Escambia County Clerk Pam Childers has become known as a vengeful politician, and her latest attack on Commissioner Lumon May fits the pattern. On Monday, Aug. 5, Inweekly made two public requests of the clerk’s office, following the instructions on her website.
Public Record Requests
1) Pursuant to Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution, and Chapter 119, F.S., I am requesting copies of the invoices submitted by Edward P. Fleming and his law firm, McDonald Fleming, for his work on the 401a issue, from September 1, 2021, through July 31, 2024.
If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me before filling my request. I prefer receiving the public records digitally.
Should you deny my request, or any part of the request, please state in writing the basis for the denial, including the exact statutory citation authorizing the denial as required by s. 119.07(1)(d), F.S.
Thank you.
2) Pursuant to Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution, and Chapter 119, F.S., I am requesting records regarding an anonymous complaint filed against Commissioner Lumon May concerning lots on Yonge Street and work done on November 4, 2023, and on November 6, 2023, and the subsequent investigation conducted by the office of the Clerk of Circuit Court & Comptroller.
I also request any and all communications with the office of State Attorney Ginger Madden regarding the complaint.
If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me before filling my request. I prefer receiving the public records digitally.
Should you deny my request, or any part of the request, please state in writing the basis for the denial, including the exact statutory citation authorizing the denial as required by s. 119.07(1)(d), F.S.
Thank you.
Both are straightforward requests that should have been fulfilled by now, or at the very least, we should have received a notice of the fees she will charge me or a request for clarification.
1) Ed Fleming’s invoices can be quickly located, downloaded to a file, and emailed to us in a matter of minutes.
2) All her records of the anonymous complaint against Commissioner Lumon May, the investigation, and communications to the state attorney’s office should also be readily available since you sent the commissioner a final invoice and demanded payment.
History Repeats
Childers appears to be playing the same games Sheriff Ron McNesby and County Administrator George Touart played 18 years ago. We then published our list of record requests in the newspaper and tracked how many days they had been outstanding.
- In the summer of 2006, Touart played so many games with our record request – sending them to my investors and the Pensacola News Journal – that we wrote this email to him:
To save Escambia County time and money, the Independent News will start faxing copies of our Public Records Request for information – to which state law mandates that we are entitled – to those you’ve been sharing them with. Is there anyone else we need to fax copies of our requests before the records are released?
Today, the Independent News made three records requests of Escambia County. Copies of the requests were faxed to a stockholder in the paper within hours. We thought we would speed up the process by cutting out the middleman.
Cycle of Retaliation
Whenever I write anything opposing Pam, she takes it out on someone in county government, sending out voluminous record requests, challenging routine check requests, ordering her staff to stop communicating, etc.
Attorney Eric Stevenson, who represents Commissioner May, called yesterday to say Pam has made new records of the commissioner, county attorney, county administrator, and others for their communications regarding the November 2023 yard debris incident, including communications with Stevenson.
- But wait. A grand jury has determined no crime was committed, and Pam has already sent her final invoice. Why does she continue to persecute Commissioner May? Could it be our two public record requests?
Who Does Pam Work For?
In our newspaper’s 25 years and my four decades in local politics, I have interviewed dozens of constitutional officers. Pam is the first who doesn’t say she works for the voters. She repeatedly says she works for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
- In her husband’s emergency hearing to force his way on the August primary ballot, Pam, under oath, was asked about her employer:
FLEMING: And, Ms. Childers, where are you employed?
PAM: I’m employed by the State, by the Governor, for the elected Clerk and Comptroller for Escambia County.
Inweekly will continue to work to investigate Pam’s odd behavior and what it is costing her actual employers – the people of Escambia County.
#notreadbypamchilders