From Bob Rackleff, Leon County Commissioner:

I’ve sent the following question to the offshore oil drilling promoters, hoping for an answer tonight during the televised public forum: What are the names of the oil companies planning to lease and drill in state waters?  Have they ever explored and produced oil in the Gulf of Mexico?  If they did, what were the results, including spill incidents?  What are their financial resources and performance?  How do we independently verify this?

All we know so far is Florida Energy Associates – one guy with a law practice in Daytona Beach.  Their designated oil man is a guy with a law practice in Mexia, Texas.  Both refuse to identify the oil companies.  The rest of the publicly identified promoters are just local hired hands.

My question is a straightforward, necessary beginning of due diligence, but so far our political and business leaders haven’t bothered to ask.   No prudent investor would even begin to consider a proposal without first knowing whom they dealing with. This continued secrecy insults the intelligence of all Floridians.

For more information on tonight's forum and how you can participate, see the post below.