The bigoted, vengeful firing of Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt will deeply stain Flagler County’s reputation for business or great schools: Fabrications aside, neither the three school board members nor the chamber of commerce who orchestrated the ouster could find a single reason to fire her. Malevolence was enough.
At least now it’s in the open. Because for the life of us, those of us who tried to figure out the reasons behind the disenchantment with Mittelstadt of those three school board members and a posse of chamber members couldn’t see where they were coming from. There was no there there.
None. Not in their evaluations. Not in their amoebic statements before their vote to fire on Tuesday. Not in any public pronouncements they’ve made since they’ve been on the board. Not in the chamber’s intellectually dishonest reading of student proficiency scores.
Then came Charlene Cothran, the self-described former lesbian activist responsible for turning the board’s public speaking policy upside down after she openly vilified a transgender student who was in the audience during a 2019 meeting, insulted his parents, and broadened her attack on all things LGBTQ.
She was back Tuesday. “I’m sure that she is an excellent administrator, but that’s not my problem,” Cothran said of Mittelstadt. (Mittelstadt’s excellence isn’t the board members’ problem, either, or that of the chamber: they wouldn’t recognize excellence if it flamed up in a pentecostal rainbow on Whitsunday.) “I believe that she was improperly selected in the first place through political pressures from the ACLU and NAACP,” Cothran said, stumbling on the colored people part, though she’s Black, “mainly because of her status as an out of the closet lesbian, married quote unquote, to a woman.”
So there is it. The whisper campaign is no longer a whisper campaign. Will Furry and Christy Chong, two Republican Christian nationalists, joined hands with Sally Hunt, the narcissist with the judgment of a flea who identifies as a Democrat, to orchestrate the putsch, along with their supporting cast. Now an evangelical like Dusty Sims, the former principal at Flagler Palm Coast High School, can take over and put all things alt-right with the world. Overt prayers at board meetings are not far behind, because neither is the firing of Board Attorney Kristy Gavin.
The local chamber of commerce’s board members aren’t known for their Christian nationalism and doubtless they don’t much care about that sort of thing. But their secret vote of no-confidence was prejudicial nonetheless, because it rested on a blend of misinformation, willful ignorance and vengefulness, as becomes clearer by the day. And it is reflected in their cowardice.
Not a single one of the chamber’s eight members who voted to fire had the courage to show his or her face at the school board meeting, or even to meet with the superintendent ahead of the ambush. Not Palm Coast Observer Publisher John Walsh, who proposed the “no-confidence” statement with the same finesse that endorsed Joe Mullins a few months ago, not Garry Lubi, who chairs the board and is a former Education Foundation president, not David Ayres, who’s had Mittelstadt on his Free for All Fridays show on WNZF but never invited her to discuss these issues (Hunt and Chong were more recent guests), not Mike Chiumento, the attorney who’d led the charge against the district’s impact fees last year, and who now represents Paul Peacock, the Wadsworth Elementary principal who played Hunt like a puppet, making her his most reliable mercenary in his war on Mittelstadt. (And who held the school board attorney’s job for 16 years before Gavin? Chiumento’s firm.)
But what’s the point. This coup wasn’t about evidence. It wasn’t about accomplishments. It certainly wasn’t about looking out for the best interest of students. Some of the chamber members are still smarting over the superintendent standing her ground on impact fees. Some of them don’t think she’s servile enough. They want her to kiss their ring. She’s not the type. So they wanted her gone. For them, it was a power play. For the bigots of the Cothran variety, it was hate.
This is the message the Chamber of Commerce and the school board are sending businesses and families that may be thinking of moving here. They won’t lack for like-minded intolerance. Heaven knows this country, like this county, has plenty of it: just last week we had a parent justify Hitler’s book burnings as she addressed the same board. So it won’t affect demographics. It will affect quality. Intolerance and small minds build fortresses and prison houses. But they demolish great communities, they asphyxiate culture, they make school districts look like boot camps. The best students will not wait to get the hell out. The best faculty are already leaving. And those who aren’t, like Mittelstadt, are being shown the door.
Like the rest of Florida, Flagler County wants its 1950s back. It’s getting there.
