Former Ambassador Al Cardenas Highlights June Lunch Meeting

On Wednesday, June 22 at Bear Lakes, Keynote speaker Al Cardenas of the American Conservative Union, gave his views on current events and emphasized how important it is to stand on principles, such as boldly supporting the Ryan budget, given it is the only “real” proposal on the table to fix our structural fiscal problems. He considers it a moderate document, since it takes 28 years to achieve balance and does not touch Social Security. We need to stand for conservative principles, both while running for election and governing. Consistency provides mandates – if you take a controversial stand and are elected on that basis, then you have a mandate to implement that position. Ambassador Cardenas also announced that a regional CPAC convention is to be held in Orlando coincident with Presidency 5.

Also noted at the meeting was the formation of a new grass roots group in the county, the Palm Beach County Tea Party. Pam Wohlschlegel, formerly county coordinator for SFTP, has formed a new group to build a coalition of activists from related organizations dedicated to fiscal responsibility, constitutionaly limited government and free markets. She pointed out that she has been a Republican since her school days, but decided to work through a non-partisan group because of their success in attracting disaffected Democrats and Independents to the conservative cause.

Also speaking were Joe Kaufman, candidate for CD20 (Debbie Wasserman Schultz), and Starla Brown, PB and Broward coordinator for the Mike McCallister for Senate campaign. The meeting was hosted by Bette Anne Starkey.

Pictures by Boris Balaban and Delia Garcia Menocal.

FH83 Representative Pat Rooney Highlights Award Lunch

On May 25th, the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches was pleased to welcome state representative Pat Rooney at its monthly luncheon.  Representative Rooney provided a summary of the 2011 legislative session, including its highs and lows and some of the initiatives most directly affecting South Florida.  Most notably, Representative Rooney discussed the Republicans’ successful efforts to trim burdensome government spending in order to promote the creation of private sector jobs, offset the ever-increasing federal tax burdens on Floridians, and propel Florida’s economy out of the ongoing recession.  He also discussed the passage of a bill designed to help balance Florida’s long term budget by requiring state employees to fund a small portion of their own pensions.  He expressed great optimism about the opportunities to solve the challenges of illegal immigration while also recognizing the complex impact that any such solution will have on Florida’s agricultural industry and the overall economy.

As a businessman, Pat described the frustrations of being a freshman legislator working through the considerably different world of lawmaking, and some thoughts of how to improve the process, including his proposal for using video conferencing to connect the lawmakers from the southern part of the state during committee time, to make more efficient use of everyone’s time.

Although the session was somewhat contentious, and much was sandwiched into the last few weeks, there were some good things to emerge. In Pat’s view these included saving some funding for libraries and the disabled, FRS reform, and the bill to curb pill mill abuses.

Representative Rooney also took part in the Club’s ceremony awarding the 2011 Anne Roberts Memorial Scholarship.  This year, the scholarship was awarded to four deserving candidates who are in the process of pursuing their college degrees.  Representative Rooney and the entire Club were pleased to recognize all four candidates for their academic accomplishments and their embodiment of Republican values.   

There were four scholarship winners this year, each receiving a check for $500, and the awards were announced by surprise guest (via video recording) Congressman Allen West.

Receiving the scholarships were John Clark, Shirley Schaff, Kimberly Twoey, and Jason Ferrara.  Click here for the Press Release – ARM Scholarship 2011

Pictures courtesey of Delia Garcia-Menocal.

Senator George LeMieux Highlights April Lunch

Former Senator (and now candidate) George LeMieux gave us an interesting perspective on the federal budget struggles and what is at stake in the battle over the debt limit. Appointed by Charlie Crist to fill the slot vacated by Mel Martinez, his Washington experience gives him some advantages over his two announced competitors Adam Hasner and Mike Haridopolis, but all three would make capable Senators and it will be a spirited campaign.

Here are a few pictures of the event:

RPOF Chairman Dave Bitner Highlights March Meeting

CHAIRMAN BITNER IS A HIT TO FULL HOUSE

Dave Bitner, the newly elected chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, gave a filled room of Republicans a lot to be happy about as he shared his philosophy on the state party’s future to an enthusiastic audience.

