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Internet Research
Armando Martinez
(Note: Articles Appear in Reverse Chronological Order)
Tab 8
Underhay, a Bunnell resident, to the mayor and the commission. Underhay’s letter might have
carried more weight had it not itself had its share of misspellings (it’s “grammar,” not
“grammer”), terrible punctuation, and run-on sentences. But Underhay isn’t running for office.
“Receiving a letter like the one mailed to us by Ms. Daisy M. Henry is a poor reflection on all of
you, the City of Bunnell and not to mention Ms. Henry herself,” Underhay wrote. “What a
disgrace to think that this is someone who is supposed to be out there helping to run the City of
Bunnell.”
Henry, a pastor, wrote lines like this, reproduced here exactly as they appear in the original
letter: “As a native of Flagler county, resident, and commissioner of Bunnell. I have serve as
your commissioner for fourteen years. I am very proud of the position ,it have been very, very
challenging educational, and rewarding.”
The lines don’t get better.
No one would begrudge a local politician’s poor writing skills. Few can write. But most try hard,
when they write, either to edit their work, or to get a little help from someone who can, before
disseminating it widely. Not doing so can be as offensive to the intended audience as it can, or
should, be embarrassing to the author. It also raises questions of competence beyond English,
especially when Henry asks residents to “please remember that some commissioners live within
the city” (no, all of them do, otherwise they couldn’t run for office there), or that “the millage
have not increase in a while” (yes it has, though the actual taxes property owners pay may not
have increased as much, or in some cases at all, because of falling valuations).
Each letter is revealing in its own way, as are to a lesser extent the candidates’ campaign
finances. Both are detailed below.
Bill Baxley
Baxley’s letter is the briefest, and like Baxley himself, it is to the point and frills-free. It makes
no outlandish promises, as candidates often do. Baxley tells constituents of his service in the
Marines (10 years) and the Florida Department of Corrections, tells them he’s now retired,
giving him time to devote himself to city issues, and tells them that he’s attended commission
meetings and “studied the agendas for the past three years.” That’s no boast: few local residents
attend any of the county’s five local governments’ meetings as religiously as Baxley attends
Bunnell’s. He’s also been serving on the city’s zoning board for the last two years.
Baxley pledges to “lower taxes when possible” and “lower the water and sewer rates,” two very
difficult promises to keep in an economic climate that keeps pushing tax and water rates the
other way. Bunnell’s recent acquisition of the Plantation Bay utility will also—its officials’
promises notwithstanding—sooner or later likely lead to higher water rates for all residents,
because the city (along with the county) took on a clunker. Repair costs will be heavy. The city
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