Columbia County Commissioner Kevin Parnell: How do we get 'riff-raff' banned from County meetings?
December 6, 2025 7:45 pm | 3 min read
(Columbia County
Observer photo)
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – County Commissioner Kevin Parnell doesn’t like the “riff-raff” at County meetings. At Thursday’s meeting of the County 5 (County Commission), he asked, “How would we go about getting someone banned from attending a public meeting?”
Mr. Parnell, elected in 2024, without any political experience, spent his first year on the County 5 adding few comments to the discussions, other than generalizations that he was new and still learning. Mr. Parnell seemed to do nothing to ramp up his learning curve.
A County Commissioner, in order to serve, must file his Oath of Office with the state. The oath requires Mr. Parnell to support the U.S. Constitution, including the First Amendment (e.g., freedom of speech), and the Florida Constitution, which explicitly protects freedom of speech and the press.
The Florida Constitution puts it this way:
Article I, Section 4 (Freedom of Speech and Press): "Every person may speak, write, and publish sentiments on all subjects, but shall be responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press".
How much does it cost the public to have Commissioner Parnell listen to the “riff-raff?” Ans.: $102,000
The current salary for a Columbia County Commissioner is (in round numbers) $57,000 a year. However, that is not the end of the taxpayer's liability. The public also pays $30,000 a year for Mr. Parnell's retirement benefit; $11,000 for his health insurance; and $4,000 in taxes and workers' comp.
Mr. Parnell costs the public $102,000 a year.
Riff-Raff – Definition (the Britannica Dictionary)
People who are not respectable: people who have a very low social status
Example: Try not to associate with that riffraff.
noun: Often used in a humorous or exaggerated way to suggest the attitudes of wealthy and powerful people.
Example: The doorman kept the riff-raff out of the hotel.
Thursday Evening
Just as Thursday’s County 5 meeting was about to be adjourned, Mr. Parnell announced, “Hold on, hold on. Quick question. Quick question.”
While the “comments by commissioners” portion of the meeting was over, Chairman Murphy recognized him.
Mr. Parnell inquired,
We conduct a lot of business up here. I know the meetings are public, they're public noticed and all that, and anybody can attend. How would we go about getting someone banned from attending a public meeting? Is that possible?
County Attorney Foreman jumped in, “It is not.”
Mr. Parnell carried on, “… A lot of riffraff goes on – name-calling and all that. We should not be subject to that for making decisions that affect everybody. I get everybody has their opinions, but it's – to disturb a meeting – a - a big meeting like we have up here. It's -- that's just so ridiculous.”
There was back-and-forth between Attorney Foreman and Commissioner Parnell. The County's approved rules of procedure require being recognized before speaking. In Columbia County, the approved rules are relatively meaningless (except in Lake City, where Mayor Walker makes every effort to keep the City Council on track and Council members work hard to follow the rules).
There was banter between Mr. Foreman and Mr. Parnell about what a “good job” Chairman Murphy was doing running the meetings. Not everybody agrees with that.
Mr. Parnell said to Mr. Murphy, “You're doing a great job… (laugh) The zero-tolerance policy you have, the same one I'm gonna have, my fuse is probably shorter than yours.”
Mr. Foreman interjected, “Commissioner, there's always a balancing act. We need to have these public meetings. We need to do public business. And with that comes a lot of First - First Amendment.
Mr. Parnell said he “got it and was “just wondering.”
The meeting was adjourned
Post Meeting
Upon the conclusion of the meeting, your reporter
mentioned to Mr. Parnell that it wasn't nice to refer to
the public as 'riffraff' and that maybe it would have
been a good idea to have AI’d (Googled) the question before
bringing it up at a County Commission meeting.
Mr. Parnell did not think that was a good idea. He responded, gesturing to the now-empty auditorium, "Stew, go over there and take a seat."
Late Friday morning, your reporter spoke with Florida legend, former County Commissioner Ron Williams.
After Commissioner Williams heard that Mr. Parnell wanted to ban people and riff-raff from County meetings, his comment was short: “Say What?!”