Mittelstadt had brought the framed portrait of a kindergarten student and placed it next to her during the meeting on Tuesday. Had the chair not ended the meeting prematurely, Mittelstadt would have explained the meaning of the picture. This is who she is working for. This is who she was doing all this for. Not the politics, not the theatrics, but this kindergartener from the Class of 2035, and every student in between she symbolized. So when this board–these morons, these bigots–fired Mittelstadt, it isn’t only the superintendent they screwed. It’s that little girl. And everyone in between.
Pierre Tristam is FlaglerLive’s editor.
richard says
Disgusting Christian Nationalists strike again ! Welcome to Bigotland, DeSantisville, and the Second Coming — of chattel slavery, that is. Get those cotton=pickin’ hands ready, y’all.
Linda says
I’m hoping this will receive the national attention it deserves. What a disgrace.
Concerned Citizen says
All prejudices aside and for the record, what did they state was the primary reason for ousting her? Negligence of duty? Incompetence? Insubordination? What did they accuse her of or hold her accountable for? Was her position solely appointed at the leisure of the board? What is her recourse?
coyote says
They DIDN’T state any factual, evidential reasons that weren’t contorted and/or twisted out of recognition. That is why this is showing to be nothing less than an unwarranted attack to remove Mittelstadt because she stood in the way of their powerplays (ploys?). Not to mention the emotional support they get from a Governor who openly admits that he’s gonna ‘retaliate’ against those who a) Disagree with him and b) Outsmart him . Remember … sh&*^t rolls downhill.
BTW, If uncle Donnie gets his way, and the school board races start coming with political labels …. isn’t time to redo the terms of office clauses for all our school board members? Let’s take the Rick Scott approach, and sunset their term(s) in office – subject to review – oh, about every 3 weeks or so. Catch the nimrods in the bud, so to speak, and before they propagate.
Sherry says
Yet another excellent editorial article Pierre. . . again proving precisely why Flaglerlive is essential to keeping the residents of Flagler county truly informed about the totally corrupt/unethical backroom goings on in local government and business circles.
The enemy is here and fascism is its name!
Unfortunately, xenophobic DeSantis and his cult driven cronies’ influence reaches all the way through to local school boards, chambers of commerce and county/city commissions. Dumbing down the populace makes the populace much more controllable . . . all part of the major scheme to disable our democratic practices!
Be very alert Pierre. . . attacking the freedoms of the press is part of the plan, I’m sure!
FloridaMan says
Obviously someone doesn’t know the definition of fascism. Maybe if you looked it up, you would see thats not what our government is. But ok.
Sherry says
@fm. . . I most certainly know Fascism when I see it:
***Xenophobia/Racism/White Supremacy-https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/wake-xenophobia-new-racism-europe
*** Book Banning/Assault On Education-
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/13/african-american-studies-republican-ban-florida
*** Florida Legislature-
MIAMI — Controlled by Republicans for over two decades, the Florida Legislature has ceased to function as an independent body and instead serves as a rubber stamp for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The result of this one-party rule now completely steered by the whims of a single right-wing fanatic is a slew of unhinged fascist legislation that targets vulnerable communities, diminishes civil liberties, and serves special interest groups at the expense of working people.
I could of course go on giving examples. . . but, I doubt you would open your mind enough to read them.
Laurel says
FloridaMan: I have read about fascism, and Florida is well on its way. Do you not see all the ongoing suppression in the name of *freedom*? Do you not understand how authoritarianism works? Maybe you should do a little more research yourself.
Here, I looked it up for you:
fascism
făsh′ĭz″əm
noun
1.) A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, a capitalist economy subject to stringent governmental controls, violent suppression of the opposition, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
2.) A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
3.) Oppressive, dictatorial control.
— The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
None of that sounds familiar to you? How about: Fascism will come wrapped in a flag and carrying a bible. Pretty good example of White, *Christian* Nationalism. A state of mind that is quickly becoming unwelcome here.
c says
too many big words :)
R.S. says
“Fascism is generally defined as a political movement that embraces far-right nationalism and the forceful suppression of any opposition, all overseen by an authoritarian government. Fascists strongly oppose Marxism, liberalism and democracy, and believe the state takes precedence over individual interests.”
