vulgar politics by a man without a filter. What about his governance? It’s as catastrophic as his insults.
Two weeks ago he and Barbosa, these bogus supporters of law enforcement, education and their own government, very nearly left the city, the school board and the sheriff’s office potentially without internet for refusing to approve a routine maintenance contract for the city’s broadband infrastructure. Danko thinks the city should shut down its Fibernet system and turn it over to the private sector, like Spectrum. It’s not an outlandish idea. But it’s a policy discussion, not an occasion to ambush city services and the city’s customers so Danko can score a few political points on behalf of his mayoral hopeful. The following week he had the nerve to tell the sheriff to his face that he was “the best investment.”
Danko, 68, is fond of telling Council member Nick Klufas, who is exactly half Danko’s age, not to lecture him. But that’s exactly what Danko needs. When Klufas compared Fibernet to the city utility, Danko snapped back that the utility was “$200 million in the hole.”
For starters, the utility debt is $144 million, much of it the debt from last decade’s acquisition of the utility from Florida Water. But someone should remind Danko that that’s how utilities operate, and that public utilities do so on a far sounder basis than private ones because they don;t have to worry about ripping off customers to satisfy shareholder value. Florida Power and Light’s parent company is $48 billion in debt, even though FPL is a monopoly. Pacific Gas and Electric, the country’s largest utility by customer base, just emerged out of bankruptcy but still with a nearly $40 billion debt and an additional $25 billion in settlement costs for its guit in causing the deaths of 84 people and wiping out a whole town after its own equipment started a wildfire. If Danko is so fond of Spectrum as a broadband provider, perhaps he should pay attention to the $62 million settlement the company was ordered to pay to some customers for defrauding them of promised speed, or the new class-action lawsuit it faces for harassing consumers with robocalls without their consent. Say what you will about the Palm Coast utility or Palm Coast’s Fibernet, we’ve never had anything remotely approaching any of those issues, and unlike those private companies, anything Palm Coast’s operations do is an open book.
Danko’s private-sector worship is standard-issue liturgy of reactionaries too busy bashing government to take note of the private sector’s cataclysmic record and bailouts at our expense. If Danko is concerned about a private contractor on the city’s pay, it’s not FiberNet he should be worried about, it’s Waste Pro, the garbage hauler that’s been collecting more complaints than trash in some weeks. The company is vying for a new contract. But Danko has been too busy letting himself unethically be schmoozed by Waste Pro to remember where his fiduciary responsibilities are. He’s turned into a fifth column intent on undermining the very government to which he was elected to serve. (“I was elected to serve the people,” I can hear him object with his decibel-defying indignation. But what do you think our government is, Ed? Kim Jong-un’s people? You don’t treat them much better.)
This walking IED and his detonators Lowe and Barbosa is to whom we’re entrusting the UNF/Jacksonville University future of Town Center? The Innovation District? The Arts District? The city’s partnership with the schools, AdventHealth, the Health Department? The city’s administration, which would bleed talent if Danko got his way?
Politicians can be loud, dense and obnoxious. Disagreeing with them is irrelevant. But Danko’s ignorance about how basic city operations work is putting the city’s services in jeopardy. His threats and slanders of current and past city officials, on zero evidence, is doddering McCarthyim by a man with no shame. As a minority councilman, the damage is limited. If he gets his third vote in Alan Lowe, we’re not talking shit show anymore. We’re talking sack of Rome.
Palm Coast may not be the playground of the gods. But it doesn’t deserve this degradation. And voters don’t deserve this in an election that may be decided by a plurality of as little as 25 percent. This election comes down to a referendum–for or against the toxic politics of the last few months. For or against governance. For Palm Coast, or for Slum Coast.
Pierre Tristam is FlaglerLive’s editor. Reach him by email here. A version of this piece aired on WNZF.
The 2021 Special Election for Palm Coast Mayor
SickOf PC Politics says
Semi-related/relevant question. What vehicle does Lowe drive? I have frequently seen a small to mid-sized sedan, white (or a very pale off-white) with large Lowe for Mayor signs attached to the two front doors. I was sitting patiently today at a major intersection waiting for the red light to turn green … and the vehicle I just described passed me on the right lane and literally BLEW through the red light, making a right, without a hesitation, never mind a stop/look/turn.
