Convicted criminal, Tim Eagan, tried to force the Pensacola City Council to listen to his grand plans for the Port of Pensacola by threatening a petition drive to rescind the council’s vote on the maritime park bonds. A quick look at the Clerk of Courts found over 50 charges for writing worthless checks, charge for grand theft auto and battery. In 2008, Eagan was convicted of petty theft, added to the convicted felon report and sentenced to 11 months, 29 days in the county jail.
City officials were concerned that the Eagan’s attempt to gather signatures for a petition to put the Community Maritime Park bonds on a referendum would cause the bond issurers to either delay the bonds or increase bond cost as much as $3 million as bondholders demand more protection from the petition. In effort to appease Eagan, Councilman Sam Hall met with him.
Hall negotiated on the behalf of the city an agreement that the city council would at least listen to Eagan’s billion-dollar development plan for the Port of Pensacola, an idea that Eagan believed that city staff had blocked. The city’s legal department actually drafted the agreement and both Hall and Eagan signed it.
Eagan then took his copy of the agreement to the Pensacola News Journal. WEAR TV and the State Attorney’s office. He claimed that he had been intimidated and pressured into signing the binding agreement.
It’s uncertain how Eagan’s actions will now impact the park bonds.
Popularity: 33% [?]
Yet, the strong mayor has veto power as well.
Ms. Haddigan, you’re claiming that we are seeing the strong mayor as having the worst behavior. You are assuming that everything will be fine and the “strong mayor” will do everything as he/she should.
The problem is, one person having that much power in our government is a bad idea. The current system holds the mayor as someone who presides over the council and is a community figurehead.
Is this the city’s idea of a joke on Eagan??
Since when can Sam Hall bind the city of Pensacola in a legal agreement?
What a sham.
I’ll take the current system with different players.
It is incorrect (or misleading at best) to say that a strong mayor “operates outside of the Sunshine.” Florida’s Sunshine Laws prevent two members of the same legislative body from meeting privately. A strong mayor is not a part of the city council and doesn’t get a vote on city matters, therefore there is no reason why he/she should not be able to meet with individual council members. This is fully consistent with (that is, “within”) Sunshine Law. If a strong mayor is “out of the Sunshine,” then so is our current city manager, with the key difference that a strong mayor would be accountable to the voters.
James:
Let’s deal with facts. The present government did deal with Eagan—not some hypotheical mayor, real people in the current city government. The present system didn’t check into Mr. Eagan’s background.
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You assume a strong mayor would do the same because you seem to assume the worst behavior in your fellow man. However, I have a different take. Strong mayor is less likely to deal with such a person because the consequences are greater. The deal would become a campaign issue. Right now, the city manager and the city attorney aren’t going to lose their jobs over this. Mr. Hall can say he was doing a what the city attorney asked him to do and approved. Under the present system, no one is at fault, no one is held accountable, no one suffers any consequences.
………..
Also, James, the only reason any one knows about the current deal with Eagan is because Eagan went to the media and the state attorney with the agreement. The present governmental system didn’t let you know that the meeting took place.
Ms Haddigan — you assume the strong mayor would have kicked Eagan out of his/her office. But if we had a strong mayor, he or she could have cut a deal with Eagan that would never see the light of day. Maybe Eagan would like a little City business steered his way. If the strong mayor really wanted the CMP to be built, why would he say “no.” And more importantly, how would we know?
I prefer the checks & balances that currently exist, particularly government in the sunshine. We already know Hall recommended Eagan to CJ Lewis. Had Hall been a strong mayor, he could have met privately with Eagan (without the city attorney present to reduce the “deal” to writing) and we would never know the meeting took place, let alone the deal that was cut.
What concerns me is the lack of transparency in government. This is the second backroom deal involving Mr. Hall, the first being his economic development meeting with Commissioner Valentino. It’s a shame that a person with a questionable background (Eagan) would try to hold the city hostage on a bond deal that will create hundreds of much needed jobs. The city attorney (and maybe the city manager who is suppose to be in charge, right?) then compounds the problem by having a council member sign an agreement with this nut (Eagan). Forget charter for a second, there are real leadership, management and ethical problems at City Hall. The intentions of the city staff may have been good, but dealing with dogs, you are going to get fleas.
James:
What I love is your system of city government did the bozo agreement and somehow you tie it to strong mayor.
