Dems get special hurricane help
Perks, perks, perks:
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown’s office asked Mayor John Peyton’s chief of staff to help protect her Jacksonville home from rising floodwater Friday.
Adam Hollingsworth, who once worked for Brown, told city workers to deliver sandbags to her home, something he now says was a judgment error. No one else would get such preferential treatment, he said when contacted by the Times-Union, and Brown will be billed by the city for reimbursement.
Hollingsworth also told city workers to deliver sandbags to City Councilwoman Denise Lee, this time unsolicited.
Peyton did not condemn Hollingworth’s actions, saying Friday he was “delighted our public works employees were able to help save these homes.”
Ronnie Simmons, Brown’s chief of staff, said the congresswoman’s area director called the city’s Public Works Office and asked for help. He said he thought the city offered sandbags to residents whose homes were being flooded.
…About a dozen white sandbags were stacked in front of Brown’s garage Friday night. A man outside the house Friday night told the Times-Union the bags were not delivered by the city. He was wearing a dark blue Emergency Operations Center shirt but said he didn’t work for the city.
Uh-huh.
Neighbors of City Councilwoman Lee didn’t take the insult lying down:
Lee said Peyton and Hollingsworth called her Friday afternoon to inform her of the evacuation of a nursing home in her district. During the call, she said, Hollingsworth asked her if she needed any assistance and she said no.
Lee said she was surprised when a city worker showed up at her home and offered help.
Her neighbors said they were infuriated by what they saw as six or seven city trucks drove up to Lee’s home. Workers carried sandbags onto the property until the neighbors complained. Then the workers began carrying the sandbags back out to their trucks.
“Not one other person who lives on this street was offered sandbags,” said Jamie Sevelius, who believes the incident gave the impression that Lee was using her position as a city official for personal gain.
“At some level, you know there are perks that go with every job,” Sevelius said. “But when someone does something so blatant, in your face, it’s like ‘I’m going to do what I want and the heck with you little people.’
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Democrats
Pundit & Pundette
» Our new overlords are just getting started
Daily Caller
» Bart Stupak is either not very smart of he’s not very honest. There really is no other optionNewsBusters.org
» New Republic: Hated Senate ObamaCare Bill Suddenly Becomes 'Masterfully Crafted Piece of Legislation' Upon PassageDoug Ross @ Journal
» Barney Frank on the Rule of LawSister Toldjah
» Time to shame some House Dems, Senator Tom CoburnBetsys Page
» Cruising the Web
Its all one way for the dems. This too will be swept under the “rug” no matter how soiled or wet it may be.
Special treatment? Nah, there was no special treatment here.
I just wonder if she’ll keep her seat or not.
“I’m going to do what I want and the heck with you little people”
Sounds like the oath of office for a politician.
This is the way most politicos abuse their privileges. And the abuse is not exclusive to the dems either.
To quote the great homer simpson,,,
D’UH
Double D’UH! I work for Emergency Operations..he had on the shirt, he was delivering at their behest. LOL
Good thing the truck did not get stuck in the yard trying to get the safe with $90.000.00 in it…..sorry wrong dem….
Wasn’t it William jefferson who commandeered a national guard boat after
Katrina to go to his house claiming an emergency? Just like their political idols,all are equal but some are more equal than others.
Hmm, stonewalling on sandbagging.
But at least no goldbricking…
There are two America’s: the ruling Proletariat, and the rest of us poor, crawling worms.
That’s the democrats plan for the future.
poppop,
Are you calling our wonderful public officials pigs?
I like Democrats. I can’t wait for Obama to win, win, win! Yay!
Business as usual.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
My daughter’s apartment patio doors open right onto the St. John’s river in JAX. She evacuated and, fortunately, the water came up on the patio but wasn’t high enough to enter her place. The worst problem was a blown off screen door.
Perhaps the city sandbagged for her when she wasn’t looking and picked them up before she got back?
In your best Jon Lovitz voice, “Yeah, that’s what happened! Yeah, that’s the ticket!”
You gotta remember just how hard these politicians work for their constituents.
They need these extra perks. The taxpayer doesn’t need anything.
c’mon you guys know she was just using her property for a drop off point for the entire neighborhood to use.
The perks, how numerous they are.
Calling mayor Nagin!
