Truth Can Set Safety Harbor Free
By 
SAFETY HARBOR – Safety Harbor, you are being lied to.
And it’s time to call “Bulls*-#.”
Local elections in this town have never set the highest of standards for honesty, self-awareness and fair play, but this year’s edition has proven to be more deceptive than Jessie Smollett spending “A Weekend At Bernie’s.”
Supposedly, the truth can set you free. But in the case of Tanja Vidovic for mayor, it seems to serve only as an inconvenient obstacle to work around.
There are lies: “It must have gone to my SPAM folder.” “My phone died.” “I don’t care about looks as much as I do personality.” “Let’s just do one more.” “Size doesn’t matter.”
Then there are blatant, calculated, fraudulent untruths designed to mislead, distort and deceive the masses.
And those have really started to “pile” up here lately.
Thank goodness for the BS Amplifier Meter, which, with uncanny accuracy, has ranked Vidovic’s campaign rhetoric as could only be done by the skills of a Ph. D – Piled Higher and Deeper.
Just as Washington Post fact-checkers rank the degree of political untruths by the number of “Pinocchios” each receive, we will keep score in a similar fashion.
BS: Safety Harbor’s remarkable transformation from backwater slum to The Jewel of Tampa is the result of crooked city leaders.
Fact: Not a single shred of evidence, not a single paper trail, not even a whisper of a confirmed rumor has been produced to substantiate this lie that Tanja’s side keeps passing around like a doobie at a stoners’ convention.
BS: The city gave away $180,000 in tax dollars to Bay-To-Bay Properties for construction of the new mixed-use Key West-style building on Main Street.
Fact: The $180,000 was REFUNDED through parkland and tree mitigation fees that the builder had already paid the city. By refunding money already paid by Bay-To-Bay the city received numerous concessions from the builder, including input regarding design, size and additional parking.
And considering the publicly acclaimed $8 million project will produce in the neighborhood of $100,000 in annual tax revenue for the City of Safety Harbor and pumped vitality into our town center, there is only one logical question: When can we do that again?
BS: Vidovic has spent weeks claiming in public and social media that Ayoub has raised taxes.
Fact: She has been corrected multiple times by multiple people but continues to plant the seeds of this lie.
It wasn’t until after her largest audience, the Chamber’s Forum, reacted harshly, she begrudgingly acknowledged it was not a proven fact.
BS: Developers are poised to “clear cut,” every tree in town to over-build Safety Harbor.
Fact: Safety Harbor has a total area of 5.1 miles. To its east is Old Tampa Bay. To the south is the Clearwater city limits. To the west, McMullen Booth Road. To the north, Oldsmar.
Safety Harbor can not get bigger if it wanted to.
This is the greatest boom era in Safety Harbor history, but there is very little new development taking place because Safety Harbor is already built out.
There is no virgin land in Safety Harbor. There is not a house in town – no matter how old and “rustic” it may be – that did not take out trees so it could be built.
There is, however, lots and lots of revitalization taking place, as falling-down, distressed properties are giving way to new and improved redevelopment.
In most communities, that’s considered a blessing.
Tanja Vidovic was fired from a job with the City of Safety Harbor leisure services by Mayor Ayoub after she declared her intention to run against him.
Truth: The City of Safety Harbor government structure does not give its mayor authority to hire or fire. Vidovic’s termination letter came from leisure services, and specifically cited her workplace behavior and treatment of co-workers.
BS: Vidovic is a qualified candidate, whose professional career resume’ is being unfairly critiqued.
Fact: Vidovic has never held political office, nor served on any governmental board. She has no experience managing a business budget.
She does carry a great amount of personal baggage that includes multiple lawsuits against multiple employers, along with conflict and controversy at every stop.
Something about this whole campaign just doesn’t smell right.