I was pretty shocked at the speed of the vehicle, let alone the audacity of not even pausing at a red light. Just curious. If this was him, is this indicative of his position on laws, regulations, and safety issues? If this was not him in his personal vehicle, then I apologize. But at the very least, his supporters apparently don’t feel they need to observe traffic laws, in a major intersection, near a church. This is an area with a lot of seniors walking, young people on bicycles and skateboards, people walking their dogs, etc.
Was it a “911” situation to meet with Danko and Barbosa ? Do the traffic laws only apply to certain people?
Ed D Sux says
Get out and vote people! This City will become a shit hole if the two stooges gets the third. I can’t imagine these morons making decisions for us all. What a nightmare and no one to blame but ourselves if this happens. Just looking at that photo should motivate you to get to the polls.
Wallingford says
You are known by the company you keep and seeing the rogue’s gallery this article has enumerated, Danko is at home in the swamp. He is devoid of morals, ethics, civility, and compassion. He should be sued for malfeasance and forced to resign from his pulpit. And Lowe…his name says it all.
Let’s make Palm Coast Proud and Courteous again
Andy B says
What a vicious attack! How can you say you are not biased?
Marie says
Thank you. Exactly my thought too. Unbiased editorial… not by a LONG shot.
Tired, so tired of these people says
If you had actually researched what has been going on With Danko, Barbosa and Mullins you wouldn’t say this was a vicious attack. Have you seen the three of them standing together giving anyone that doesn’t agree with them the finger? Can you really say that the lies they have been spreading about the former mayor are not vicious? Can you really say that that the hatred that Mullins spews is not vicious?
I believe it is called situational ethics…i. e. it is ok when the ones I like lie and insult but no one else has a right to disagree.
Paul says
I am wondering about the following…I am guessing that most if not all of the non-Lowe candidates in this special election for Mayor would be loathe to see Alan Lowe win this election. But as Lowe has the same type of support that Donald Trump has among the electorate and given that the candidate with the most votes will win, the sheer number of other candidates could lead to Alan Lowe in fact becoming the next Palm Coast Mayor.
flatsflyer says
And don’t forget about Dennis McDonald, has been very quite lately just hiding behind the curtin waiting for Danko / Lowe Team to take over. Anyone given any thought to the Three Clowns (Dank, Lowe and the Barber) appointing Dennis McDonald as our next City Manager? Waste Pro doesn’t have the capacity or equipment to remove that amount of trash from City Hall.
YankeeExPat says
Palm Coast Mayoral Candidate Alan Lowe Had Declared Himself ‘Sovereign Citizen,’ Rejecting Constitution and Law for God
October 15, 2020 Flaglerlive
Every Voting or even Non-Voting Citizen of Palm Coast should go back and read this
Sovereign Citizen my Ass !
YankeeExPat says
Sovereign Citizen my Ass!
Peaches McGee says
Danko’s words remind me of animal excrement. Not sure of what animal yet.
Dennis C Rathsam says
What makes you think that you are a politcal genius? As far as Im concerned, your just another poltical hack. Stop telling the people of Palm Coast who to vote for. Its none of your bees wax! Between Flagler Live, and the News Journal all you knock concervitives, & republicans….Youre part of the problem, what are you gonna do if your candidate looses????? Take your ball and go home!!!!
Tired of all this says
You conveniently ignore the real issue by attacking the writer. Nobody has to “knock” Republicans. You are doing it to yourselves with Mullins, Danko, Barbosa and now Lowe. Thei behaviour is out there for all to see and make their own decisions.
P. S. there is something called “spell check”.
Doug says
Palm Coast is a “sh*t show,” and look at those who star or have starred in that show. Alan Lowe, the “Ambassador of Christ” and I quote the News-Journal, “Alan S. Lowe, being a sovereign natural American” and goes on to give notice that “I am a FOREIGN STATE to the United States as well as a NONRESIDENT ALIEN to the political community thereof.” Do you want this “FRUITCAKE” as your Mayor?
Victor Barbosa has the typical New Jersey attitude of “do as I say, not as I do” and routinely violates Palm Coast City Code and then becomes a vigilante because he was called out. Would you trust him to do your Instacart shopping?
