Comment

Comment by J.R. on June 13, 2011 at 9:42pm

FLORIDA COMMISSION ON ETHICS 

Sections on Ethics and Rules particularly important.  Also, see link toward the bottom of the list for FORM 50 - COMPLAINT FORMS.  It would be good to have some on hand tomorrow night if someone could arrange for that.  My son is coming in from Seattle, and I won't have time to do it. 

DON'T FORGET TO USE THE CONTACT E-MAIL ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS I POSTED EARLIER TODAY. THEN WE CAN ASK THEM TOMORROW NIGHT, "CAN YOU HEAR US NOW??" 

Link: http://www.ethics.state.fl.us/

Comment by J.R. on June 13, 2011 at 8:35pm

The below is a must read. Parts of it are extremely relevant  to the problem at hand with regard to both the Ethics bill and the EverBank, et al deal.  The parts I'm most interested in are:

1) Breach of Public Trust;

2) Abuse of Fiduciary Duty and Trust;

3) The Governor's Authority to Act

It's not terribly long and you can skip some parts. Please read it and let me know your thoughts regarding how it applies to the particular bills to which we're opposed. Also, you can download it to save for future reference and research.

FLORIDA MUNICIPAL OFFICIAL'S MANUAL - CHAPTER 3

STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

Section 3-1 Overvie

Section 3-2 Constitutonal Provisions

Section 3-3 The Code of Ethics

Section 3-4 The Commission on Ethics

Section 3-5 Bribery

Section 3-6 Campaign Finances & Conduct

Section 3-7 Suspension and Removal

Section 3-8 Recall

Florida Municipal Officials' Manual - Chapter 3
Standards of Conduct

http://www.flcities.com/membership/municipal_officials_manual_ch3.asp

Comment by J.R. on June 13, 2011 at 8:09pm

The below is information was copied from the website of the Florida Department of State regarding license and registration of Parador Partners, LLC. Also included are some links to further information.

 

Detail by Entity Name Florida Limited Liability Company

PARADOR PARTNERS, LLC

Filing Information

Document Number L11000000203

FEI/EIN Number NONE

Date Filed 12/30/2010

Status ACTIVE

Date Filed 12/30/2010

State FL

Principal Address 230 N. SERENATA DRIVE
SUITE 711

PONTE VEDRA BEACH FL 32082 Mailing Address 230 N. SERENATA DRIVE
SUITE 711

PONTE VEDRA BEACH FL 32082

Registered Agent Name & Address

BAHL, ASHISH
230 N. SERENATA DRIVE
SUITE 711
PONTE VEDRA BEACH FL 32082

Manager/Member Detail Name & Address Title MGR

BAHL, ASHISH
230 N. SERENATA DRIVE, SUITE 711
PONTE VEDRA BEACH FL 32082

Annual Reports - No Annual Reports Filed

　

EverBank and Parador Partners, LLC Board Members of TYGRIS (highlighted on search results page)

http://74.6.238.254/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=Parador+Partners%2C+LLC%2C+Ashish+Bahl%2C+EverBank&fr=chr-yie9&u=http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=Parador+Partners%2c+LLC%2c+Ashish+Bahl%2c+EverBank&d=5054004183239737&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=c8287ffc,608fe6e2&icp=1&.intl=us&sig=ZLInX8TbgXfegHTOf3Kcvg--

 

 http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2009/09/28/daily22.html

Atlanta group to buy SunTrust tower

 

http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=L11000000203&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=&names_comp_name=PARADORPARTNERS&names_filing_type=

Comment by Charles D White on June 13, 2011 at 7:53pm

I should have added that regardless of the outcome your work will spread it will not fall entirely on deaf ears!

