Florida State University Economics Professor Dr. Randall Holcombe has issued a strong denunciation of a campaign flyer distributed by Winter Garden Mayor Jack Quisenberry to attack his opponent, City Commissioner Rod Reynolds.
The Quesinberry flyer, which extensively quotes and reprints an Orlando Sentinel column by Scott Maxwell who states that "misinformation" was used by Ax the Tax Chairman Doug Guetzloe in a recent commuter rail discussion at the Winter Garden City Commission meeting, was mailed to all Winter Garden voters.
Holcombe, a member of Governor Bush's Council of Economic Advisors and a distinguished Florida State University professor stated, Commissioner Reynolds did nothing dishonest in the incident the Quesinberry campaign cites. His actions were completely ethical, and he was acting in the best interests of Winter Garden residents."
"The negative campaign flyer quotes exclusively Scott Maxwell's column which was not an accurate reflection of the situation. The negative opinions of the Sentinel's Maxwell were eagerly distributed by the Quesinberry campaign as accurate and factual in an attempt to destroy Commissioner Reynolds' credibility. We appreciate Professor Holcombe's statement which clearly states the facts and disputes both Maxwell's column and Quesinberry's improper use of that article," stated Guetzloe.
Quesinberry supports the commuter rail project, and Reynolds is opposed.
The election for Mayor will be held next Tuesday.
“Commissioner Reynolds did nothing dishonest in the incident the Quesinberry campaign cites. His actions were completely ethical, and he was acting in the best interests of Winter Garden residents,”
…Dr. Randall Holcombe
Statement by Dr. Randall Holcombe
The Jack Quesinberry campaign has issued a political advertisement questioning the honesty of Commissioner Rod Reynolds, saying, “If you can’t trust them to tell the truth on the campaign trail, how can you trust them to lead our city?” Because I was involved in the incident the Quesinberry campaign cites as an example of dishonesty, I want to set the record straight. Commissioner Reynolds did nothing dishonest in the incident the Quesinberry campaign cites. His actions were completely ethical, and he was acting in the best interests of Winter Garden residents.
Here is what happened. On the eve of a hearing in Winter Garden to consider the advisability of a light rail project, Doug Guetzloe of Ax the Tax contacted me via e-mail to get an economic analysis of the project. We exchanged several e-mails regarding the cost of the project. Because time was short Mr. Guetzloe issued a press release based on numbers I sent him that contained erroneous information, without checking with me first about the accuracy of the numbers. The numbers in that press release were the result of a misunderstanding between Mr. Guetzloe and me. Once Mr. Guetzloe realized the numbers were inaccurate, he retracted the press release.
Commissioner Reynolds quoted numbers from that press release, believing they were accurate and that I had approved them. When he found out otherwise, he said the numbers he had cited from the press release were inaccurate. Nothing Commissioner Reynolds did was dishonest. He cited numbers he thought came from a reliable authority, and when he discovered that was not the case, he said the numbers he had earlier cited were inaccurate.
Those are the facts, and based on them I want to make three points.
1. The numbers Commissioner Reynolds initially cited were the result of a misunderstanding between Mr. Guetzloe and me. Nobody intended to mislead anyone, and in any event Commissioner Reynolds had nothing to do with producing those numbers.
2. I was happy to cooperate with Mr. Guetzloe on this issue because, except in the largest cities, commuter rail projects are not cost-effective and do not reduce traffic congestion. Central Floridians would be better off devoting that money to roads. Despite the inaccurate numbers in the press release, Mr. Guetzloe and Commissioner Reynolds are on the right side of this issue.
3. I support Ax the Tax and I support the efforts of those elected officials who oppose commuter rail, because commuter rail is not an effective way to spend transportation dollars.
|
