CENSURE COMMISSIONER KEN HAGAN

The following is a copy of a message which I have sent to all of the County Commissioners regarding the proposal of Commissioner Ken Hagan that the Commission send a "representative" to Sgt. Ron Harrisons' funeral rather than having the Commissioners attend in person.

TO COMMISSIONER KEN HAGAN:

If the account in the Tampa Tribune is correct stating that you objected to the proposal by Commissioner Rose Ferlita that a land use meeting be rescheduled so that Commissioners could attend the funeral of murdered Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Ron Harrison then I am outraged!

There is no parallel between Commissioner Ferlita's proposal and your recent action in having a Commission meeting delayed so that you could attend the funeral of a private citizen who happened to be a financial contributor to your election campaign.

To have taken the occasion of Commissioner Ferlita's proposal as an opportunity to lash back at her for her earlier criticism of the purported reason for the delay of the Commission meeting, a "light agenda", when the real reason was to facilitate your attendance at the funeral, is insufficient justification for your attempt at making the two funerals of equal significance.

Your suggestion that the Commission send a "representative" rather than having Commissioners actually attend Sgt. Harrison's funeral is despicable! This man was in the public service of our county, attending to the business of the county, and was murdered in the line of duty. What conceivable conflicting activity of the members of the Commission could take precedence over having our highest elected public officials attend his funeral?

I'll answer that rhetorical question for you - there is NONE!

I am utterly disappointed in you. I reside in your district and it is highly unlikely that I will support your re-election.



------------------------------

If your position is similar to mine, you might want to send your own e-mail to Commissioner Hagen regarding his position. His e-mail address is

HaganK@hillsboroughcounty.org

I have received a response to my message to Commissioner Hagan. His response indicates that the Tribune story is inaccurate and misleading.

He actually is the one who proposed that the Commissioners attend the funeral.

His exchange with Commissioner Ferlita was apparently sarcasm, suggesting that SHE might want to simply send a representative to the funeral as she suggested might be done in another case last week.

Below is Commissioner Hagan's response to me.

Thank you very much for your email regarding yesterday's discussion on
rescheduling next week's meeting to honor the passing of Sgt. Ron
Harrison. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify your misunderstanding
of the events.

Without going into complete detail, these are the facts:

1. Our County Administrator, Pat Bean, rescheduled our Wednesday Board
Meeting from 9am to 1:00pm.
2. Ms. Bean did this on her own, without being asked by myself or any
other Commissioner.
3. Commissioner Ferlita questioned Ms. Bean'e motives for rescheduling
the meeting.
4. Commissioner Ferlita was quoted in the St. Pete Times on Wednesday,
August 15th, as saying in an email to Ms. Bean, " this, to me, is a very
inconsiderate decision......"
5. Commissioner Ferlita also stated," she means no disrespect to the
Kearney family. But there are other ways to express sympathy, such as
sending a designee from the board, or a card."
6. . The Tampa Tribune reports that she said she understands the
desire to pay respects to Kearney and his family, but she would have
preferred if the board chose a representative to attend the funeral
instead of moving the meeting.
7. Again in the Tribune, " I think this is a good example of bad
government," Ferlita said.
8. On Thursday, I, not Commissioner Ferlita, recommended to our Board
that we reschedule next week's meeting so that we can show our respects
to such a fine man and attend Sgt Harrison's funeral.
9. I also stated that while I did not know how the Board felt, judging
by Commissioner Ferlita's comments the day before, that she probably
felt we should not reschedule our meeting, and that sending a
representative or a card would be enough. I stated that it wasn't
enough for me on Wednesday and it certainly is not enough for Sgt.
Harrison.
10. Commissioner Ferlita exploded in anger.

Those are the facts. I have spoken with no less than 20 people, who
feel that Commissioner Ferlita's comments were insensitive,
inappropriate, and completely out of line. I would sincerely hope that
you would agree.

To me, both deaths were tragic. I attended Mr. Kearney's funeral, and
I am certainly going to attend Sgt. Harrison's funeral on Tuesday. It
makes no difference to me if one gentleman was in the public sector and
another was in law enforcement. If you are my friend, I will attend
your funeral, whether there is a Board Meeting or not.

I sincerely hope this clarifies what happened. please let me know if
you have any additional questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Ken Hagan
County Commissioner
District 2