Will Santa Bring Some Justice for Jacksonville?

I am not Santa Claus, it's true.

But, like Saint Nick, I have definitely been making a list and checking it twice. I know who's naughty, and I know who's nice. (My wife would say that I am also somewhat Santa-shaped and maybe I should hit the gym instead of the leftovers, but we'll deal with that another time.)

You guys all know who I think should get a lump of coal in their stocking - AngryJax's perennial villians and Trail Ridge nemeses, Jack Webb and Republic Services. They may not be getting coal this year, however - if the Elves in Santa's workshops are to be believed, Jack & Republic might be getting some JUSTICE.

And the deliverers of Justice - well, let's just say after a couple of conversations I've had with them, they might be getting something nice in their stocking.

Miss Carla Miller, the Ethics Officer for the City of Jacksonville is on my "nice" list. You may remember that I kind of skewered her a bit (nothing personal, of course) a few weeks ago. Well, she very nicely reached out to me after ol' Jack Webb blew her off at the Ethics Commission meeting last week. We've traded a few emails and are trying to arrange to meet up in January to discuss the Commission, Jack, Republic, and where this is all going.

She did decline to be interviewed or make a statement on the blog which made me pretty sad (she's definitely not getting a pony from Santa this year, if you know what I mean). But, she does get a lot of credit for reaching out nicely, when she could easily have done what many politicians would have done: ignored the angry taxpayer and kept on doing what they wanted to. Thanks for keeping it real, Ms. Miller : )

The Commission on Ethics, the State of Florida's answer to the kinds of fast-talking, backroom-dealing, self-interested profiteers we elect to public office. I've had a couple conversations with the nice folks at the Commission, and I have some interesting things to share. First of all, if you call The Commission, they will tell you straight-up that they can't tell you about any investigations that are under way, they are confidential. They can tell you if someone has filed a public complaint - that is to say, if a member of the public has filed a complaint. They can't tell you if there have been any other kind of complaints, as that would be confidential information. This can lead to some fun games on the telephone:

Me: "Is anyone there investigating Jack Webb or Republic Services?"
Comm: "Sorry, I can't confirm or deny that there's an investigation, that's confidential."
Me: "Oh. Okay, then, has anyone lodged a complaint?"
Comm: "Well, no one's lodged a PUBLIC complaint..."
Me: "I see. How about some other kind of complaint?"
Comm: "I couldn't comment on any other kind of complaint, that's confidential."
Me: "So then...there haven't been any complaints?"
Comm: "No, I said there haven't been any...PUBLIC...complaints."

See, this is why I think the Commission on Ethics gets a nice present in their stocking. Not only are they friendly, courteous, interested in your problems, and - get this - willing to call you back, but also they give me hope that justice is coming. I'm not much for gambling, but I'd bet you a dozen doughnuts the complaint form I'm sending in about Jack Webb & Republic will be (as the football players say) "just piling on."

The Attorney General's Special Grand Jury as requested by Gov. Crist. I had a lengthy conversation the other day with a nice fellow at the Florida AG's office, and he told me all about this special grand jury that had just been approved by the state supreme court. Because of a wave of public corruption cases (Corruption? In Florida? No way, really?!) the Gov has decided it's time to get tough.

According to the guy I spoke with - my mom would call him a "nice young man" - the AG and the Grand Jury already have a number of situations involving public officials AND big businesses that they're looking at. When asked if Jack Webb and Republic were on the list, after a bit of a pause - what a literary type might call a pregnant pause - the nice young man said he really couldn't confirm or deny what they were working on.

Is justice finally coming for Jacksonville? Man, I sure hope so. In fact, when I go to the mall and sit on Santa's lap, I sure know I'll be asking for that!

Had enough of the nonsense? Sign the petittion! If I get enough signatures, I'll bring it with me when I go meet Carla Miller!

Jack Webb is (apparently) Above the Law

I had been waiting a long time for today. You see, today - December 7th, 2009 - was the day that Jacksonville City Council VP Jack Webb was going to go visit with the Ethics Commission.

I was hoping - in vain, it turns out - that SOMEONE would finally ask Webb the hard questions about his relationship with Republic Services.

I was hoping that SOMEONE - specifically the folks on the Ethics Commission - might start pretending that corruption, hackery, and graft is something we DON'T want in Jacksonville. Well, I was apparently naive and foolish to do so.

The Ethics Commission, which has about as much power as your average houseplant, went and "invited" Jack Webb to come before them and talk about his dirty dealings with Republic Services. After all the strong work Webb did, arguing that Waste Management shouldn't get the contract for Trail Ridge, it should go out to bid, when the truth about his relationship with the company came out, the Ethics Committee wanted to investigate the situation. But they can't. They can't do investigations. They can do invitations, though. Which is great, if a crooked politician is feeling like some scones and tea, but NOT so good if the citizens who pay for Ethics Commission want some justice.

And, as is detailed in tonight's article in the Times-Union, Jack just blew them the heck off. He knows the Ethics Commission has no teeth, so he has no reason to bother pretending they matter.

Jack Webb is above the law. He can make whatever deal he wants with whatver company he wants, get well off of deals that are supposed to benefit the taxpayers, and you know what? Not only does no one actually do anything about it, it's pretty clear that no one actually cares...least of all the people who are supposed to care.

Where's the outrage? It's out with Jack Webb, getting a pizza and some beers, while the jilted Ethics Commission sits at home alone, crying to itself about how it can't even INVITE someone properly.

If you're as peeved as I am about this, please SIGN THE PETITION.