Comment by Charles D White on June 13, 2011 at 7:52pm

I haven't weighed in a couple of days and you all are doing an unbelievable amount of work on this. I have been also, it's on the quiet side behind the scenes. The radio show has built us allies on the Council and we are  talking directly to a small few and as i said earlier I am adament about getting this to the next council in July. There are alot of moving pieces still in this deal but I pledge you all one thing, I will take your research and break it down to simply tell the listeners of Just Speak Up how to connect the dots. We've been doing the show for over a year and I say on air frequently that most disappointing aspect of the show is learning how Downtown operates. Nonetheless Colleen and i are committed and all of your work only enthuses us to keep our message going.

Comment by J.R. on June 13, 2011 at 6:32pm

Well, I believe the EverBank deal is huge... it is the elephant in the room and, if passed, will be an on-going economic drain on taxpayers. Monies received/ earned by these foreign, multi-national conglomerates don't all remain in the local, state and national economy. These conglomerates have investments in many countries and El-Ad Group/Delek Group's home base is in Israel. We need to find out if EverBank's online banking, etc., is available for banking and lending outside the U.S. 

The majority interest of the building to be leased in this deal is owned by Ashish Bahl, Chuck Thakkar, and Richard Kleban of Parador Group,LLC, who bought it after Cameron Kuhn went bankrupt and many of his properties went into foreclosure.

Robert M. Clements and W. Blake Wilson, officials of EverBank Financial Corporation have Board of Directors connections, on the board of Tygris Commercial Finance Group, Inc., with Ashish Bahl of Acculynk, Inc. and Parador Partners, LLC, Parador Jacksonville Land, LLC, and Parador Laura Street Offices, LLC.---per Bloomberg - Business Week. They all sit on the Tygris Board of Directors.

"EverBank Financial Corporation, with its EverBank subsidiaries, is a privately held thrift holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, offering banking, mortgage lending, leasing and investment products." (Quote from UNF website).

Interesting to note, as an aside, that Mayor Peyton's family owns Gate Petroleum, Gate Concrete & Precast, Gate Fleet Service, Gate Title Company, Ponte Vedra Club Realty, The River Club, Cummer Tract, Epping Forest Yacht Club, Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, The Lodge & Bath Club. Hmmm... Think there might be some connections between the potentate officials who own, or are officers in the three corporate entities involved in the EverBank deal, some of whose officials sit on Boards together, and any of these family businesses? Might they be members of any of the above-mentioned clubs---or have dealings with Ponte Vedra Realty ---or Gate Title Company (572 Ponte Vedra Blvd)? And, I wonder who will provide the concrete products for the proposed new parking garage in this deal. Anybody know what Mayor Peyton is planning to do after he vacates the Mayor's chair on June 30th?

Comment by JL Gawlik on June 13, 2011 at 6:02pm

Another thought, i have been telling my family, friends and neighbors what is going on with the COJ city Council and Mayor and they are not happy with what is going on.

We have to go by law and rules, what makes a elected representative serving in the peoples' so above it all?

This whole business of awards, calling them Honorable before their name is silly. I absolutely dislike when i see politicians in Congress or the President giving credit to a few people when it took many, many more to pass a piece of legislation and they make it sound like they are GODS. Our Founding Fathers were against this practice and thought ALL were equal. Things have gotten so perverted over the years.

I volunteered for almost sixteen years in my school system, enjoyed ever second of it, certain people in the system, some parents and the students made it such a great experience and really did not care for any overwhelming recognition my way etc., i enjoyed seeing the others though, especially when they were completely surprised.

I was just trying to help and did not even receive a salary like our many elected representatives do. I am amazed at many of the high salaries, benefits, etc.. Perhaps that is where the mindset and arrogance comes from? Just like the school awards so no one gets their feelings hurt? We have created a horrible, horrible, horrible situation. Just my thoughts...

Comment by JL Gawlik on June 13, 2011 at 5:20pm

Patricia, you have done a lot in bringing this all to everyone's attention. I am going to send a copy of what i sent City Council today, to the State, to the Sunshine law thingy and the governor. I am more familiar with federal departments and committees.

