A Times Editorial

Editorial: A prayer for peace in Largo may require more repetition

Two peacemakers on the Largo City Commission Tuesday helped bring to an end a miserable nine days of turmoil in city government.

Longtime Commissioner Jean Halvorsen, chosen to deliver the invocation at the start of a meeting that promised to be a political bloodbath, repeatedly used a line from a song, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me," during her prayer and added several times, "Let it begin in this room."

And the newest member of the commission, Charlie Harper, demonstrated leadership skills when he put aside his own anger at Mayor Bob Jackson and urged his colleagues to do the same. "I've got no dog in this fight, but I'm going to jump in anyway," said Harper, who was just elected in March. He called Jackson "an honorable man" and suggested that rather than trying to shame the mayor, commissioners should just move on.

Some commissioners dislike Jackson's mayoral style and believe it hampers the commission's productivity. They mention his penchant for encouraging debate rather than consensus at meetings, his refusal to accept some decisions made by a majority of commissioners, and his unwillingness to consider suggestions that he change his approach.

But they got really angry at Jackson after he testified in an April 29 court hearing that the city could continue to accommodate the Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Largo Central Park. In early April the City Commission voted 5-2 to cancel its lease of city parkland to the festival because commissioners concluded the event could no longer be accommodated in the park. The festival owner, Jim Peterson, sued the city after that vote, contending that the city had not given him the required 30 days' notice and arguing that the city can accommodate the festival somewhere in the park. Jackson's testimony seemed to damage the city's case and help Peterson's.

For nine days after the court hearing, there was a furious exchange of words and memos among city commissioners. Some commissioners spoke of possibly censuring the mayor, demanded an apology from him, or considered taking away his opportunity to represent Largo at the upcoming American Assembly. The dispute was so serious that Largo's elected officials complained that they couldn't sleep last week, and the collective pain of the commission was apparent.

Harper's remarks Tuesday followed some sharp words between other commissioners and the mayor earlier in the meeting. Harper persuaded the commissioners to put down the sword and give the mayor another chance. Commissioners deserve praise for their grace and maturity in doing so.

While Jackson said Tuesday "I regret terribly" that his court testimony has put at risk the city's ability to win the lawsuit, it remains to be seen whether he has taken to heart the criticisms about his leadership style. Jackson gave mixed signals about that Wednesday.

Now that the City Commission has reached an uneasy peace, the spotlight needs to turn on Renaissance Festival owner Peterson, whose demands and lawsuit have the potential to do so much damage to the Largo community.

Peterson is asking the court to force the city to comply with the full five years of its contract, pay his court costs and pay other damages. These are pocketbook issues for taxpayers.

Harper made another valuable contribution Tuesday when he suggested that City Attorney Alan Zimmet make sure the court is informed that the city, already facing a possible tax increase, will be damaged financially if it loses the court case.

If, for example, the court ruled that the city had to let the festival continue at its current site for the remaining three years of the contract, the library construction would have to be delayed until 2005. If the court ruled that the city had to accommodate the festival in some other part of the park, city taxpayers could be stuck with up to $1-million in unplanned costs to build roads and utility lines to the festival grounds. That is money needed to build the library.

Does Jim Peterson really want to be the source of such trouble for the city that has hosted his festival for 23 years? Peterson has said he will be looking for other bay-area communities to host his festival whenever it leaves Largo. Those communities might want to keep an eye on what happens next in Largo.

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