Of crocodile tears and propaganda

GENE JALESKI
Guest Columnist
opinion@lbknews.com

Last evening I witnessed an interesting spectacle at the end the Town Commission meeting, in the form of an emotional reaction by the commissioners to the perceived mistreatment of Commissioner Lynn Larson at the hands of a guest columnist in the Longboat Key News, and thus by extension to the editor of the paper, Steve Reid.

To his credit, Mr. Reid defended the basic American right to a free press. As an American who has had members of my family fight in every war of freedom ever fought by this country, including two family members who fought in the Revolutionary War, I object to anyone trying to intimidate the press, even though I often disagree with entire segments of what now sadly postures as news in this country — both on the far right and the far left.

I have been politically active on Longboat for more than 25 years. During that time I have read many articles in both local newspapers that were highly critical and unflattering toward certain town staff and/or elected officials. I include myself as one of them. When one willingly becomes a public figure, one also accepts that not everyone will agree with your views and actions. I wonder why the commissioners have once again forgotten that they are politicians and fair game for public scrutiny. If you become apoplectic about some columnist saying that a commissioner acts unintelligently, and you do not react to much worse personal attacks on your country’s president, then you lose credibility through inconsistency.

Propaganda
In response to my comment in the Longboat Key News, asking the town to once again consider alternative beach stabilization technologies in light of a recent Army Corps of Engineers’ mandated three-year test of the Granger Plastics “SandSaver” devices on the shores of Lake Michigan, the mayor responded: “Not one well known company has anything positive to say about the company Mr. Jaleski is supporting. Why is this not apparent to Mr (sic) Jaleski?” My response is two-fold.

First, the inaccuracy of the statement does nothing to further the community dialog surrounding the glaring failures of the commission’s current beach policies. The taxpayers have just thrown $4 million-plus into the Gulf of Mexico in the past three months with little to nothing to show for it at the north end beach.

I am requesting that the mayor produce a certified list of all the “well-known companies” that have nothing “positive to say about the company.” Here are a few “well-known” companies that will not be on the mayor’s list — the Department of Defense (DOD), Tempur-Pedic and DHL Global, along with many other well-known Granger Plastics clients. I believe the mayor owes Granger Plastics and me an apology for his baseless attack on both Granger Plastics and me. He has shown disrespect toward me as a resident, and he is also blatantly wrong. This type of mean-spirited misuse of public office needs to be answered and that is just what I am doing here.

My second complaint is more serious. I find it dangerous when a high-profile elected official uses that position to make frequent, unsubstantiated personal attacks on all those who dare question his power and prowess. Too often I have read the same response from this elected official, to those who question his judgment, in the form of — he/she/they don’t know what they are talking about. I like to believe that such comments are beneath our town officials.

Once again at last night’s commission meeting this response was hurled at Al Green. Of course, this only highlights the fact that the commissioners probably have no idea that their meetings are recorded on digital audio and video and are available online. I often use these facilities when I am fact-checking.

Last night’s unfounded commission attack on Steve Reid and the freedom of the press seemed to be hypocritical and unattractive. I am an opinion columnist who tries to inform the residents of my community about what I believe to be important alternative views to those put forth by the town government. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we disagree. I always try to be constructive and always offer alternatives. I love Longboat Key and only want the best for our town. I strongly object to threats and intimidation by certain elected and appointed officials.