Did you happen to catch this morning’s Tallahassee Democrat article on the controversy that is finally brewing in downtown Tallahassee? You might recall that I wrote a blog in early December about a bogus compensation plan that Tallahassee City Commissioners awarded themselves (and deemed legal by OUR city attorney who also received the 60%+ raise).
This whole issue was brought to light because Erwin Jackson wouldn’t let it go. He asked the City Commission to bring in outside people to review the legality of the entire ordeal. The City Commission waived him off, citing the fact that it had already reviewed the legality of the raise with its own attorney. Mr. Jackson has continued to pursue this and finally it is getting some attention.
When I wrote about the good work that Mr. Jackson was doing, the blog article received a lot of traffic. Over 6,000 people (a lot for a real estate blog article on politics) have read my article on Erwin Jackson and the Tallahassee City Commission, and one reader in particular had a comment that seems to have gone beyond the blog. This reader, “Frank” wrote:
Good job. I thought it was the newspaper’s job to investigate and report on such things, not the Real Estate Blog’s. The Mayor’s finely nuanced remark that he believes everything the city atty says flies in the face of logic. It calls into question either the Mayor’s competence to serve or his integrity and it clearly confirms the newspaper’s credentials.
Thank you “Frank” for taking the time to comment on the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog. Apparently, word does travel (slow, but it does move!) The message seems to have traveled to the Tallahassee Democrat and they have helped make this issue public for review and discussion.
This morning’s article is going to force some outside agency (maybe the Attorney General) to review the legality of the 60+% raise. I certainly am not a legal expert, but as a long-time resident of Tallahassee, I do believe that this self-serving action by the City Commissioners was not in our best interests and was highly unethical. The “whip cream on top of the cake” was having an involved party (City Attorney Jim English) act to provide a legal opinion on behalf of the citizens of Tallahassee.
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7 Comments on Real Estate Blog Reader Comment Spurs Newspaper To Report
Congratulatiuons on your fine piece of "citizen journalism" Joe. This clearly illustrates several things. First, that the internet can be used as a tool for empowerment, secondly, that what we write often does get read, and thirdly that we as citizens CAN make a difference when we speak out.
Thank you Malcolm. You are right, we can make a difference!
I have been concerned about the demise of newspapers and the people to hold poiticos accountable.
You have given me new hope that we will survive.
Way to Go Joe.
I second Jim & Cathy Wood: Way to go, Joe. I sent the following e-mail to the Public Editor of The New York Times:
From: Patrick Murphy
Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 1:27 PM
To: 'public@nytimes.com'
Subject: Real Estate Blog Picks Up Where Newspaper Fell Down
Last fall you wrote about the toll that unfavorable newspaper economics is taking on local news coverage: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/opinion/01pubed.html. Not to worry. It seems that civic-minded bloggers will fill the gap, as evidenced by a real-estate blogger who blew the lid off a venal scheme by the Tallahassee, Fla. city commissioners to award themselves a monstrous pay raise, shaming the local newspaper in the process. Read the story here: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1434652/real-estate-blog-reader-comment-spurs-newspaper-to-report
Regards,
Patrick Murphy
Lionville, PA
Thanks Jim and Cathy. It is neat seeing a public result. I checked out the newspaper article (link in main blog above) and there were 11 pages of comments by angry readers!
Thank you Patrick. It would be great if they somehow picked up the story. We would then have to have an outside inquiry!
Good looking out Joe. So have you considered news reporting as an alternate profession?