mulhern defends board shakeup
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From City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern:
My response to today’s Tampa Tribune editorial against my EPC bill is below.
Mary Mulhern, Tampa City Council & Concerned Citizen
Regarding “Power Shift on Boards Will Bring Less Unity and More Backbiting” (Nov. 11)
Your editorial on two local bills submitted to the Hillsborough legislative delegation was strangely contradictory in examining the composition of countywide boards. The Tampa Tribune defends the inclusion of the cities of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City on the Planning Commission and Sports Authority boards, yet denies the logic and fairness of city representation on the Hillsborough Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) board.
All of our State enacted countywide boards have representation from the County Commission, and the cities of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City - all except for the EPC. None of the other boards even has a majority of County Commissioners. My bill, sponsored by Representative Glorioso gives the County four seats, Tampa three seats, Plant City and Temple Terrace one seat each – a composition in line with the Planning Commission, Sports Authority, Public Transportation Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization and Port Authority.
To say that I “…erred in starting this dustup” ignores the reality of Hillsborough County politics. Representative Ambler asked last year for more seats for the County on the Planning Commission and Sports Authority and promised to bring the bill back this year. Adding the EPC (with a County Commission majority) in no way disguises the Commission’s continued push for control of all boards.
The recent conduct of the EPC board evidences the problems inherent in a regulatory board overseeing itself. With the board made up exclusively of County Commissioners, a conflict arises when the agency wishes to bring an action against the county. Another reality is the undue influence that certain special interests exert over the County Commission representatives. A diverse board from all four government bodies — with no single entity having a dominating majority — would reduce the threat of special interests controlling the shared resources of the county and the three municipalities.
The EPC regulates air, water and noise pollution, not just wetlands. The cities are also home to the Hillsborough River, the coast of the bays, lakes, canals and creeks. Cities produce by far the largest proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. The global environmental crisis we face makes it imperative that we not delay any action that can better protect our resources and reduce our contribution to the looming hazards of climate change.
Hundreds of constituents are protesting the stewardship of the EPC board by the County Commission. Our state legislative delegation should heed the voices of Hillsborough County, Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City and vote for fair representation on the EPC board. My bill gives our state representatives the opportunity to stand up for a power share, and face down a power grab. This bill is about protecting the environment for our children and grandchildren, not protecting anyone’s political turf.
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November 13th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Did she send this to the Trib, also? Why use SOF to comment on Trib articles?? You do it anyway but now invite the equivalent of letters to the editor to do so here?
The Times, too?
What the heck…?
November 13th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I’m with you Mary, on this issue. What the BOCC tried to pull this summer with eliminating the wetlands division what brought about by politics and pandering to campaign contributors. I do not trust this BoCC any longer after they pulled that stunt. The cities should be represented. Apparently the Dist.2 cities representative and the Dist.3 cities representative were among the four who voted to eliminate; one brought the motion. Bet they weren’t thinking of Tpa., Temp Terrace or Plant City when they voted. They were acting as BOCC and pandering to the whining of developers who boo hoo hoo have so much problems with wetlands regulations and just why can’t we fill them all in? More lots to put houses on…. I am over this BOCC and hope several of them lose elections in 2008. I’m not voting for them.