With over 23 years of public service and involvement with the Palm Beach County League of Cities, I have been quoted in hundreds of articles. For the first time, I find myself respectfully requesting a retraction due to the misstatements in Ron Bukley’s article published March 23.
In the article “Commissioners Reject Inspector General Lawsuit Settlement Offer,” Mr. Bukley wrote, “Several speakers asked commissioners to reject the settlement agreement, and only one person, Richard Radcliffe, executive director of the Palm Beach County League of Cities, which is leading the lawsuit, spoke in favor.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. I did speak at the meeting but did not take a position. The league’s board of directors has taken no position. Only 15 cities are involved in the lawsuit and settlement agreement, while 23 cities have paid their share of the IG budgetary costs and have no involvement. The Palm Beach County League of Cities is not involved in the lawsuit in any way.
I was directed to monitor the case but have been denied access to the settlement agreements since the League of Cities is in no way connected to the suit. I was compelled to speak since most of the speakers incorrectly stated the league’s connection to the suit. All the other quotations in the article were correct. The League of Cities has a great working relationship with the Commission on Ethics, its director Alan Johnson, and Inspector General Sheryl Steckler and her office. This system is in its infancy, and there will be growing pains, but we all expect this to be a model for the nation.
The League of Cities has a history of working on tough issues in our county. The league was an integral participant in the contentious issue of school concurrency. The result was the model for the entire State of Florida.
Richard Radcliffe, Executive Director, Palm Beach County League of Cities
