Santamaria tells critic to leave public meeting

County Commission Jess Santamaria’s monthly public forum ended with unexpected fireworks Wednesday night, when he ordered one of his critics out of the gathering. Santamaria and Andy Schaller, a resident of Palm Beach Ranchettes, have publicly spared for months over the county’s refusal to pave a road in Schaller’s neighborhood near Wellington. During a question and answer session at the commissioner’s meeting Wednesday night, Schaller said Santamaria “dropped the ball” on reviving road paving efforts. That was one jab too much for Santamaria. “It’s not the topic for today,” Santamaria told Schaller. “You and I are done. … I’m done with you.” Schaller responded: “As long as you are my commissioner, I am not done with you sir.” At that point, Santamaria called Schaller “insolent” and told him to leave the building. “There are times when I have had enough and this is one of them,” Santamaria said. “Go! Go, before I have somebody get you out of here.” Schaller contends that Santamaria

flip-flopped and backed off commitments to support paving Fargo Road. Earlier this month, Santamaria followed through on his previous offer to pay Schaller for expenses Schaller said he incurred during the dispute with the county. Schaller said he was owed $4,000 and Santamaria wrote him a personal check. The memory of that $4,000 check for Schaller left Santamaria particularly exasperated Wednesday night. “I gave him $4,000 that I didn’t have to for his expenses and he still has the nerve, the temerity, to talk like he does,” Santamaria said before telling Schaller to leave the meeting in Wellington. Schaller sent Santamaria an e-mail Thursday calling the commissioner a “bully.” He criticized Santamaria for a “childish tirade” at a public meeting where Santamaria earlier had been calling on residents to get more involved with local government and hold their elected officials accountable. “Jess Santamaria showed his true colors,” Schaller wrote.

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Santamaria tells critic to leave public meeting

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