If there was a strong mayor, there would be only one person who Eagan would have had to deal with—the mayor, who would have kicked him out of his/her office. Where was Pensacola’s city manager—the professional in charge of our government? Shouldn’t he have vetted Eagan before having a city council member negotiate with him?
Who is in charge of City Hall? It’s not the voters.
This unfortunate travesty is another reason to change how Pensacola is governed.
Sounds like Hall & Eagan are the like minds. CJ Lewis says that Hall told Eagan to “brief him up,” so that he was “read into the plan.” That plan was to defeat the CMP bond resolution so Eagan’s magical mystical scheme could prevail. What a team. Hall for strong mayor & Eagan for city administrator.
Like minds (Wells & Eagen) think alike!! Man I am funny.
Atta Boy C.J. ! Great insight to the inner workings of Mr. Hall. When is his re-election? Not!
Anonaly
Your last post — “The wrong person could help push a special-interest through.”
Well said, the nail in the coffin. And why there is such a push for a Strong Mayor form of government.
Think the Tax Payers have no voice now?? If this passes – it will be much worse!
Anonaly:
Just for the record, it is a Sunshine Law violation for the present mayor to talk with any council member about city business regardless if a “non-city staffer” is present. Any and all meetings between council and mayor on matters that may go before the council must be publicized with an agenda.
However, seeing as how a “strong mayor” can meet with a council person without being in a public meeting (as in OUTSIDE the sunshine), I can see the possibility of corruption much more than the current system. In the current system, the mayor has to have a non-city staffer present when speaking with a council person.
There are a lot of great things in the new charter, but having one man with this much power when we have a community this at odds over several developments seems like a bad idea. The wrong person could help push a special-interest through.
Anonymoose — there will still be 9 council members required to operate in the sunshine. The strong mayor, however, can operate out of the sunshine, meaning he or she can cut deals without any public scrutiny.
anon:
I agree. We can go back and forth all day long. This issue, the park, the push for Strong Mayor!!!
It smells fishy don’t you think?
Anon, what study are you citing that states the potential for corruption is greater under strong mayor? Sounds like an opinion to me. Statistically, I believe our chances for corruption are greater under the current council-manager government because you have 9 people with greater responsibility rather than just 1 person. Statistically, it is more likely that one of our 10 council members will have an ethics violation or corruption charge than a mayor.
With regard to the deal with Eagen, it was probably the prudent thing to do. The city did nothing wrong. He was making threats to bring out false charges in a possible attempt to stall the bond issuance. Unfortunately, you can’t always appease someone who is a personal vendetta against something or someone, which he apparently does.
OK then. Try Hartford, Connecticut’s mayor — Eddie Perez. There are many other examples. My point is that the potential for corruption with a strong mayor form of government is much, much greater than for a council/manager form of government.
And I seriously doubt that the city attorney took action on his own. My bet is that he was directed to enter into an agreement with Mr. Eagan so that the bonds could still be sold & the development not held up.
Ms. Haddigan says:
Anon: “….You want to find the negative. There are positive examples, too.”
Huh!!!
Same argument applies to Council-Mayor form. Both negative and positive.
What’s the diff??
After years of in-breeding at the city’s legal department, the city may have reached the retardation level. Stupid move.
One more thing, anon. How would rate how City Attorney “took care of this”?
Anon:
What does Baltimore have to do with Pensacola? In Charleston, South Carolina, a strong mayor, Joe Riley, has revitalized his city. Which city is more like Pensacola?
Baltimore has 636,919 people. The Baltimore Metropolitan Area has approximately 2.7 million residents; the 20th largest in the country.
Charleson’s population is 107,800. MSA about 630,100.
Which one is more pertinent to the proposed city charter for P-E-N-S-A-C-O-L-A? You want to find the negative. There are positive examples, too.
Here’s information on a great strong mayor from Balitmore.
Mayor Sheila Dixon has been accused of secretly accepting more than $20,000 worth of gifts from developers doing business with the city, sometimes masking it as charity to needy Baltimore families, according to a 12-count indictment handed up Friday.
Included in the indictment is $17,000 worth of purchases from one developer, identified only as “Developer A,” in 2003. Those purchases include travel to New York and Chicago and trips to high-end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue. Previous published reports identified that developer as Dixon’s former boyfriend, Doracon Contracting Co. owner Ron Lipscomb, who was indicted for bribery along with City Councilwoman Helen Holton on Wednesday.
