Despite lies about me, public beaches are still public [by Mike Huckabee]

Below is a letter written by Mike Huckabee to the Tallahassee Democrat:


Re: Private beaches for the wealthy, paid by the taxpayers

This recent column was a bigger fantasy than Adam Schiff's saying he had evidence of Russia collusion!

It stated that, "Wealthy beachfront property owners, however, led by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, rebelled. They lobbied the Legislature into passing House Bill 631, making it easy for beachfront owners to employ the courts to block the beach. Threatening signs, fences and security guards have been employed to block public beach use."

My “leadership” was limited to sending one email to a state senator’s public website to thank her for taking the time to understand that HB 631 didn’t change ownership of one inch of beach.

Public beaches were and still are public. Beaches deeded as privately owned can’t be confiscated by the government by administrative act. The county must comply with the constitutional protection for private property. If a government wishes to take someone’s property, it must do so through the judicial branch. A legislative body such as the county commissioners can’t conduct a judicial function. It’s a simple separation of powers issue.

Walton County is now seeking to take property it once sold and deeded over to private developments and individuals, using an Old English “customary use” doctrine. Most of us thought our own Constitution — specifically the Fourth and Fifth Amendments — took precedence over some English custom, but today’s new socialists believe if they want it, just get government to take it and pay the owners nothing.

Walton County has already spent north of $1 million on high-octane lawyers suing their own taxpayers, who are now forced to hire attorneys to defend themselves and their property. In other words, beachfront owners are paying both sides of the lawsuit.

Those who demand “customary use” aren’t prohibited from seeking it, but they can’t just obtain it by having politicians do it. They must prove in court that their desire for someone else’s land is more legitimate than the actual deed held by property owners.

No one is “prohibited” from using public beaches, and there are miles of them in Walton County. Most beachfront owners don’t run people off their property, anyway. I haven’t, and despite the lies told, I’ve not placed signs prohibiting people from responsible use of my property.

Had Mr. Lotane done his homework, he would have learned that when Walton County wanted to “re-nourish” the beaches, including those on private property, over 93% of us said “No, we do not want the county to re-nourish beach on private land. That is a homeowner’s responsibility — not the taxpayers.'”

Sadly, the class warfare language of “wealthy people” misses the point. It’s not about wealth. It’s about the law, stuff most of us learned in 9th grade civics.