Jon Claude Hopwood
Running forHillsborough County Commissioner (District 1)
in 2020
Running as Democrat
At age60
Both my parents were born in Manchester, my father at the Eliot Hospital (as was three of my four siblings), and my mother at home. (It was a 1926 thing, I guess; my mother always attributed her troubles to the “fact” that the doctor sat on her as she was laid out on a chair!) When my mother was expecting me, her doctor — the late Channing Eluto of the Eliot — had privileges at the old Moore Hospital in the Grasmere neighborhood of Goffstown. (Subsequently, it was turned into the county nursing home and torn down after the new building opened). When I started to make my debut, Dr. Eluto was in Grasmere, so that’s where I was born.
Flash forward 25 years later, when I joined the Army at the Manchester MEPS (military entrance processing station). Births in Goffstown in those days were registered in Manchester, and the birth certificates from Goffstown were issued by the Queen City. “From now on, you’re born in Manchester,” a sergeant told me, after I signed my papers. Years later, after my service was over, I went to get a copy of my birth certificate at Manchester City Hall, where I was told that those birth registrations were now back in Goffstown. So, I became a “product” (as the old time baseball announcers used to say of players) of Goffstown once again.
I am a “product” of Manchester schools: kindergarten at Varney (where my father graduated from the 8th grade with Ward 12 Alderman Keith Hirschmann’s uncle in 1941), then 1st and 2nd grades at Parker (located up the hill on Bowman Street, then back down the street to Varney for 3rd, 4th and 5h, and then over to the new Parker Varney School for sixth. (I was a member of PV Class of 1971, the first graduating class from the “school with no walls.” Later, walls between the classrooms were put in.) Then on to Parkside, and finally, the “West Side High School” (as the inscription over a door in the old building calls it), the same school my father quit at the age of 17 to join the Navy during WWII), where I was a member of the class of 1977.
I’m not a professional politician, but I’ve spent forty-two years researching and writing about politics. I have been described as a political activist, when the Union Leader decides to be charitable towards me. (Despite all the recent stories about the Valley Street Jail and related litigation, in which my opponent, incumbent County Commissioner Toni Pappas is quoted, the Union Leader ignores me and the fact that the handling of the jail by the Commissioners is a campaign issue.)
My authoring of a petition asking the Manchester Mayor of Board and Aldermen to investigate then-Mayor Ted Gatsas’ apparent cover up of the 2015 West High rape resulted in my being slapped with a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation by Gatsas. The SLAPP lawsuit, which Gatsas filed during the 2017 mayoral election with the intent of shutting me up, was dismissed by the judge, who all but called Gatsas a liar. It was an unpleasant experience that damaged my physical health, and I plan to sue Gatsas for abuse of process. For that, I will have to obtain out-of-state counsel.
Currently, I am writing a book about the New Hampshire First-in-the Nation Presidential Primary, We Pick Your President
Writer-editor-journalist; database editor (Silicon Valley, California); book editor (legal texts) Oxford Univ. Press, NY, NY
Of my experience pertaining to the job of County Commissioner, as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, I handled a rape, various felonies such as drug dealing and attempted murder, and was responsible for the custody of a prisoner, when I was stationed in West Germany during the Cold War. I’m not unfamiliar with the demands of law enforcement, and overseeing the Hillsborough County Jail is one of the County Commissioners’ responsibilities, along with the Sheriff’s Department.
As a writer-editor, I am familiar with Government Accounting Principles, having edited works about the Government Accounting Standards Board. I have also written about the property-casualty insurance industry, including municipal pools (how the county self-insures), and the muni-bond market.
My experience covering Manchester municipal politics was almost as good as my studying at B.U. with the great Howard Zinn, when it came to seeing the world as it is.
Time lived in NH30 total, 10 continuous
Educational Experience: B.A Political Science, Boston University
My faculty advisor and mentor at B.U. was the famous historian Howard Zinn, recently was denounced by President Trump, as high an honor, I guess, as someone can get in these times. Howard was a great person, who tasked his students with the mission of making society more just.
