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Grae's latest flip-flop was the right move

By Times editorial
Published February 16, 2007

Port Richey's City Council members continue to help build a case for dissolving their city. Tuesday evening was the council's fifth vote on a nonbinding referendum for the April 11 municipal ballot.

It will ask voters if the city should spend at least $250,000 to hire the consultants and lawyers to sell the city assets, repay its debts and become part of unincorporated Pasco County.

Over those five votes, a majority of the council has switched positions at least once. Mayor Mark Abbott and council member Phyllis Grae, whose current terms expire in April, have flip-flopped twice each. No wonder some people believe the city isn't worth saving. The incongruent leadership on the dais reinforces the notion that Port Richey is unable to self-govern.

Don't like the outcome? Just put an item on the next council agenda and watch the wishy-washiness.

Give Grae credit for one thing. She said Tuesday she switched positions (again) and voted for the referendum language after "talking with the people." This is the same council member who called a special meeting last year to reverse her vote just days after joining a unanimous council authorizing the referendum to go forward. Whom did she talk to then?

Voters should be allowed to decide the municipal government's fate. People petitioned their government (though the authenticity of some of the petition signatures is now part of a criminal investigation) and asked for the referendum. Three of the current council members signed an earlier petition asking for the referendum and led their campaign supporters to believe they would follow through once in office.

It took some cajoling, but two of them, Dale Massad and Steven O'Neill, did just that and have been consistent in their votes throughout this debate.

We must repeat our contention that the question is skewed by inclusion of the estimated up-front cost of the legal work. It is intended to scare away support for dissolution. Still, as Grae said residents told her last weekend, allowing a public vote to go forward also empowers people who like Port Richey's services and small-town governing and want to show their sentiments in the voting booth.

It's wise thinking. Grae should pay closer attention to public sentiment more often, not just when a re-election campaign is looming.

[Last modified February 16, 2007, 00:18:07]