There is something hilariously ironic in Hammett's claim: It was Hammett who had been one of council's most vocal and angry opponents against the JPA. Earlier this year, when it was announced that county would be placing the so-called slow growth amendment on the March ballot, it was Hammett who authorized spending $1,000 in legal fees to fight the county's decision,this in his request to City Attorney Bob Anderson to look into legally blocking the county from putting the measure out for a public vote (Anderson did and came back with a report that basically said, 'Sorry, Fred, no can do').The slow-growth measure went on the ballot and was passed into law in March of this year by a 2-1 voter margin, which set the legal stage for the JPA to be forced onto both Venice and North Port.
More recently, when the JPA was invoked over the Bella Citta development at the north of Venice, it was Hammett who urged council to ignore the tenets of the JPA and move ahead as planned with the Bella Citta project. Hammett's comment at the time was "Let them sue us." Now here on the campaign trail, Hammett was praising the JPA, almost taking credit for authoring it.
Hammett also took credit for lowering taxes. No, that's not a typo. I know that defies logic, but that's what he said. Watch the video below if you don't believe me.
Councilmen Bill Willson and Jim Woods, also pitching for votes, made every effort to avoid controversy in their speeches.
Willson: Won't someone think of the children? Meanwhile, Woods bangs the Bible -- well, not bangs, maybe ever so gently taps it
Woods talked of his days working at Manatee Community College and later as a board member for the hospital in Venice and then sang a jaunty tune about Venice and how all the folks here read the Good Book through.
Willson praised the kids fountain, stating that (big shocked gasp) there were folks actually opposed to the construction of the fountain.
Just a refresher for those who don't remember the quickly buried controversy surrounding the fountain's construction: The original controversy was not about the fountain itself (which no one to my recollection ever opposed), but about unproven and never investigated allegations of bid-rigging. The allegations at the time were aimed at Venice MainStreet, who fielded the original bids for construction of what was originally to be a privately funded project on public land. When Venice MainStreet failed to raise the needed capital, city council took over the project and funded it without investigating the allegations and, more importantly, without putting the project back out for public bid.
The controversy died quickly without ever being satisfactorily resolved, as anyone who questioned the bid process or asked for better accountability was automatically painted by council, Venice MainStreet, and the media as someone who was against everything, especially mothers and children. I'm usually not afraid to charge into a hostile mob, but even I was intimidated enough to back away from that one. Merely asking the question was political and public relations suicide at the time -- there was no way to shout above the rhetoric to be heard properly. Who wants to be thought of as being against mothers and children? Really, Patten, why do you hate mothers and children? Won't someone just think of the children?
