Last night was the last regular BP commission meeting for Commissioner (and former mayor) Roxanna Ross. I joined other residents in taking to the podium during public comment to thank Rox for her service to this community and to commend her for her selfless work on behalf of this village for the past nine years. In an effort to keep the focus on Rox, I resisted the urge to bring up the raping of our medians that’s taking place at the direction of the village manager … or his dereliction of duty regarding code enforcement village-wide … or our mayor lying to residents about the perils of voter suppression in Biscayne Park.
The passion, time and energy that Rox has thrown into that position is worthy of some public comment here, as well. Words used to describe Rox last night also distinguish her from her undistinguished and indistinguishable colleagues on the dais: prepared, thoughtful, available, responsive, reliable, steady, strategic, visionary and accountable, even from residents (including me) who admitted that they may not have agreed with every decision and choice Rox made on our behalf.
Hats off to Roxanna Ross! She will be missed on the BP commission. She's the very kind of leader every community would want, and our other commissioners pale in comparison to her on the dais. To put it bluntly, she makes them look like a clown car spilling out of the Log Cabin.
Couldn't agree more Fred. Its actually a little scary that she wont be there even if she was shut out and marginalized. At least she was in there keeping an eye on these individuals. Now we have the inmates running the asylum without adult supervision. Am I the only one seriously concerned here? I am reminded of a quote I read yesterday by
ReplyDeleteJohn Adams over 200 years ago that we can apply today Notionally as well as locally. He said " If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall posses the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin". We are there right now, in the Village and in our Nation! Im happy for Rox that shes out but Im sad for us because we need people like her to prevent our ruin.
No Art you aren't the only seriously concerned.....anyone who is at all paying attention is right there with you. It doesn't matter that I may not have always agreed with Rox. I always knew I could trust her to stay on top of things, to be detail oriented without getting hung up on minutia, to be the adult in the room. The budget workshops and hearings are a prime example. She was literally the only one there prepared and who knew her stuff. The others just blindly followed whatever they were told. And we see how well that worked out. They had to re-advertise and hold the 2nd hearing again last night and if I heard correctly there was a problem there too and that re-hearing has been postponed until tonight. All this with the attorney being paid by the hour. To paraphrase one of Mac's favorite songs "you don't know what you've lost til it's gone."
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ReplyDeleteIt has been my great pleasure to work with Rox for the past 15 years. She is a dedicated, thoughtful, diligent, and honest person. I personally observed and, frankly, marveled at the amount of free time she gave to the Village. How she was treated in return by an uncomfortably large number of our neighbors is an embarrassment beyond words. Although that abhorrent behavior is sadly consistent with how Overton's Window has shifted in recent years.
ReplyDeleteI really wouldn't know where to begin about Rox. I have family in from out of town, and I wasn't at the meeting last night, but I couldn't have confined myself to the strictly allotted time anyway.
ReplyDeleteI was going to do a post called "Roxy Ross is an Embarrassment," in which I was going to talk about how embarrassing it is to watch, or be, anyone else on the Commission when Rox is there. I could see myself led, though, to talk about other Commissioners who were also good (although no one, to my knowledge, like Rox), and I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to seem unappreciative of other past Commissioners, some of whom I like or who are my friends.
Richard Ederr is a good friend of mine, and everything I have heard about his long time on the Commissions leads me to believe he was an excellent Commissioner and Mayor. I've already said I thought John Hornbuckle did a very good job leading meetings. And I have a special fondness for Kelly Mallette, who I thought did as good a job as she could have, considering that she was too often not here (she spends a lot of her time lobbying in Tallahassee, and did too many BP meetings by telephone).
But I have never seen or heard of anyone like Roxy Ross. And for much of her nine years on the Commissions, she functioned under idiotic and childish flak from various other Commissioners. The most recent fools are maybe the worst, or maybe not, but typical of the nonsense. And despite whatever demons plagued these other losers, I feel sure that part of their resistance to Roxy was their embarrassment: the knowledge they must have had that they were hopelessly inferior. Which they certainly were.
Again, not to diminish certain other past Commissioners (and very few of them), I would still say that Roxy, and Chuck, Ross were the best thing ever to happen to this neighborhood.
Fred, speaking for myself I thank you for your overwhelming kind remarks about me, but there are a number of residents that devote their time and money to the neighborhood. For example, you were the impetus for the first sculpture, actually all three, and have contributed a significant amount of money for all three sculptures. We have a number of long time board members that devote their time and energy to the Village and I appreciate all of their hard work as well.
ReplyDeleteSo let's focus on Rox as she has done an outstanding job as an elected official and the compliments she has received are greatly appreciated by me and Rox. I'm very proud of the work that she accomplished and how she conducted herself.
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DeleteChuck,
DeleteThere are many people who have added value to the neighborhood over the years. Some have been Commissioners, and some have not. Some have been, or are now, on Boards. Some are just helpful, interested, and available. If you're suggesting that I could be counted as someone who has added value to the neighborhood, thanks. I appreciate the recognition. That makes me one of the many.
But my comment was specifically about Rox, and about you. I agree with you that Rox did an outstanding job as a Commissioner. She is smart, organized, up to date, level-headed, composed, graceful, generous with her dedication (as Drew pointed out), and a special credit to the Village when it comes to creating liaisons with people outside the Village. And, as I said, she has done it under often very unfavorable conditions. She just ended two years with four complete losers and failures on the Commission. We've all seen what happens when people like Steve Bernard, Bryan Cooper, Barbara Watts, Noah Jacobs, Tracy Truppman, Jenny Johnson-Sardella, and Harvey Bilt get flustered. Rox took far more than any of these people ever did, and she acquitted herself perfectly. And I wound up feeling that Rox was almost always right. Whenever I disagreed with her about anything, I assumed I was missing something. I almost always learned or figured out what it was. The only important time I ever thought she was wrong was about her refusal to join me in asking P&P to make us a median scheme. And I'm still not completely sure Rox wasn't somehow more right than I was. Although unless she explains to me, I'll doubt it.
And you have been a uniquely stabilizing and organizing influence in the Park, without ever having been elected to anything. You're just there. You're knowledgeable, you're careful, and you, like Rox, are very well organized. Among a number of other things, you are the heart and soul of CrimeWatch.
And the other thing about both of you is that it's never about either of you. My experience of each of you is that you are genuinely dedicated to the Village and what's best for it. I wouldn't say that's not true of anyone else, but it's definitely true of you and Rox.
So thank you both again.
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ReplyDeleteHow interesting to see neighbors with varying opinions and perspectives, here and on Nextdoor, all agreeing that Rox was a great elected leader, even though they admit to not agreeing with all of her opinions and decisions. That’s the sign of a TRUE leader, when she can pull people together rather than pushing them apart and dividing a community. I hope our other elected officials, incumbent and incoming, take notice to how Rox accomplished that and learn from her. Biscayne Park would benefit enormously.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the honor of this post Mac, Fred and contributors, Art, Janey, and my boss Drew, finally Chuck, without whom I would be a much lesser person. I am boosted and appreciate your recognition and kind words. The last 18 months, give or take, were by far the most frustrating and trying with little to show for the efforts. But, overall my personal journey in these past 9 year was educational, eye-opening, challenging at times, but also joyful and very gratifying. Whatever fruits realized for our community in that time came by many hands and contributing influences.
ReplyDeleteYour support and your friendship are dear to me, held in high esteem way beyond my last day on Commission. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Rox