Just a few of the 304 comments by Citizens of Sarasota about Argus and Robinson - have you signed?

Robinson's Conflict of Interest: Step down from Argus or the County Commission

Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government

The Petition1 Highlight304 Comments814 Signatures

The obligation of a Sarasota County Commissioner to serve the public interest must not be compromised by competing responsibilities to a special interest group. We the signatories call upon Christine Robinson to step down as Argus Foundation Executive Director, or resign the Sarasota County Commission. It is an unacceptable conflict of interest to do both jobs at the same time.

Background: Last November, Christine Robinson accepted an offer to serve as executive director of the Argus Foundation in 2015. The Argus Foundation represents the interests of over 170 members from development, legal, financial and other business sectors. Argus lobbies County government on a variety of issues, including impact fees, land use decisions and SRQ Airport governance. Argus also lobbies the City of Sarasota on issues including elected mayor, strong City manager, Newton redevelopment, and Downtown development. The executive director of Argus frequently weighs in with City and County Commissioners on these and other issues.

The Argus website states "The Argus Foundation has established liaisons with city, county, state and federal governments.....Activities of the various governmental bodies are monitored and positions are taken on selected issues. With the broad background and practical expertise of the members of The Argus Foundation, we are in a position to advise and assist public officials in decisions that will affect the life-style, environment and economic well-being of our area now and in the future." http://argusfoundation.org/

Argus is a long established local lobbying organization. This is Conflict of Interest 101. In DC elected officials leave office before working as lobbyists. This ill-considered move by a Sarasota County Commissioner sets a much lower standard.

As Mollie Cardamone, former Mayor of the City of Sarasota put it "Christine Robinson cannot represent both the citizens who elected her and the Argus members, the employers who are paying for her support and leadership in accomplishing their goals. Will she go out front to the podium and state the case for Argus like [former Argus Executive Director] Kerry [Kirschner] did and then run around to her commission seat and vote? It is my opinion she cannot serve two masters!"

Mrs. Robinson cannot faithfully execute her duties to the public free from undue influence while she is also Executive Director of Argus. We call on Christine Robinson to do the right thing. Embrace sound ethical standards. Resolve this conflict of interest. Step down as Argus Foundation Executive Director, or resign the Sarasota County Commission. It is an unacceptable conflict of interest to do both.

HIGHLIGHT

February 17

We are now live!

Living the WASP Life in Sarasota

 

by Robert Plunkett
Sarasota Magazine
Aug. 1, 2011

I was born a WASP, but I didn’t really become one until high school. It was there, in one of the WASPiest towns in the country (Bronxville, N.Y.), that I learned the Code—the rules of behavior and the secrets of taste. Plus I developed the unshakable confidence that the WASP way was the best way.

WASPs are like rednecks—you really can’t insult them. Criticism runs off their backs. They know they are doing things the right way and they don’t care what other people think. Rednecks know they’re at the bottom of the ladder and always will be. WASPs know they’re at the top, even if they’re not.

You don’t have to be born a WASP. You can, through predilection and hard work, master the way of life. Just look at the Obamas. Those kids are going to be privately schooled for the rest of their lives, and Michelle wears J. Crew. And Barack has the perfect WASP job, a sort of symbolic college professor for the country. He never loses his cool or says hurtful things. But when he has a beer summit, it rings a little false. You can tell he’d rather be downing a gin and tonic, with Cheddar cheese crisps. He’s the WASPiest president since, well, since George W. Bush.

Are there WASPs in Sarasota? You bet, but not as many as you might think. Sarasota has always been acceptable to WASPs, but it’s no Hobe Sound. Here the affluent residents are a little too adventurous, a little too cosmopolitan to get stuck in any one way of life. Still, it’s a great town to be a WASP in. Here’s what you need to know...