Questions?
Denali says
“FASCISM: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control.” Merriam-Webster
Seems to fit the bill – or would you care to expand your flawed comment? If you do not believe DeSantis is a Fascist you are living in a fantasy land better than anything Disney ever imagined.
Deborah Coffey says
Obviously, many of our poorly educated “citizens” should go back under their rocks.
jake says
It’s her favorite word. She can’t help herself.
Deborah Coffey says
Thank you, Pierre. Keep on outing the bigots. We’ve got to stamp out the hate.
Sherry says
I would love to see the ACLU/Morgan and Morgan get involved in this horrific travesty of a decision!
VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! to oust all those involved!!
coyote says
Uh Sherry .. I did vote. But the choices sucked. I really thought that I had picked the least damaging candidate in each category – not much I can do when a seemingly intelligent, somewhat reasonable campaigner turns out to be a total nutcase after election, and we have to wait 2, 3, 4 or 6 years to correct the error.
I really thin that – if Democracy is to survive – we need to re-evaluate our election process.
1) Term limits are a MUST. For any and all elected offices. Possibly for appointees also. No more consolidating power for decades.
2) Evaluation periods .. we need a way of continuously monitoring our so-called representatives who are using the claim of being for the ‘people’ while they do everything to better the ‘person’ (themselves) or their cult masters. Most paid jobs come with regular performance reviews … Why not politics?
(p.s. and a way of validating those reviews which (as we see in this article) can be deformed and distorted out of all attachment to facts and reality).
3) A better, faster way of getting the idiots out of power before they burn down the building or poison the well. Tough one here, because it has to have teeth in it to really be a useful tool and/or deterrent, but be as immune as possible to the ‘Mom’s for Liberty syndrome’.
It has become too easy for people to lie about their power desire leanings, and way too much damage can be done before the current expiration (re-election) of a suddenly out-of-the closet fascist demagogue occurs to remove them.
We’ll still be lied to during campaigns and we’ll still make mistakes about who we elect.
We need a better, faster way to correct those lies and mistakes when the are uncovered.
Sherry says
@Coyote. . . All great suggestions!
Just look at the completely “fictional” character George Santos who made it into Congress by telling a long list of lies about his life. . . yet the GOP is doing “everything” they can to keep him in that position. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/03/the-everything-guide-to-george-santoss-lies.html
In this new age of trump, we can no longer trust what candidates tell us. Lying is now completely acceptable by almost 40% of our citizens!
Concerned Citizen says
It’s a shame that Chiumento and his board member cronies stooped to dirty politics to get rid of our Superintendent.
It’s a shame that we have allowed the Chiumento firm to gain so much power in our community. They weren’t happy with over developing and stealing our historical land marks from us. They had to get involved in politics to protect their assets. The Chiumento firm is no better than a mafia organization. And we are partly to blame for their rise in power.
A recall needs to be initiated for Sally Hunt before she gains any more time in her position. She has proven with her dirty back room politics she has no longer garnered the public’s trust. If we let her go unanswered with her recent coup then what does that say about us? Likewise Peacock should be held accountable. As well as Furry and Chong.
We can further make life very uncomfortable for Mike Chiumento. His email address and business numbers are public record. Call and email to voice our displeasure. And we should do the same for all board members involved as well as Peacock. It’s nice that you all vent on FL forums. But now we need to step it up. And let a private law firm and our elected officials know how we feel.
Finally,
I have preached over and over again about doing better at the polls. We live in a country that allows us the enormous right of voting. Yet every election we fail to utilize it properly. We can and need to start doing better
To our elected officials,
You work for and answer to us. And your job is to protect our children. And so far you are failing miserably. You are not irreplaceable.
List Of Phone Numbers And Emails. Please Make use of it!!
Mike Chiumento
Office: (386) 237-6899
Email: [email protected]
Emails and phone calls can and do make a difference. Public pressure can achieve a lot. Silence won’t.
Sally Hunt
Office:386-437-7526 x1104
Email: [email protected]
Christy Chong
Office:386-437-7526 x1104
Email: [email protected]
Will Furry
Office:386-437-7526 x1104
Email: [email protected]
Jimmy099 says
Wow. Right on the mark again. Amazing how these people get away with these things.
