There isn’t enough Dramamine in the house to keep me from feeling disemboweled as I say this. But Ed Danko is right. The Palm Coast City Council member, reigning champion of the odious and obnoxious among our locally elected, is right to resist Mayor David Alfin’s proposal to have all council members sign “Code of Conduct,” including a pledge of civility.
It simply is not an elected board’s place collectively to regulate or codify its members’ behavior as if they were high school sophomores, even though they act like it at times. It’s never government’s place to force pledges of any kind on anyone. That goes for pledges of loyalty, of civility, of diversity, or even pledges to the flag. “With liberty for all” means with liberty for all: to pledge or not to pledge, to behave or not to behave. For the elected, outside of lawbreaking, voters are the judges. No one else.
That doesn’t mean elected boards cannot censure or reprimand one of theirs. They can and they should, just as the Florida Commission on Ethics routinely does with elected officials across the state, just as the Supreme Court does with judges. The ethics commission does so only when elected officials break laws. It can impose fines that at times get ignored (ask Dennis McDonald).
The court does so when judges break the judicial code of conduct, an ideal document that should apply to all elected officials–but in principle, not in code. It’s different for judges because they’re barely elected, and once they are, they wield enormous power largely out of public view. They really have no colleagues in the true sense of the term, and aside from celebrity cases, media have given up on covering courts. The judicial code provides the necessary accountability that voters and the press do not.
That’s not the case on local elected boards. They’re enough in the public eye to make codes an inappropriate usurpation of public accountability and elected responsibility. To the extent that elected officials are also electors, of course they may censure and reprimand, if they so decide, as the County Commission should have censured the reprehensible Joe Mullins the roughly 7,000 times it had cause to, as the council should have censured some of its own, Danko included, on thankfully fewer occasions.
But that’s an expression of the moment, like a resolution, speaking in the immediate for the elected on that board, without presuming to speak for government at all times. Curiously, the only people who think censures have no power are the elected. Would they say the same thing about, say, a Rotarian of the Year award, which also means nothing more than what it says? Of course not. It’s a statement, an honor. A public censure is also just a statement–a dishonor. It’s not meaningless. But the elected prefer to protect themselves from that risk by claiming, self-servingly, that it is.
The problem with Palm Coast’s Code of Conduct is two-fold. It implicitly presumes to define civility, though its vagueness does no such thing beyond the obvious (the obvious is set out in law). Worse, it presumes to tell members what they may and may not say. It restricts their freedom of expression once the board has taken a position on an issue.
But the elected don’t give up their freedom of speech once a vote closes the door on an issue any more than do members of the public. For the council to presume to police a member’s speech or behavior after a vote implies that boards are more autocratic than democratic.
We see this at the Flagler County School Board, where the undemocratic sullies of the Florida School Board Association are routinely on display. The state association imposes its autocratic methods through its “Master Board” training, an awful exercise in groupthink whose rhyme sums up its substance. It tells members, falsely, that once they vote on something, they may not dissent further, especially publicly.
Flagler School Board members, several of whom are already predisposed to Leninist decrees of speech–Sally Hunt, Will Furry, Christy Chong–have used that ridiculous edict to muzzle each other, as if they were a club whose members’ first allegiance is to the club, not to voters. Selectively, anyway. Those three have no problem breaking their own rules and policies when it suits them, using the dais to slander employees as they did the previous superintendent (among others), as they continue to do the current attorney or their colleagues, or to misuse their School Board Facebook page, as Furry, who seems to have an awful lot of time on his hands, did over Halloween.
Of course it’s crass, moronic, sleazy, but it’s of a piece with who these characters are. Voters put them there. Voters can remove them in time, as fellow-board members thankfully cannot.
Civility on elected boards is not an end in itself. Elected boards are for debate–rigorous, independent, sometimes angry debate. They are a reflection of our electorate, not of government rules. Right now our electorate is divided, angry, at times obnoxious. Some of these elected officials are of their moment.
On the other hand, sharp, even outraged dissent and civility are not mutually exclusive. Council member Theresa Pontieri is a master in disagreeing forcefully, intelligently and decorously, with Nick Klufas a close second, at least when he chooses to exercise that skill, which has unfortunately become rarer the closer he approaches his perilously overcautious run for a County Commission seat.
Pontieri’s dissents drive the conversation as Danko’s bluster rarely does. It is not a coincidence that in opposing the Code of Conduct, Danko made his case persistently but with uncharacteristic calm and force, as if Pontieri was rubbing off on him.
