No (other) commissioners allowed

It appears that the laudable intentions of the "One Winter Garden" mission apply only to East Winter Garden. At least if you go by Commissioner Lisa Bennett.

The District 1 commissioner seems to have recently decided that the district belongs to her alone. Other commissioners should not intrude on her territory — not even to promote city events in the historic downtown area, which attract residents not only from their districts but throughout Orange County and beyond.

Incredibly, Bennett took umbrage at District 2 Commissioner Ron Mueller's talking up downtown events, like last year’s Menorah Lighting (more on that in a minute). This petty territoriality and divisiveness is simply embarrassing.

You would think that city commissioners promoting city-sponsored events in their own districts would be welcomed since it encourages more residents to participate in city life. If commissioners aren’t promoting city events throughout their own districts, why aren’t they? Fostering communication between commissioners and constituents can only be a good thing. Why Mueller's promotional activities are problematic, Bennett isn’t saying. So far she’s not responded to questions from VoxPopuli about that.

But Bennett has a history of dodging communication. When first elected in 2017, she maintained a Facebook page. But do not be fooled into thinking the page was a vehicle for residents to reach her or to discuss issues there. It was for announcements only.

Nevertheless, she preemptively banned me from her public page, not for any specific incident, but solely because we had disagreed before. Meaning, as far as I can tell, I was banned simply to prevent me from publicly criticizing her positions or city management.

Regardless of the reason, she was forced to rescind the ban after a civil rights group pointed out that her actions were unconstitutional. A Facebook page clearly intended to be the page of a government official is considered a “public forum” and banning individual citizens from participating on it is a clear violation of free speech.

Not long after that, she must have decided that no communication was better than risking public criticism, so she closed the page altogether. Now District 1 constituents receive no regular communications from her.

Mueller, on the other hand, can regularly be found posting on his Facebook page, on Nextdoor or in the popular Winter Garden Rants, Raves, and Reviews Facebook group. Rather than duck criticism, he often engages with people who have opposing points of view.

Whether it’s for this or some other reason — Bennett also claims Mueller allegedly threatened to fire employees — she has apparently decided that Mueller needs to go. She has persuaded the commission to hold a forfeiture hearing in January to determine whether Mueller’s activities rise to a level that would justify kicking him off the dais.

That would be a huge loss to the community. Mueller has done more in one term for residents of Winter Garden — not just those who live in his district — than Bennett has in three.

Bennett often sits silent in meetings, rarely asking questions, while Mueller always asks questions, offers suggestions, and pushes the commission to do better.

Bennett rarely engages at public events. For all of her complaints about Mueller horning in on her district, she seemed content to let him take the lead as the city’s representative during last year’s Menorah Lighting. It was Mueller who welcomed attendees and introduced the event’s sponsor, Chabad leader Rabbi Konikov. Meanwhile, Bennett hung back with a friend in the crowd. When VoxPopuli’s editor tried to get a quote from her about the event — since it was in her district — Bennett declined, saying she was just there to enjoy the evening as a private citizen.

It’s a shame that the commissioner who seems least interested in solving problems and most invested in the status quo is attacking our most active, thoughtful and inclusive commissioner.

Here's hoping that the other commissioners will see through this stunt and let Mueller continue to do the job he was elected to do.

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Joseph Richardson is a longtime Winter Garden resident and VoxPopuli board member.