Neighborhoodtimes: A response to county leaders' arrogance

Neighborhood Times

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A response to county leaders' arrogance

By Letter to the Editor
Published April 23, 2006

I would like to thank the Times and Anne Lindberg for the April 16 article titled Resident sues over mobile home park rezoning.

I would like to make several statements concerning possible misconceptions as to my true motivation for filing the above-mentioned lawsuit.

I certainly admit that I have been told countless times by members of this county administration that if I did not like the decision to "take it to court." Needless to say, this in itself could be seen as a motivating factor.

I believe that every resident of Pinellas County should be outraged at the arrogance of the County Commission. Take Chairman Ken Welch's comment that he hoped a judge would rule quickly (obviously the commission is predisposed to a particular solution) to allow the residents to move on with their lives.

That he hopes the judicial system will find a quick solution to the lawsuit - and has no apparent concern that a resident of this county has gone to enough trouble to create and file this lawsuit because he feels that the local government was violating the law by its approval - leaves me wondering if the County Commission has its focus on the highest priority.

In the final analysis, the true crime will be that a man's ability to obtain justice seems to rely on his financial ability. If this had not been the case all along, I don't believe that we would have ever had to go this far.

I believe that had our county government been more concerned with protecting the health, safety and welfare of its residents, and if this administration had been concerned with the requirements of its own written laws, rules and regulations, we would not even be in this situation.

If the local government could simply learn to follow the law and as a result say no to big-money development when warranted, we would never have come to this end.