Circus clowns

COMMENTARY

MARK SCHUMANN

Tough guy, Joseph Guffanti, told Vice Mayor Jay Kramer it was too bad they could not “meet in the parking lot.”

Among his responsibilities, Mayor Richard Winger has the unenviable job of presiding over public comment time during City Council meetings. I say “unenviably” because it is left to Winger to decide if and when to reign in the characters who regular turn public comment time into a circus.

Charlie Wilson, (Right), appears to have moved all of his personal belongings back into a post office box. Wilson is again giving as his address a P.O. box number.

Yesterday, for example, two men who frequently come before the cameras to get a fix of much needed attention, Charlie Wilson and Joseph Guffanti, again ignored the guidlines for public comment. These guidelines, are not Winger’s. Rather, they exist in City Code.

Looking like he might have spent the night on the streets, Guffanti shuffled to the podium to say, “Anybody who supports you people is either ignorant, stupid, or a part of the conspiracy to defraud the public.”

Brian Heady, a current candidate for City Council, has on more than one occasion been removed from public meetings. Unlike Guffanti, Heady is at least entertaining.

Guffanti’s manner of dress reminded me of the time when he, as a city council candidate, showed up for a radio interview wearing one brown shoe and one black shoe. Presumably if it had been a television interview, Guffanti would have bothered to wear matching shoes.

After I wrote a column suggesting Guffanti lacked basic knowledge of the City’s operations and finances, and thus was not among the more qualified candidates, he told me I had, “messed with the wrong guy.”

Guffanti was playing the tough guy again yesterday. After Vice Mayor Jay Kramer invited Guffanti to come to his office anytime to receive fuller answers to his questions, Guffanti said, “If you really know what I think, it’s too bad we can’t meet in the parking lot.”

The following guidelines for addressing the City Council are published in every City Council agenda.

Manner of addressing council; time limit. Each person recognized by the presiding officer and granted leave to address the council shall: step up to the microphone and state his or her name and address for the record. On specific agenda matters, speakers shall confine their remarks to the subject of the agenda matter then under discussion by the council. Unless further time is granted by majority vote of the council, members of the public shall limit their address to three (3) minutes during the public comment section of the meeting. All remarks shall be addressed to the council as a body and not to any individual member thereof, nor to members of the audience. No person, other than the council and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the council, without the permission of the presiding officer. No question shall be asked a councilmember except through the presiding officer. The presiding officer may limit immaterial, unnecessary, or redundant comments, presentations, or requests. Once a motion is made by a councilmember, no person from the audience shall address the council.

4 comments

It’s really a miracle anything gets done at these meetings; they are more like a condo assoc disaster . I admire Mark Schumann for reporting them as it is; hilarious and pathetic.

Charlie Wilson was on his outrageous behavior again last night at the Tea Party debate ,which I attended. With the exception of Wilson the event went smoothly and was run fairly by the moderator. Wilson had to stopped when he started circulating cartoons, and he was told he had to remove a large sign from the property. He looks like a man who cannot control his behavior in public. Wilson knows ,better than most people, the sale of Vero Electric cannot take place under present laws ,contracts ,etc. Every candidate at the meeting spoke in Favor of the sale of Vero Electric to FPL.

When Guffanti plays the roll of tough guy we all quiver in our boots, which are of the same color for each foot. When Guffanti says ,” Anybody who supports you people are either ignorant or stupid.” I wonder how he felt about the voters who soundly rejected his bid for a council seat? While his opponent, Dick Winger, garnered over 2000 votes, Guffanti barely received over 200. You can look it up.The people spoke , he did not listen.

It’s like when I played in a band there was always some person who got drunk and obnoxious or just plain old had to make a fool of himself or herself; band had to put up with it