Below is a copy of the email I sent to Ms. Warner, the author of Renaissance Mayor, and Huffington Post staff regarding my experiences with and knowledge of Mayor Ashton Hayward
Dear Ms. Warner, I read your article about Mayor Ashton Hayward and would like to share with you my experiences with Mayor Hayward. I have been a resident of Pensacola for over 7 decades (70 years). I am an elderly, widowed grandmother who is a veteran. My late husband was an elderly grandfather who was also a veteran. He passed away, from cancer, in May, 2010.
You quoted Mayor Hayward as stating, “We are a first class city that will compete regionally, nationally, and internationally for jobs, investment, and talent," he says, explaining that he sees his constituents as shareholders in the future of his city. You also stated, “Through a combination of private investment and strong civic entrepreneurship, Hayward has overseen an overhaul of the historic downtown.”
. . .
876.09 Scope of law.—
(1) The provisions of ss. 876.05-876.10 shall apply to all employees and elected officers of the state, including the Governor and constitutional officers and all employees and elected officers of all cities, towns, counties, and political subdivisions, including the educational system.
(2) This act shall take precedence over all laws relating to merit, and of civil service law.
History.—ss. 5, 7, ch. 25046, 1949.
876.10 False oath; penalty.—If any person required by the provisions of ss. 876.05-876.10 to execute the oath herein required executes such oath, and it is subsequently proven that at the time of the execution of said oath said individual was guilty of making a false statement in said oath, he or she shall be guilty of perjury.
History.—s. 6, ch. 25046, 1949; s. 1141, ch. 71-136; s. 1415, ch. 97-102.
It appears that each elected or appointed official who refuses to stop the violation of our rights is refusing to support the Constitution of the United States and is committing perjury. This includes City Officials (especially Mayor Hayward), all members of the Pensacola City Council, law enforcement agencies and other Florida State Agencies (including Governor Scott) I have contacted. I have repeatedly informed these individuals that they are in violation of the law and must lift the illegal prohibition on us operating as we were legally authorized. They refuse.
Our business had operated, including the previous owner, at the same location – for over 25 years - with no complaints from City Officials, neighbors, or clients . We have been illegally closed down for over 10 years when we have never been in violation of any rule or regulation.
“I will never speak to him again,” Nichols said. “I have no respect for him.”
You quoted Mayor Hayward as stating, “We are a first class city that will compete regionally, nationally, and internationally for jobs, investment, and talent," he says, explaining that he sees his constituents as shareholders in the future of his city. You also stated, “Through a combination of private investment and strong civic entrepreneurship, Hayward has overseen an overhaul of the historic downtown.”
Ms. Warner, my late husband and I own an historic property, built in 1884, in the North Hill Preservation District which has been used as an art gallery/antique shop holding functions since 1980, including the previous owners (over 25 years).
On March 19, 2005, City Officials used the Pensacola Police Department to close our legally authorized business down – without prior notice and without due process. The closing Police Officer closed our business during a wedding and said that we were not authorized to have functions. I told him that we were officially authorized to have functions (recorded in City records online – easy to check). He said we were closed anyway and that was that. This was the day before City Officials announced in the Sunday newspaper that they were going to build a forty-million-dollar Maritime Park at the end of our street.
The United States Constitution, Amendment 5, requires due process in this situation. City Officials gave no prior warning or had any kind of a hearing where we could have pointed out that we were authorized to have functions. City Officials were in violation of our Constitutional rights and were required to cease and desist. They refused. City Officials (Mayor Hayward, his City Administrator) and City Council Members (including all current members) I have contacted about this apparent illegal/criminal action refuse to honor our constitutional rights in violation of the Florida State Constitution.
The Florida Constitution Article II Section 5, paragraph (1) requires each elected or appointed official to take an oath which includes “hereby solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Florida.”. . .
876.09 Scope of law.—
(1) The provisions of ss. 876.05-876.10 shall apply to all employees and elected officers of the state, including the Governor and constitutional officers and all employees and elected officers of all cities, towns, counties, and political subdivisions, including the educational system.
(2) This act shall take precedence over all laws relating to merit, and of civil service law.
History.—ss. 5, 7, ch. 25046, 1949.
876.10 False oath; penalty.—If any person required by the provisions of ss. 876.05-876.10 to execute the oath herein required executes such oath, and it is subsequently proven that at the time of the execution of said oath said individual was guilty of making a false statement in said oath, he or she shall be guilty of perjury.
History.—s. 6, ch. 25046, 1949; s. 1141, ch. 71-136; s. 1415, ch. 97-102.
It appears that each elected or appointed official who refuses to stop the violation of our rights is refusing to support the Constitution of the United States and is committing perjury. This includes City Officials (especially Mayor Hayward), all members of the Pensacola City Council, law enforcement agencies and other Florida State Agencies (including Governor Scott) I have contacted. I have repeatedly informed these individuals that they are in violation of the law and must lift the illegal prohibition on us operating as we were legally authorized. They refuse.
Our business had operated, including the previous owner, at the same location – for over 25 years - with no complaints from City Officials, neighbors, or clients . We have been illegally closed down for over 10 years when we have never been in violation of any rule or regulation.
