COMMENTARY
MILT THOMAS
Russ Lemmon continued his Sancho Panza role to Charlie Wilson’s Don Quixote by claiming Sunday in his front page column that this fall’s election will decide the power sale. Russ is a nice guy and I wouldn’t want to impugn his integrity, especially when the poor guy suffers from delusions of windmills.
The issue isn’t about performing CPR on a deal that died months ago, it’s about achieving lower electric rates. So, you would think the 4.2% reduction approved by City Council on June 1 would warrant at least one Lemmon drop of approval in his column. It was the second reduction this year and plans call for a number of further actions except for one problem – the city’s corpse of a contract with FPL.
Unless they release us from the contract’s death grip, our City Council cannot take steps like lowering our contract price from OUC as Lake Worth did successfully earlier this year or decommissioning the power plant.
If this was about striving for lower electric rates, these efforts by the current majority on City Council would receive kudos, not a “cone of silence” from the Treasure Coast Press Journal.
According to Lemmon, we have nothing to fear by electing the likes of Charlie Wilson along with Moe and Curly to put “sufficient pressure on the city to exit the electric business.” It seems like the promised lawsuits by the Town of Indian River Shores and County Commission along with Scripps’ editorial policy is somehow a conspiratorial effort that can only do serious damage to the City of Vero Beach, its taxpayers and yes, even its ratepayers. If nothing else, these lawsuits will ensure legal bills to neutralize any gains in lowering rates by City Council, just as the ill-fated FPL deal has already cost ratepayers.
In his column Sunday, Russ quotes FPL advocate, Pilar Turner, as saying “We have to somehow inspire the FMPA to want to work with us.” Turner has represented the city on FMPA’s board and managed to almost single-handedly inspired them not to work with us.
So, Russ, can you acknowledge anything positive about the current City Council’s efforts to lower rates? Or anything negative about FPL’s death grip on our great little city by the sea? Well, maybe after Scripps spins off its newspapers (and Brunjes) next year. Of course, you might not be around either to see if the Press Journal can again become a force for good in the community.
Indian River Guardian 
I could not believe my eyes when I saw Mr. Lemmon’s column headline as I passed the newspaper box outside our favorite Sunday morning breakfast spot. He actually believes everything will go away and all will be right with Vero’s world–depending on the results of this year’s election? We’re being held hostage by an idiotic contract (of sorts) with FPL. As you said, Milt, we are unable to follow Lake Worth’s (far more sensible) approach to lowering their rates via OUC. As long as FPL is running the show (and they certainly appear to be), there is a stalemate. The destruction of Vero Beach – City of – is at hand…..but thank goodness the sky is not falling…..is it?
All the “leaders” who claim to want to reduce the electric bill for the citizens are missing the most obvious means — eliminate the nuclear tax. Consumers are paying in advance for nuclear power plants that will never be built.
Pressure needs to be put on the Florida legislature to pass H, R, 4003 and SB 1472 that were introduced in the Florida legislature in early 2013.
Russ is on a fools errand . He knows full well that this sales contract is flawed and dead . Maybe he should investigate whether FPL was behind the IRS law suit , but that would put his job in jeopardy. It looks like Turner, Wilson and Heady need a campaign issue and campaign money inorder to get elected. Let him examine these three; Turner wants to sue the city , Wilson’s time of residence is in question, and it looks like Heady wants All Aboard trains passing thru Vero at 110 miles per hour.
Press Journal publisher, Bob Brunjes, who is married to a key FPL Vice President, actually expects his readers to believe the ship he captains is not ladened with an agenda – his.
By allowing one moronic opinion columnist to dominate the front page of the Press Journal whenever he wants to make FPL’s exceedingly weak case for acquiring Vero Electric, Brunjes is guilty of the worst kind of biased journalism. And let’s be clear, Brunjes himself is no journalist.
As the editor of the Press Journal’s Newsweekly section, I was given by Brunjes a clear directive to stop reporting on FPL’s effort to acquire Vero Electric. Clearly, what Brunjes wants from the Press Journal news team is one-sided, pro-FPL reporting.
Of course you would, without proof, suggest that. You, Lemmon and Wilson are FPL’s three stooges.
Pilar Turner the Vero representative to FMPA ,seldom went to meetings and was useless when it came to getting FMPA to let Vero out of contracts. Charlie Wilson ,a FPL lackey , has a lot of explaing to do about his residence, past history and his real motives. Brian Heady is “out of step” with his support of All Abourd Florida and its 110 mph race thru our city.I trust none of them to do what is right for the city.
Though Russ Lemmon may at time process facts with what appears to be limited reasoning skills, he usually does not get his fact wrong.
Late last week, Lemmon was calling the declared candidates who will be running for the Vero Beach City Council asking them where they stand on the sale of the electric system. Lemmon wrote, “Assuming Turner is one of the top three vote-getters (which is a pretty safe assumption), that leaves only two “pro sale” candidates to go. As of now, Charlie Wilson, Brian Curley and Brian Heady are in the same corner.”
It is well known Wilson, Heady and Turner are willing to capitulate to the County Commission and the Indian River Shores Town Council, despite the disastrous consequences that would mean for the City, its residents and taxpayers.
If this is where Curley stands, if Curley is in “the same corner” as Turner, Heady and Wilson, then he has been doing a masterful job of fooling some people I know who want in the worst way to support him. If Curley does stand with Turner, Wilson and Heady, that, at least, would explain why he is receiving so much support from the leadership of the local Tea Party.
It will be interesting to hear Mr. Curley speak for himself.