Reply #9: Was a member of the Orange County DEC for a long time [View All]

[dryan]

I am sorry to say that the chair has a personal agenda. He was on the payroll of the organization that was try to stop the constructor of the Central Connector but didn't bother to tell anyone in the DEC (he wasn't chair then). He took a lot of time off from work to lobby in Tallahassee and then he wanted the DEC to buy him a new car and pay his bills. I was on the board at the time and opposed it. Sorry, but we work hard for every donation and its not so someone can have a new car. You some times find people who volunteer in politics that have their priorities fouled up. Believe me I love politics (whether there is an election going on or not) but my job and family come first. The DEC had (and probably still does) have a rule that if you miss 2 meetings in a row you are off the Committee. In 1990 my mother-in-law was desperately ill and we missed a meeting--that was in April. Then the next month my husband's new boss's wife scheduled a cocktail party the same night as the DEC meeting. I called our chair at the time -- Irby Pugh and told him that we would not be at the meeting. Both Irby and Doug said they did not get the message and we were dropped. People tell me that Doug has finally grown up but I don't believe it.