So now, I will be pushing for NO prayers at any educational meeting and will push to get the Bible and any religious books banned from schools, libraries and any government offices. A lot of information in the Bible is harmful and can lead my children, family and friends down the wrong path. They want to play, let’s play.
If they push for prayer, I will want my religion, The Church of Satin, to have equal time before meetings.
Religion has no part in politics and that’s what this is. Keep your religion and beliefs at home and in your church and stop pushing onto others.
Get ready. This is going to be
Wobie says
The Church of Satin? I bet that’s a smooth feeling religion. LOL
Vincent T Lyon says
Is there a Satanist group locally? A friend of mine just became an ordained Satanist minister up north but I didn’t think the church had a presence around here
Zuffalina says
The heroes of facisism were perverted, depraved, insecure men abetted by complacent, ergo complicit, citizens. Wake up Flagler County…we are well on our way down that jackbooted road.
Take A Good Look says
Perhaps it may be in part due to her ignoring repeated requests for help from family of a student with urgent and critical issues when it couldn’t be resolved at the school level??? In fact, ALL the current board members did! It seems as though they are too caught up with their own “internal drama” that they are not able to address the issues that they were trusted to do when they were initially voted in! Maybe they ALL need to be voted out!!!
Momma Bear is pissed says
Here, here! Do your jobs and maybe others won’t have to do it for you. Kids can’t read, test scores have sucked for years. You all do nothing but fight. New members all around!
Michael Cocchiola says
Hey, Momma Bear…
Apparently, you did not attend the school board meeting. Actual data – not “intuition”- showed that Flagler students read above Florida’s average in several grades. Not only that, but actual data showed Flagler schools performed in the top 15%, and sometimes even better, of all 67 counties.
Get data… not angry!
Jim says
When small people are elected into important positions, this is the disaster you end up with. It is such a shame that these three “board members” can not put personal beliefs and rumors out of decision making processes that affect the community like this decision has made. We’ve lost a very good superintendent for all the wrong reasons. And, worse, what a statement it makes about what is important to the so-called leaders of our community. It is obvious that the last thing that went into this decision was thoughts on what is best for the kids and the school system.
I’m tempted to just say Flagler County deserves the joke of a superintendent I’m sure we’ll end up with but that’s just so damaging the the kids in this county that it’s beyond disgusting.
And I don’t think we’ve reached bottom yet.
None of these people involved have any understanding of Christianity and how to treat others. Vindictiveness is not Christian and willful damage to a community hardly follows God’s teachings.
But we get what we elect, liars and conmen (women).
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN says
Pierre: I find it ironic that this also came at a time when DeSantis passed the bill for the funding of vouchers to private schools
and homeschooling in Florida, with all of the developing going on all over Florida it appears that this raising of impact fees for the developers is not what these power money hungry thieves want, they should all wear mask on their faces due to how they are robbing the taxpayers who send their children to the public school system which is another reason why our system never gets fixed and the children pay these consequences. They should all be ashamed of themselves as they disguise their true intent through falsehoods and character assassinations. If anyone wants to see what hate looks like just look at those 3 faces and yes we will show their bigotry nd the others involved throughout mass media.
Pierre Tristam says
The bigots are emboldened: the expansion of private schooling at public expense is primarily a theft of public money to underwrite the expansion of Florida’s madrassas so christian nationalism can exult. It is also a signal to board members like our own–who should feel more comfortable on the board of those private schools, but their power to plunder education and ruin lives would be limited and out of public view: they’d be screeching to the choir–that it’s open season on tolerance and equal opportunity.
CH says
Pierre let’s talk at the brown dog one day, I know you frequent. I would love to pick your brain.
Pierre Tristam says
I know outing is all the rage but must you reveal my shrink appointments too?
me says
DeSantis is doing a great job at destroying the State of Florida and those he packed for Flagler County School Board are destroying the school board the same as he is doing to the state.
