Who’s on the Ballot on August 14?

There is something for everyone on the ballot in August, regardless of your party affiliation. Look over the list below, then go to our Voter’s Guide to learn about the candidates and view the district maps.

Keep in mind that August elections are low turnout affairs, so your vote will count for more than in the November election. In 2010 for example, 377K people in the county voted in November, but only 127K in August.

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ALL VOTERS can vote in the non-partisan and/or “universal primary” races which include:
(* indicates incumbent, write-ins not listed)

• Sheriff (Ric Bradshaw*, Joe Talley, Cleamond Walker)
• Property Appraiser (Gary Nikolits*, Robert Weinroth)
• Clerk and Comptroller (Sharon Bock*, Lisa Epstein) (universal primary)
• Supervisor of Elections (Susan Bucher*, Woodie McDuffie, Coneste Succe)
• 15th Circuit Judge Group 2 (Timothy McCarthy*, Jody Lane)
• 15th Circuit Judge Group 9 (Ron Alvarez*, Jaimie Goodman)
• 15th Circuit Judge Group 26 (James L. Martz*, Margherita Downey)
• County Court Judge Group 4 (Peter M. Evans, Kenneth Lemoine)
• County Court Judge Group 6 (Edward A. Garrison, Jane F. Sullivan)

plus the following if you live in these districts:

• State House District 87 (Dave Kerner, Mike Rios) (universal primary)
• State House District 88 (Charles Bantel, Evelyn Garcia, Bobby Powell, Nikasha Wells) (universal primary)
• School Board District 1 (Robert Bittenbinder, Michael Howard, Christine Jax, Lowell Levine, Michael Murgio)

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If you are a REPUBLICAN, you can also vote for:

• US Senate (Connie Mack, Ron McNeil, Mike McCalister, Marielena Stuart, Dave Weldon)
• GOP State Committeewoman (Fran Hancock*, Cindy Tindell)
• GOP State Committeeman (Peter Feaman*, Corey Brisson)

plus the following if you live in these districts:

• Congressional District 18 (Allen West, Robert Crowder)
• State Senate District 25 (Melanie Peterson, Geoff Sommers)
• State Senate District 34 (Ellyn Bogdanoff, Mike Lameyer)
• State House District 82 (Carl Domino, Mary Lynn Magar, John Milton, John Pasqualone, Calvin Turnquest)
• County Commission District 1 (Dan Amero, Harry Gaboian, Hal Valeche)

Is the Senate Race Over?

With George LeMieux quitting the Senate race and endorsing Connie Mack IV, is the race over?

Senator LeMieux listed two reasons for his exit: 1) RPOF and the “powers that be”, presumably including FreedomWorks, have thrown their support to Connie Mack, making it hard for LeMieux and others to find sufficient funds to run a state-wide media campaign against the deep pockets of Connie Mack and his supporters and 2) Congressman Mack refuses to come out and debate his Republican rivals, precluding any “free” publicity for the challengers and closing the door on any discussion of issues.

With money and media a major requirement, Mike McCalister, MarieLena Stuart, Ron MacNeil and the others would seem to be at a major disadvantage. Dave Weldon would be also, given his late entry.

The Weldon campaign plans to fight though. From what I heard today from a campaign staffer, many grassroots coordinators from the LeMieux campaign are coming over to Weldon.

In a conference call immediately following his announcement, Congressman Weldon did not particularly impress. His website was content-free, he seemed unprepared, and lacked detailed knowledge of many of the issues important to the grassroots. That has changed. He now has a well developed set of policy positions (see: daveweldonforsenate.com/issues/ ) which are clearly conservative and counter to the Obama/Nelson agenda, he is gathering endorsements (Sam Brownback, Citizens United Political Victory Fund), and stepping up fundraising.

The near term plan is to bulk up the number of small contributors to show grassroots strength and his phonebank is asking for $5-10 donations in the next couple of days to make the case.

Will he be a credible challenge to Mack? I don’t know, but it is a shame to see the primary end today with a whimper. I gave him a small contribution and plan to watch what happens. If you are not comfortable with Connie Mack as the presumptive nominee, you could do the same.

