Beth Dillaha: Hypocritical. Unethical. #1.

Beth Dillaha, Fall 2007 Campaign Pledge:

“Individuals elected to our City Commission are delegated a serious responsibility by the voters, and must gain and maintain the trust of those voters. When differences arise, such officials must have the ability to subordinate their personal philosophies to those valued by the citizens, who they represent. I can, and will, do that.”

Beth Dillaha, Fall 2008 campaign position on Commuter Rail:

“In March [2007], the citizens approved a commuter-rail stop in Winter Park, and I fully support the citizens.”

Beth Dillaha, January 2008 candidate forum: When asked if elected would she vote to support the commuter rail agreement with Orange County she responded, “It’s a done deal.”

Beth Dillaha letter published in the Orlando Sentinel, election day, January 29. 2008:

“With regard to commuter rail, this project was unanimously approved by the mayor and commissioners two weeks ago, and the design for the stop in Central Park is currently under way. In fact, citizens have an opportunity for input regarding the design of the stop and can visit www.cityofwinterpark.org for more information.”

Beth Dillaha 2008 campaign brochures: “Winter Park voters are smart.”

March 24, 2008: Beth Dillaha is sworn in as a City Commissioner.

April 2, 2008: Beth Dillaha email to Paula Dockery, State Senator from Lakeland:

“I am newly elected to the Winter Park City Commission. Commuter Rail was very hotly contested here and became a political issue with strong backing by the local Chamber of Commerce, realtors and developers. In fact, a PAC was formed to push it through. This became so hotly contested that the citizens, not trusting the City Commission at the time, managed to collect enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot and to the voters of our city.” [PJW: The PAC was formed in direct response to a few citizens who worked to get a referendum with the intent to kill commuter rail. Not the other way around.]

…later in this email…

“As an elected official, it is my duty to support the passage of the Commuter Rail referendum and we (the city) are looking at a design for a “stop” in our Central Park. However, I voted against the measure recognizing – as you have – that this represents a huge taxpayer burden with no real benefit.”

Understand what is going on here:

Beth Dillaha laid out a set of laudible principals in 2007, then compromised those principles and intentionally mislead the voters of Winter Park about her position on commuter rail (that’s a nice way of saying she is a liar). She played the voters for fools and began pursuing her personal anti-commuter rail agenda immediately after being seated as a Winter Park City Commissioner.

April 6, 2008: Beth Dillaha email to Paula Dockery, State Senator from Lakeland:

“The majority of our City Commission does not support Commuter Rail.” [PJW: How does she know this?]

“I walk a fine line since there was a referendum here on Commuter Rail. It narrowly passed and passed for reasons I mentioned. The majority of citizens do not want a rail stop In our historic Central Park.” [PJW: But wait, she got elected in part by saying, “In March {2007}, the citizens approved a commuter-rail stop in Winter Park, and I fully support the citizens.”]

… and then the pièce de résistance from the April 6 correspondance:

“At a time when our state government is slashing its budget including funding for education, I find it appalling that the state would spend this kind of money on an unnecessary project that may benefit 9000 individuals in Central Florida at the expense of the rest of the state. We already have severe water shortages from the unchecked growth in Orange County and have established an unsustainable region in the state. This topic makes the newspaper on a daily basis. How we will be able to double the population here with the help of Commuter Rail and intensive densification and maintain any quality of life is something I can’t quite understand.”

There you have it. The ultimate hypocrisy wrapped in complete disregard for her fiduciary responsibility. Beth Dillaha intentionally hid her beliefs and agenda from the voters. Beth Dillaha treated her election as a means to impose her personal militant anti-growth agenda not just on Winter Park, but indeed, on the entire State of Florida! Unbounded righeousness ready to serve us all. “… officials must have the ability to subordinate their personal philosophies to those valued by the citizens.”

Really.

Are Beth Dillaha’s actions hypocritical and unethical? Here are the definitions you need to decide.