Best way to contact candidatejchopwood@gmail.com. Also, they can watch my show Ward 13 with Jon Hopwood, which airs live on Wednesdays between 3 and 4 on Manchester cable TV channel 23.
Websitehttps://www.jchopwood.com
If elected or re-elected, please describe legislation you expect to sponsor or co-sponsor.
County Commissioners are not legislators, and there is no County Legislature. There is a County Commission, which consists of all the elected State Reps and State Senators. Counties cannot make laws, but the members of the County Commission, in the General Court (State Legislature) in Concord can. However, County Commissioners do have power in that they prepare and manage the county budget and contracts. There is also the power of suasion, lobbying for changes, as well as seeking out grants and other forms of finance from the state and federal governments.
My top priority would be using the full powers of the Commissioner’s position to tackle the biggest problem that north Hillsborough County faces — the chaos consuming Manchester due to the city becoming the Granite State’s transfer station for all the people with substance abuse problems, mental hill issues, and related issues such as homelessness.
The Commissioner from District 1 has to FIGHT FOR MANCHESTER (which will benefit the rest of north Hillsborough County — Bedford and New Boston, among them). Too much of the attention and money (such as the first drug court) went to Nashua, while Manchester was left to handle things on their own, as places like Nashua sent their problems to the Queen City. That Nashua closed down its Safe Station program and homeless shelter and Ubers its substance abusers to Manchester is not only inequitable, it’s shameful. This must stop.
The other outstanding need is to make sure that Hillsborough County is not so beloved by tort lawyers, due to the lack of proper oversight of the Valley Street Jail and the County Nursing Home. It is outrageous that the estate of a former mayor should be suing over the misdiagnosis of a stroke as withdrawal from fentanyl at the County Nursing Home, resulting in his death, while at the same time, the estate of a 24 year-old man is suing as he died from the lack of treatment for fentanyl withdrawal, despite telling the medical personnel at the Valley Street Jail that he was in withdrawal.
The amount of the settlement that the estate of the late Fern Ornelas, whose neck injury diagnosed at the Eliot Hospital subsequently turned into a fracture at the notorious Valley Street Jail, will be enormous The financial drain from tort lawsuits not only reduces the County’s ability to provide services, the underlying conditions that have caused those lawsuits are immoral and unconscionable.
Four years after the Union Leader exposed medical malpractice at the Valley Street Jail, the County Commissioners have failed to solve the problem. Instead, with Toni Pappas, we get an apologist for a jail notorious for its brutality. We get a Commissioner dedicated to promoting from within, rather than finding an honest, incorruptible administrator from outside, one who praises the Correctional Officers (jailers) when asked for a comment about a new novel set in the notorious Valley Street Jail, a novel that revealed that the jailers file false reports to cover up for each other. In essence, Toni Pappas is apologizing for criminal acts, as the filing of false reports is a criminal act. The lawsuit filed by the estate of Nicholas Sacco alleges that the notes about the medical care received by the young man who died after the failure of the jail to treat him for drug withdrawal contained fictitious names. In my opinion, the novel and the lawsuit reveals a criminal cultural of cover up, which – also in my opinion – is condoned by Toni Pappas. (Since being sued by Ted Gatsas for trying to get at the truth of the cover up of the West High rape, I have to insert such disclaimers into my work.)
Toni Pappas has not only failed to solve the problems at Valley Street Jail, she is part of the problem. This is an opinion, but one that sadly is a fact (in my opinion – in New Hampshire, corruption thrives as the legal system constrains free speech).
The certification of the jail and its proper administration would not only be the MORAL thing to do, it would be the RATIONAL thing to do, as it would save money in the long run. Putting aside questions of morality, Toni Pappas’ management philosophy can be summarized as penny-wise and pound-foolish.
I pledge to the people of Hillsborough District 1, I will not be a part to brutality and the covering up of crimes at the Valley Street Jail, or any other county facility You know me. I am not afraid to stand up to corruption.
