Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 1, 2002
A trio of Port Richey City Council seats are up for election April 9. Unfortunately, there are more seats than appealing candidates.
The top three vote-getters win two-year terms, but only two of those running, Bill Bennett and Fred Miller, advocate good government and a more professional approach to City Hall matters.
Bennett seeks re-election to a seat he won last year by the luck of a draw after finishing in a dead heat with Dale Massad. Bennett is a building contractor by profession and brings expertise in building and zoning matters to the council.
He wants to institute an ethics policy for city officials and employees and begin annual performance reviews for City Attorney Paul Marino. City Manager Vince Lupo received his first evaluation last year after joining the city in 1996.
Miller, a former council member, is enthusiastic about the environment. He wants the city to protect its waterfront and says the city is ill-prepared for pending changes in state stormwater rules.
He, too, worries about the city government's professionalism. "Time is running out for good government in Port Richey," he said glumly. It is hard to disagree, considering the rest of the field.
Incumbent Joe Menicola governs by petty personal vendetta. His first agenda item after election two years ago was to seek to remove street-cleaning signs that included the name of a political organization that turned down his membership.
Even more egregious were the telephone conversations in November 2000 in which Menicola, in a profanity-filled diatribe, declared "war" on the Police Department after his adult son was ticketed for speeding. He still doesn't get it. After the recorded conversations became public last fall, Menicola declined to apologize to the police chief and his department. Instead, he threatened to find out who leaked the information and have the employee fired. He is an embarrassment to the city.
Massad is seeking a return to the seat to which he was appointed in 2000. He, too, cannot separate his personal experiences from the city's. He saw nothing wrong in adding Lupo to the board of directors of his African charity, ignoring significant potential for conflicting interests.
But there are greater problems with Massad's personal history and record of poor judgment. The former physician surrendered his license to practice medicine in 1992 after being accused of negligence in the death of a 3-year-old girl. The chairman of the Florida Board of Medicine called Massad "a serious threat to the public." He also has been involved in dubious businesses and once loaned $70,000 to a felon in what a Pinellas circuit judge called an "absolutely bizarre lack of business judgment."
The City Council is an inappropriate place to exercise such judgment.
Twelve-year veteran Pat Guttman is the final candidate. In the past, she has denied allegations of ignoring the Sunshine Law, which prohibits elected officials from discussing public business in private. The strategy changed after former acting Mayor Robert Leggiere was caught on tape talking about his private conversations with Guttman and another council member. Instead of denial, Guttman's husband penned a letter to this newspaper characterizing Florida's Sunshine Law as an impediment to government.
Sadly, on this April Fool's Day, Guttman is one of the preferable candidates. Her vote to kill the ill-fated Lindrick Service Corp. purchase two years ago demonstrated some semblance of independent thinking. If re-elected, she should refresh herself with open meetings law. Public business cannot be conducted in private.
In the April 9 city election, the Times recommends Bill Bennett, Fred Miller and Pat Guttman for Port Richey City Council.
Candidates not recommended by the Times are invited to submit rebuttals for publication. Responses should be no more than 250 words and be delivered to the newspaper by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Send them by fax to (727) 869-6239, by e-mail to Bowen@sptimes.com or by U.S. mail to 11321 U.S. 19, Port Richey, FL 34668-1499.