Who
Will Really Stop The Conference Center?
by Fred
Bergmann
September 03 2000
The
forum for county commissioner candidates held 23
August was a revelation. We heard candidates state
their positions on tourism, hospitality growth, the
Tourist Development Commission, and especially the
Conference Center. The questions were loaded toward
the tourist perspective, but they were the hosts and
the questions did a good job drawing out the
candidate’s positions on these important issues.
Kathy
O’Dell clearly and unequivocally placed herself
squarely behind the building of the Conference
Center. She appealed to the audience of mostly
tourism industry supporters that this upcoming
primary election was really a referendum on the
conference center, and they needed to get their
friends, neighbors, and employees out to vote for
her or they would lose their third vote on the BOCC
and the conference center itself. She even admitted
that the Conference center did not have wide support
in the county and she was not used to receiving
applause on that issue when speaking before large
audiences. She did not explain why she is fighting
so hard for something most of the county doesn’t
want.
I agree
with O’Dell that the conference center does not
have wide support in this county. In fact, every
other candidate who spoke that night was against
building it using public land and public money.
There were subtle differences in their positions
however, that need to be explored before voters can
intelligently choose the commissioner who will best
follow through on this contentious issue.
With the
clear exception of Gaylan King, who has fought with
the current BOCC/TDC for over a year and is already
working to disband them and start over; and Doug
Hutcheson, the rest of the candidates thought the
current TDC were “doing a great job” (Readdy,
Otto, Josey), and that it was “well run”
(Ransom). I don’t understand how these candidates
can “totally support” (Burkett, Readdy), or
“support efforts wholeheartedly” (Dunn), a TDC
whose major accomplishment, together with a majority
of the BOCC, has been to double the bed-tax and try
to force an unwanted, ill-conceived conference
center down the throats of the entire county.
I also
question how candidates who have received large
donations from the tourist industry (Burkett,
Dunn),
and who have strong connections to the current BOCC
regime (Burkett, Dunn), can be totally objective and
sincere about stopping the conference center. From
this standpoint, I admire O'Dell
for at least telling us where she stood on the issue
and clearly showing us who is supporting her. I also
admire Otto
for admitting he is late to the issue but would vote
“NO” if given the chance.
One
aspect of this discussion not totally explored is
the economic
impact of a bed tax. We have heard that the
conference center is to be built using “someone
else’s money”, that the taxpayer should not be
concerned, and that the results are good for the
economy. I cannot understand why every restaurant
owner, hotel operator, or other tourist industry
business person is not screaming bloody murder that
all this money, millions each year, is being
diverted from the economy into what amounts to a
private slush fund. Everyone with even a basic
understanding of economics should realize that money
brought into an economy gets multiplied 2 and 3
times as it passes through the hands of workers,
vendors, and other businesses spread over the entire
private sector. On the other hand, taxes don’t
multiply at all, and when we see the TDC wasting tax
money on travel junkets, SUVs, huge un-bid
out-of-town PR contracts, “YES”
buttons, ads to fight the Freedom Committee,
over $300,000 in salaries each year, and of course,
a conference center, we should realize that the bed
tax is actually hurting a lot of people for the
benefit of a few. You can find a more complete
discussion of these economic factors at the
following web addresses: SHOULD
GOVERNMENTS OWN CONVENTION CENTERS? and "When
Pigs Fly"
You
won’t see this letter in the NW Florida Daily News
before the first primary because of a self-imposed
unpublicized deadline they set at early
last-week. The reason may also be that I name names,
quote people, and speak out against the current
power structure. But, if you agree with what I have
said, please tell your friends and neighbors about
it; print it out and pass it around (my permission
granted), or contact me and I will give you copies.
If you don’t agree, feel free to post your
response on the Freedom
Forum or, if you prefer, contact me personally
at fjberg@arc.net.
Also, don’t just take my word for the facts here;
look at the data posted on these local websites: (www.beachbrowser.com)
– especially the “Follow
the Money” feature -, www.budgetwaste.com,
or research the NWF
Daily News sources.
Most of
all get out and vote for candidates who will take
back our county government and listen to the people
for a change. My choices are: Gaylan King, Doug
Hutcheson, and Shirley Ransom.
Fred
Bergmann
307 Somerset Drive
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
32547-3132
Tel/fax: 862-5503
