“Well you won,” Oldsmar Mayor Dan Saracki wrote us in a text message. “I no longer can use the city seal for my community corner [mass emails] and I have been asked to stop. Our world is changing fast. No worries, you will never see one again.”
The Guardian reported last Sunday on Saracki’s apparent blurring of the lines between official city communications on the one hand, and his own personal and political campaign communications on the other hand. Saracki’s text message arrived less than 48 hours after our article and at a time when less than 100 people had clicked on our article.
Oldsmar city clerk Ann Nixon said that City Manager Felicia Donnelly had become aware of our article and asked City Attorney Tom Trask to review the facts. Trask had then recommended that Saracki stop using the city seal in his Community Corner mass emails. Trask did so at a time when fewer than 30 people had read our article.
Was Saracki “asked to stop” using the city seal or was he “recommended” to stop using it? Did good government efforts score a win?
As always….the Guardian reports and our readers decide. Like our Facebook page to find out when we publish articles.