I tried not to let Dr. Garrity’s letter to the editor get to me. I wanted to cut him some slack after all he’s been through, but then I received a galling mass e-mail from Brian Blair, in which he uses Dr. Garrity’s letter to scold supporters of EPC’s wetlands protections for “distortions and false statements” along with the “challenges and propaganda” Blair claims he’s had to face (poor him!) while he tried to eliminate our wetlands protections. Oh excuse me, there goes another “distortion” — he was only trying to make the process more efficient!
Blair is trying to paint a picture of a community divided into two sides:
2. the lying vandals
One of the “challenges” Blair obliquely refers to is a vandalism incident reported last month:
Blair said garbage was strewn around his yard and graffiti was sprayed on his sidewalk.
In his letter, Garrity explicity refers to the vandalism, saying it’s time for us all to stop being “contentious” and start “cooperating.”
I mention this [allegations that Blair violated Sunshine Laws] as an example of the mindset that we must begin to change. It is my hope that unfounded verbal attacks such as this, the vandalism of the commissioner’s home and the contentiousness of the past few months give way to cooperation among members of our community. Unless we work together, we will not be able to effectively deal with the certain growth that is coming our way.
What saved the wetlands division from the complete elimination which Blair originally voted for, was a huge public uprising led by a stellar group of community leaders too numerous to name, along with many broad-based organizations such as the League of Women Voters, Tampa City Council, Keystone Civic Association, Rural Lithia Area Neighborhood Defense, Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Seffner Community Alliance, Citizens for the Revitalization of Temple Terrace, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Suncoast Native Plant Society, Gulf Restoration Network, Agency on Bay Management, Coalition for Responsible Growth, U-CAN, and several homeowners associations and other groups representing thousands of individuals. These people do not need to be told to put aside our differences to work together—we’ve all been doing that for many years on MANY issues.
It is somewhat insulting for these upstanding individuals and organizations to be told that they must stop being “contentious” and start “cooperating.” It goes far beyond insulting to lump us all in with whoever vandalized Blair’s yard.
Charlotte Butler-Nelson fired off this response printed in the Tribune under “We’re not vandals.”
How dare Richard Garrity insinuate that those of us who worked so hard to support retention of the EPC Wetlands division are responsible for ‘vandalizing’ Brian Blair’s property. Over the past few months, I spent many long hours sifting through documents, making phone calls, writing letters and attending the EPC meetings so that I would be well informed. These activities enabled me to speak to the EPC Commission’s concerns and honestly show my support for the division. Many other people in the community did the same.
For Garrity to openly suggest that any one of us who supported retention of the wetlands division is guilty of executing this vandalism is an egregious violation of respect.
Garrity owes us an apology.
After receiving Brian Blair’s campaign piece (sent during office hours when he’s supposed to be earning his $92,000 salary + hefty car allowance), I expressed the above (and more) directly to Dr. Garrity who says he only meant to send a healing message, inviting everyone to participate in the work ahead, and didn’t intend to imply anything about any specific individual or group regarding the vandalism.
Obviously Blair felt Garrity’s message was something to crow about, and it bothers me – a lot – to see the EPC Director used as a tool in Blair’s political propaganda.
GKR
2 years ago
Mariella:
Nice piece.
I have been wrestling with my own thoughts as to whether Garrity is naive, a dupe, or a pawn. Perhaps all three, It appears he may just be one of the “good ‘ol boys”, or “cracker mob”, that have run this county for their own enrichment for years.
Unfortunately, there was no way the EPC could have been gutted without inside help, that is, Garrity’s help.
And compromise? The only compromise I see is on the side of those wanting to protect the wetlands. The cowboy contractors got what they wanted.
The current BOCC is a stool tottering on one leg, there is gross impropriety, but the question is do we have the local investigative jounalism to expose this sows ear?
SHP
2 years ago
To your list of broad-based organizations don’t forget the Temple Terrace City Council who joined Tampa in not wanting to see the EPC “watered down”.
John Miller
2 years ago
I have known Rick Garrity, off and on (not closely because he never seemed to open up), for a number of years, primarily when I worked for groundwater consulting firms. My impression is that he is a bureaucrat who wants to survive; he is not an environmental dynamo.