Where to live. A WASP doesn’t live in a gated community. Or rather, the gate is a virtual one. Once you’re inside you either know you’re home, or you’re wondering why this supposedly fancy part of town is so. . . discreet and old-fashioned. No McMansions. And some of the houses are nothing special, even if they do have mature landscaping.

The quintessential Sarasota WASP neighborhood is Oyster Bay, with its winding streets and hidden lakes. Harbor Acres is perfectly acceptable, though a little grand. Cherokee Park works, too, along with certain parts of Siesta Key (Hidden Harbor and the very north end).

Very nice but just not WASP-y: Lakewood Ranch, Prestancia and Longboat Key

Education. WASPs don’t believe in public education, at least not for their kids. It’s what sets them apart. During adolescence, when values and lifetime friendships are formed, you certainly don’t want to waste time stewing in the great American melting pot. You want to prepare your children for an Ivy League education, investment banking, and a proper marriage to someone who is slightly richer and a little more socially prominent.

Sarasota isn’t all that great in this regard. The most prestigious private school is the Out-of-Door Academy. Pine View, which is technically public but for “gifted” students, is also a possibility. But frankly, you might want to consider the time honored WASPiest choice of all—boarding school in Connecticut.

Cars. The Lexus has become the Chevrolet of Sarasota and will always be appropriate in any situation—except for the true WASP. He or she will chose a BMW. A Mercedes is allowed, but only if it’s 20 years old.

Cadillacs are out of the question. The image of a WASP in an Escalade is hard to conjure up. But if you need something bigger, for the kids and the dogs, try one of the better quality Ford SUVs. They’re really quite nice and virtually unnoticeable—plus, the company is owned by one of the great WASP families.

Food shopping. The rule of thumb—the more cocktail snacks a store carries, the WASPier it is. In this regard, Morton’s is perfect: aisle after aisle of canned nuts with special seasoning, Stone Wheat Thins, custom-made dips galore. The take-out pretty much defines WASP comfort food, and the prepared salads cannot be improved on. Some say Whole Foods has better gourmet food, but believe me—it’s full of the most unWASP-y things, like strange grains and broccoli rabe and natural sleep aids. I’ll take good old-fashioned sleeping pills, just like Sunny Von Bulow, thank you very much.

Private clubs. They are essential to the WASP way of life. They don’t have to be full-scale country clubs; in fact, the quintessential WASP club usually isn’t. In Sarasota, the one to reckon with is the Field Club. It’s located in—where else?—Oyster Bay, in an old mansion that was built by Stanley Field of the Marshall Field family and offers swimming, boating and tennis. It was founded back in the early 1960s by the cream of Old Sarasota.

We’ve always wanted to do a story on the Field Club but have been met by a stone wall of silence at every turn. The management won’t cooperate with the press, and they apparently make members sign a pledge that they will never discuss the club with anyone who isn’t a member, much less a reporter. Naturally, it’s the hardest club in town to get into.

Restaurants. The more it looks like the grill room at the country club, the better. Sam Snead’s Tavern is my personal favorite. It’s got all the WASP classics: club sandwiches, great burgers, crab Louis and the perfect Bloody Mary. The décor is golf, the seating comfortable, the noise level acceptable, and the fellow patrons have the leathery skin of old geezers who take their golf seriously.

Charities. With WASPs it’s the party, not the cause. The Orchid Ball (for Selby Gardens) wins here—anything in a tent is a plus. Other WASP-y events include fund raisers for New College of Florida, Mote Marine, and the various private schools.

Worst nightmare. Sarah Palin. That accent. That trashy daughter. Alaska! I take comfort that as long as there are WASPs controlling the world, she will never get into the Field Club.

Email to Argus Foundation regarding Conflict of Interest

Integrity 2016 -- a group of concerned Sarasota citizens that organized the April 1 Integrity Rally protesting a blatant public conflict of interest -- sent the email below to the Argus Foundation on April 22. It introduced an Open Letter to the Argus Board and asked for a response by May 1, 2015. As of today, May 4, no response has been forthcoming.