And then Ed Danko, whose list of endorsements lead one to believe he’s the new Messiah to Palm Coast Government. Just look at the pictures of those with who he moonlights, and I’m a registered Republican myself! The guy is so full of himself he intimidates Donald Trump.
If these are the best candidates the residents of Palm Coast have to run the city, then I’m grateful as hell that I reside in unincorporated Flagler County. Just do us a favor and keep your politics out of our jurisdiction, as we have our own issues.
Greg says
The whole city is pretty much a shit show in my option. Can’t be trusted, good at lying and will tell you anything to make you go away. From approving property that is not in accordance to city guidelines, promised not to approve, but did, to trying to drain one property onto another so they can get city approval. Threw contractor off my property, Being lied to by city big shots. The city is a shit show in my opinion.
Mark Woods says
Ed Stanko showing his true colors.
Ramone says
Aim High, vote Lowe!
Steve says
Gutter LOW{e} The only thing High will be more Drama cupcake the dye is cast
Mythoughts says
The 3 Stoogies need to get out of Dodge and take little boy Mullin with them, if any other state will have them. The Republican party sure picks a bunch of corrupt losers.
Mark101 says
All I can say is thank you voters for being suck ups if you vote for these people. You get what you get in the end.
Leila says
You nailed this one, Pierre. The frustration is across the board. Praying for a Mayor who will restore my city and end this nastiness. These guys are not it.
William Moya says
Alas, not to be just contrarian, but they are a mirror of our general population, and even in our quasi-democracy, we get what we vote for.
Monique says
Pierre is just like CNN and all the rest who are all just an extension of the liberal party. I have been to council meetings and you have not explained exactly how these have transpired. Now you don’t like Ed because he tells it like it is like Trump but he does try to do what’s in the best interest for the residents of PC snd have seen the same thing from Victor. Klufus and Branquinho at times look at ways they can spend more our tax paying $ especially this pickle ball court which will cost us dearly. I have talked to Alan Lowe and if any of you on here want to know what he stands for he will answer any of your questions just reach out directly to him do not listen to these biased papers like PC Observer or FlaglerLive. Research things don’t just believe everything a news outlet says they did this to Trump and we now found out that he was right about a lot of those things. Look at the PAC $ that Alfin is getting and look at where Alan’s is coming from it speaks volumes. If you all want unbiased news try AskFlagler instead!!
metoo says
The three Stooges have come back and want to ruin this city.
Monique says
Just so u know my husband was at the council meeting this morning snd Branquinho and Klufus voted to increase the millage rate (increase taxes) and Barbosa and Danko opposed it so I don’t see that they want to ruin the city. I’m sure FlaglerLive won’t write about this might make the 2 Democrats Look bad who voted to increase millage rate
FlaglerLive says
The commenter, who spends an awful lot of time on a site she does not trust, is incorrect. As our forthcoming article will show, Branquinho and Klufas voted to keep the tax rate where it has been for the last three years. Under Florida law, that is still a tax increase because the city will be realizing more revenue than last year. But the tax rate would not increase. Ed Danko’s motion would have also been a tax increase, since he proposed to set the tax rate only symbolically lower than where it is now, but still not low enough to prevent a tax increase. Barbosa wanted to go to roll-back, which would have been a no-tax increase. None of them succeeded, as all four could not agree on a majority decision, even though by law they have until only Aug. 4 to make that decision.
Ed D Sux still says
Obviously your husband wasn’t paying attention because that is not what happened. They wanted to set the maximum millage rate the same that it has been for the past several years. Get your facts straight, and while your at it…let the two bozos (Danko, Barbosa) know they should really understand some basic common sense before running for office.
Steve says
IMO Vote for who you want. More of the same would not be an option for me.The Ramifications are huge for the Future. FPC is not, with all due respect, a large Metroplis, but is a microcosm of what is happening all over the Country the Minority in control due to apathy. Management of such should be alot less difficult than the current Elected Officials are making it. A false Agenda of NO. IFF thats what you want so be it. I say out with the Old Guard in with the NEW. Nevermind a sock these clowns in charge couldnt carry a respectable Elected Official for ALL the Peoples jock strap across the locker room. Vote Accordingly you Alls reputation is at stake which for Me would be taken seriously.