“Grassroots” is at the top of his priorities. “When I am asked, ‘ Where is the State Party Headquarters?” I tell them ‘Our building is in Tallahassee but our party is everywhere there are active Republicans making a difference”. He emphasized that the rebuilding of the RPOF started by Senator John Thrasher and now continued by him was taking hold. “Trust is being rebuilt; givers now know that their money will be invested well”.

Our club was pleased to welcome an extra star guest. The Chairman of the New York Republican State Party, Ed Cox was a big hit as he graciously shook hands and chatted with our members afterward. We were also pleased to welcome the elected officials in attendance– West Palm Beach Commissioner Kimberly Mitchell, Palm Beach Councilman Bill Diamond and South Palm Beach Councilwoman, Bonnie Fisher.

Joe Cardenas did an outstanding job officiating the meeting for our President Melissa Andrews.

Highlights for future meetings: April 27 we host Former US Senator George LeMieux May 25 we host FL Rep Pat Rooney; June 22 we host newly elected CPAC Chairman and former RPOF Chair Al Cardenas. Mark your calendars now as we expect sold out crowds for these outstanding speakers.

A few pictures from Delia:

Adam Hasner Highlights February Meeting

Former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner joined us for the February meeting at Bear Lakes. Mentioned in some circles as a possible Senate candidate, he showed us his keen grasp of national and state issues as he gave us an update of current events.

Some pictures courtesy of Delia:

2011 Lincoln Day Dinner

RCPB Proudly Supports Palm Beach County Republican Party at the 2011 Lincoln Day Dinner featuring Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Congressman Allen West and Congressman Tom Rooney.

RCPB Members were scattered throughout the room for a wonderful evening.

RPOF Chairman Dave Bitner – Join Us

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Dave Bitner is a longtime Floridian, a lifelong Republican, a small business owner and a former member of the Florida Legislature. In 1992, Dave was elected by the people of District 71 to serve in the Florida House of Representatives. Dave served eight years in the Florida Legislature and never asked for one earmark, returning taxpayer dollars to the state from his office every quarter.

 Dave earned a reputation as a hard-working, common sense conservative. Dave helped the Republican Party gain the majority in the Florida House under Speakers Webster and Thrasher, then under Governor Jeb Bush.

Elected as RPOF Chairman in January 2011, Dave started as a precinct committeeman and currently serves as a state committeeman for Jefferson County.  Dave and his wife Wendy have walked door-to-door for hundreds of state and local Republican candidates over the last 18 years, from Pensacola to Key West. 

As an owner of the Charlotte Sun-Herald, Dave built a small business from the ground up and saw firsthand the need to cut government red tape and fight for the lower taxes on small businesses and families

Grassroots Experience

• –          Participated in Rick Scott, Steve Southerland, and multiple state and local campaigns in 2010
• –          Participated in Gov. Bush’s campaigns in 1998 and 2002
• –          Traveled across Florida for President Bush in 2000
• –          Member, Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee, 2004-present
• –          Member, Charlotte County Republican Club, 1992-present
• –          Jefferson County precinct committeeman
• –          Jefferson County state committeeman
• –          Walked door to door for more than 100 Republican races
• –          Past President Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce

 Legislative Accomplishments

• –          Cut taxes on beverages, helping small businesses hindered by red tape
• –          Returned dollars to the state from own office every quarter
• –          Passed fiscally constrained counties bill that brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to small counties
• –          Authored tort reform legislation
• –          Authored workers comp reform legislation
• –          Sponsored Florida’s “name change” law, ensuring the record of prisoners incarcerated under one name and released under another reflected their complete criminal record

RSVP by  noon, March 21st

New Phone Number:  (561) 804-4591

or e-mail:   info@gopclubpb.org

Cancellations by March 21st will be honored

Also:  Post Cards are being sent to our Members and Friends

without email to save postage

And, NOTE NEW PHONE NUMBER FOR RSVP (ABOVE)

 

WHERE:         Bear Lakes Country Club

                         1901 Village Blvd

                          West Palm Beach

Bear Lakes Rules: Business Casual Dress (No Jeans); Please Silence Cell Phones,

 

TIME/DATE:   Wed. March 23; 11:30  

  

COST:             $20 Members and  $25 Guests ; Complimentary Valet

RSVP:             MONDAY, March 21st NOON — 561 804-4591  

                         or  email:  info@gopclubpb.org

A Legislator's Perspective on Rail, the Constitution, and Other Matters

By Fred and Iris Scheibl[ PRINT ]

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As anyone following the process has discovered, there is friction among the branches of government in Tallahassee. When Governor Scott decided to reject the federal grant for building a high speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando, a “gang of 25” Senators were not pleased. So displeased that they wrote a letter to Obama Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, asking for more time to circumvent the Governor’s decision before “our” $2.4 billion were allocated to California or New York, or some other “rail-friendly” state.

