Fwd: from Brian Spencer/ Letter to the Editor
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brian Spencer
Date: Jul 26, 2007 9:39 AM
Subject: RE: from Brian Spencer/ Letter to the Editor
To: Sam Hall, Carl Wernicke
Cc: "O'Brien, Mark, Jamie Page , Rick Outzen , Mike Stewart, Duwayne Escobedo
Dear Sam, Carl, Mark, Jamie, Rick, et al –
I sincerely hope a less inflammatory and factually based follow-up article hits the old fashioned news racks as well as online editions soon.
The important issue remains what Sam originally highlighted: work ethic and accountability ---- he (Sam) shined the light on a version of less-than-acceptable output from city employees. Instead of being confined to the archaic channel of communication --- chatter at the local coffee shop --- he utilized an effective blog that casts a large net. I don't doubt that his comments made some people very uncomfortable. I, too, was ashamed when my father discovered that my brother and I failed to meet his realistic expectations regarding our yard maintenance duties. Thanks, Sam, for publicizing what many of us have been observing and thinking in the solitude, "safety", and isolation of our automobiles when we pass an inactive group of workers ---city, county, DOT, or others contracted by our publicly funded government agencies. I credit the city workers that have been carrying the additional burden created by their less-responsible fellow employees. I know many of them and thank them via an annual organized employee appreciation program. In addition, if I personally encounter one of the workers (not observers) in a park or on the side of a road, I introduce myself and tell them "thank you" for their application of labor. These people are more often the silent heroes, and I suspect they will continue to give more than the typical "40-hour work week." And because of peer pressure, they will suppress their affirmation of Sam's remarks. For those that do feel uncomfortable, I hope they evaluate their role as a public sector employee and commit to achieve appropriate performance goals.
Brian Spencer
From: Sam Hall
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 6:34 AM
To: Carl Wernicke
Cc: O'Brien, Mark; Jamie Page; Rick Outzen; Mike Stewart, Derek Pivnick; Duwayne Escobedo
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Carl: I will appreciate it if you publish the following soonest.
______________________________
The major discrepancy the 26 July 2007 Pensacola News Journal article regarding my truck's brake failure is that it was neither I nor any associate of mine who thought the manner the brake assembly failed was suspicious, it was the tow truck driver who came to take my truck to the garage. Indeed, a person not familiar with this particular fitting (my mechanic had never seen one) could easily infer what the driver the same thing the driver did.
I canceled the tow.
I contacted law enforcement not for an investigation but simply to establish a report. It was the Sheriff's Office who volunteered to have my truck towed to its facility to remove the damaged brake lines. I declined, took it to my own mechanic, and then did as the deputy suggested: brought him the right-front hydraulic line and coupling. Case closed.
As for the rest of the article, I never asserted it was any city worker and especially never suggested it was anyone from Parks and Recreation.
Methinks some may be trying to apply some political heat here, eh?
r/Sam
--
Pensacola City Council Member, District 2
850.444.4784 (home)
850.346.5990 (mobile)
All e-mail sent to this account will be saved for public review.
--
Pensacola City Council Member, District 2
850.444.4784 (home)
850.346.5990 (mobile)
All e-mail sent to this account will be saved for public review.
Posts
5 comments:
Sam - You're just the typical lifer/fascist that sees conspiracy everywhere; that loves to point to other people's faults, but can't deal with anyone pointing out your shortcomings. I feel for you - a paranoid's life is not a happy life. Get over yourself dude! Everyone doesn't think your snide remarks are as cute as you think they are. "All consrvatives are not stupid, but all stupid people are conservative." You have a great constituency!!!
Well now there's a different opinion and certainly not facist or
stupid (are you kidding me!). As a very conservative person I take offense to Anonymous's remarks but then I considered the source. It's no wonder we don't have world peace when we can't even get the grass cut in Pensacola without everyone getting offended about a "joke". Didn't the Muslim Extremists just get very upset over jokes published in Europe?
Sam: City Hall must be getting paranoid. Your relatively benign comments (with worn out jokes)have put them in a "tizzy". They and their so-called public relations person are really on the defensive. Suddenly they realize that the City of Penscola has serious problems and the public is catching on.
Glad you have announced for re-election.
This shouldn't be an issue for a few reasons.
1. Show me a city work crew in any city in the U.S. that seems to work any differently than what was described by citizens of D2 and communicated by their representative. And I don't mean to pick on city workers. State workers are no different. Some might say worse.
Point is, that's the way it is, and that's also the way the people in D2 see it. There's nothing unusual about the good people of D2. Also, this does not necessarily mean the workers aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. The citizens that live there only have their perception of what they see. If Bonfield thinks that their perception is not correct, then what did he do to correct it? Attack Sam?
2.The second reason this should not be an issue is because as I understand the issue, Bonfield had been told (6 months) of the concerns of the people in D2 and did not react positively, if at all. A manager that has the people's interest in mind would have recognized that he needs to communicate to the people and explain that yes, those guys are supposed to be working just the way you have seen them working and here's why. And,I'll do my best to cut your grass but here's why we can't get to it sooner.
The problem was created and left to fester by Bonfield whether he accepts responsibility for it or not. Bonfield responds by shooting the messenger, Sam. Bonfield should feel rather embarrassed for letting an obviously funny joke, submitted by John Q Public, get his karma all messed up. No manner of projecting fault with Sam Hall can hide what people of D2 feel, Tom.
Some managers might wonder if people in the other districts feel the same way? Did Tom?
To attack Sam Hall for basically representing his district tells me that Bonfield doesn't work well with others. Besides, where's Bonfield's blog? The Pensacola News Journal, front page, top, that's where.
The people of D2 made a good choice in Sam to represent their interests, despite what the previous commenter thinks. Articulate wasn't he/she?
Some food for thought. The PNJ reaches a market of a couple hundred thousand people. Sam's blog might get 100 hits a day not counting spam. (just guessing Sam) So Bonfield's way of solving the problem is to make it a front page issue. This from a guy who says that Sam should come "see me," as if he didn't.
Taking it to the front page is not following his own advice.
It's clear from the sheriff deputy's report (it's posted on the PNJ web site), that Mr. Hall thought city parks employees were behind his failed brakes.
And why did he call the sheriff's office when he considers McNesby incompetent & is actively working to get him defeated?
And why didn't he call the PPD? Does he consider all city employees lazy & incompetent, including police officers & the police chief?
Something just doesn't make sense here.
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