Konish: Local partisans and their frivolous lawsuits
Letter to the editor
A small group of citizens have unsuccessfully launched a series of lawsuits devoid of merit and designed to disrupt improvement of GRU governance and the possibility of accountability for the unfolding financial disaster GRU ratepayers face.
In 2018, this confederation belatedly filed a suit to prevent a vote on Sen. Keith Perry’s 2017 mild reform of governance of GRU. They sued only the City of Gainesville and Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton. This case was not considered prior to the unsuccessful 2018 referendum.
The template is that cronies of our City Commissioners sue as City Commissioner proxies, filing lawsuits that our commissioners cannot file as a body at citizen expense.
We are seeing the same tactics again in 2023. This year, the City sued the Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. After spending $500,000 on outside legal counsel, that suit was found to be devoid of merit.
Simultaneously, the same group of partisan citizens behind the untimely 2018 suit that attacked the 2017 Perry bill have sued the City and Governor in our local federal court; that lawsuit is pending.
One business day after the City suit in Tallahassee failed, this same partisan citizen group filed a second suit in Tallahassee, again attacking the Governor’s appointments to the GRU Authority on the basis of their residency. More suits are predicted.
One of the current lead citizen plaintiffs flouted his own residency requirement while holding local elective office for years. The City likely is discreetly aiding those affiliated private suits against both the City and the Governor, which would entail expenditures of our public funds. To add insult to our injuries, our highly paid City Attorney (litigation, not utility law), who orchestrated this avalanche of politicized litigation, has proclaimed himself to be the Attorney for our Governor-appointed GRU Authority – despite overwhelming legal obstacles to such an unauthorized and prohibited role. Our City Attorney, who leaves no stone unturned in a futile effort to nullify our new Authority, now claims to be the Authority’s attorney.
When will this madness stop?
Jim Konish, Gainesville
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Some of us have known those who claim to represent and do what’s best for the community are best at spending our money and doing what’s best for themselves.
That’s the way it’s been in Gainesville for years now under their Draconian dictatorship. In earlier times, the commoners would have had better sense and taken it upon themselves to get rid of them.
Unfortunately, there’s not many of those people left in Alachua County.
I’m afraid City Attorney “Water on the Née” Dan, has truly aligned himself, and sucked up to, the city Comm who moved him up and gave him his long desire position and raise. A truly biased sycophant of a lawyer.
People forget that the prior utility board attempt was rejected because that board would have been selected by the politicians who were already ruining GRU. They would also have served “at the pleasure” of the city commission, meaning they could be fired if they didn’t toe the line.
Talk about frivolous lawsuits. Just do a Google search of Konish lawsuits. Hypocrite.
The 3% who elected city leaders for decades will not go down without enriching their lawyer-donor class along the way. Parasites.
Sure, why would the owners of a large functioning entity sue to maintain their rightful control of that which they own, especially when it’s been pulled from them by partisan losers – like Konish – of elections in their community? I note that he has no apparent problem with the 4 unethical “board members” who have taken their positions while failing to meet the qualifications set up by those who directed this hostile takeover.
When there is evidence of improper use of a company’s funds or apparent malfeasance that has occurred which has betrayed the trust of the shareholders, sometimes steps have to be taken to remove those entrusted to run the company. That’s what has happened here and those instrumental in the removal of the Clown Commission who has for years betrayed the public’s trust and ignored their requests for fair utility costs should be applauded.
The commission may not be happy about it but most of the public I see and hear are ecstatic about the possibility their utility rates may become more manageable.
The commissioners can be removed by election anytime, and their use of profits from that which they own, if legal and there is no accusation that it was, is not improper, though you may not like it. The new board – which is currently vacant given that 4 of it’s 5 members are not legally qualified – will not be similarly required to answer to voters.
Not anytime. If that were the case I’m pretty confident given the things that have been brought to light of late, they’d be gone already.
As others have mentioned, if this were during Victorian times, I guarantee they would be gone by now.
The peasants don’t take too kindly barely being able to get by and having to make bricks without straw while the rulers are giving themselves $30,000 – $70,000 raises and feasting on catered meals.
But it’s a minority of the owners who are suing. The majority of owners are not happy with the utility rates and what the City Commission has been doing with the proceeds.
The problem is the commission thinks it’s theirs and they have exclusivity to it’s funds. You’re supposedly a businessman, you’re supposed to keep your personal and business accounts separate.