VIEWPOINT
GBSA should not have endorsed candidate
By Bill Fisher Gulf Breeze

As soon as we opened the mailing from Gulf Breeze Sports Association (GBSA) my wife and I knew something was wrong. This was a City organization endorsing a candidate for City election. Wasn't that a conflict of interest? I went to the internet and, sure enough, the Gulf Breeze City Seal was proudly displayed at the top of every GBSA web page and 'City of Gulf Breeze' at the bottom. We felt certain the Gulf Breeze City Council (GBCC) would recognize how inappropriate this was and would quickly move to censure GBSA and publicly correct the mistake. How wrong we were. The election came and went without a word.

We thought maybe they needed a nudge to open a public discussion and investigation, so we wrote the first of three letters. These letters elicited only two responses, both from Mr. Eddy, Gulf Breeze City Manager (thank you). All of these letters are public record and presumably available from the city clerk. Members of the GBCC were not interested in pursuing the issue. Mr. Eddy, speaking for the Council, maintained that GBSA was a separate entity and none of this was the City's business. We disagree. Even if not explicitly spelled out in the charter, it is our business - the City's business - to ensure fair City elections.

For several years, the City has authorized GBSA to represent itself as a part of the City of Gulf Breeze. When GBSA does the many wonderful things it does for our community, the City benefits from this close association - but when GBSA commits an unfortunate error, the City claims complete separation. Can we have it both ways? And removing the City Seal, after the fact, doesn't resolve the issue. Wittingly or not, the City has the appearance of impropriety. We have suggested that GBCC publicly address this issue and investigate the significance of this interference to City elections.

There are other reasons the City should become engaged. By its campaign endorsement, GBSA appears to have violated the Federal income tax code that strictly prohibits campaign activity by nonprofit organizations (www.irs.gov). If so, it is subject to penalties and revocation of its nonprofit status. Moreover, the endorsed candidate, Mr. Schluter, is Vice President of GBSA and the same tax code disallows any action of the organization to privately or personally benefit members, particularly its leaders. This is important because the City has to be concerned about its future association with GBSA.

When I spoke to Mr. Atchison, President of GBSA, he felt GBSA had done nothing wrong and that political activity was not specifically prohibited by GBSA's mission. If this outlook and precedent prevails, we might expect further political activity. We do not believe that Gulf Breeze should support the current 'preferential relationship' (Mr. Atchison's description) if GBSA continues to engage in political activity. The City must renegotiate its relationship to include assurances that future political activity will be specifically and strictly prohibited.

Responses from GBCC (Mr. Eddy) have not been very satisfying. At a City Council Meeting (Dec. 13; available on audiotape) Mayor Gilchrest told Mr. Schluter not to worry about it "one bit" and Councilman Ford strongly supported the political endorsement. While the GBCC may have been unaware of Federal tax code violations, I can't understand how they could overlook GBSA's violation of public trust. GBSA accepted money from the entire community but chose to represent only a segment. GBSA did not inform us that our annual fees would be used for political campaigning. (Imagine those people whose votes went to Mr. Henderson, the opposing candidate, while their money fell to Mr. Schluter's campaign). Most importantly, GBSA leadership cashed in on the good reputation of GBSA generated over many years by hundreds of volunteer coaches and team moms - while we greatly appreciate the contributions of the current leaders, we don't all necessarily agree with their judgment.

This has also been a great disservice to Mr. Henderson. What if the shoe were on the other foot? Imagine how Mr. Schluter would feel if the Boy Scouts of America, which Mr. Henderson has supported for many years, were to have endorsed Mr. Henderson and distributed a pamphlet to all the residents of Gulf Breeze, regardless of whether they had Scouts or even children. Would the GBCC have felt any different? Thank you for this opportunity to comment.