THE DOUBLE ENTITY
A Walker Holmes Investigation
The manila envelope landed on my desk without ceremony, but what it contained would unravel years of financial misdirection. County Clerk Pam Childers had stumbled upon a discrepancy that stretched back to 2007: government funds meant for a public entity had been flowing to a private LLC with an almost identical name for nearly two decades.
“Pensacola-Escambia Promotion & Development Commission” versus “Pensacola-Escambia County Promotion and Development Community Development Entity, LLC.” A difference of a few words, but worlds apart in legal structure.
I traced the LLC’s origins to January 2007, just days after the County Commission mysteriously pulled an agenda item about creating a development entity. The timing was no coincidence.
Through dusty archives and reluctant sources, I pieced together the truth: Chamber CEO Evon Emerson and city and county officials had created the LLC to capture New Market Tax Credits for projects across the region. They’d sent staff to seminars, courted an automotive manufacturer for the port, and planned to funnel $150 million into local developments.
The scheme itself wasn’t illegal—it was actually innovative economic development. But the plan fell apart when key players left the Chamber. Yet somehow, the money kept flowing to an entity that never fulfilled its purpose.
Two former Chamber officials confirmed my suspicions but asked to remain anonymous. “Evon was innovative,” one shared. “She let her team explore options.”
The PEDC LLC would be responsible for administering the program and handling all the paperwork. However, after auto OEM deal fell through, the Pensacola Chamber and the PEDC LLC never handled any new market tax credits.
Now, the real question remains: Why did the Clerk’s office wire funds to the PEDC LLC, and why didn’t anyone, including the auditors, notice until now?
And why didn’t the Clerk’s office make the same phone calls I did?
Walker Holmes publishes the Pensacola Insider and occasionally writes parodies for Inweekly.