Delray Politics: Another Honest Conversation

 

There’s an urban myth around these parts that seems to rear its head during election season.

I’d like to punch a hole in it.

It’s a stubborn narrative that starts with a whisper… fades…roars back… fades again and persists through the determined efforts and beliefs of an ever changing cast of characters. This week, a candidate sent out an email alleging the existence of a secret group and so the myth lives on.

In short, it’s the theory that there is some behind the scenes group of players who manipulate elections, control elected officials and pillage Delray for the benefits of a few at the expense of many.

Truth be told, we’ve had our share of political gurus and handlers—people who seek to broker votes, control appointments, script commissioners (literally) and steer contracts etc. I wrote about this phenomenon in my book “Adventures in Local Politics.” (shameless plug).

These situations can do a lot of damage, but they don’t tend to be sustainable because at some point you need to deliver results and to achieve results you are required to be both emotionally intelligent (i.e. able to get along with people without resembling Linda Blair in the Exorcist) and policy driven.

The people who make lasting contributions are transformational leaders. Those susceptible to manipulation tend to be transactional—they deliver favors, dole out punishments and end up largely ineffective over time. They come. They go. Their decisions don’t leave a lasting or beneficial legacy.

But I’m not talking about these types of situations. I’m talking about the myth that there exists some secret group who control things in Delray Beach.

Gurus and handlers want to be known as the powerbrokers—that’s how they derive their power. They need you to know how powerful they are and they want you to bow down before them. You have to go through them to secure votes and favors. But the secret group that allegedly exists operates in the shadows.

When I was an elected official—there were rumors of something called “The Machine”—a group that ensured who got elected and then controlled their votes.

There were also rumors of something called “The Gold Report” (I’m not making this up). I once got an email from someone alleging that this organization controlled the people I was sitting next to as if they were Stepford commissioners. Here’s how it allegedly worked: the Gold Report would issue instructions and commissioners were compelled to follow the voices magically planted in their brains. ( Come to think of it, this explains Jon Levinson).

Again, I am not making this up. I have the emails.

These days, as we ramp up for an especially important election, there are allegations of something called a “Cabal” or a secret group that allegedly met in October at a developer’s office on Swinton Avenue.

The definition of a cabal is a secret political clique or faction. Sometimes those factions are called “cells”, or “juntas” formed to promote private views or interests.

I have been following Delray politics for 31 years—10 as a journalist, 7 as a direct participant and all 31 as an active and engaged citizen.

I can say with assurance that there is no machine, I never heard voices from the Gold Report instructing me how to vote and I would be very surprised if the people I hang out with are part of a “cabal” plotting for their own self-interests to the detriment of Delray Beach.

There are however partisans—people who see Delray differently than others do. This is why we have contested elections.

People support candidates who back their particular viewpoints. It’s really that simple. Local elections are passionate because they are up close and personal. We see the “opposition” around town, we have common friends, live in the same neighborhoods, send our children to the same schools and attend the same events. Why just this morning I drove past a mayoral candidate walking on Dixie Highway. I thought I’d wave, but since she sent out a smear piece last night accusing me of misdeeds, I took a pass.

There’s typically no hiding in local elections—unless your participation is limited to showing up on Election Day or not showing up –which sadly is often the choice of 90 percent of registered voters.

If you support, endorse, campaign for or meet with candidates chances are people are going to know about it. It’s a small town and it’s an especially small town in a political sense because so few people bother to vote and engage.

So yes, a large group of community leaders representing a cross-section of the community met on Swinton Avenue this fall to discuss our town and how upset they were at the “leadership” on the commission. At the meeting, were non-profit board members, business leaders, preservationists, neighborhood association leaders, former elected officials and others who just plain care.

There were at least two people in attendance who would be on Delray’s version of Mount Rushmore, if we had such a thing. These are good people, who have done an awful lot for the city.

I was there; proud to be in the company of people who I know to be kind, caring, generous and smart. I think they are the very best of Delray Beach and they are frightened by the lousy leadership we have experienced over the past five years and worried about the future.

The group expressed concerns over commission infighting, bullying from the dais and the lack of engagement and agreement from a majority of the commission with volunteers, organizations and people looking to invest here. They are concerned about the alarming turnover of staff, City Hall dysfunction and inefficiency (because of the turnover) and costly litigation. They are concerned by the commission’s poor relationship with key non-profits, agencies and the business community.

Those not so secret meetings have been going on for years now—because people love their city and they are worried about its future. A connected elected official would know that—and a smart elected official might look in the mirror and ask “hey maybe I need to figure out why 30 years of leadership thinks I am doing a bad job.”

I’ve been in room after room for years now with what I think are the very finest people in Delray…the people who built this community. And they are concerned. Concerned that it took a year and a half to get a lease for Old School Square, concerned that we burn through staff like they are disposable commodities and concerned that instead of working with agencies and organizations we seem to be caught in a cycle of blame and division.