Dixon is also accused of instructing two developers to buy at least $3,500 worth of gift cards to retailers including Best Buy, Target and Toys R Us for needy Baltimore families, but then spending them herself, according to state prosecutors. Some purchased with city money were found unspent in her home, prosecutors said.
Dixon is being charged on 12 counts, including perjury and theft, as a three-year-old grand jury wraps up its investigation into City Hall corruption. City officials are required to disclose gifts from anyone with a financial interest affected by public officials’ actions.
In a statement, Dixon denied any wrongdoing and declined to comment further.
“I am being unfairly accused,” she said. “Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of these charges.”
She was scheduled to appear at a press conference Friday at 4 p.m. with her attorney, Arnold M. Weiner.
The indictment comes two days after the grand jury indicted Lipscomb and Holton. In that case, Holton is accusing of accepting a $12,500 bribe in exchange for tax breaks for Doracon on several Harbor East developments.
Holton’s indictment had come as a surprise after much of the earlier leaks out of the investigation had focused on Dixon. In June, state prosecutors raided Dixon’s home looking for evidence. In October, they subpoenaed thousands of City Hall documents concerning the Harbor East projects.
Dixon also had been the focus of controversy in 2006, when she was accusing of steering city work toward companies that employed her sister and her former campaign manager.
So you got a a so called Apple Dumpling criminal stirring up the pot, working a deal with the City Council?? With Sam Hall??? When did he become king?
Yet, your average every day City of Pensacola Tax Payer is brushed of as an anti-growth naysayer!!!
The more reason we need a strong Mayor. Gesh!!! Give me a break!
I for one will not vote for a Strong Mayor or any of our Council incumbents!
If there is a petition out there to halt this Bond issue I’ll sign it!
anon- Boy they did a great job didnt they. Did they give him a key to the city too?
Coby is why strong mayor is needed
Also, the Master Development Agreement between the City and CMPA does very clearly say that the bond cannot be issued if the CMPA is engaged in a court challenge. Most lawyers, except perhaps the City Attorney, would agree that the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee is a “court.” Keesler v. CMPA is now before that “court.”
Hall and Eagan were always working together on this project. When I ran for mayor in 2008 Hall told Eagan to come “brief me up” so I was “read into the plan.” The plan then, Summer 2008, was to defeat the CMP bond resolution, opening the way for Eagan’s fantastical scheme that included a hurricane-proof baseball stadium perched atop a convention center on the eastern side of the port.
Eagan later invited me to a meeting at the West Florida Regional Planning Council. I went because Eagan said Hall was going to be there. Grover Robinson was present too. The modified plan, minus the baseball stadium, was called “Pensacola Village.” Also, Eagan had gotten rid of the monorail that was supposed to run from the Port to the airport terminal.
I suspect there’s also a link to Diane Mack’s rabid desire to sell the Port no matter what. Selling the port for a song, vice investing in it to make it successful, would accelerate fulfillment of Eagan’s hopes and dreams.
“Convicted criminal” is a correct description for Eagan, but in a Apple Dumpling Gang sort of way (Eagan plays the Tim Conway character). This guy can command an audience with the City Attorney and a City Councilman, who then proceed to work out an agreement with him–amazing. Tragic comedy or theater of the absurd? You decide.
Ms. Haddigan, convicted felons can vote and hold office if those rights have been restored by the state clemency office.
Gee Ms Haddigan — Just a little rude & condescending this morning, aren’t you? What you call James’ “beloved current system” is much better than the alternative of a strong mayor. My bet is that the City Manager and/or mayor directed the City Attorney to take care of this issue.
Dig deeper. Nov 12 on this blog you showed he was working for Marty Donovan campaign. This guy has a history of theft, crack cocaine and beating up women.
Cant wait to see this pillar of the community ramble on about a billion dollar deal when he has to use a public defender every time hes arrested.
James:
This is a perfect example of why a strong mayor is needed. This is what your beloved current system allows a city attorney and councilman negotiating with a convict. Where was Al Coby? Where was Mayor Wiggins?
Also convicted felons can’t vote or hold office in Florida.
I don’t think there’s anything in the proposed charter against convicted felons holding office. Eagan for strong mayor?