James says
She needs to hire a good lawyer and sue all those involved. The Flagler County School Board is a total mess even with the new ones on the Board, we see what their about.
palmcoaster says
I could nit agree more with Pierre’s realistic editorial and all the residents taxpayers comments before mine!. What a waste if talent, honesty and professionalism unceremoniously fired from our school kids education by a triad of fascist ignoramus propelled by a corrupt regional chamber of un-commerce directorship. Maybe we should stop using the services of its members.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
“…Sally Hunt, the narcissist with the judgment of a flea who identifies as a Democrat, …”
I’m not too sure she identifies as a Democrat anymore, I wouldn’t be surprised if she announced this week she’s joining the GOP or already has. Nor would I be surprised if she didn’t play the Democrats from the beginning. Lot of good money was spent to get her on the ballot and elected, don’t think too many Democrats would Vote for her now or Republicans for that matter. Best for all if she just resigns.
Watch Out For Fake Dems says
Republicans have started running “shadow candidates” in a different way from the fake ones they ran here with FPL’s money. They are now looking for “moderate” to “right-tilting” Republicans to change their party affiliation and run as Democrats in Democrat-heavy districts. Run 100% on a Dem platform, then after a short time, switch and say you’re disappointed with the Dem party and are switching to Republican. It’s a two-fold attack. It makes it appear as though Dem candidates are “seeing the error of their party” and going toward fascism, and it’s giving them another body in state houses.
They did this in NC recently and rumor online is it was a trial run for 2024. She won that NC district by over 80%. A few months later, she’s mad at the Dems and switched parties giving the NC Republicans a super majority and Gov Veto override. Other rumors say she was promised a gerrymandered district, cash, and also possible marriage infidelities, but Sally Hunt could be another “shadow” candidate. If she has any affiliation with Mom’s of Liberty (a Koch-funded group), she defiantly was a plant to tip the school board.
jake says
This isn’t new, and it’s done on both sides. Just sayin…
“So Democrats have two choices in Flagler: they can either get their good candidates to switch to Republican and run them as moderates–and support the hell out of them–or they can keep watching good candidates die at the polls. Switching to Republican, or supporting moderate Republicans, giving Democrats a substantial role to play as kingmakers, is not abandoning principles. It’s playing politics. Democrats should be reading Machiavelli’s Prince, not How to Catch a Unicorn.”
https://flaglerlive.com/183392/flagler-county-democrats-forward-pt/#gsc.tab=0
Jane Kranz says
Disgusting and horrific! Let’s all vote smarter- please!!!
feddy65 says
Agreed put like a poster stated earlier the choices were not good and i believe individuals voted for people who they thought would do the less damage.
Palm Coast Bigots Getting Sued says
Well…well…well. She has the mother of all lawsuits. You know, that little phrase in Constitution that says, “Freedom of religion?” That means there is no state-sponsored or national religion. Who cares if your radical Christian extremist views disagree? My Jesus-aligned views see nothing wrong with her at all. Because, fake wannabe angry Christians, Jesus hung around with hookers and the poor and immigrants and the sick and the depressed and yes, even the gays. He was a non-English speaking POC. He would absolutely abhor this version of Christianity as his is the word that Christians should follow and he said not ONE thing about LGBTQ people. I mean, Jesus wore a dress and kissed his male disciples on the mouth. He loved everyone that the world (at that time, the very controlling Romans) found abhorrent, even though drag and LGBTQ and hookers were prevalent, they (Romans) didn’t like the poor and the sick. They were not societal contributors. You fake Christians realize your King James Bible? Yeah, he was bisexual and in the 1940s, the Bible was changed from “lying with children” to “lying with man.” With all these churches and their pedo scandals, is it any wonder why they changed it? Hmm?
We still have a constitution in this country which prohibits us from having a state or national religion. It guarantees freedoms of religion. It’s time these radical fake Christians are challenged on this very basis in court. My religion only has a problem with r@pe, Murder, pedos, animal abusers, and people full of hate. So, maybe I should exercise my freedom of religion and deny services at my business to these three Christian extremists. It’s well within my rights, after all. SCOTUS said so…
Robert J. Fortier says
I am very unhappy when I see so many people voting some of the biggest losers I have ever seen into public office.