New Hampshire needs a strong whistleblower law, and Hillsborough County needs whistleblower provisions in its contracts, including labor contracts, such as those with the Correctional Officers, so that an honest jailer can blow the whistle on criminal behavior without fear of retaliation. Furthermore, whistleblower provisions that allow the “claw back” of monies that have been looted due to fraud and corruption are the best means for preserving the precious tax dollars of citizens.
Something CAN BE DONE in reducing corruption and in stretching the already tight County budget. I ask you to join me in FIGHTING BACK against waste, fraud, abuse and corruption.
Here are my priorities:
- Public Safety
1.) I would do everything in my power to see that the Valley Street Jail is certified, and that the pay and training of correctional officers (C.O.s) is increased.
a.) Certification of the Valley Street Jail and the imposition of rational standard operating procedures to reduce abuse and to ensure that training is adequate, such as putting on paper as S.O.P. available to the public that the Valley Street Jail medical staff have to tell the C.O.s of a inmates medical condition, such as Fern Ornelas’ damaged neck, so that procedures such as strapping him into a restraint chair and forcibly manipulating his neck, as happened, does not result in a fracture, paralysis, and a $25 million lawsuit that likely will be settled for $8 million, is imperative. [The more salient point is that the failures the Valley Street Jail utterly destroyed the quality of life of a human being with a disability (bipolar disorder).];
b.) I would seek the immediate termination of the current medical care provider;
c.) I would advocate for a new secure facility for non-violent substance abusers with no other criminal record, so that they can receive proper treatment outside the pressures of the Valley Street Jail, and would see that the facility is located outside Northern Hillsborough County.
The County Commissioners, in my opinion, did a grave disservice when they allowed the women’s prison building in Goffstown to be demolished, as it could have been used for such a facility. Toni Pappas cites this as an accomplishment, tearing down the building, saying it leaves an opportunity for development, while saying elsewhere that there is a lack of money to do important things, like expanding nursing home care. In other words, they tore down the facility, which cost money, even though nothing is going to be done with the space, due to a lack of money.
That’s not an accomplishment, that’s a mistake.
d.) I would ask for a study on whether the old “County Farm” can be revived, where low-risk prisoners could get outside the jail and learn agricultural skills, working on what was once a farm in Grasmere. I used to see the prisoners, and the cows, when my family would drive by the County Complex on Mast Road, back when I was a kid. The County Farm could reduce County costs, as regards the purchase of food, by providing agricultural products and milk to the jail and other country facilities. Such outdoors work not only provides job skills training, but has therapeutic value. The food products harvested by the County Farm can help pay for the program, so it is not an unfunded mandate.
- Nursing Home
I will do everything in my power to see that seniors are kept safe, and live in a facility with proper medical care. I will continue efforts to access state and federal funding to improve the facility and expand the provision of at-home nursing care services to seniors.
I will insist on open government, and will report to the people of District 1 the true conditions of what is going on at the Nursing Home (as I will concerning all county facilities, such as the Valley Street Jail). There will be no cover ups.
For instance, how many people know that at Manchester’s Senior Center, seniors have complained of harassment, including arrest, of seniors who have complained about the Senior Center management? This situation was ignored by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and by the press.
How many other issues concerning seniors are being covered up? We know that substance abusers have been put into senior housing, in apparent violation of federal law, in order to get them off the streets. Many seniors are terrified, but their plight has been ignored by politicians.
I will give you my pledge, and you know me – I will stick by it: NO COVER-UPS! Not only that, I will actively search for waste, fraud, abuse and corruption and make sure that it is exposed. We must fight this together.
- Audit
The County and all its various entities should be subjected to a forensic audit in order to identify waste and eliminate it. In my opinion, it is outrageous the medical care provider at the Valley Street Jail is receiving $350,000 a year for care that has triggered multiple lawsuits, particularly in the wake of the 2016 revelations by the Union Leader about the tragedies caused by inadequate medical care.
There is a phrase, getting away with murder. While what has gone on in this county does not rise to that standard, I am of the opinion that the charge in a lawsuit claiming that there is an intentional and reckless disregard for human life at a certain county facility abetted by county officials is too truthful, sadly. That must stop. I will not be a party to it, and I will dedicate myself to changing the culture that gives rise to such an accusation.