There are many “older” (I am 68) individuals within Florida’s environmental agencies who have, simply said, stagnated and awaited their pensions. Our agencies will not get this young blood, for the bright and the enthusiastic leave to seek employment elsewhere. What is left is the bagazo, that remaining after sugar cane is squeezed for its sugar. The only way to effect change within these entities is to abandon the typical hierarchical career progressions that they have as part of their system.
chris peattie
2 years ago
“contentious”? “start cooperating?” Yes I remember this poo poo from the years of civil rights demonstrations. All those damn contentious folks who broke the law to force integration. To read about it now it would seem it was “our government” that was responsible. I’m sure Brian marched with Dr. King himself. Perhaps the upstarts that started the American revolution should have solved it by “cooperation” with England. I don’t know. I do know spin when I hear it. I also can remember long enough to make it until the next election.
John
2 years ago
“Start cooperating” is defined under Brian Blair’s wing of government as “Lay down and do what we want damn you!” You’ve seen it for the last few years federally when people voiced disagreement with some plot for America — if you got in the way, you weren’t just uncooperative, you were a traitor for asking questions…
Flash forward to the DOCC (Dyfunctional Organization of County Commissioners) in Hillsborough and Blair (along with others who have served and are serving on the board) expect to wield the same power — “We are in control, what we want we will get and to hell with you.”
Garity is a pawn and many other negative things… Even if he simply wants this to be over. We (most citizens locally) do to and it’s not going to happen by just requesting us lay down. When a wing-nut Commissioner runs unchecked, there is no reason to lay down and start cooperating. It’s a reason to rebel until a more moderate progress-orientated official comes into the picture that unites us instead of divides.
…and Brian Blair ain’t that official.
GrantRimbey
2 years ago
As I remarked to Commissioner Blair after reading his email “The Truth Will Always Rise Up”:
Hot air also rises….
Grant Rimbey
Temple Terrace
Kelly
2 years ago
The truth rises up……. but the crap continues to flow. The truth is that Blair and the other puppets for developers were exposed. The whole thing kinda makes me want to regurgitate:)
HillsboroVoter
2 years ago
ATTENTION, voters!!…. Blair is an inveterate liar. Norman is disingenuous to the bone. White and Hagan are hapless, mindless yes-men and trivial robots for the development machine. Higginbotham skips here, then there, pontificating always. Ferlita is steadfast and true-to-her word and convictions. Sharpe shows promise sometimes, but is not altogether reliable. EPC Director Garrity is a sniveling, spineless lapdog, shaking in his boots from Blair’s duplicitous cat crap cover-ups and tongue lashings. So we, the voters, have to keep up with them, and keep onto them…with a mindset to REPLACE them. But Garrity’s not an elected official, so whaddawedo with that little rat?…..
cooter
2 years ago
The recent wetlands debacle left many of us drained, yet panting with relief that the division had survived to fight another day.
But lately, with Garrity revealing his true hand of cards, it is again disconcerting to find his cowering complicity in the duplicity of the Gang of 4 – - The developmnet community is licking its chops with Garrity at the helm still. We should not be “contentious”, just “cooperate”… Well, to Garrity I say – - detente in this instance would only have served to allow the Gang of Four to eliminate the wetlands division entirely. It is folly to think otherwise. And a revision of recent history. It is now tough times and statesmen of courage are needed. The eras of Churchill, (even Roosevelt!), Reagan, and ROGER STEWART! are in the past it seems. Lord protect Florida and Hillsborough County. I think I saw a sign recently—> “Blair’s Gotta GO!”
voxy
2 years ago
why does it surprise anyone that he’s complicit??? IF he were NOT than he would be gone and not jadell kerr.
Find out if he’s a mason or a shriner. I am telling you that behind the scenes each of these folks are connected and that’s only ONE way. It’s not a conspiracy, boys and girls (LOL) it’s a CLUB.
and they are paving over everything dear to you.
good comments.
But it shouldn’t surprise you that he’s complicit. I blogged his background. It’s not tough to find. He’s a folder and a follower and he’s hooked up with all of them and rose is not always the greatest either.
She might be the best we got but .. she has certainly let down the residents, as well. Perhaps more complicity like good cop bad cop. See through the smiles.. (smilin faces they lie and I got proof…)
When did it get like this that good people like US settle for whatever we can get??
wendy
2 years ago
Blair is campaigning pure and simple. He has competition for that Dist.6 seat already…remember that folks! Listen, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if someone was “hired” from/by the development community to vandalize Blair’s property and plant the seed that environmentalists did it. This plays in beautifully to the triumph for Blair over this unfortunate event. I couldn’t have written the play better myself!!
