Vote Intelligently!

Preston Trigg is no sheriff of Rottingham. As the Director of Administration and Special Projects at the County Tax Collector's office, he's no Alan Rickman, either. The difference? It's all in the accent and facial hair.

What I'm glad Trigg mentioned, and the class spoke up for this, were a couple of clarifications about public records.

You do not have to give your name, nor an explanation, nor do you have to be a citizen of this country to get a public record. That is one of the most liberal things I've heard from Florida's government. Though I am sure conservative politicians are infuriated that the illegal aliens they hire to do housework, or yard work, can get access to the doctored books that hide their activities.

Another aphorism: follow the money. For some reason this is the first time we have heard this. Or perhaps I certainly hope it's the first time, lest I look like an ass. It is such a ridiculously sensible thing, that perhaps it was overlooked. Thankfully, Trigg made this evident with some relevant anecdotes.

He once reported on the former head of the HART bus service. He regularly used his government credit card to fill his boat with gas. Perhaps an $80 gas purchase might not seem so ludicrous to an owner of an Expedition or Hummer around last year. But this was when gas was $1/gallon, Trigg said. Not just that. The head of HART traveled to 14 cities in 3 months to "inspect the bus system."

Dipping further into a bygone era, before the time of the Tampa Bay Rays, the city of St. Petersburg was in secret talks with the Chicago White Sox to move their team here. The Sox claimed their business practices were private and Florida disagreed. Since it affected the city, these documents should be scrutinized by the public. Once again I am astounded by how liberal Florida can be. Though, the debacle behind Tropicana Field and it's nascent replacement project negate any dubious self-congratulatory behavior. At least on this matter.

So, why do people in government act so stupidly with the omnipresence of cameras and Florida's stringent public record policy? It seems so counter-intuitive. Well, the answer is not complex. We are a stupid people. We deserve the leaders we have and those we elect. They are a representation of us, the electorate. Our most pathetically sycophantic, corrupt and asinine elected official is the best of us, because at the end of the day this person was elected. And not just elected, they probably won handily.