Eight years ago, when the Valley Street medical care provider got the contact at the Stafford County Jail, it provided approximately twice as many hours for $3,500 per month. What is the justification for paying them nearly $30,000 a month? Why is care so poor, despite the 2016 scandal?
What is wrong with this County?
E.) Whistleblower Provisions
Toni Pappas is right when she says that the property tax rate has to be kept low. That is the reality we live with in New Hampshire, where over 90% of the funding for the County government comes from the property tax. Commissioner Pappas says, rightly, that she would like to expand nursing care to seniors, but the reliance on the way things are now means that can’t be done.
But something CAN BE DONE. Something can be done to make sure that your property tax dollars and fees that fund the County government actually go to providing services.
I have lived in many states, including Massachusetts, New York, two notoriously corrupt states. Yet, New Hampshire is the most corrupt state I’ve ever seen. The problem with New Hampshire is that it is dominated by a clique of people that have elected positions, and sit on the boards of directors of non-profits and municipal commissions. Jobs and, more importantly, contracts, are controlled by this clique.
There are no real conflict of interest laws in this State, since the state attorney general and county attorneys ignore what little, weak conflict of interest law there is. This is pathetic.
Whistleblower protections are one of the greatest means of combatting waste, abuse and fraud, and have saved hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending. Sadly, the Granite State has one of the weakest state laws on record.
As I have said, The Commissioners are not legislators, but there are things that can be done to save money that can be targeted at expanding services.
1.) I would insist that whistleblower provisions be inserted in all contracts, and that employees be given whistleblower rights;
2.) I would advocate before the County Convention for the strengthening of the state whistleblower law and conflict of interest laws.
- Human Rights
I would advocate for a County Human Rights Commission, and the establishment of a Civil Rights Division at the County Attorney’s office. I anticipate that I’ll face stiff opposition, which would be expressed in the time-honored Manchester-way, through silence and shunning. (My wish is that someday, Manchester will move out of an18th Century mentality crossed by the psychology of a junior high school playground and evolve into a late 20th Century mode of behavior, at least, where problems like sexual violence and gang activity in our schools, let alone the corruption that enriches the 500 people who have a semblance of actual power in this city, are acknowledged and addressed in adult manner.)
Such vehicles for ensuring equality before the law and justice could be criticized as, potentially, an unfunded mandate, but a Human Rights Commission and Civil Rights Division at the County level are needed. We have to start the fight for better government, one that protects all citizens, regardless of race, creed, color, gender, or sexual-affectional preference.
The New Hampshire Civil Rights Commission, which has been around since the time I graduated from West High, has issued five decisions on racial discrimination in 43 years. That is outrageous. Let’s start the revolution in Human Rights right here in Hillsborough County.
- Registers of Deeds and Probate
I will advocate that the Register of Probate be made into a real position, namely, as a citizen advocate for those regular citizens using the probate system. I will insist that the Register of Probate be given office space in the County Offices and a level of support, so as to champion the rights and needs of those accessing the probate system.
Furthermore, I will advocate for the reduction of the salary of the Register of Deeds to the 1974 level, the minimum it can be under state law, and use the money saved either for the hiring of another clerk at Deeds or dedicating it to providing public advocacy for users of the probate system. The salary for the Register of Deeds, an elected position in which there is no guarantee the winning candidate has any qualification for the job or can or will do the job, is too high.
In my opinion, the $60,000 dedicated to the salary for this position is outrageous and a waste of money. County government has to be rationalized.
What are the most important concerns facing you’ve heard from Manchester residents and how can you address those concerns if elected or re-elected?
Manchester is in chaos, and that effects north Hillsborough County. Manchester is in chaos due to having to shoulder the bulk of the substance abuse problem for the entire state. The collapse of the hub and spoke system and Nashua’s closing of Safe Station and its homeless shelter, choosing to do what other cities and municipalities do, send their problems to Manchester, overwhelmed the Queen City. This is not only inequitable and unfair, but irrational and immoral, and it has to stop.