John
2 years ago
…now we know who Karl Rove is working for while back home in Texas, eh?
voxyq
2 years ago
funny john !! I do see his fingerprints.
Wendy !! You’re psychic. Blair comes from and follows a long line of carnies and showmen and entertainment folks.
What you said is exactly what happened unless he stole out at night and performed the task himself.
I guess soon they’ll use this as an excuse for making their addresses secret. LOL !!!!
I have a SITTING JUDGE who stalks me. Obviously he doesn’t mind if I know where he lives. I have this a-hole on video and still pics — stalking myself AND a MINOR. In front of witnesses.
As if a Tampa City Council person would be above chicanery.
AS IF they need protection.
Has anyone ever figured out why the Tampa Firemen’s addresses are kept a secret??? WHY does a fireman need protection when he/she’s all about saving the public?? All about US, eh??
Maybe it’s to keep people from finding out that most of them don’t even really live in Tampa OR WORK HERE and that they are driving Lexus’ on those measly little salaries.
I think that’s it.
Yes, I do.
Said in memory of the REAL HEROES, the firemen who died on Sept. 11, 2001.
Hang your heads in shame you stalking swine and you sham leaders.
You are NOT HEROES and you are not funny.
It’s almost over. And then we’ll see who laughs last.
Junior
2 years ago
Chess is a game called war. Blair and Garrity have decreed war against the wetlands and their soldiers are the pawns for the builders and green money. But the people are knights,rooks,bishops,queens which will overtake the selfish soldiers,and the pawns.
SHP
2 years ago
“Commissioner Takes His Job To The Mat”
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY The Tampa Tribune
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB9NEOAH6F.html
Published: Sep 12, 2007
TAMPA – During his professional wrestling career Brian Blair was known as a “baby face” – a good guy.
He donned yellow-and-black-striped tights as half of the wrestling duo the Killer Bees, relying less on brute strength and more on finesse.
Now approaching the final year of his first Hillsborough County Commission term, Blair hasn’t racked up many style points lately.
He’s been painted as a developer-friendly ideologue without concern for the environment. He’s been lampooned on YouTube, where his likeness rips trees from the ground to make way for sprawl.
Harsh comments to fellow Commissioner Al Higginbotham and Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson – men he considers friends – prompted apologies from him.
Blair insists much of the criticism is overblown, that his mea culpas will make the hard feelings fade. His public scolding of staff members and other elected officials, he said, are part of his competitive nature and a reason why he was elected.
“The people didn’t elect me to follow the status quo,” Blair said. “That often causes the perception of being mean or mean-spirited or bullyish.”
That attitude seems to have served him well in life. It prompted him to leave college to pursue a wrestling career. That, in turn, led to a successful business venture.
As a public official, though, that brash behavior has invited criticism. Environmentalists consider him the ringleader of a failed move to disband local wetlands oversight.
Blair said his plans for the wetlands division were misconstrued by the media and activists. It’s unfair, he said, for people to define his time on the commission by episodes like the Higginbotham and Johnson dustups.
Instead, he points to his record as a conservative who’s sought to slash spending, stymied efforts to increase taxes and supported efforts to help protect seniors and children.
“I’ve tried to turn nickels into dimes,” Blair said.
He said he has no regrets about his three years in office, and that when he’s spoken too bluntly he’s said he sorry. “I was elected to challenge government,” he said.
That’s not enough for those who see his actions as impulsive and overbearing.
“He seems erratic,” said Jan Platt, a former county commissioner who held Blair’s seat before her retirement in 2004. “He doesn’t give issues the thoughtful attention they deserve.”
Patrick Manteiga, editor and publisher of the newspaper La Gaceta, said Blair has been his own worst enemy at times.
“I don’t think he thinks about perception,” Manteiga said. “He does things that make you question everything he does.”
Early Home Life Had Tribulations
Blair’s success in life hasn’t come easy. Born in Gary, Ind., in 1957, the oldest of five children, Blair’s parents divorced shortly after moving to Tampa when he was 12. An argument with his father when he was 16 prompted him to leave home, and he stayed with friends until graduating from Tampa Bay Technical High School.
He signed a football scholarship at the University of Louisville, where he studied business and political science. There, he lived on a $10 a week stipend from his mother, he said. That was until he got his break in professional wrestling in 1977. The pay for a week of wrestling was $750. School was left behind.
