COMMENTARY
“Unless and until Heran and others who most support the electric sale are willing to accept irrefutable facts and work within the City’s existing contracts, they are likely to become even more annoyed and angry. Their self-inflicted frustration, however, gives them no excuse for turning City Council meetings into verbal slugfests. The time has come for the Mayor, supported by the Council, to enforce rules of decorum.”
MARK SCHUMANN
Utility activist and volunteer lobbyist for the Indian River County Commission, Glenn Heran, came before the Council Tuesday night and directed comments and questions individually to each Council member, rather than to the presiding officer, Mayor Richard Winger. Heran’s actions were in blatant disregard for the rules governing public comment during City Council meetings.
Heran’s primary target seemed to be Amelia Graves, whom the utility activist worked hard to defeat in last November’s election. Heran’s political efforts were largely funded by Florida Power & Light.
Heran not only violated the very rule now published with every City Council agenda, he was rude, argumentative and disrespectful to Graves and Winger.
At one point during Heran’s interrogation of her, Graves responded, “My job is to represent the voters of Vero Beach. My job is not to be emotional, and accuse people of things. It is to gather facts. And right now, that’s what we are doing. That’s what the Mayor is trying to accomplish. That’s what everyone is trying to accomplish here. And that is my answer. I’m not going to be bullied or strong-armed into saying what it is you want to hear.”
Heran then again interrupted Graves, before finally being cut off by Mayor Winger. “Now wait a minute, Mr. Heran. This has gone far enough. She’s stated her position. You asked it. We’re through,” Winger said.
Heran, who twice referred to Councilwoman Graves and Mrs. Graves, and once as Mr. Graves, but never accurately as Ms. Graves, seemed to be seeking to extract a pledge from Winger and Graves to go to war with the Florida Municipal Power Agency.
Many of the sale’s most ardent supporters, including Heran, do not understand, and apparently never well understand, that the only hope for selling Vero Electric is to work within the FMPA’s inviolate contracts, agreements to which Vero Beach entered into as willing party.
Heran’s efforts to convince the Florida Public Service Commission to force the sale of Vero Electric will fail, just as surely as the legislation introduced by State Rep. Debbie Mayfield appears to be going nowhere in the Florida Legislature. Working with a lobbyist hired by the County, Heran has been pushing for Mayfield’s legislation, which is clearly intended to force the break up of both of Vero Beach’s utilities, and ultimately of the FMPA.
Unless and until Heran and others who most support the electric sale are willing to accept irrefutable facts and work within the City’s existing contracts, they are likely to become even more annoyed and angry. Their self-inflicted frustration, however, gives them no excuse for turning City Council meetings into verbal slugfests. The time has come for the Mayor, supported by the Council, to enforce rules of decorum.
Indian River Guardian 
You would think that if you were on the record at the start of this sale and you forecast the city of Vero Beach would walk home with $156,500,000, no tax increase, most likely a tax decrease, and $625.00 for every citizen of Vero Beach, and it came out we have to pay $26,000,000 to complete the sale, you would be to ashamed to show yourself at city hall, much less attack the person voters elected to replace your puppet. These people are so used to pulling the strings of city council that their desperation is now showing. MAYBE they now regret signing this contract with all these unknowns now that their puppets are no longer on stage?
So let me get this straight. Glenn Heren, an alleged accountant that clearly can’t get financial numbers straight let alone in the ballpark, is considered a credible source for WHAT???
The sale of a City Utility?
Not only does this Glenn person lack protocol and discipline, but after the antics last night, it’s clear that those that “pushed for the sale of the electric utility” have put all their apples in a bowl of a person that has no idea, period.
And the rest of those involved with this Glenn guy? What does that say of THEIR own credibility?
And how much longer until we can hold those accountable, including Mr Heran the alleged accountant, for what has become a cluster “F”?
If only the Council meeting “offenders” knew what some of us were thinking about them and their uncivilized manners, they might prefer to sit down and play nice. Some of us are extremely tired of their arrogance, their inability to keep open minds, and Gestapo-like treatment toward those who dare to question their “authority” and facts. And if any of them were seated on the dais (Heaven help us), I would treat them with courtesy and respect befitting the position, but I’d still think their behavior suspect. Thanks to Inside Vero, some of my friends are now aware of what is REALLY going on, instead of what they are reading (or missing) as they drink coffee and read their daily “paper”.
Enough is enough with the antics of Heran and Wilson. These two people have no right to act the way they did at our council meetings. Neither has any credibility in relationship to the sale to FPL. As proven over and over again their financial models were off by MILLIONS of dollars. Both are highly political and both have close ties to FPL. Wilson tried to bully our mayor with twisted logic and bellicosity;he failed. Mayor Winger ,always a gentleman, listened as Wilson shouted his twisted tale. Heran tried to bully Ms Graves, in a loud voice ; Ms Graves would have none of it and told him that she would not be bullied by him. He surely under estimates Councilwoman Graves. Wilson and Heran should be ashamed of themselves for their behavior. Both owe an apology to our elected officials and the citizens of Vero .
Rember Charlie Wilson went on TV when he was illegally running for city council and stated with no exemptions that the city of Vero Beach would net $90,000,000 from the sale of the electric. He got elected because of the $100,000,000 million false claim. Sounds like same old politics.
The public owes a debt of gratitude to Amelia Graves for her refusal to be bullied. The bullying tactics of a small minority seem to have become the norm recently. This is what Milt Thomas so eloquently addressed in his “red shirt” story recently published in Inside Vero.
When a small minority uses threat and intimidation tactics, they need to be reminded that the government does not cater to mob rule.