The County Commission must play a role in stopping this, and anyone who knows me know that I will do everything in my power to rectify this problem. First, it needs to be identified by the County Commissioner for District 1.
It is no secret that Nashua enjoys a favored status with the Commission. For instance, it got a drug court first, well before Manchester finally get one, and that only after extraordinary efforts.
The Hillsborough County Commissioner for District 1 has to be an advocate for Manchester. Protecting Manchester protects north Hillsborough County.
As part of my campaign to be a public advocate for north Hillsborough County, I will attend Board of Mayor and Aldermen meetings in Manchester, and town meetings in Bedford and New Boston, to solicit information about problems and get feedback.
How is county government unique from municipal or state government in New Hampshire? Do you believe it is necessary?
By the way, Toni Pappas is wrong: New Hampshire does NOT have the third largest legislature in the world. If we only count the lower house and leave out upper chambers (Senates or Houses of Lords), the Granite State is tied with South Africa for 26th place.
In the English speaking world, including countries where English is the official language or enjoys official language status with others, New Hampshire ranks #7, after the Mother of All Parliaments in Westminster, London, England (the British Parliament), India, the U.S. Congress, South Africa, Pakistan, and Canada, and just before Uganda, when it comes to total number of legislators. If we stick to the lower house, it ties for fourth in the Anglophone world, with South Africa.
Times have changed, Toni.
Of state governments, New Hampshire is far the largest: Only Pennsylvania has more than 200 (50 state senators and the odd number of 203 state reps), and among the provincial parliaments of Canada, Quebec is largest with 120 in the lower house.
The size of the New Hampshire House of Representatives is absurd, as is the fact that each citizen has multiple reps, from the four I have to different numbers in different areas. This is not just irrational, it’s downright stupid. The failure to pay state legislatures is also downright stupid. The product of this downright stupid system is the Clown College of Concord, a nickname I’ll admit defames circus clowns, as even they have more dignity and are worthy or more respect than most New Hampshire state representatives, as they are professionals. An unelected dog catcher is deserving of more respect. Aside from the eight state reps on each side of the aisle who control things, the overwhelming majority of state reps can’t do anything for anybody, except maybe for themselves, trading their vote for favors or cash, or working on their ego problems or bizarre agendas. Most people I know can’t name more than one of their state reps.
The number of state reps should be slashed to either 120, and the number of state senators increased to either 30. There should not be more than 150 members of the General Court, and they should be paid far more generously than they are now. Each citizens should have ONE state rep. That is RATIONAL. That would create a General Court that is actually USEFUL.
The uniqueness of the New Hampshire political scene that effects the County Commissioners is the general lack of professionalism of most members of the General Court, which has cost the state dearly. I know of corporations that terminated operations in New Hampshire, or decided not to move here, as dealing with the New Hampshire legislature, with its amateurish politicians and fundamental instability (turnover in the state house of representatives is staggeringly high) means that they must deal with a constantly changing playing field. It’s easier to avoid dealing with such rank amateurs.
Incredibly, Granite Staters take an almost obscene pride in their Concord Clown College despite the fact that it’s dysfunctionality has made New Hampshire dysfunctional. Our state has grown by less than 100,000 people in the past 10 years. The New Hampshire Advantage is a myth, and an out-of-date campaign slogan (just as John Sununu’s son’s use of the Old Man in the Mountain for his posters, an amazing natural wonder the penny-wise pound-foolish mandarins of New Hampshire allowed to be destroyed, is woefully out-of-date). It’s time to wake up and start the process of change.
County government in New Hampshire, like in other Northeastern States, is weak compared to states in the South, such as Florida, and the West, like California, where the county government has a broader authority, including a mandate for public health. Though weak, that doesn’t mean that the Hillsborough County Commission cannot take proactive stances.
Unlike Commissioner Pappas, I don’t believe most people in Hillsborough County know what county government is, or how it works. The lack of interest for this race is proof of that. The Commissioners control a $118 million budget, and that comes primary from YOUR property tax. More people should care, but they don’t.
So much for there being awareness…..