His first marriage to the daughter of a wrestling promoter ended – with gunshots – after Blair suspected his then-wife of cheating on him. When he confronted her, a fight with her suspected lover broke out and her father fired shots at Blair.
He moved on, joining the World Wrestling Federation as half of the Killer Bees duo. Blair’s career peaked in 1987 when the Killer Bees performed at Wrestlemania III before more than 90,000 fans in Pontiac, Mich.
“It was a dream come true,” Blair said. “Wrestling was a clean, family sport.”
The Killer Bees never won a title, the result of politics within the WWF, Blair said. He won titles in other leagues, including the Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion and the Asian Pacific Heavyweight titles.
Two decades in the sport had taken a toll on his body, however. He’d had three concussions, a dislocated right thumb and an array of other injuries.
The sport left him with enough money to buy a Gold’s Gym franchise in 1989. He said he and his wife, Toni, built the business from the ground up, eventually owning four gyms.
He sold three of the gyms in 1998 for nearly $2 million, court documents show.
Today, Blair lives in a four-bedroom, lakeside home in north Hillsborough County where he and his wife raise their two sons, ages 15 and 12. Much of his free time is spent volunteering: He coaches youth football in the fall and baseball in the spring.
Luis Vazquez, who coaches a youth football team that Blair sometimes mentors, considers him an effective role model. “He tells them, ‘Everything is hard work,’” Vazquez said.
Busboy’s Tray Ended His Career?
Blair lost his first bid for a county commission seat in 2002. Three days later, in a Carrabba’s Italian Cafe, he tripped over a tray of dirty dishes, a fall that he claims ended his wrestling career.
Blair sued.
The litigation was not without controversy. Blair’s attorneys quit during the case, citing “irreconcilable differences” and forcing him to find new counsel. During a deposition, an attorney grilled Blair about his previous use of steroids and prescription medications and produced a hospital lab report that showed his blood alcohol content was 0.089, above the level a person is presumed impaired in Florida.
Attorneys also turned up a video that appeared to show Blair wrestling in Japan, after the fall he said ended his career.
Blair settled the suit in early August for undisclosed terms. He called stories based on a partial transcript of the deposition a “hit piece,” but acknowledged he signed an agreement preventing him from telling his side of the story. He acknowledged using steroids during his wrestling career, but only under a doctor’s care.
By 2004, during his second run for office, Blair had gained support from key Republican party stalwarts.
Even so, his competition, veteran politician Bob Buckhorn, out-raised him by nearly $100,000. Blair won by 2,507 votes, gaining 50.3 percent of the vote.
He garnered strong support from the development and construction industries, groups that would factor heavily in issues that came before Blair and the commission in the past three years, including the wetlands fight.
A Tribune review of donations to Blair’s 2004 campaign showed that about $70,000 of his $183,000 in contributions came from people with development, real estate and other housing and construction-related ties.
Blair and his supporters chafe at suggestions the money influences his decisions. “The development community can certainly raise money, but they don’t elect you,” said Joe Chillura, a former county commissioner and Blair confidante.
For the early part of Blair’s tenure on the board, he sat in the shadow of another outspoken commissioner, Ronda Storms.
Some of his comments hardly raised an eyebrow. For instance, before being selected to chair a group studying the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, then known as HARTline, he suggested giving the $3,600 the agency spent per rider annually to poor people so they could buy cars. Those who couldn’t drive? Pay their cab fare, Blair suggested.
With Storms gone, Blair has taken center stage.
In May, he earned some notoriety after castigating Johnson, the elections supervisor, for saying the county might have to spend up to $10 million on new voting machines next year.
“That really frosts my butt,” Blair told stunned Johnson during a public meeting.
Blair said he lashed out because Johnson’s public comments differed from what the elections chief told him in a private meeting. Blair soon apologized.
During a meeting in July, as commissioners considered layoffs and budget cuts, Blair implied that freezing his $91,000 a year commission salary would be a hardship for his family. It seemed odd for someone whose net worth tops $1 million.
He later apologized.
Part of his troubles, he pointed out, can be traced to the state’s open meetings laws.
“Unfortunately,” he said, “we have to air any disagreements out in the public.”
Blair Led Attack On Wetlands Division
Blair offers no apologies for his handling of the wetlands issue.