County Commission Forum – District 1 Primary Candidates

The Republican Club of the Palm Beaches was a co-sponsor of this event.

Pat Rooney Anchors May Lunch

A good crowd of committed Republicans and many candidates for office turned out for the May club meeting featuring State Representative Pat Rooney and a special appearance by Senate candidate Marielena Stuart.

Introduced by Carol Hurst who along with many of us had heard Ms. Stuart’s excellent speech at the Jupiter meeting of the PBC Tea Party, she did not disappoint. Drawing understanding from her background growing up in Castro’s Cuba, Marielena knows Communism and its early stages of socialism like we are seeing today in the US. Casting our politics as a struggle between good and evil, she “takes no prisoners” in her battle against the UN, the dangers of “sustainable development”, and the feckless foreign policy of the Obama administration.

Following Ms. Stuart, Pat Rooney gave us a legislative update of the recently concluded session. He touched on redistricting, which has now passed its court test and been cleared by the Justice Department, and pointed out that the House map was so well done that it was not seriously challenged, although it has made life difficult for many legislators of both parties. In spite of the $1.8B budget shortfall this year, he was still able to get reasonable funding for some of his priorities including beach replenishment, libraries and Everglades restoration. He also assured us that the current House will “stand its ground” to protect the law of that name that has come under fire in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting.

As a special surprise, long time club member Bette Anne Starkey was honored with a birthday cake, and we were treated to a patriotic song by Monique McCall.

Participating in the candidate introductions were: Fran Hancock (state Committeewoman), Tami Donnally (House district 86), Gary Nikolits (Property Appraiser), Melanie Peterson (Senate district 25), Dina Keever (State Attorney), Calvin Turnquest (House district 82), Geoff Summers (Senate district 25), and Brad Gary (Port Commissioner). A surrogate also spoke for Cindy Tindell (state Committeewoman).

Some pictures of the event:

Tim Pawlenty Opens Adam Hasner’s Boca Campaign Office

Adam Hasner anchors March Lunch

Former Florida House Speaker and current CD22 candidate Adam Hasner brought his message of America at the tipping point to the RCPB March lunch at Bear Lakes today. Adam will likely face Democrat candidate and former West Palm Mayor Lois Frankel in November in the newly constituted D + 9 District.

“Children born today could likely see the arrival of the 22nd century,” he began. What kind of a future will they experience? We are close to a tipping point now with less than half of the country paying any income taxes, food stamps at an all time high, and 99 weeks of unemployment insurance payments dividing us. What kind of world are we leaving for our children? People are scared.

This next election (“the most important in our lifetime”), is not about ideology – it is about math. Without getting our debt under control, the future will be very different.

“Both Democrats and Republicans are to blame for this situation and it must stop,” he said to applause from the group. In answer to the question about whether he would have voted (as current CD22 member Allen West did) for the debt ceiling deal last summer that led to the feckless “super committee” and the sequestration that could likely gut the military, he answered a definite NO! We must stop spending more than we take in, and we should not raise the debt ceiling any farther. Eliminating the debt should be a primary focus of the Congress.

Prior to Hasner’s keynote, we heard from CD23 candidate Joe Kaufman. Nationally known for his work against radical organizations in the US who raise money for terrorist groups, he hopes to defeat DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. A self described conservative, he says he will have strong Democrat crossover in the district. He will need it, as the district is D + 23 (49% Democrat, 26% Republican). He must first dispatch Republican rivals Karen Harrington and Ozzie deFaria in the August Primary. Harrington faced off against Schultz in 2010, in the old CD20 (which has a lot of overlap with the new CD23) and managed to win only 38% of the vote to Schultz 60%.

Other candidates in attendance were Mike Lameyer (Senate 34), and a surrogate (his sister) for James O’Hara (House 81), as well as State Committeeman candidate Fran Hancock.

The Obama Zone

There is an excellent article in the Washington Examiner about the fact that the Democrats in Congress are not even pretending that they will pass a budget this year – a total abdication of their duty under the constitution. Read it HERE.

But the best part about the article was this comment posted by “General Mayhem” that very effectively evokes the “Twilight Zone”.

