Don't let Tallahassee's political ways spoil critical land buy

As an elected representative of the people of Southwest Florida for a cumulative 30 years, including mayor of Sanibel, chairman of the Lee County commission and member of Congress, I found it rare to be offered such an opportunity as Gov. Rick Scott and legislators have today to purchase lands south of Lake Okeechobee at a price favorable to the public.

The state has the funding, thanks to the overwhelming voice of the electorate in supporting Amendment 1 last November.

The state has a contract executed by a willing buyer and a willing seller, and the state has all the science it needs determining that moving water south is preferable to moving water east and west during high flows.

This is the perfect confluence of events for our policy makers, yet I am seeing heel-dragging in Tallahassee and bureaucratic excuses from West Palm Beach.

I would be grateful if the governor, the House speaker, the Senate president, or the governing board would articulate a legitimate reason why now is not the time to move forward with the purchase.

If that reason is because the seller is no longer a "willing" seller due to an escalation of property valuation, then go ahead and say that — but remember, your responsibility is to the taxpayers of Florida and not to the seller.

This is a great deal for the taxpayers and your constituents have a legally binding, properly executed contract.

If the reason you don't want to proceed is because you were caught unaware by Amendment 1, which supplanted your priorities with those of the voters and created holes in your budget, then simply explain that to the voters who supported the amendment. As a former legislator, I am not terribly sympathetic to that argument and I doubt the voters will be, either.

If your argument is that you are focusing on other projects and want to finish them first before you start anything else, I would suggest that Florida, which has an economy larger than most nations, is capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time.

This is a time-sensitive opportunity — one that will never again be available — and arguments of bureaucratic ineptitude are not the ones we want to be making as we strive to attract businesses to Florida to grow our economy.

Our state is proud to be the Sunshine State. Our sunshine laws are second to none. Let's have this debate — in the sunshine. Shady deal making in Tallahassee is not the way.

Porter Goss was elected to the Sanibel City Council in 1974. He served as the city's first mayor. He was appointed to the Lee County commission in 1983. He became a member of Congress, representing Southwest Florida, in 1988 and served in the House for 16 years until he was appointed Director of Central Intelligence by President George W. Bush. Goss lives on Sanibel.