OUR VIEW: Commissioners need to stay in their county lane
The Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners spent over an hour on June 24 arguing about a resolution regarding illegal immigration. It was an hour of commissioners’ time they can never get back. It was an hour of our life we will never get back. It was an hour of time when nothing was being done for the citizens of Santa Rosa County.
The Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners spent over an hour on June 24 arguing about a resolution regarding illegal immigration. It was an hour of commissioners’ time they can never get back. It was an hour of our life we will never get back. It was an hour of time when nothing was being done for the citizens of Santa Rosa County.
The resolution, brought forward by Commissioner James Calkins, was ultimately voted down. To summarize the document, it basically said that illegal immigrants were not welcome in Santa Rosa County. (The word “welcome” was changed to “support” in a later version of the document).
The truth is that the document, whether it passed or not, wouldn’t have accomplished anything. It is way out of county commissioners’ jurisdiction and doesn’t change a darn thing.
Illegal immigration is illegal in the United States. Therefore, it’s clearly illegal in Santa Rosa County. The commission is ultimately welcome to take a stand against anything it wants, and many in Santa Rosa County could probably get behind the idea of illegal immigration being an important national election issue.
But ultimately the commission’s job is to support the sheriff’s office, which passes along any arrest information related to documented status to federal law enforcement.
Instead, the commission spent a great deal of time arguing back and forth with Calkins. Commissioners Colten Wright and Kerry Smith called the resolution a political ploy by Calkins to try to rally voters and to try to split the commission.
They’re right. It was a political ploy. No doubt about it. Political ploy…grandstanding…running for office from the dais…being ridiculous. All of the above.
Voters and taxpayers should care that items like this get added to the agenda and then turn a relatively normal meeting into one where commissioners are shouting at each other to “shut up” and talking election season.
While we understand the rhetoric during this particular conversation, the commissioners spent well over an hour talking about something out of their jurisdiction and got absolutely nothing accomplished. To be clear, even if it had passed 5-0, it would’ve accomplished nothing. Illegal immigration would be just as illegal.
The commissioners need to spend the majority of their time doing the business of the people of Santa Rosa County and finding a way to improve the quality of life in this area. Arguing over politics doesn’t accomplish that. Neither does making a fool of yourself.
And bringing resolutions that are political in nature don’t either.
We hope we see less of this type of conversation through the rest of election season.