Who Do They Work For?

The Local Puppy Trainer notes that Local officials angry at some of Don and Matt Gaetz’s proposals

Not to be outdone by his son, state Sen. Don Gaetz sponsored a bill that would have eliminated the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority and two expressway authorities.

The senior Gaetz said he could have gotten the legislation passed — and saved taxpayers about $25 million a year — but the response from local governments, the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce and the county’s Economic Development Council made the effort seem silly.

“There’s a point at where you’ve got to decide not to fight to give people what they don’t want,” Don Gaetz said.
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“This is an example of a member of the Okaloosa County Commission putting the interests of the Florida Association of Counties above the interests of Okaloosa County,” said [Matt] Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach.

He said no one from the county contacted him before the committee meeting.

“It is very hard with the small Northwest Florida delegation to get concessions from other parts of the state. I did a lot of heavy lifting, and to have Okaloosa County show up and trash a bill without consulting me was incredibly embarrassing to me and could have undermined my efforts,” he said.
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Rep. [Matt] Gaetz said it is not a state legislator’s job to “walk lock step with local government.”

“I don’t represent local government. I represent the taxpayer,” he said.

First off, Matt, you are actually supposed to be representing the people who live in your district, all whom pay taxes, one way or another, and when you put forward proposals that are going to cost them a lot of money in local taxes, you should talk to them first. They are the same people who elected the county officials that you didn’t consult before you decided to “cut a deal” that would cost counties a lot of money.

Since you don’t seem to know much about local people outside of your small circle of friends, you obviously aren’t much of a representative.

As for you, Don, people like local control of local resources, especially when they are the ones paying for them. Letting Tallahassee have control means the money will go to the state and not be returned.