~Mick Elliott
What’s most frustrating about her lies about the development agreement for the new Main Street Building is that she is lying to cover up the fact that she is and was against that building. Maybe she hoped it would be a failure? Whatever her intent, she now knows she can’t campaign against it because the vast majority of Harborites love it. She knows it is sustainable, increasing our Main Street Walk-ability score, ticking all the boxes for mixed use and downtown residential. She knows people love the vitality and better quality of life it has brought to our downtown district. She has probably heard the stories of new downtown residents giving up their automobiles and loving the walkability that Smart Development can bring. She was against it. She fought it. She tries to call it overdevelopment but no-one is biting so…..she just makes up a lie and hopes that anger mongering will help her win. That isn’t leadership, that is dirty politics and it deserves every scoop Mick awarded it. Thanks for the truthometer Mick!
GREAT job Mick, sounds like one Tanja Vidovic is shoveling a lot of shit (let’s tell it like it is!)………and tell Tanja to quit pissing on peoples’ legs and trying to tell them it’s raining outside!!!
GREAT info, Mick, great job setting the FACTS as FACTS……seems like Tanja adheres to the old adage that: “There are lies and damn lies” and she’s spreading a lot of the latter.
Why are some so upset over public records? They are just that, public records. PUBLIC RECORDS that show the character of Tanja Vidovic, who wants to lead our great city. How can you “condone” her behavior towards others? A true leader does not berate, humiliate and create fear in the workplace. We need and want better for our city. We need Joe Ayoub for Mayor. Our city has never been better with all the parks, tree programs, new businesses and new neighbors. Safety Harbor is the jewel of Tampa Bay! Let’s keep it that way!!
I agree with Mick that Tanja and her supporters have falsely accused Mayor Ayoub of being corrupt and taking kickbacks from developers. She has falsely accused Joe of having voted for the condo tower in our downtown, of raising the City’s millage rate and she even falsely blamed Joe for being fired from her City of Safety Harbor job.
I believe that we have never had two more different Mayoral candidates than we have right now in this current election. We have a current Mayor who has lived the majority of his life in Safety Harbor, is a Certified Public Accountant, has ten years of experience serving in our local government, has ten years of governmental budgeting experience, has a proven record of helping to revitalize our downtown, played a major role in adding and improving our city’s public parks, increased our tree canopy, and has shown great leadership skills that will move Safety Harbor forward during the next three years.
In contrast, Tanja has only been a Safety Harbor resident for a few years, has no government experience, no budgeting experience, has very little understanding of how our government works, has been fired from her City of Safety Harbor job, harasses and intimidates city and county workers, harasses her neighbors, and picks fights with anyone who disagrees with her. I believe that the last thing Safety Harbor needs is an inexperienced “Learn on the Job” Mayor with poor judgment and bad temperament, who will only create chaos, dissension, conflicts, and lawsuits during the next three years.
And while we are calling “B… S…”, let’s call attention to all of the Tanja supporters who persist in suggesting that Joe Ayoub is somehow crooked. In fact, they refer to him as “Crooked Joe”. Hmmm….where have I heard that epithet before? To this insinuation, I have two things to say. I know Joe, and he is one of the most honest people I have met. Secondly, not a single shred of evidence has been offered by his detractors to support the allegation. As an attorney, I should point out that what these folks are saying does, under Florida law, constitute slander. Lawsuit, anyone?
I’d like to also mention that a website, Informedsafetyharbor.com was also created by someone (not myself and definitely NOT Joe Ayoub) that details all public record information from the City Of Tampa, City of Safety Harbor, Pinellas Sheriff’s Office, etc. which is available to any and all public citizens and any individual can request this detail from these governmental bodies. Tanya claims this information is not true. Read it and educate yourself and make your own decision. Try to understand why someone would spend the time collecting this information and putting it all together. It took many hours & days and it is definitely not BS but shows the true character of Tanya Vidovic and the erratic history of her behaviors. Is this the type of character, behaviors and lack of experience you want representing our city, the Jewel of Tampa Bay? Look at all the good that Mayor Ayoub has brought to this city in the last three years, how your tax dollars have been spent, what are his accomplishments, the list is many. Please vote!