Those of us who live in the Jax area find this to be biz-as-usual for Brown (and Lee).
They think they are elite. Better than us low life normal people. When will people wake up and see the stupidity ?
Dance puppet, dance.
Maybe they were trying to save their library containing political speeches.
Doesn’t matter – they’d always be dry.
it reminds me of the katrina story about a local congressman who “perked” his way onto a fema truck and liberated his bribe loot from his flooded house. funny how the msm never reports these compelling human interest stories. oh well, they are too busy covering the homosexual picadillos of some republican congressman to cover mere human interest stories. after all, everyone of them is edward r. murrow, woodward and bernstien, and oliver stone rolled into one. they have to investigate these corruption cases because they are investigative reporters. so don’t email your gay lover, or tap your foot in a toilet, or have an affair with an intern (oh my bad, that was the guy they tried to cover up for until that damned blue dress turned up). but get caught with 90 large in your freezer, or having city workers protect your house in a flood (did she have flood insurance?) and the msm goes to sleep, if you have a d behind your name. in st louis this week, the chief of police retired with an 800k golden parachute and 7k per month for life after being caught using the impound car lot as his families personal rent a car for free PERK. oh yes, he has a d behind his name too.
Sandbags for me and not for thee.
To quote the GREAT STAN LAUREL, “That’s my story, and I’m stuck with it”…
I love watching Corrine on TV on the House floor when she wears one of her fancy wigs……kind of reminds me of Dumb Donald of Fat Albert fame.
These are the people who use class envy as a political weapon. No wonder they understand it so well.
The ELITE are at it again..
Shame on the “ordinary” US citizen for not being aware of the fact>>>>>>
Talk about double standards. Our house in Pensacola was damaged by Hurricane Ivan when my husband was forward deployed fighting the second battle for Fallujah — we were told we were “ineligible” for ANY assistance because we weren’t “occupying” the house the day Ivan hit….not even a cheap blue tarp from FEMA …thank God the retired military in the area came to our rescue….
These people have NO shame. Exposing the hypocriscy and chicanery is the type of “change” I’m looking for, but I doubt the BO will deliver.
And just think, we have the power to change most of the scandals with our vote, but because the MSM doesn’t find the stories newsworthy, we don’t get to hear about them so that an informed vote can be cast.
It depends on the meaning of “work”.
NYAndy, glad your daughter came out of it alright.She had to fend for herself while the officials,people whose salary your daughter helps pay,helped themselves and each other.I wouldnt call them pigs,pigs wallow in the mud. The politicians let the “little” people stay in the mud.I call them worse than pigs!
I’ve gotten used to democrats and their supporters making mistakes and trying to cover them up with the help of the MSM.
But way to give one up for the common folk, huh?
I thought democrats were supposed to represent the small fry.
Guess not.
Since when do municipalities operate as private contractors for private citizens? Of course, the offer to pay reimbursement only came up after the press got a hold of the story. Imagine the things that go on that we do not hear about. To be fair, it happens on either side of the spectrum. Just seems as if the Dems have a lot more of this type of behavior in their favor.
BTW, anyone else notice the party of the congresswoman was conviently omitted from the headlines regarding this story? You can always tell. The ‘R’ is prominently displayed if there is even a hint of impropriety from a Republican.
What you didn’t hear or read in the article was the mayor’s response when asked about it.
“I am delighted that we were able to save those two houses.”
I live in Jax, and I heard this story on the radio this morning while I was trying to get my car unstuck from my quagmire of a front yard. Corinne said something along the lines of, “I did what people are supposed to do when they need help, I called the Government. The Government is supposed to help people when they need it”.
Thinking my problems were solved, I excitedly called our convenient 630-CITY help line. Imagine my surprise when they didn’t offer to come free my vehicle. “But-but Corinne said I was supposed to call you!”, I cried, but they said I had to be at least a city councilman to qualify. They did offer to send me an application for a taxpayer-subsidized bus voucher, but that’s all.
I’m so disillusioned.
Some pigs are more equal than others. — Animal Farm
We the voters have no one to blame but, ourselves…. We have to POWER to HIRE and FIRE but for the most part we do not care enough to go out and vote let alone become involved in the process. Shame on us for not living up to expecations of the Founding Fathers for our FREESOMS!!!!!!!!!!!