I had sent a earlier email to Scott about my fears of the 2012 election with what happened in the May 17th election here in town, that it was suspect and that the opposition was advised not to do a recount, Gov. Scott's office advise me to contact the Supervisor of elections, which i have still yet to do to voice my concerns but they turned my email over to Florida Department of State. I have yet to look that puppy up. Apparently they were the Governor's Office of Citizen Services which the Gov. Scott office turned my email to him, to them, here is their response:

 

Thank you for contacting the Governor's Office of Citizen Services.  The
Governor wants to know how people feel about the many issues we face and
asked that I respond on his behalf.

Although the Governor appreciates your comments, the Office of Citizen
Services is unable to assist with political inquiries.  For assistance
with your questions about a candidate for public office, you may wish to
contact that candidate's campaign office or political party directly.

Our government is structured on the notion that local communities can
best assess the needs of their residents.  Voters elect local officials
to manage local government business.  Those dissatisfied with local
officials' performance can always make their views known directly to
those officials.

To ensure they are aware of your concerns about a local election, I
forwarded a copy of your email to the Florida Department of State.  For
assistance with your questions, however, you should contact your local
Supervisor of Elections.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact the Governor's Office.  

Sincerely,

Warren Davis
Office of Citizen Services

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

I think the more rocks we turn over with questions, hopefully we will get answers and stop some of this madness. I am very disappointed in the lack of support with our local GOP, state GOP and the National GOP with Hogan's election compared with the support Alvin Brown got from the Democratic Congressional elected representatives and the local, state, national DNC.  If this keep up, President Obama will clearly be elected and they will take over Congress again.

 

Patricia, thank you so much for what you have done, and also a big THANK YOU to all the others. We CAN and WILL make a difference. I have been having fun with Progressive Liberals on blogs, they can not stand up and debate civilly or even with facts, the truth, honestly. 

Comment by J.R. on June 13, 2011 at 4:41pm

Below is a link to this entire page with activated links to various entities. I recommend copying and pasting any research, statutes, and directory postings like these and putting them in permanent files on your computer for future reference. Perhaps when the FCTP website is re-done, there will be space allocated for a repository for all reference materials and links we need to be able to access and communicate all all levels of city/county government, as well as state and federal government.

Please note that Gov. Charlie Crist suspended Council member John Meserve for practicing real estate without a license. The Governor has that power. Maybe we need to be quickly contacting Govf. Rick Scott with our concerns about what Mayor Peyton, the JEDC (especially its Executive Director, Ron Barton), and Jack Webb are doing, and failing to do, on this non-transparent EverBank, Parador Partners,LLC(Parador Group), and El-Ad Group/Delek Group deal. The JEDC and Couincil have definitely not provided full disclosure on the project. They've just made EverBank the face of it, glossed over Parador Partners,LLC, and hidden El-Ad Group/Delek Group from the public. They considered it a done deal before they even went public with some of it, and both Mayor Peyton and Ron Barton have been pitching it.

 

City of Jacksonville Council Homepage At-Large City Council Members

 
Jacksonville City Council

City Council members
District Name Party Position

1 Clay Yarborough Republican
2 William Bishop Republican
3 Richard Clark Republican
4 Don Redman Republican
5 Dick Brown Republican
6 Jack Webb Republican President
7 Johnny Gaffney Democrat
8 E. Denise Lee Democrat
9 Warren A. Jones Democrat
10 Reginald L. Brown Democrat
11 Ray Holt Republican
12 VACANT
13 Art Graham Republican
14 Michael Corrigan Republican Floor Leader 

Group 1 Ronnie Fussell Republican
Group 2 John R. Crescimbeni Democrat
Group 3 Stephen C. Joost Republican
Group 4 Kevin Hyde Republican
Group 5 Glorious J. Johnson Democrat

The Jacksonville City Council is the legislative governing body of the city of Jacksonville, Florida.

Composition
The Jacksonville City Council is composed of nineteen members who are elected to four-year terms and serve as part-time legislators. In May of each year the Council elects a President and Vice President to serve one-year terms beginning the first of July.