Click this link to read the Open Letter

To the Board of the Argus Foundation, Joe R. Hembree President:

As citizens of Sarasota, we believe that The Argus Foundation's recent hiring of a top public official, Christine Robinson, as Executive Director leaves certain questions unanswered. In an effort to clear the air, the attached letter offers a series of questions regarding the intent and wisdom behind that decision.

The intention is to open a dialog that will lead to better understanding of what we as taxpayers can expect from Argus's contractual obligations with Ms. Robinson vis a vis her dual roles. Now that you have engaged the public sphere by hiring Ms. Robinson, we believe you have a new accountability to the Community.The public has a justified interest in a detailed understanding of your purposes and goals in this matter.

Please see the attached letter, sent without broadcasting online or to Media. We would appreciate an in-depth response by May 1.

Thank you.

IntegritySarasota 

Click this link to read the Open Letter

Argus Officers

According to the Argus Foundation, these are the current officers of the business lobbying group:

Joe R. Hembree, Argus President

Rod Hershberger, Argus Vice President

William E. North Jr., Argus Treasurer

Willam W. Merrill III, Argus Past President

The rest of the Board is listed here.

The Executive Director of the Argus Foundation is Sarasota County Commissioner Christine Robinson:

To date, the Board of Argus has been silent despite Rallies and repeated requests for an explanation to the public of why they believe there is no conflict of interest in hiring a public officer to work for a private business lobbying group.

Over 800 people have signed a Petition asking Ms. Robinson to choose to resign from one of her two positions.

"A con man's con man"

Letter on campaign contributions in the City of Sarasota:

The law requires candidates for the City Commission to disclose to the public the identity of each and every person who contributes to their respective campaigns. The rationale of this requirement is that one is judged by the company one keeps. Does a candidate accept financial support from an unsavory source, one whose interest is detriment to or at odds with that of the city? 

Examination of Liz Alpert’s list of contributors reveals that she has received financial support from the infamous Michael Barfield, a serial felon with a record of 68 criminal convictions over a lifetime of crime, including the federal crimes of perjury before a grand jury, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and wire fraud, for which he was sentenced to ten years in prison. The judge involved in the case fittingly described him as “a con man’s con man.” He is a con man still. 

Ms Alpert, of course, is aware of, but not troubled by, the Sunshine Law cottage industry Barfield operates with attorney Andrea Mogensen for their personal financial gain at the expense of the city. That she sees fit to accept Barfield’s blood money to further her political ambition is to my mind an instant disqualification for office. For there is no way to reconcile her public embrace of Barfield with her professed “passion” for the city’s welfare.

                                                                                  Frank Brenner

Letter to Editor, May 1: Get independent opinion on Robinson and Argus

via Herald Tribune:

Christine Robinson, as both a Sarasota County commissioner and executive director of the Argus Foundation, has indicated that her new job with Argus was properly vetted through the county attorney, Stephen DeMarsh. However, the commissioners hire, fire and evaluate the county attorney. Shouldn't there be an independent opinion as well?

As of April 13, according to a county representative, no one else from the county had reviewed or vetted the dual role of Commissioner Robinson, not even the county ethics staff. Should the commissioners' attorney be the final word on a perceived conflict of interest issue when it has to do with one of his bosses? Doesn't it make common sense, let alone legal sense, for another qualified professional to review this dual role?

A petition of over 750 residents is demanding Robinson's resignation. She, as a public officer, should take advantage of her ability to request an opinion from the Florida Commission on Ethics and, in the spirit of openness and as a public official, share both the letter of request and the state commission response with her concerned constituents.

According to the definitions in the Florida Statutes, Chapter 112.312, (8): "Conflict" or "conflict of interest" means a situation in which regard for a private interest tends to lead to disregard of a public duty or interest.

Vicki Lynn Nighswander

Sarasota