Florida GOP Police Blotter #13: Escambia County commissioner charged with public records law violation

By way of introduction, I debated about whether or not this qualified for inclusion in Blast Off!'s ever-popular GOP Police Blotter series, but I've decided that even though it's a non-criminal violation (akin to a traffic ticket), it fits because (1) it's a charge from the State Attorney's Office, (2) the charge relates directly to the offender's public service, and (3) the offender in question is pretty much a putzhole.

I'm referring here to Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino (right -- naturally), who today was charged with violating Florida's public records law, known colloquially as the "Sunshine Law." Seems Gene didn't really want everyone knowing what he was doing ... which of course is pretty much par for the course for a Republican office-holder.

State Attorney Bill Eddins launched the investigation in late June after local attorney Gregory Smith filed a complaint alleging that the District 2 commissioner failed to comply with Smith’s request, under the public records law, for e-mails related to a proposal to build a bingo casino on Perdido Key.

Smith alleged that Valentino released the e-mails piecemeal and likely deleted e-mails.

Smith represents property owners fighting construction of the casino. Valentino’s district includes Perdido Key and most of southwest Escambia County.

“This review has determined that sufficient facts exist to believe that Commissioner Valentino did fail to timely or completely respond to a public records request ...” Eddins said today in a statement.

The violation really is like a traffic ticket, in that it subjects the offender to a maximum fine of $500 and no jail, but if true, it still represents a dereliction of duty. Hmmm ... "dereliction of duty" just kind of fits naturally with "Florida Republican," doesn't it?

Anyway, Progressive Pensacola has done a bang-up job of covering Valentino's peculiar governing style, which reveals "an angry, resentful man prone to throwing temper tantrums when things don’t go his way." PP goes on:

He rails against everyone from constituent groups to reporters to fellow commissioners, at one point plotting to run a candidate against one of them. He peppers his emails with shifty phrases such as “you are protected” and “you guys put up the cash.”

Oh, Gene.

Progressive Pensacola has never been a fan of Gene Valentino. He’s in the pocket of developers and wants to remake the Pensacola area into something we don’t want it to be. That said, we never thought he was dumb enough to say some of these things in emails subject to disclosure as public records.

Here’s our favourite quote, from an email sent by Commissioner Valentino to bingo casino developer Cy Keefer on March 6:

You’ve got to watch the rerun of last night’s county commission meeting. I got FUCKED again by Commissioner Grover Robinson (District 4) and Commissioner Kevin White (District 5) … Through that very important contact you recently made, I need him to simultaneously nail the downtown crowd and get that crowd to support a new candidate I have to run against one of them, support me, and to get him to use his influence to set these two guys straight.

Wow, just the kind of guy I would want representing me if I lived in his Perdido Key district.

Anyway, we'll have to wait and see if Valentino gets his slap on the wrist. Regardless, even the appearance of impropriety in this affair suggests that scruples are not Gene's strong point ....