This is important. Central Florida leadership and accountability don't usually go hand in hand.

[Baitball Blogger]

It might now.

As it always should have, it is starting with the paper. Only when they make a public issue of a political situation does it generate enough interest to bring the next step: Investigation of the State Attorney's Office.

Background: A texting scandal is about to open up and bring in the legal authorities. If they succeed in acquiring the deleted texts, it might expose the backroom discussions that we all know has been controlling the direction of the leadership in this area. Below is an OP which explains it:

Texting — and 'textgate' — for dummies

By now, you're probably familiar with "textgate."

We have public officials deleting public records, politicians swapping messages with lobbyists during meetings — and now a criminal investigation involving the state attorney and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

So I'm here to catch you up on everything that's gone down — with "Texting for Dummies." (Though, in this case, the dummies are also the public officials who are treating public records with about as much respect as used kitty litter.)

Also, because this is about texting, I'll use emoticons — keyboard symbols used to make pictures (which often require you to tilt your head) — to accentuate each of my points. That last part either makes you happy or want to puke :-o###

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-maxwell-texting-textgate-public-records-20130202,0,933327.column

[winterpark]

1. I've been following this story since it broke. This story is extremely important because

it in fact shows that lawmakers, specifically Orange County Flordia Republican chairwoman/mayor and other council members, subverted the will of The People by texting with lobbyists for Disney, Darden & Chamber of Commerce to quash a peoples referendum to be put on the ballot last november to mandate 5 paid sick days for all businesses in Orange County. I signed that petition and I work at a company that has no health benefits, like quite a few here in Orange County and that paid sick leave would have done so much for workers here and maybe could have been followed by other Central Florida counties then maybe the state.

But Theresa Jacobs has shown that she is just another republcan lackey doing the business of the corporations and NOT the people who elected her (I didn't vote for her or any other republican on the Orange county council). She needs to GO and I for one will work hard next election cycle against her and all the others who did this. And I hope that Jeff Ashton can bring the might of what little law we have in Florida against these corrupt politicians.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Hi winterpark. Welcome to DU.

You're putting it together. One step further in understanding how these things get derailed is to understand how public and personal lawyers are part of the problem. I call them Chamber of Commerce lawyers because they are attorneys who are counseling our public officials while they still have very strong interests in the private sector. Behind every major, local government fuck-up in Central Florida, you'll find a politician's personal lawyer or city attorney involved, somehow. And, yet, each time their devious little backroom deals screws up a community, they skate through it. Part of the reason they do, is because community leaders get pulled into the corruption. In the end, there's no one left who is powerful enough to stand up against them.

This case is no different. Jacobs insisted on keeping her own personal attorney, circumventing transparency. Now we see the consequences.