Watchdogs will be heard 'one way or another'

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick. MAYOR'S HUSBAND RESPONDS TO BLOG BELOW.
Robert Tolley and Robert Rees speak at virtually every New Smyrna Beach City Commission. And below, less than a dozen residents attended the last meeting for the selection of a ciy manager and these two were among them. City Clerk Johnny Bledsoe even has a timer clock that ticks down from 3 minutes (third photo).

When Robert Tolley and Robert Rees get up to speak at City Commission meetings, they don't mince words. Oh yes, they will be heard, "one way or another" just like the lyrics to the Blondie song: "One way or another we're gonna get you, we're gonna meet you..."

They are what is known as "community watchdogs," those who speak out at every opportunity at municipal meetings, described by some as the purest form of Democratic speech that can be found.

How can they be missed? They have a microphone and the entire legislative body in front of them in the form of the city commission and mayor, as well as the city manager, the city attorney and the city clerk.

Some simply refer to them in less flattering terms as "political gadflies."

Lately, the two of them have had a running feud with the mayor over the time they are allowed to speak. Typically residents have been allowed to speak up to three minutes, though arbitrarily they claim, Mayor Sally Mackay as limited public comments to 1 minute as meetings dragged well on into the night. The last meeting on the selection of a new city manager was a classic example.

The two were incensed at the last meeting for the selection of a city manager when each got 1 minute to speak. And of course, they used every second of that one minute to bitterly complain they didn't have enough time to speak about whatever it was they wanted to speak about in the first place.

The mayor has repeatedly said that if someone wants more time to speak, they can get their name and topic put on the agenda ahead of time. Tolley, in fact, did just that and convinced the commission earlier this year to dump City Manager John Hagood.

Still, Tolley is chomping at the bit to speak over the course of two days of budget workshops, beginning today, predicting: "I'm sure Sally will shut down the podium. This sucks."