Alfin’s goal is unassailable. He wants council members to set the highest standard. He wants the council to be a self-policing forum for brisk but civil debate. And he wants to send a message against the degradation of discourse and political engagement. But the fact is that he and the manner in which he chairs meetings have already done all that. Codifying it would not be merely redundant. It would constrain and undermine one of his most substantial achievements.
Pierre Tristam is FlaglerLive’s editor. A version of this piece airs on WNZF.
CiD says
I get the freedom of speech… but no need to be a bully, rude and disrespectful to other adults
Who are in attendance…. Maybe next time we won’t elect a total as$ho#3. Maybe a more civil grown adult
The dude says
Danko and furry are what Palm Coast and Flagler County want.
The only logical conclusion is they faithfully represent what the people in Palm Coast and Flagler actually are.
Danko and furry are what Palm Coast and Flagler County deserve.
Glad to see the shithole in my rear view mirror these days.
Wanda Morsell says
I don’t think Mayor Alfin is wrong. In fact, it’s really ashamed that this course of action has to be presented. You would think that it would be a matter of fact that members would be civil, respectful and professional at all times, even in heated debated. If fact, did any of the members take debate in college?
In many professions and organization, confidentiality agreements are required. Why shouldn’t there be rules for engagement and public discourse. There is no problem with vigorous, aggressive debate, but not a all out brawl…….it’s embarrasing and serves no purpose……it leaves a very bad taste in the mouths of voters.
Gina says
Yes, Danko is right! And Nick Kuflas please we need your input on more
issues that pertain to our city since you are running for a county position,
now is the time for all of you to shine.
TREEMAN says
Taxpayers of Palm Coast and Flagler County-WAKE UP!!! Your elected “CLOWNS” are soon going to cost you a lot of money!!!!
Isabella says
What these people should ALL sign is a code anti ” deception ” . They are selling off our wilderness leaving our wildlife homeless while feeding their special interests.
Elections are coming and people are fed up with the lying and deception
This Ad paid for by the R party...... says
Danko & Furry the two most dangerous politicians on local boards.
Danko is out of control stealing information from his own party using webelect, getting your data with no authority to do so.
He has no boundaries and will do anything to get elected to our County Commission.
Furry is just so poorly educated that it shows in his actions. He was elected with dark Tallahassee PAC money. Even the PAC admitted they made a mistake. The mission was to stay conservative on the school board but the Tallahassee PAC never saw this coming with his poorly managed administration.
NO DANKO AND NO FURRY EVER AGAIN!
Nick says
Kuflas is the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, and the worst of the Cowardly Lion combined.
James says
My, my… what a creative boy that Will Furry is, first printed election mailers and now silk-screened t-shirts. Both of which he managed to incorporate into his Halloween costume.
Fake news indeed… perhaps all contrived to distract us all from our water bills. Has anyone noticed their water bill lately?
Just an observation/opinion.
Leila says
Isabella, they are not selling off anything. These developments are being built on privately owned land which has been sold by the rightful owners who have the right to develop it. Like it or not, that is the law.
Leila says
James, since when did the School Board on which Furry serves have anything to do with your water bill?
Explain, please. I am so confused, or is that you?
James says
Ok, I will.
While the electorate is busily distracted by the odd behavior of clowns like Furry, they’re apt to loose sight on issues of actual long term significance.
Much like the audience at the circus is amused by the clown show while others are backstage preparing for the next act.
Get it?
Just a clarification.
James says
Putting Furry aside, as to the main topic of the opinion piece, we’ve all sorta seen it before haven’t we?
Eddie Branquinho suggested that the council follow “Robert’s Rules of Order,” or perhaps at least read them. Of course it was just a (friendly?) suggestion to a voluntary submission to a code of conduct/decorum. Not one to which members of the council could/would be legally bound… and a possible infringement on the council members free speech, as what seems possible in Alfin’s proposal.
Perhaps they should have listened to him at the time.
Just my opinion.
bruces says
This city council is out of control and a joke while i used to think Danko was good because he always cares about the single income, its either a phony line with him or he does but his charcter does cause him a bad reptition
Affin does not care about the people just wants to build build build
No one on this staff cares about safety
everytime people ask for something they vote it down or it does not get brought up every again
other counties our big on safety of roads and takes it seriously
Nick is a clown waste of the B section just follows the mayor on a breaking tie situation ass kisser
Teresa really has her own personal problems and people with criminal background alligations
should not be on the council and Delronza is top of the clown all new officers all newmayor get ride of the high pay roll
Rocketman says
and who says Danko will win if George is running he will blow him out of the sky
Maybe all the way back to Georgia
FlaglerLive says
George Hanns said he decided not to run.