"The process needs to play out. A rush to making decisions pro or con is to me very poor leadership."
~~ Fred Hawkins Jr, March 5, 2018
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One month after that statement, Fred Hawkins, Jr. rallied his County Commissioner troops (he was Chair at the time), his henchman Charles Lee of Florida Audubon and through a series of secreted backdoor events* issued a letter to Tavistock Development supporting the very road that he said we should wait to consider until completion of the PD&E studies.
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Split Oak Forest is a mitigation bank conserved IN PERPETUITY to offset destroyed habitat in other areas which allowed development on lands that encroached on important habitat. Fred Hawkins, at the behest of major contributors to his campaign, chooses to ignore the law and actively promotes the alignment that builds the road through a portion of these public lands.
Allowing a road to be built on lands that were conserved to offset prior development would set a bad precedent and put at risk conservation lands throughout the State of Florida. This shows that Fred Hawkins has no regard for prior commitments made to conserve natural Florida within Osceola County when it comes to offsetting the habitat damaging over-development that he has voted for over the past 12 years. Imagine if he is allowed to a higher post at the State level. No area of beauty in Florida would be safe.
It's unfortunate that on major issues regarding the preservation of our quality of life it always falls on deaf ears where Fred is concerned. Fred talks a good talk but then does the exact opposite of what he recommends the citizens do...such as letting the process play out.
Recall my email to the BOCC? WHAT??????? Fred's alarming email to me!
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I won't fall for Fred's bull and you shouldn't either!
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Fred cares about his constituents....NOT
As an aside, I am touched that Fred was "...only looking out for [me]" concerning a sunshine law violation. I am troubled that only by ignoring the suggestion to recall my email were the additional facts from the County Attorney brought forth which put the threat of a private citizen being in violation of the sunshine laws into a proper perspective. Based on my follow-up research it is highly unlikely. At the time, the Dorworth case appears to be the first and only instance of an indictment and the ruling exonerating him was upheld on appeal.
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I honestly believe, that with the Tavistock letter in the works Fred didn't want any of the other commissioners to consider valid, workable alternatives. I shudder to think what other citizens might do if they received similar requests from Fred Hawkins to recall emails. My sister from NY thought he was trying to intimidate me. I thought he was playing fast and loose with the intention of the Sunshine Law...ok.. and maybe trying to see if I'd fall for his scare tactics. Didn't work....I just stood my ground and copied the newspapers on my reply.
Seems Fred was really looking out for HIMSELF. In light of this, I say #HellNoHawkins2020
*COMING SOON: Fred Hawkins behind the scenes dealings in selling out Split Oak Forest to favor his campaign contributing developer friends' wants.
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