(PENSACOLA) --- Today’s 15-minute news cycle quickly turns what is breaking into non-existent.
But not with the recent public argument over general funds for the Booker T. Washington Lady Cats. While other local news outlets immediately captured the tension between Escambia County Clerk & Comptroller Pam Childers and the commissioners over a $1,000 donation, OpGov.News did not.
Even though the story may not be as sexy as it was when first reported, OpGov.News' follow-through offers a deeper dive into our elected officials' actions.
What matters and is unreported is the way Childers was bullied on the dais by Commissioners Lumon May and Mike Kohler when she made the fiscal decision not to pay a $1,000 stipend for the Lady Cats.
After explaining that she herself had raised money for her children’s sports for eight years and noting that “her heart is with Booker T. Washington and the coach who has taught my kids,” Childers stood by her decision.
(Photo: Pam Childers holding her ground at the March 26 BCC meeting)
As for property taxes in the general fund, Childers made it clear, “This is not what we pay,” with the funds. There is no reason the community cannot choose to use their personal funds for the $1,000 tab, defer to the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, or have the commissioners pay personally, according to the clerk-comptroller.
“That’s the money you can use to fund this,” Childers said.
That led to her getting publicly bullied for doing her job.
It began with May, who made it clear that because they had paid in the past, they should pay now. According to May, it’s not about the money; it’s about not supporting the team.
While in breath, May said, “I respect you, clerk,” he made it clear he didn’t.
“We spend more on your department to travel than we do $1,000 for 20 girls to go to Jacksonville,” May said.
That is when May decided to make race an issue, saying he is not going to let “some young African-American young ladies be guinea pigs of where we’re not going to pay when we paid other ones.”
Then came Kohler’s attack, claiming he and his peers are in complete charge.
“There are 67 counties in the state of Florida, and you elect commissioners,” Kohler said. “Commissioners decide the public purpose of funds; that’s how it works.”
Actually, it’s not. Citizens elect commissioners to manage their hard-earned funds, expecting them to address all community concerns when making decisions.
That truth and others were ignored by May and Kohler, with May attempting to use race for dramatic effect, and Kohler using God.
“I do not understand how you can stand up and for 12 years pay something and get religion and not do it,” Kohler said. “That is ridiculous, Madame Clerk.”
(Photo: Commissioner Hofberger defends Childers against May, Kohler's attacks)
Commissioner Ashlee Hoffberger attempted to reason with them, reminding them that the knowledge is the “power,” not them.
“As we have better information, we take better action,” Hofberger said, using vaccinations as an excellent example.
Both May and Kohler’s actions were blatantly aggressive, using race and religion to try to prove their points. What both men don’t seem to understand is that using race and religion while bullying a woman publicly must be accounted for.
That is where Mary Konopka comes in to remind that the $1,000 is not a stipend, it is a “cash gift,” from tax dollars. Konopka stepped up to the podium on April 1 at the Gary Sansing Public Forum to address the matter.
Konopka began challenging May’s comment that the Lady Cats put Pensacola on the map with their state win.
“Pensacola has a tourism council, a Visit Pensacola website, you have kiosks at the airport, the county and the country has thousands of travel agents who know about Pensacola,” Konopka said, adding, “To tell me that our tax income has increased in our LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) or TDT (Tourist Development Tax) because kids are playing their sports in other cities in the state is a blatant lie.”
Konopka continued, noting that according to the “optics,” May’s behavior is just an attempt to rationalize and expend to buy votes.
(Photo: Mary Konopka defends Pam Childers, one of the only residents to stand against May, Kohler)
“The righteous chest-thumping you guys do, your explanations of Home Rule and broadened powers do not give you the right to not abide by Florida statutes,” Konopka said.
Then Konopka reminded May of a move he made last year.
“Pam Childers submitted a document in April 2025, outlining her stance, yet you, Lumon May, are the one who promised (the funds) on November 17, 2025, and I was here, and I bitched about it,” Konopka said. “You are the one who promised, then you got the board to vote, and now you can’t deliver, and you are blaming it on Pam Childers, when she had already given you a document.
As she walked away, she pointed to Kohler, letting him know, “I am not done with you, also adding on behalf of Childers and the Providence, “you need to get religion.”
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