I am a conservative Republican who has helped elected office when younger. It takes both political sides to create a healthy and prosperous community for our brothers and sisters to live a kind and health life, as well as a great community.
I have often toiled over how to make a community kind, diverse, intelligent, and open minded.
This County is probably the worst I have experienced, when it comes down to being part of what is happening currently.
But let’s not be blind on this…There are so many great, intelligent people who live in Flagler County, they just happen not to be interested in getting into politics…and for good reason after seeing how it works down here.
There needs to be political change, common sense, representation of the people. This CAN be done. It SHOULD be done, and together we can MAKE that change. I say Let’s Do It!
Robin says
I’m equally disgusted by the covert and overt manipulation to oust the Superintendent.
Here’s an idea: many of the elders in the community are retired. Use our free time to sit in on these meetings-school Board, PC Council and PC Planning Board, County BOCC and County Planning Board, etc. it’s the only way to educate ourselves and let these representatives know we are watching. Set up a group to attend and report back.
Local news coverage is a joke- thank you Mr. Tristam for expressing your opinions, reporting on what is happening in the community, and backing them up with facts and corrections when necessary. That is what responsible journalism looks like.
If you cannot attend, watch them from home and submit comments.
Educate yourselves, your neighbors, and VOTE!
Wow says
Disgusting to cave to the Republican Hate Club. Elect these odious people and keep shooting yourselves in the foot with you free-for-all assault weapons. Have a ball. When no one’s left standing, will you be happy?
Land of no turn signals says says
WOW, can the headline be any more dramatic?Florida is a right to work state.Her contact ran out You don’t a reason to kick her to the curb.Boom there it is.
coyote says
When you are a publicly elected official making a determination of a taxpayer-paid position … you damn well do need a reason to explain why you are making your decision. You were elected to support and fulfill the wishes of your constituents – and, when you fail to do so – you had better be prepared to explain your actions.
It doesn’t work in public positions like it does in private situations.
What Else Is New says
We are indeed fortunate to read Pierre who is a brilliant, highly educated, honest, journalist who carefully researches his topic. Thank you for continued coverage of the school board theatrics where those scary three mercenaries have sold their souls to the wrong temple. Even Hades doesn’t welcome them.
Simon says
So she is accused of being a lesbian? So what? I don’t know or care what she does in her own home. She was making a positive impact on our schools and kids. Fighting for impact fees? Sounds like she was doing her job. This has lawsuit written all over it.
Hernando Cortez says
Pierre Tristan is engaging in flights of fancy again. Rev Charlene Cochran’s unfortunate utterance had little to do with the firing, nor was there any “orchestration” by mystical “Christian nationalists.” Ms. Chong and Mr. Furry are no more “Christian nationalists” than Pierre Tristan is a member of the mythical “Elders of Zion.” If this mysterious “nationalism” was a significant cause then applicable school board members could have easily referred to the controversy regarding various explicit books, and say- yeah- it indicates parent concerns need to be taken more seriously, the controversies are too much of a distraction from education, the model put in place by Lakeisha Moore has the fatal flaw of not reigning in the media center staffers who allow the questionable books to get on the shelf in the first place, (thereby creating a continually negative stream of “hot potatoes” to be later passed up to the Superintendent and Board etc), and so on.
None of this was even mentioned, although it was very easy to do so, and in fact would have helped meet later criticism that the reasons given by the board’s three no-votes were too thin. Thus, if the mystical “Christian nationalists” had all this alleged “influence,” then they made a very poor showing with the Board, and the hearing.
And if we are to start playing around with the notion of “cabals,” then the so-called “nationalist cabals” are easily paralleled by the notion of a cabal of goy and Jewish leftists seeking to import a brand of New York/NE liberalism and “wokeism” into Flagler via the ACLU, LQGTIAB+ activists, and other assorted agents.
This leaves the second part of Pierre’s complaint regarding various machinations by Peacock and Chamber. These seem much more significant than so-called “nationalists”, particularly Peacock who seems to have undermined his boss in several ways.