You’re now entering a dimension beyond what hope’n’change has stimulated, not to mention spoiled and squandered.
It is a dimension as unpopular as Obamacare and as untimely as cap’n’trade.
It is a middle finger raised between platitude & lassitude, and between a campaign that never ends and sound bites forever blaming Bush; and it lies between spin to allay Gulf fears and photo-ops with tar balls, all capped off by an Oval Office speech touting wind turbines, solar panels, and “energy-efficient windows.”
This is a dimension of flimsy obfuscation and of Jones Act and EPA waivers long delayed. Beyond it are other dementia— the distraction of hoops and bogeys, a declining dollar and an ever-dizzy Dow, plus dimwitted vicissitudes from McCartney and Calderon.
You’ve moving into a dimension of both denial and delay, of ideas ignored and logical things undone. You have seen the signpost up ahead— it reads, “It took a spillage”— and you’re just crossing over into . . . the Obama Zone

Francisco Rodriguez Town Hall

This afternoon, in the picturesque seaside Palm Beach Shores Community Center, Francisco Rodriguez, candidate for Florida House District 83, held a town hall for members of that community.  Organized by Carol Hurst, a supporter and Palm Beach Shores community leader, the event was an opportunity for Francisco to give his views on a variety of issues facing Florida today.

When asked for his view of the Sunrail bill, passed by the legislature earlier in the year and sold as a way to bring federal stimulus dollars into the state, he was very clear.  It should not have been passed and he would have voted against it.  Accepting federal money now but obligating the state to provide significant funding for it in future years is a bad deal for Florida.

A common theme that pervades Francisco’s thinking on several subjects is the Constitution and the rights of states to determine their own destiny.  For example, the Federal Government is required to manage the border and control immigration – it is not a state responsibility.  That said, when the job is not being done it is acceptable for the states to see that federal law is enforced.  Arizona did not need to pass the controversial law, but by doing so it provides political cover for law enforcement.  In another example, states are free to adopt any fiscal model they wish – and spend and borrow as they see fit, but when the day comes that bad decisions lead to potential default, the other states (or their citizens through federal taxes) should not be asked to bail them out.  The time has come for states to stand up for their rights and start using the 10th amendment to push back against federal overreach.

The Health Care Freedom Act is one example of this, and Francisco would support a mechanism whereby the states could control the amount of taxes collected in the state that gets sent to the federal government.

On state taxes, Francisco is not a fan of property taxes – which he equates to “paying rent” on a property which you own, and instead prefers use-based taxes with defined purposes such as a gas tax to fund only roads.

Schools, he believes, should be controlled at the local level – including such things as curriculum content and testing approach.  He was not a fan of the recently vetoed education bill, saying it gave too much control over local decisions to the bureaucrats in Tallahassee.

Florida House district 83, currently held by Carl Domino who is running for Senate district 25, sits at the northeastern part of the county and includes parts of Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Juno Beach, North Palm Beach, along Singer Island and Palm Beach Island to just south of Southern Boulevard. ( Click HERE for map. ) In the Republican primary on August 24, Francisco faces Realtor Nancy Cardone and Palm Beach Kennel Club manager Pat Rooney.

A number of RCPB members were in attendance, including organizer Carol Hurst, Jim Vissi, Melissa Andrews,  Delia Garcia Menocal, Clair and Don Jones, Sue Varey, Bette Anne Starkey, Helen Wilkes, and Fred and Iris Scheibl. Following are a few pictures from the event.

Fire Rescue Sales Tax Debate

This afternoon at the South County Civic Center the Voter’s Coalition of Palm Beach County hosted a public meeting on the topic of the proposed 1% additional county sales tax to provide an independent funding source for Fire/Rescue operations.

Chaired by Voter’s Coalition President Bob Newmark and assisted by Honorary Chairman Harold Ostrow, the meeting started with an opportunity for candidates present to have 2 minutes of remarks. There were a LOT of candidates – so many in fact that the entire first hour was taken up by their presentations. Candidates for County Judge positions, County Commission and School Board seats, Florida House and Senate, and US Congress were present, including some familiar faces to the RCPB including Joe Budd (CD19), Carl Domino (FS25), Karl Dickey (BCC district 4), Anne Lee Kanjian (School Board district 4), and Lloyd Comiter (County Court Group 7).

