Tom Curtis & Kathie Bracy: Mike Billirakis & HC

From: Tom Curtis

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Subject: 122705 Curtis Resp To Bracy; Re Mike Billirakis & HC

Hello Kathie,

Mike Billirakis "claims" to be passionate about health care. That is the politically correct thing for him to say and he most certainly is a political animal. He is just treading water in his position with the STRS. He should have been the board chair and obviously turned it down. He cannot leave the board, as he told me he would do as soon as the HC problem is solved, because that would place the OEA in a worse position on the board.

The OEA really has nobody to step up and carry the ball. They got so lazy and full of themselves when they held control for so many years that they also forgot to groom leaders to replace the aging ones they had in place.

Mike Billirakis talks the talk, but he certainly does not walk the talk. If he did, he would be the board chair, right? He is so busy with his work with the NEA making his $149,550+ per year that he has little time to actually put much effort into the STRS. He has regularly missed two board meetings per year since I have been attending them, due to NEA business.

Besides, he is set for retirement. He will likely receive 100% by the time he retires, of the more the $150,000 dollars he will be making by that time. Ask him what he did about health care when he was president of the OEA? I bet he would duck that question just as Conni has ducked all of the questions I have ever asked her about the OEA. In my opinion, Billirakis talks about a lot of stuff, but what has he actually accomplished?

I for one do not find the HCAC's plan to be anything worthy of 3 years of meetings. We all new going in that the only cash cow were the actives? Now, three years later, what is their plan, to have the actives fund the HCSF? WOW! What insight and planning that must have taken? If it does not fly, they will simply say, Hey, we tried! I do not feel the OEA or the STRS management is, or ever has been sincere about funding the HCSF, otherwise, it would be in place. The leaders of these two organizations only care about one thing and that is how much they make and how much they will make when they retire. That is very clear to me. As Dawson Curtis used to tell me while growing up, "Just get the job done and stop talking about it." All we get from these people is foot-dragging and rhetoric. We need some leadership that will take action, like Dennis Leone has provided for the past three years.

Both the ORTA criticism of Sondra Stratton for attempting to organize a rally prior to the rally in August of 2003 and the criticism of the OEA of Dennis Leone for writing his position paper was that these two people were putting the HCAC's talks in jeopardy. That was a bunch of fodder! Those talks were in jeopardy from the very beginning. They just found these two reasons to shed some light in the opposite direction. I am told the OSBA walked out of those meetings as soon as they heard that the legislature was going to be asked to increase the employer contribution. I believe they only sent a representative to one or two meetings, then they were done. That was probably about the same time that Sondra Stratton and Dennis Leone came on the scene, so they became perfect scapegoats. All of this garbage is used only to politically charge the issues.

Take care,

Tom Curtis

From: Kathie Bracy
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2005
Subject: Re: FW: STRS Bd Stipends

Good questions. Yes, it is a nonpaying position, but I think RH Jones has a very good point where retired Board members are concerned. And yes, it would be very nice to have Billirakis off the Board, but his term isn't up till August 31, 2007. No charges have been brought against him by anybody, though the Ethics Commission may well do so. For CORE to press charges against anybody for any reason would require a lot of money that we simply don't have. He is also passionate about HC and would like as much as anyone else to find a workable solution.

Kathie Bracy

From: Anonymous

12/26/2005

I thought this was a non-paid position? What's with the stipends? Personally, I think Billarakis should have been off the Board and still should because of what he did. Forgive a teenager, but he was a knowledgable person. Why is he still on the Board? he's not someone I think should be incovolved with HC.