Which brings us to the final irony. Pierre had pulled out all the stops to defeat Jill Woolbright’s reelection, and he welcomed Sally Hunt’s challenge. But as it turned out, Ms Hunt was among the votes against the Superintendent. Ironically, after the “All Boys Aren’t Blue” book debacle, where Woolbright won her point by seeing the book banned and procedures begin to be overhauled, she had seemed to reach a sort of modus vivendi with the Superintendent. In fact, Woolbright praised the Superintendent for her action in the matter, and certainly would not have been embroiled in the so-called “text-gate” controversy alleged by FlaglerLive. Pierre’s activities thus yielded a spectacular backfire, delivering the opposite results of what he hoped for.
Pierre Tristam says
I’m surprised “Hernando Cortez”‘s not-so chambered anti-Semitism stopped short of accusing me of doing George Soros’s bidding. At least he chose his genocidal handle well.
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN says
Pierre: I disagree with you, this person “Hernando Cortez” does not have a good genocidal handle at all! It’s more of a look a the shiny coin distraction handle, a real cheap shot that one uses when the truth hurt is revealed about certain people who are the demise of this county for power and money. He/she didn’t like the real truth about the crooked chamber and about the impact fees that Middlestadt went head to head with Chiumento. It’s always about power and money, notice this was conveniently was not mentioned. Bottom line people like this will always pivot away from the truth to cause a divide among the citizens. As for Jill Woolbright she caused her own demise with her crazy statements, “SATANIC WARFARE” She twice formally opposed a district statement denouncing hate groups. She filed a criminal complaint against her own superintendent. She was quoted, “”called to run by God” and also saying “God put these two Christians in my life on this campaign trail who are believers to take our schools back”, referring to Furry and Chong. The pubic sector is not stupid, bottom line there is a reason for the separation of church and state and Woolbright does not see this reason.
Jimbo99 says
Wow, that didn’t take long. When one is hired on a contractual basis, the employer can & quite often elects to not renew & renegotiate an extension at the end of the contract. It happens all the time in sports & in these types of white collar leadership positions. This is a thing for City Managers & has been for many other City & County positions where even age discrimination of a forced retirement might be the driving reason. The Flagler School Board chose to go in a different direction. Leave the DE&I at the door. This is a premium employment position in Flagler County for payscale & benefits. I buy into that there is someone else those that voted against her would prefer to collude with to create their own empire of power. But leave the the LGBTQI aspect of it out. We just saw the Flagler Beach City Manager fired after a year, elderly white male & hetero breeder. That was “wrong” in articles based on it’s own merit ? Imagine had he been darker complexion & LGBTQI ? Point is, we’re back to weaponizing the Demographics as a reason. this was a decision to not extend a contract, not a hate crime as it’s being portrayed.
“Chong, Furry and Hunt in 3-2 Majority Not to Renew Superintendent Mittelstadt’s Contract”
https://flaglerlive.com/188342/chong-furry-and-hunt-in-3-2/
Pierre Tristam says
Comparing the firing of William Whitson to that of Mittelstadt is absurd. There’s a year’s worth of articles about Whitson’s missteps, errors, community and commission dissatisfaction with his performance, the commission’s being documented by laundry lists of issues. There is nothing remotely comparable in Mittelstadt’s record. To the contrary. Of course Jimbo wants to “leave the LGBTQI aspect out of it.” But it’s all there is. That and the absent ring-kissing.
Jimbo99 says
The Whitson thing is quite comparable. Blaming Whitson for Flagler Beach lacking the county share of financial resources to nourish dunes for grains of sand not being where someone wants them to be or solving coastal flooding, not having enough money to pay for firework shows for events or swale repairs, even Biden-Harris inflationary recession, that Biden calls a soft landing economy that is nothing more than a longer, drawn out bleed dry of savings is comical & pathetic for a reason really as poor performance. Problems that existed long before Whitson, that the prior city manager expired with the same track record of poor performance for not resolving. Whitson becoming City Manager in the wake of the last city manager expiring. At what point is this a desperate overreach to make the Mittlestadt thing about an LGBTQI issue ? Hetero’s become unemployed, LGBTQI will become unemployed too, just the nature of employment. Perhaps, Whitson, an older white male hetero, maybe that was his white privilege, he checked all the boxes on the Federal Government forms to be hired, just like Mittlestadt checked off the DE&I boxes ?