We were law-abiding citizens, paying our taxes on time, keeping our property up and dutifully obeying Pensacola Ordinances. City Officials refusing us our constitutional rights is especially egregious since my late husband and I are veterans and served our country to defend and protect the United States Constitution and yet Government Officials refuse us our legitimate rights under the United States Constitution.
We have been denied the legal income from our legally authorized business/commercial property and our historic building, which my late husband and I lovingly restored (we were awarded the honor of being the best restored historic property in 2000). Our beautiful house is again falling into disrepair due to the apparent illegal/criminal actions against us on the part of City Officials. Even without income from our investment downtown, we were able to keep the property up for 5 years after the illegal closing but it has been much harder since my husband’s death in 2010.
I have received code enforcement citations twice, now (September, 2015) and last year. I worked hard last year to meet the enforcement deadline and suffered compression fractures in two vertebrae – I had spinal surgery in November, 2014, to ease the pain. We never had a citation when we were earning an income from our property or for the first 5 years after. I have written code enforcement and asked that they help remove the illegal prohibition on us operating as authorized so I can earn an income on our investment property and afford to keep our property up. They refuse.
It appears that City Officials have made false charges and false statements, regarding this matter to the Florida State Attorney, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI, which is a serious matter. City Officials have libeled, defamed and degraded me in an effort to excuse their apparent illegal/criminal actions and these agencies, in turn, have libeled, defamed and degraded me based on the false charges and false statements of City Officials.
Example: On Sep 9, 2010, it appears that Florida State Attorney, Mr. Bill Eddins, the Pensacola City Attorney, Mr. Wells, and Pensacola Community Development Department employee, Ms. Morris conferred and discussed the answer Mr. Wells was going to send to Mr. Ramage of the FDLE regarding my reporting to FDLE, again, the illegal closing of our small business, an art gallery/antique shop holding functions, on March 19, 2005. It appears that they decided to present false statements and false charges about us to FDLE instead of the real facts: we were authorized many times (latest in 2000 and in 2001) to hold functions, we operated in compliance with all rules and regulations, we were illegally closed down by the Pensacola Police Department on March 19, 2005, etc. I have repeatedly asked Mayor Hayward to lift the illegal prohibition on us operating as we were legally authorized but he refused and to correct the false charges filed against us with FDLE, Governor Scott, etc. but he refuses.
I currently have three blogs on the situation. Pensacolanewsletter.blogspot.
Pensacolanewsletter2.blogspot.
Mayor Hayward, other City Officials and the Pensacola City Council appear to believe that obeying the United States Constitution is optional instead of the serious matter that it is. City Officials routinely abuse their authority by harassing, slandering, persecuting, and lying about law-abiding citizens.
Ms. Warner, you said that Mayor Hayward has tackled some of the "big issues" and so on. Sadly, that is incorrect. Mayor Hayward refuses to attend City Council Meetings, refuses to meet with or talk to me on the phone regarding the illegal actions against us, and appears to be cultivating a culture of corruption. He hires his friends in high administrative positions who don’t appear to be qualified, and on and on.
Example: Mayor Hayward hired a City Administrator, Ms. Tamara Fountain, that he said, had an MBA. After the City Administrator confounded us by senseless mistakes, she resigned. It was discovered that she did not have even a BA but had dropped out of college almost immediately.
Example: Mayor Hayward then hired Mr. Eric Olson as the City administrator. Mr. Olson targeted a homeowners’ association president (Melanie Nichols) for punishment because she had pointed out that an approved land deal was not legal. Mr. Olson called her boss ( a local Naval Officer) and tried to get her fired. After this episode was exposed, Mayor Hayward, said he would not chastise or fire Mr. Olson.
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“It was pretty much what I expected,” Nichols said. “I knew he wasn’t going to do anything.”
The president of the North Hill Preservation Association seemed personally hurt by Mayor Hayward, who on Monday let it be known he had no intention of taking any action against his city administrator following an incident that has been described as “chilling,” “beyond the pale,” and last night, “heinous.”“I will never speak to him again,” Nichols said. “I have no respect for him.”
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Unfortunately, many of us who try to make Pensacola better by pointing out apparent illegal/criminal actions of City Officials are targeted. I have been gaveled down in City Council Meetings, lied to and lied about in City Council Meetings and lied about in reports to FDLE, the Governor, etc.
City Officials illegally use force, coercion and intimidation (such as an illegal Police Department closing) against us. City Officials use especially sadistic and destructive actions to harm us, our historic property, our retirement and bank accounts and the livelihood of our entire family. All of these actions are clearly in violation of our rights under the United States Constitution.
Mayor Hayward was elected in 2010. In March 26 2014, Movoto Real Estate on Facebook published The 10 Most Dangerous Small Cities In America. They studied 234 small cities and Pensacola was the 6th most dangerous small city in America. I can attest to that fact. Mayor Hayward was in charge. The blog received 1,478,851 views the last time I checked.
Many of us are veterans or even active duty military personnel. We are forced to live without our rights under the United States Constitution on a regular basis. It appears that those in charge, including Mayor Hayward, refuse to let us live in America but we are forced to live under their rule which is un-American.
