She may be the worst politician ever to serve on the Pensacola City Council. No politician has ever taken on the City Attorney and won. DeWeese has no future in politics.
Maren DeWeese is a bad politician.
She ran as a mom in a district held by an incumbent for over 20 years, a veteran politician (Mike DeSorbo) that out-raised her 5 to 1. How did she win? By walking her district three times, oftentimes with Kat. Nick or Lumpy by her side. Maren wanted to show her children how the election process and good government work.
Maren DeWeese is a bad politician.
Once elected, she didn’t just sit in endless council meetings and perform for the cameras. She organized work details and cleaned up the Scenic bluffs. For the first time in decades, mothers could bring their families to the city park overlooking Escambia Bay without fear of some man exposing himself to the children.
Maren DeWeese is a bad politician.
Fifteen months ago, she brought forth the idea of Pensacola Promise. With no help from the City staff or her fellow council members, she spent hours researching the scholarship program for city children, meeting with UWF, PJC and school board officials, holding public forums and talking with people who have initiated similar programs in other cities. Her actions have earned little respect or support from the city council or city staff.
Maren DeWeese is a bad politician.
She pushed to hold BP more accountable for its operations on Bayou Chico. Again she got little support from council or staff. She placed a public records request for emails about BP, bonds and anything on the supposed negotiations between the City and BP over the Bayou Chico staging area. She not only found that very little negotiation had taken place, but the city clerk and the city attorney had failed to remove a series of personal emails to/from the city attorney that dissed the city council during a council meeting. The City Council only controls two employees – city manager and city attorney. One of them, Rusty Wells, showed little respect or gratitude for his well-paid position.
Maren DeWeese is a bad politician.
She met with City Manager Al Coby and City Attorney Rusty Wells about the emails. All she got was an email apology—no offer or recommendation of suspension, reprimand or resignation.
Maren DeWeese is a bad politician.
She presented the emails to her fellow council members and made a motion for Wells to be terminated. Mayor Mike Wiggins stepped in and made a substitute motion for him to investigate it. In typical council fashion, she was chastised for pointing out how disrespectful their legal counsel was towards them. Not hearsay, written proof. She asked that he be suspended while under investigative and was rebuffed by Mayor Wiggins. One council member wondered aloud whether there should be an investigation of the invasion of Mr. Wells’ privacy. DeWeese refused to sit any longer at a table with Mr. Wells, a person that showed little respect for her efforts on the council, and moved to sit with the audience.
Maren DeWeese is a bad politician. She is an unselfish public servant with a heart bigger than all of Pensacola. She does what she believes is right regardless of the impact on her re-election or political career. She is a great mom who still wants to show her children how good government operates.
Today good government let her down.
Maren DeWeese is a bad politician.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Independent News
I posted the actual emails that I had.
BP set up operations on Bayou Chico in a legally and properly zoned spot for the operations intended.
BP, nor any other allowed operation had any obligation to notify the City prior to doing so.
And you can’t force BP to put up a bond “after-the-fact” when such was not required in the first place.
If the City desires to require such bonds, get the requirement in the zoning regulations now for future operations.
Is there a site where we can read the actual emails?
Negotiation between Pensacola & BP can only be compared a victim of rape negotiating with their attacker for justice. Kuwait Oil Company is a joint venture between BP and Gulf. BP is the backbone of Kuwait’s economy. Take a look at how they’re living over there before you decide what’s fair. All things considered equal BP’s restitution to Pensacola should include a brand new 5k sq ft home for every family & a Ferrari for each resident.
He was probably too busy doing work for his other employers to focus on that pesky BP issue.
He’s paid to do work for other county agencies while sitting at his city desk.
And he’s in the DROP program beyond the deadline.
Pretty cushy deal he’s got going.
And as of yet, Wells still offers NO explanation of his lack of negotiation with BP?
After witnessing the meeting in person, I will make sure I do everything in my power to make sure P.C. Wu, Megan Pratt, Diane Mack, Sam Hall, Mike Wiggins, John Jeralds and Jewel Canada-Wynn never hold public office again. These are the true bad politicians, bad leaders and plain bad people. I’d go so far as to say they are stupid, but I don’t lower myself to name calling. Bye, bye y’all.
Check the city code under general pesions section 9-5-138. This section allows the city manager not council to extend certain staff past their DROP. There is nothing allowing council to extend the city manager or city attorney past their DROP. This is what council gets for not following the city ordinance for pension laws or the DROP laws. Mr Coby and Mr Wells signed irrevocable contracts for 5 years when they went into the DROP. Don’t follow the law and this is what you get. Both are over a year past their DROP contracts ending.
“She met with City Manager Al Coby and City Attorney Rusty Wells about the emails. All she got was an email apology.”
That was an important omission from the original story.
I agree totally with Sanborn. Maren DeWeese maybe a bad politican, but a great citizen! We need more like her on the council and less politicians.
She may be a bad politician but she’s the most fine public servant Pensacola has ever seen. No other councilman except maybe Larry Johnson has the guts to stand up n be heard when things like this happen. I am completely amazed by her courage and selflessness. Leave it to Wiggins to sneak in and basically sabotage her attempt to dismiss Wells by throwing up the smoke screen of an “investigation”. I can’t wait to see how thorough this “investigation” will be, its a complete joke and a slap in the face. How many parents would be comfortable with their children reading the emails Wells sent?? A man who is supposed to work for us is to busy being a pervert during council meetings to do his job.