I have been a contract staff employee and on more than one occasion I’ve been told that the contract would terminate at the end of the contract period, even been told that it would be immediately. Sometimes, you drive in & the Corporation dropped the ball with an agency & both failed altogether to inform the contract laborer that the contract was terminated. I’m neither LGBTQI, nor any other most favored endangered species of diversity, also not the whitest white guy in the room. So it happens with anyone that has ever held a job. FL has always been a “right to work” state, which I always thought was ironic because it’s always been that an employer could terminate one’s employment at will with no repercussions of obligation for NO REASON(S). Employment has always been like that over my lifetime as a FL resident. If most anyone gets no golden parachute of an ironclad guarantee for being employed, that should apply to everyone without it becoming some hate crime as a loop hole for an overreach.
We have no idea of what the Mittlestadt contract had for terms (regardless of those terms as expressly stated or implied), but since they voted to not renew, that certainly must’ve been an option with neither legal liability nor penalty, whether there’s a reason that is justified or not. Just like the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys can & did release Zeke Elliott with a contract extension still in force without it being an issue of race. Maybe it has more to do with the economics of the county. Other’s seemingly voted themselves raises and that money has to come from somewhere, maybe passed on to taxpayers, either/both local citizen or tourism funded ? There’s more to a decision like this than anyone is going to report transparently. Know that money is generally the underlying reason. Knowledge transfers are are yet another reason, it’s the nature of employment. After 3 years whatever Mittlestadt was going to be productive for, was that long exhausted ? Employers want the benefits of a superior workforce without costs of ownership of labor. For every hire there’s a honeymoon stage and like a marriage, eventually a time to move on from that with a messy divorce ? End of the day, when nobody else gets a pension, guarantee for job security, why should another because they have a LGBTQI hobby ? This was labor attrition in the work force, not a book banning ? Notice the pattern here though, it’s always an LGBTQI issue in the end for those that are economically affected most when the overreach reaches critical desperation. The LGBTQI card gets played again, like the race card or whatever else. Waterboarded again with LGBTQI.
Here’s a question, the most recent mass shooter, LGBTQI, how come nobody is making that the political football for mental health issues ? When is that article coming forth ? We all know if it’s a white male, hetero, that would be the reason for a hate crime escalation. So Nashville, TN, mark that as the day the LGBTQI joined the rest of anyone that has ever been accused of hate crimes, blah, blah, blah ?
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN says
Jimbo99: Come off the LGBTQI card getting played and go along with the facts that Flagler students read above Florida’s average in several grades and actual data revealed Flagler schools performed in the top 15 % and sometime even better than all of 67 counties under Middlestadts contracts. Why would any employer want to fire a person who is doing good for a company, they usually give that person a raise or other incentives to do even better! According to you a person gets fired for doing good, makes no sense. What does make sense is the one thing that you did mention, money is generally the reason, now if Middlestadt was asking for a raise in salary, that comes with negotiations, but there was none of that, it was cut and dry deal as if nothing was going to stop them on this vote. Whitman was given time from what I had read to improve his performance but there were more and more excuses and blunders. Middlestadt was doing good in her job performance , data proves it. The money grab lies with the impact fees that the developers did not want or like.
Sharon Peligian says
I sent this article to nbc. Everyone should be sending this article to the press.
Michael Cocchiola says
From Merrill Shapiro…
Palm Coast-Flagler Chamber of Commerce: It’s time to acknowledge your conflict of interest…
It’s time to call out the conflict of interest of the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce. They opposed the renewal of the contract between our School Board and Superintendent Cathy Mittlestadt because of her robust defense of fair and equitable impact fees to support the building of new schools for our community’s children.
Visit, read and sign the petition at:
https://chng.it/bZQWqfkQ
Cathy says
I am wondering why the Chamber of Commerce does not have the list of members available online. Each link for the business directory says “unable to display this page”. I would think they would have a fully informational and functioning website.
And once again- How can someone give a book review if they did not read the book?
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. EEOC and Aimee Stephens
Diane Cline says
I said this when you first started FlaglerLive and I will say it again…thank you.