Moral outrage! Courage award winner gives it back in protest
October 1, 2008 at 4:19 pm by Wayne GarciaThe renaming of the Hillsborough County Moral Courage Award in honor of power broker Ralph Hughes claimed another victim today: 1996 winner Eileen Hart gave back her award in an emotional moment at the start of this morning’s county commission meeting.
This from the tbo.com coverage:
Eileen Hart wiped tears from her eyes minutes after she gave back her Moral Courage Award at today’s Hillsborough County Commission meeting.
Two weeks ago, the commission voted to rename the award, which is given to citizens who challenge government, for controversial political activist Ralph Hughes. When Hart, who won the award in 1996, learned Hughes was a conservative power broker who helped finance commissioners’ political campaigns, the award lost its meaning, she said.
“It’s pathetic that they would name an award for a person when it’s a nonpartisan award,” Hart said outside the commission chambers. “It should have nothing to do” with politics.
Now, that took moral courage!
Hart is now a contender for our own Moral Courage Award, which CL took over after the county sullied it beyond repair. Here are the details on how you can nominate someone for their moral courage.