He was one of four commissioners who voted to kill the division in July. A month later, after a public outcry, commissioners voted unanimously to allow a streamlined wetlands division to survive.
During that meeting, Blair suggested the board take a vote before more than 100 people who had signed up to speak had a chance to talk. The move drew the ire of many in the audience, many of whom felt they were shortchanged at an earlier meeting when Blair decreed they’d be allowed to speak, but only for a minute.
Blair said he’s seen others, including Jim Norman, the current county commission chairman restrict public comment.
Norman noted that the EPC role was Blair’s first experience as a chair during a contentious fight and that he had to learn how to run effective meetings. “It could have been handled better,” Norman said. “He doesn’t worry about polish; he just tries to get to the bottom line.”
Platt, the former commissioner, said she was disappointed at Blair’s handling of the EPC meetings.
“He has overstepped his bounds in dealings with the public,” she said.
Terry Flott, an environmental activist, said Blair’s behavior seems to have worsened over the past year.
“I expect a different level of coherence and competence on the part of any commissioner,” she said.
He Plans To Seek Another Term On Board
Blair has filed for re-election in November 2008, and he said fundraising is off to a good start.
One opponent has filed with the elections office; Kevin Beckner, a Democratic financial planner.
He does likely face the toughest battle of the three commissioners facing re-election next year; Higginbotham and Ken Hagan both serve defined districts. Blair is elected countywide.
Activists have vowed to target his campaign as payback for the wetlands vote.
Blair seems unconcerned. Ultimately, he said, he expects people to vote with their pocketbooks. “I’ve saved this county a lot of tax dollars.”
If they weren’t happy with him, he wondered, “Why would they have elected me in the first place? That’s what I advertised.”
Researcher Michael Messano contributed to this report. Reporter Anthony McCartney can be reached at (813) 259-7616 or amccartney@tampatrib.com.
ON THE RECORD
The following are some of the initiatives Commissioner Brian Blair lists as accomplishments during his time on the board:
•Fought for the largest reduction in the property tax rate in county history in 2006.
•Made a motion to kill a proposed stormwater fee increase.
•Proposed “senior safety zones,” which require traffic slow near assisted living facilities.
•Proposed posting pictures of sexual predators in county parks, a measure that passed unanimously.
•Worked to have flood maps re-evaluated, resulting in removal of roughly 5,900 homes from zones requiring higher-priced insurance.
•Served as board chaplain for two years.
Blair says he has no regrets about his tenure on the board, but he has had some dust-ups in recent months.
•Publicly chastised Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson for telling the board it may need to spend millions on new voting machines. Blair’s quote, “That really frosts my butt,” was considered rude.
•In June, voted with three other commissioners to eliminate local oversight of wetlands, although he quickly said he would change his vote if a proper alternative was proposed. As chair of the county’s Environmental Protection Commission, Blair drew much of the criticism for the board’s action and the way the meetings were conducted.
•During a July budget discussion, Blair stopped short of a saying a cut to his $91,000 a year commission salary would take food out of his children’s mouths. He later apologized during a town hall meeting.
Anthony McCartney
tommy
2 years ago
SHP…
I appreciate your enthusiasm, but please don’t cut and paste an entire article… Feel FREE to include the link, and any specific parts you want to highlight…
SHP
2 years ago
Thanks, I’ll consider your advice.
Junior
2 years ago
Thank you for making me completely aware of the Tribune story. I am 70 years old,and I will never date a wrestler,never be held on a mat,especially by my neck. I figured out that it was racoons from the wetlands that got into Blairs garbage can and they were trying to cover their tracks by spray painting the area.
SHP
2 years ago
“Wetlands board criticized”
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/15/Hillsborough/Wetlands_board_critic.shtml
Junior
2 years ago
John Miller,I hit your name in red and read about you. I happen not to be a science fiction person,but I have read a little of Asimov’s works,Orsen Wells,Buck Rogers comics, I was a comic book collector and loved all comics,the only author of science fiction that I still read is Steven King,Icould not put down DEAD ZONE. But what I am about to tell you is a true story. I was in high school and I got a degree in the Dewey Decimal System,a young man moved to town when were sophmores,and guess what we both worked in the library,and to make a long story short we dated,since we were only 15 we were chaperoned. He loved science fiction-I did not. On one of our dates he said to me,you know soon we willbe traveling in space and someday we will travel in space. Do what you want with this. I will write latter.