I’ve met people who think Toni Pappas is a Democrat, not just because she is member of the bipartisan clique of politicians, developers, and directors of non-profits that controls most everything (and to a degree is responsible for the chaos in Manchester), but because two years ago, the party couldn’t find someone to run against her, as she was considered unbeatable. In the primary, I polled twice as many votes as the last Democrat to run against her. If we compare the results of our two primaries, that are open to independents, head to head, I beat Toni Pappas by 1,271 votes in Manchester, out-polling her in 10 of 12 wards, including her home ward, and by 700 votes district wide, despite there being a higher turnout of Republicans.
So much for her being unbeatable….
In my opinion, it would make sense to strengthen county government, and give it a role in coordinating public health care, and in the distribution of educational funds, to see that there is more equity among communities.
The County Commissioners play a vital role in resisting unfunded mandates from the state, in accordance to New Hampshire constitutional law. Because of this, as a County Commissioner, I can play a great role in resisting the downshifting of costs onto Manchester, Bedford and New Boston.
In your view, describe the political atmosphere in New Hampshire over the last two years. Do you believe this will have any impact on your position?
Governor Chris Sununu’s reputation is overblown. It’s hard to believe that this amiable do-nothing, the person who has done the most to harm Manchester and north Hillsborough County by closing down the hub and spoke system for substance abusers, should be so popular, just basically because he is not a Trumper. I feel that if Chris weren’t the son of a governor and former U.S. Senator, we would never have heard of him.
I believe that a vote for John Sununu’s son is a vote against Manchester. This is a person who insulted the Queen City and the Manchester Police Department in 2016, when he was battling Ted Gatsas for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Chris Sununu hasn’t changed. His behavior shows that he dislikes Manchester, and that attitude is a danger to north Hillsborough County. As a Democrat not beholden to him, or to my Party either, I can effectively counter his hostility.
Furthermore, the problem of chaos in Manchester will never be solved until the clique that controls Manchester has its power broken. The community of Manchester has been squeezed to the breaking point by the hand that grips it.
There are 500 people in Manchester who have direct access to the politicians that run the Queen City, a mere 500 of whom it can be said, have power. There are another 5,000 who have limited access, and enjoy limited power, primarily as they are connected to the 500 and use them to gain access. That leaves 110,000 people essentially powerless.
The Queen City needs good government. The Charter needs to be changed, so that the current mayoral system is replaced with a city manager system. The position of an elected mayor, with such broad powers, needs to be terminated, if Manchester is ever to be saved from the primitive “clientist” patronage politics of an older, more corrupt America.
The Board of Aldermen should be replaced with a City Council with 15 members. The City should be reduced to 10 wards, where the West Side is reduced to two wards (a district) and that is used as the yardstick to redraw the wards in the East Side. The five traditional areas — West Side, North End, South End, Central City, and East Side — would consist of two wards and be considered District. Each District would have a City Councilor-at-Large, to serve four years, while the 10 councilors serve two-year terms. (To become Councilor-at-Large, one would have had to serve at least two full terms as an City Councilor/aldermen or already be an alderman-at-large before the switch.)
The Councilors-at-Large would pick a mayor, or the mayor could be the Councilor at Large with the biggest vote. The mayor’s job would be ceremonial, though they would be the Chairman of the City Council, with a vote. The Councilors-at-Large would hire a City Manager, to be voted on by the Council. Approving or removing a City Manager and overriding the tax cap would require 10 votes.
Until this clique that controls government and profits from problems has its power broken, Manchester and north Hillsborough County are doomed to more decay.
What is the most significant issue facing Manchester at the municipal level and how can you, as a County Commissioner aid the city government on that issue?
As I have said, it is the substance abuse plague, and the reality that Concord (the General Court and the Governor) and the rest of the state, including southern Hillsborough County, have taken it upon themselves to exploit Manchester unmercifully, is the biggest problem. The closing of Safe Station and homeless shelters in Nashua is unconscionable, both for Nashua’s refusal to provide services, and its willful exploitation of Manchester.
