Developers get to work for allies on commission

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published September 27, 2007

One month after Hillsborough made it easier for developers to pave over wetlands, a group of builders has teamed up to host back-to-back fundraisers for the two Republican commissioners who led their fight. As television pitchman Fred the Baker used to say: "Time to make the doughnuts!"

Tonight's fundraiser for Brian Blair comes six weeks to the day that commissioners weakened local rules protecting wetlands from development. Blair initially voted to kill the rules altogether, but he and the board caved under intense public pressure, settling to weaken the protections instead.

Stephen Dibbs, who led the drive to abolish the wetlands program, is joined as host by some of the biggest names in the development community. Blair's event at a Carrollwood country club, for which organizers dutifully note the maximum legal campaign contribution is $500 "per individual, business or PAC," is followed two weeks later by another for Commissioner Ken Hagan - same time, same place, almost the exact same host committee.

Blair said Wednesday most economic activity in the county involved construction and thus the fundraiser is benign. But the timing reflects the insensitivity at the heart of the wetlands battle. These commissioners feel no compunction to distance themselves from a defining political mistake that framed them as footmen for the development industry. Even before the impact of sacrificing wetlands becomes clear, they are out raising thousands from the very people who emerged victorious from the divisive debate. Their work, too, is never done.

[Last modified September 26, 2007, 23:03:45]