I’ve been stopped on the street by city staff at all levels of the organization asking…no pleading… for help. Police officers, firefighters, parks employees, department heads, middle managers, permit clerks, inspectors—asking if they should stick it out. Many didn’t.

Sure, I can already hear the argument that “dead wood” needs to go and I won’t pretend that some people did indeed need to go. But we lost a whole lot of good people too—many to other cities where they are thriving.

Yes, I was at that “secret” meeting on Swinton. So secret that we talked in the driveway for 30 minutes on a busy road waving to friends as they passed by. Nobody was hiding. Why should we?

We want a change in tone and we want results. We are doing what leaders do– which is working together to try and make something happen. That seems to be an alien concept to the powers that currently be who are spinning furiously in an effort to cast blame in an effort to obscure their own poor record. There is no amount of perfume that can mask that record, by the way.

For the better part of 30 years, I have heard the accusations and insinuations relating to the “machine”, “Gold Report” and now the “cabal”. I have also heard “good ol boys”, “cronies” and “dark money” interests. And now the “powerbrokers.” Sigh…

Let’s just say that when I was an elected official facing a room full of angry citizens on say a townhouse project being built on Federal Highway—I used to wonder where this machine was hiding, because we sure could have used the cavalry on some issues. Instead it felt awfully lonely up there at times.

Similarly, when I wrestled with tough votes—whether to support the narrowing of U.S 1 or whether to support moving Atlantic High School—I never heard voices in my head telling me what to do. I did hear from hundreds of people urging both yes and no votes. Nor, was I ever told by a “handler” or guru to vote one way or the other. And if I was, I would have declined the order in a way that probably would have shut off any further attempts to control my vote.

Similarly, as a civilian with a strong interest in Delray, I would never tell anyone how to vote. If I’m asked for an opinion, I offer it—with the caveat that the elected official vote their conscience. After all, they are the ones who have to live with the vote not me. Like many other former elected officials that I know– we rarely if ever call to render to an opinion. We get calls—but more often than not—a lot more often—we don’t make them. Some of us do however, blog or write newspaper columns. That’s my right.

My philosophy has always been that I will be there for whoever serves if they want to know my take on an issue. Some call, some don’t. That’s Ok. And you can always ignore these posts.

When I served, I regularly sought advice from past mayors and citizens but I always made the final call when it came time to vote. I found that those I consulted had valuable advice, had dealt with similar issues and often had historical context that I didn’t possess. I found their counsel valuable, others do not. Some listen to handlers, others keep their own counsel–usually with less than stellar results because we can all benefit from input, even if you think you’re the smartest person in the room.

So folks, there was no machine or Gold Report and there is no cabal on Swinton either. That I am aware of anyway.

There are of course, dozens and dozens of stakeholders who care about Delray Beach and they want to be heard. Many have vested interests here—homes, businesses, practices, families, children, ideas and projects both business, charitable and civic. They are interested people. That’s not a bad thing. Some do have profit motives—that’s not a bad thing either. As long as the projects they espouse follow rules, citizen visions (remember those) and are good for Delray—which admittedly is a subjective criteria.

For the most part, the people I have seen accused of being members of the Swinton cabal have invested here, lived here, worked here and volunteered here. They have children in school, favorite charities and they want a better future for the next generation. I happen to think they are very nice too.

You had better believe they care about who serves as mayor and as commissioners.

As for me, I have spent nearly 31 years in this town, including 7 years at the highest decision making levels. For those 30 plus years, I have preached the merits of living here, working here, investing here, volunteering here and operating a business here. I have done all of those things and I’d like to do more. I’ve never felt—nor do the people who I associate with who do similar things on varying levels—that our activities were anything other than good for Delray. We/me understand that not everyone agrees with that assessment. That’s Ok too.

Regardless, sometimes doing what we feel is right requires us to state some uncomfortable views and opinions.

I get that others may disagree—but that doesn’t give them a veto power of who can participate or the right to make up motives for those who choose to be involved.

Or as Ron Kitchens, a Michigan economic development leader puts it so well: “Life is too long and too important to be stuck in a place where you can’t grow impact and influence.”

Amen.

If you want impact and influence, get to work. If you want to begrudge and belittle those who volunteer, invest and work hard—good luck to you but don’t be surprised if you get labeled as well. Or if you lose on March 13.

And if you do manage to spin your way to victory….that’s only the table stakes.

Congratulations you made it to first base—and you have a chance to get home. But only if you listen, grow, learn to compromise and understand the difference between invaluable contributors and those who throw insults from the cheap seats. Work with the former and you’ll succeed, please the latter and you’ll surely fail even if you “win” an election.