Escambia County Commission Chairman Vote This Week Comes With a Public-Conduct Debate

The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners will vote this week for its next chairman, and the vote arrives with a public argument about conduct on the dais. In an opinion piece published by the Pensacola News Journal, a contributor argued that the chairman's role should go to someone who encourages citizen participation, maintains decorum and treats residents with respect.

The contributor wrote that Commissioner Steve Stroberger has repeatedly used the dais to demean and belittle citizens who come forward to speak, and that at the October 15 meeting he directed personal attacks at two speakers, suggesting that one citizen spoke only because she was running for office. According to the contributor, another commissioner called the following morning to apologize and describe the conduct. The piece also recounts Stroberger's remarks during the board's discussion of the OLF-8 development, where he spoke of a good relationship with the developer.

Against that record, the contributor held up Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger as having consistently encouraged participation and treated residents with dignity, and argued the commission should consider what qualities it wants in its next chairman. The First Amendment, the piece noted, protects citizens' freedom of speech, and county commission meetings are one of the primary places where citizens exercise that right. The board's vote is scheduled for this week.