(Click HERE to see the letter).

District 25 Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff is one of the “gang of 25” signatories, as is district 27 Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto. Both Republicans are newly elected to that body and both were supported in various ways by South Florida 912, including a prominent recommendation on our “leader’s picks”. Since we support the Governor’s decision and rationale on high speed rail (it is a boondoggle, makes no economic sense, and will likely put the state on the hook for future subsidies), we contacted both Senators for their rationale in end-running the Governor.

Senator Benaquisto described her decision as “process related’. Although she does not support using federal funds to build the rail project, and doubts that a private sector project would be profitable, she signed on to the protest letter to protect the prerogatives of the Legislative Body. She was not in the Legislature when the original rail bill was passed (which provided funding to qualify for the federal grant), but was swayed by the argument that the actions of a previous legislative session (and previous governor) could not be unilaterally overturned by the present Governor. She also is now having second thoughts about the issue.

A Conversation with Ellyn Bogdanoff

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Ellyn Bogdanoff has a nuanced view of the issue. After exchanging several emails on the subject, she offered to meet with us to better explain her position. In her view, much of the issue has been obscured by trivialized media reports and she believes the constitutional issue it engenders is larger than any discussion of high speed rail.

This afternoon, we had the opportunity to meet with the Senator at the comfortable Starbucks in the Gardens Mall. Accompanying her were legislative and political aides who were traveling with her throughout the district today.

We started our conversation in agreement – most of the coverage we read about the Legislative Session in the Palm Beach Post and Sun-Sentinel is superficial and doesn’t delve into the whole story.

As a member of the Florida House, the Senator supported Sun-Rail and the groundwork that was laid to qualify for federal transportation grants for the high speed rail projects. We don’t agree on this issue, but the Senator has been consistent. Irrespective of the underlying policy though, she views this current issue as one with constitutional ramifications.

While Senator Bogdanoff agrees with most (80-90%) of Governor Scott’s positions on issues, she believes that many of his actions since coming into office are arrogant, but more importantly, unconstitutional.

As a corporate CEO, he had the ability to take actions without necessarily consulting or deferring to other ‘bodies’. The state government on the other hand, is structured to assign separate powers to the legislative and executive bodies. The Governor, the executive body, does not have the authority to unilaterally overturn what the legislature had appropriated in past sessions. Nor does he have the ability to ‘legislate’. She referred us to an Orlando Sentinel article describing the contention between Governor Scott and the Legislature: (Click HERE for the article.)

Governor Crist did much that she considered unconstitutional as well, including the arbitrary extension of voting time during the 2008 election.

To Senator Bogdanoff, fidelity to the Florida State Constitution trumps any position on issues where she would otherwise agree with the Governor. If one ignores blatant constitutional violations when one agrees, then what happens in the future when other rights are being trampled?

She believes that we (ie. grassroots activists, South Florida 912, South Florida Tea Party) can and should remain ‘pure’ in our positions. She however, as a legislator, has to be focused on achieving ‘incremental’ wins. She has worked hard to have a leadership ‘seat at the table’ (Ellyn Bogdanoff now chairs the Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax) and if one behaves as a ‘bomb-thrower’, but gets nothing passed, then what is accomplished? In the give and take that her leadership role entails, if she can get 85% of what she wants, by voting for the 15% she doesn’t agree with, then she’ll do it. High speed rail was such an example – the Orlando-Tampa line was perhaps not the route she would have preferred, but she compromised to move on the larger package.

We have agreed to disagree with the Senator on high speed rail for Florida. We do not believe that the ridership projections are realistic and thus believe that any rail effort will ultimately result in requiring subsidies from the taxpayer. She believes that any private corporation agreeing to build and run the line would not do so if they didn’t think they could be profitable without subsidies.