The pro-tax side was represented by Fire/Rescue Battalion Chief Ron Beesley, who made the case that critical services are threatened by the pressure on ad-valorem tax revenue caused by the real estate downturn. Sales taxes he said, are payed by tourists (who use the services) and not just by homeowners. The intention is for the tax to be offset by an equivalent decrease in the ad-valorem taxes currently allocated to Fire/Rescue in the county and cities.

The anti-tax side was argued by Christina Pearce and Nat Roberts representing the business community (Nat is the incoming Chairman of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County). Their argument (careful to say they oppose the tax, not the Firefighters) focuses on the abundant negatives of the proposal, including that the tax is permanent and has no limit or caps (unlike the .5% tax for school construction which sunsets this year), has incentives for increased spending, will result in 9 months of double taxation, funds an essential service with an unpredictable source of funds, and that there is no assurance in the statute or the proposal that property taxes will, in fact, be reduced.

The State Legislature gave counties the ability to fund Fire/Rescue through the sales tax (SB1000 and HB365 which passed last year), by means of a ballot referendum. To get it on the ballot requires the approval of 7 of the 12 municipalites with independent fire districts, and approval of the County Commission which will take up the issue n meetings on 5/18 and 6/8.

A key moment in the debate occurred when Nat Roberts pointed out that Fire/Rescue spending increased over 80% in the 6 years (2004-10) that call volume only went up 19-25%, much of that to salary and benefit increases. Chief Beesley countered that with the fact that much of the increased spending was cash for capital construction of new fire stations – undertaken because “the revenue was available in the boom”. One was left to ponder the question as to what would restrain their spending when or if they were to get a “booming” source of revenue – like a sales tax during an economic recovery. Seemed pretty damning.

All in all, it was an interesting exchange attended by well over 100 members and guests. Below are some pictures from the event provided by Joy Stone.

Palm Beach County Inspector General Chosen

Following two days of interviews, members of the seven-member Palm Beach County Inspector General Selection Committee have tentatively chosen the county’s first independent Inspector General (IG).

Sheryl G. Steckler was the top choice among eight finalists for the new position. She is currently the inspector general with the Florida Department of Children and Families, and is second Vice President for the National Association of Inspectors General and President for the local Chapter (Tallahassee) Association of Inspectors General.

The County Attorney’s Office will now begin negotiating a contract with Ms. Steckler which, by ordinance, will be for four years.

Click HERE for the county press release.

RCPB members were involved in the creation of the county Ethics Ordinances that passed late last year. Through public comment, meetings with commissioners and staff, drafting some of the final ordinance wording that helped guarantee the independence of the office of Inspector General, and participation on the implementation committee, we fully support the process and wish Ms Steckler well in her new role if she chooses to accept it.

Background on Sheryl Steckler from the DFC website: (Click HERE.)

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Appointed Inspector General in October 2002, Sheryl’s office currently consists of three units: Investigations, Internal & Single Audit and Appeal Hearings. Ms. Steckler’s oversight includes the agency’s programs and functions which extend to the agency’s outsourced community partners as well. Ms. Steckler has worked in law enforcement and related positions for over 24 years. Prior to joining the Inspectors General community in 2002, she spent eight years as the Director for Pinellas County, Florida Consumer Protection which included Mediation, Criminal Investigations and Regulatory Oversight. Ms. Steckler was also with the Florida Auditor General’s office in Performance Auditing and Public Assistance Fraud for over nine years. Ms. Steckler is currently a Certified Inspector General and Certified Inspector General Investigator. She is an Infragard member with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (Homeland Security). She is also a former certified law enforcement officer and certified welfare fraud investigator. Ms. Steckler holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Florida State University. She is currently second Vice President for the National Association of Inspectors General and President for the local Chapter (Tallahassee) Association of Inspectors General. She has held elected positions as President and Vice President of Conferences for the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators. Ms. Steckler has also served as a member (appointed by the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services) of the Florida’s Consumer Council

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