Escambia County Commissioner Steve Stroberger is on a mission to end Florida’s Sunshine Law’s public meeting requirement, but he found little support among Florida legislators.
Speaking near the end of his marathon town hall, which lasted over 2.5 hours, the commissioner detailed his recent trip to the state legislature, seeking support for private conversations with fellow commissioners about issues that may come before the board. He seems to have forgotten his 2024 campaign promise of complete transparency and full public access in county decision-making.
“A Political Loser”
Stroberger said he met with state legislators to find someone to champion his reform effort, but found most unwilling to touch the issue.
- “I’ve talked to some legislators and a state senator, and they think it’s a losing thing. They said it’s a political loser, is what they’ve told me,” Stroberger said. “One guy said, ‘Steve, I’d like to see you ascend a higher office. I said, I’m 63. If I do another term, I’ll be 70. I don’t know if I can do this again. It’s too late for me to ascend anymore. I’m flat now. So I’m not looking to ascend. I’m looking to improve government.”
Despite the lukewarm reception, Stroberger said he found one sophomore legislator willing to work with him on reform: “There’s one guy that will. So I’m hoping that he’ll champion this with me, and together we can reform this law.”
The Current Restrictions
Under Florida’s Sunshine Law, elected officials serving on the same board cannot discuss matters that may come before that board outside of publicly noticed meetings. Most community advocates, political watchdogs and reporters see it as a key tool for government transparency and holding elected officials accountable.
Stroberger stressed he doesn’t want to eliminate the law’s protections. “There’s lots of good aspects of the Sunshine Law. Some of those things are that we have to publicly advertise the meetings. We have to have a public forum for folks to speak, and there’s the public records request. We have to do those. There’s a lot of good things about that.”
But he argued the restriction on commissioner-to-commissioner communication is “unnatural.”
“What’s not good is I can’t talk to another commissioner, and I can’t reason with him the way you normally would. It’s just unnatural to make decisions this way that I can’t talk to you and say, ‘Hey, why do you feel this way about customary use or whatever the subject might be for the day? Why do you feel this way? I want to know. I want to know. Convince me, otherwise, convince me, and I’ll try to convince you.’ Why can’t we have regular discussions like that?”
- With 377 commissioners across Florida, Stroberger said he finds it hard to believe others aren’t discussing their positions somehow: “I can’t believe that there are no commissioners talking about their votes. I can’t believe that.”
Pushback
Beulah resident Theresa Blackwell pushed back on Stroberger’s reform ideas, expressing concern about transparency in decision-making.
- “I’ll just say as a constituent, as a resident, I want to know how decisions are made. I don’t want alliances or deals between people where, I don’t know what the thought was that went into that decision where you just get on the, we suspect this was done before, but you all just go, okay, we’ve winked each other, and you’ve already made your mind up on that one.”
Blackwell continued, “There’s a reason we have this in the Sunshine. The people should see where you’re.”
- Stroberger responded by somehow tying his desire for behind-the-scenes discussions on county issues with his Navy career: “I had top secret clearance, and nobody asked me if I was telling secrets to the Egyptians when I lived in Egypt… I’ve been trusted with secrets my whole life, and I’m open. I will tell you, man, I’m way too open.”
The commissioner argued the current law hampers effective governance: “I feel it hampers the business of government and that slows us down, and I don’t want to be slowed down by anybody. So that’s why I want to reform this law so that I’m able to speak openly without prosecution.”
- Background: When Stroberger campaigned for the District 1 county commission seat in August 2024, he pledged on his website: “Transparent & Open Government—Accountability requires complete transparency regarding decisions. Citizens should have full access at every step.”
Here are Commissioner Stroberger’s Comments
-The video begins at about the 2:20 mark.