The Valley Street Jail, de facto, is the primary place where mental health care treatment is being given to substance abusers, as most of them do have mental problems. A holding jail is not the place for this, and putting young substance abusers in with hardened criminals, many of whom are in transit to other institutions, is not a good thing.
The ENTIRE County needs to tackle this issue. We need a new, low-security facility where substance abusers who have run afoul of the law can be treated, without the pressures faced by being locked up with hard-core criminals. That facility should be located in southern Hillsborough County, preferably Nashua, as the burden of taking care of the County and the Granite State’s substance abuse problem shouldn’t be shouldered primarily by Manchester, with little help from the State and other communities.
Recreating a county farm, where substance abusers without extensive records could work the land, shepherd milk cows, tend beehives and chicken coops, and produce vegetables, eggs, milk and honey — obtaining vocational skills that can be used later on — is something that should be seriously considered. Gardening, working the land, working with animals, is excellent therapy, too. Perhaps a corporate partner could sponsor and help manage a new Hillsborough County Farm.
With the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 in the future, do you support the County Commission meeting remotely?
Yes. The County should do all it can to access federal and state aid to help combat this public plague. At the Veterans Administration Medical Center, I was told recently that they anticipated that the COVID plague would last through 2022, at least. We all need to do more.
In your opinion, what were the five most significant actions taken by the County Commission over the last two years? Please explain what made them significant.
Perhaps we should talk about the most significant actions the County Commission DID NOT TAKE over the past two years.
The failure of the County Commissioners, of which my opponent, Toni Pappas, serves as chair of the Board of Commissioners, to address the problems at the notorious Valley Street Jail is shameful. How many lawsuits related to inadequate healthcare will there be?
When will judges finally rule, after the revelations of lawsuit after lawsuit, that the training of correctional officers is inadequate, and that it creates a liability for the County?
Whistleblower provisions are ESSENTIAL to eliminating abuse at the Valley Street Jail. As I have said, a recent novel based on the jail revealed that the C.O.s (jailers) cover up for each other, that they engage in the falsification of records. I’m sure that this novel will have an impact on future litigation.
Toni Pappas says she would like to save money on healthcare costs at the Valley Street Jail. She fails to notice the failure to improve medical care since the 2016 scandal. She wants the healthcare costs of jailed people, awaiting trial, to be borne by Medicaid, Social Security and veterans benefits…. I ask, why is the current medical provider being paid $350,000 a year for the inadequate medical care?
Pappas plays the property tax card, then says she wants to expand services, such providing more home-based nursing care for seniors. In a system that relies on property taxes for more than 90% of its revenue, how is that going to happen? A windfall from the federal government? If he Republican Party wins the Presidency, does anyone believe that Trump, a champion of rolling back Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, is going to miracle more money to Hillsborough County?
That’s not going to happen. Nothing is going to change if Toni Pappas is reelected.
The County Commissioners will continue to apologize for a system where there have to be cut to services, and remain content with paying an overinflated price for inadequate medical care at the jail. The recent lawsuit filed by the estate of former Mayor Emile Beaulieu, who allegedly died from medical malpractice at the County Nursing Home, begs the question: Is the medical care there inadequate, too?
What will continue if Toni Pappas is reelected is the philosophy and practice of cutting the price of a “bed” at the Valley Street jail to compete for out of state prisoners, to generate revenue. This human trafficking in prisoners is part of the public safety industry. I don’t plan to be a party to human trafficking, or the cover up of waste, fraud, corruption and abuse.
We must have a forensic audit. We must have conflict of interest provisions, to make sure that those involved in the law enforcement/incarceration industry are not enriching themselves.
There must be whistleblower provisions in contracts, including collective bargaining contracts, with claw back provisions that would enable the County to battle waste, fraud, abuse and corruption. Enabling whistleblowers would do much to eliminate the tragedies that have been committed at County facilities. It would also do much to preserve the property tax dollars of Hillsborough County North citizens, which can be used to expand services.
None of this will happen if Toni Pappas is reelected.
I pledge to you, if elected County Commissioner, I will dedicate myself to good government. Let’s fight against waste, fraud, abuse and corruption together.