Prior to Governor Scott’s decision, both Wisconsin and Ohio rejected similar grants. They (like us) see the entire Obama rail dream as a $57B progressive pipedream. None of these projects are likely to be profitable and will require operating subsidies to make riding them affordable. This is true of Tri-Rail and it is true with Amtrak, for which the Pew SubsidyScope Project estimates carries a subsidy of $32 for every passenger and loses money on 41 of 44 routes.

Other Topics

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After our discussion of high speed rail and the separation of powers, we briefly touched on some other issues of local interest.

Key to budget restraint at the state and local level is FRS reform. The proposal as outlined by the Governor includes reduction in special-risk accrual, elimination of COLA and a 5% contribution by participants. Senator Bogdanoff considers the proposal as it stands, “dead on arrival” as there are not the votes to go that far. The bills (SB 1128 and 1130) that have been introduced by Senator Jeremy Ring (FS32), Chairman of Governmental Oversight and Accountability, are working their way through his committee, but fall short of the Scott proposal (and what is needed).

Another bill, SB1406, sponsored by Senator Bogdanoff, would introduce a 2.5 cent sales tax increase to replace the ad-valorem tax for the school systems. Although it deletes a requirement that a district school board levy the minimum millage rate necessary to provide the district’s required local effort, it does not prevent them from doing so. We suggested that this presents a double taxation case like the local Fire/Rescue sales tax proposal but she insists this is a true tax swap. She did say though to make it work, it will require an additional constitutional ballot amendment in 2012 removing school board funding from property taxes.

We ended the meeting keeping communications open. She has been willing to explain her rationale for her positions. We may not always agree on specific issues, but appreciate the Senator’s candor and openness.

State of the State with PBC Chairman, Sid Dinerstein

            The Republican Club of the Palm Beaches kicked off 2011 with our first meeting on January 26^th with a group of enthusiastic members and their guests.  It was great to see so many people staying involved in our local, state and national politics.

            We were honored to be joined at our first meeting by local candidate, George Carter, running for Mayor of Riviera Beach.  A graduate of Riviera Beach High School and Barry University, Carter served as director of the Riviera Beach Municipal Marina from 1990-2006.  Since that time Carter has served as president of the Riviera Beach Maritime Academy.

            Several of our members had an opportunity to speak with Carter who firmly believes in the economic growth of Rivera Beach, and the importance of educating our youth.  Carter is working with Enid Atwater in coordinating his candidacy, and he is currently seeking volunteers for all aspects of the campaign.  You can sign-up to help at carter4mayor.com.  The election will be held Tuesday, March 8, 2011.

            Our guest speaker for the day was Sid Dinerstein, Chairman of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County.  Sid spoke about the results and statistics from the 2010 election cycle, and gave a preview to the upcoming Presidential race.  He commented on our new Florida state legislature and governor, and noted that this group will be closely watched by all as Florida brings forth its legislative agenda.

            Sid also reminded everyone of the upcoming Lincoln Day Dinner on February 24^th which serves as the Republican Party of Palm Beach County’s principal fundraiser.  If you have not yet purchased your tickets, please do so as RCPB has tables at the event.

            We were fortunate to have several books as door prizes donated by Col. Arthur DeRuve and several members and guests were the lucky recipients in our drawing.

            We look forward to a great year as we round the corner on to 2012, and many thanks to all the members who brought guests to our meeting.

Excellent Turnout for Veterans Event

The “Celebration of Freedom – a Salute to Veterans” was a rousing success, with a standing room only crowd and $2805 raised in the silent auction sheparded by Michele Poole

Special guest Congressman-elect (Lt. Colonel) Allen West made his first visit to the club after his resounding defeat of Democrat Ron Klein who ran one of the nastiest campaigns in South Florida, and was as excellent a speaker as ever. One of the rising conservative stars of the party (along with fellow Floridian Marco Rubio), the eyes of the nation are on Allen as he will be taking his place alongside the approximately 100 NEW members of Congress in January.

The entertainment was excellent, as local artist Madison McIntosh rendered the anthem and other patriotic songs to an appreciative audience, and the presenting of the colors by the Dwyer High School ROTC started the event with distinction.

The numerous veterans in attendance were recognized, and each was presented with a lifetime membership in RCPB.

Quite an event and it certainly raised the bar for next year. Here are a few pictures from the event:

For additional pictures, click HERE

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