The nineteen members are not all elected in the same manner; some are elected from districts, and others are elected at large. However, once elected, there is no distinction between council members elected at-large and from regular districts. Both have equal rights and responsibilities.

Regular districts
The city is divided into 14 districts; each of these districts elects a single council member who resides in the district. Like virtually all legislative districts at all levels in United States, these districts are redrawn every ten years following the decennial census. In Jacksonville, since reapportionment of the 1990s, four of these districts have been gerrymandered to increase the likelihood of electing an African-American council person.

At-large groups
In the early 1990s, voters approved an unusual residency requirement for "at-large" members. The county was divided into five special districts unrelated to any other districts, solely for the purpose of providing better representation for all geographical areas of Jacksonville. This was done because a trend had developed in which all five "at large" council persons actually resided in one small area of town. So under the current structure, at-large council members must reside in the special district for which they are running, but are elected by the voters of the county as a whole.

One at-large seat was vacated in 2007 because of a violation of this residency requirement; "Jay" Jabour was elected as the at-large councilman from the 2nd special district, but evidence later arose indicating that he actually lived in the 3rd special district. A judge subsequently invalidated the election, and the seat became vacant.[1]

Party affiliation
Currently the council has six Democrats and thirteen Republicans serving.

Committees
The Council President assigns members to committees and to act as council liaisons.[2]

There are six standing committees:
Finance
Land Use & Zoning
Public Health & Safety
Recreation & Community Development
Rules
Transportation, Energy & Utilities

There are two special committees:
Personnel
Seaport & Airport

There are three council boards & commissions:
Duval County Tourist Development Council
Jacksonville Waterways Commission
Value Adjustment Board Awards and criticism
The Charles D. Webb Award is given annually by outgoing council President for the most effective councilman, i.e. most helpful to the council and constituents.[3] After the 1988 death of Claude Yates, known as the father of Jacksonville’s consolidation, the Jacksonville City Council created the Claude J. Yates Outstanding Councilman of the Year Award, which is bestowed annually to an exemplary council member. The council created the John E. Goode Award for best council debater in 1997. The Mary L. Singleton Award is given to the member with the most difficult committee assignment during the year.

In late 2007, a Grand Jury announced that it would probe alleged Sunshine Law violations by the Jacksonville City Council. While the Grand Jury found numerous instances of violation of the law, they decided against issuing any indictments when they issued their final report in January 2008.[4]

In January 2010, District 13 Council member John Meserve was suspended by Florida Governor Charlie Crist after being charged with conducting real estate transactions without a license.[5] Art Graham, who resigned the seat in 2009 to unsuccessfully run for state senate, was appointed by the governor on February 12, 2010 to replace John Meserve, who is fighting a felony charge.[6]

Florida Times-Union: February 22, 2008-Court rules Jabour's seat invalidated
City of Jacksonville website: City Council-Council Committees, Boards and Commissions
Florida Times-Union: July 5, 1997-Mayor Delaney seeking 'housing czar'
Florida Times-Union: January 18, 2008-Grand Jury Issues Report
jacksonville.com: January 19, 2010
Mitchell, Tia: "Graham appointed to vacant Jacksonville City Council seat" Florida Times-Union, February 13, 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacksonville_City_Council

Comment by Patricia M. McBride on June 13, 2011 at 4:22pm

I think most likely I will send something short off to my council members and let the Everbank issue go.  I have said now a couple of times I am not in favor of it.  I don't like that they have a mountain of bills right now that are only half vetted and they are actually considering bringing them before the council for a final vote.  I think that is bad government to do that period.  As far as the garbage bill that I didn't like, it was the one for re-cycling (they only have 4 for garbage right now).  Plus the myraid of other topics and bills.  I looked through the bills ready for the council, and I could not find the bill that allowed JEDC and mayor to make unapproved by the council decisions by themselves and spend money also that was not approved by the council n the downtown.  That takes the people's voice away totally and only leaves them holding the bag for the money. 

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