2009 Top Quotes - Ten Plus One

Comment Up

Some of my favorites

As we approach the New Year, we can't forget some of the best quotations from the mouths of prominent politicians and citizens in Lake Worth. Here are eleven of my favorites. If you have any, please let us know.

“I don’t like West Palm Beach water. I will never drink it.” Jeff Clemens. When the Commission elected to buy water from West Palm Beach it was for emergency use and to take a little pressure off our well field. It was zero cost to us other than the price of water per mgd. The County would have cost us originally $24 million, which they later reduced to $8 million in order to even buy a lesser amount of water. We are still negotiating the final amount. Clemens voted against West Palm Beach water and elected to go with the County.No cost versus $24 million. But “I don’t like the taste of WPB water,” he says.

“The Casino building is unsafe and needs to be demolished.” Jeff Clemens. Although the citizen activists and engineers spoke over and over again on the building being structurally sound, Clemens never even considered getting a forensic study and defied us all the way. We have subsequently learned that the building is structurally sound.

“They are all liars.” Jeff Clemens speaking out on the whistleblowers who have filed suit against the City of Lake Worth.

**I could come up with hundreds for Jeff but those stand out!!

"I'm totally baffled; this is so amazing; this is insane." City Manager, Susan Stanton, after citizens spoke out at a public meeting making her believe that they were accusing the City of malfeasance.

"Throw the Bums out." Bill Coakley's theme on his radio show regarding some corrupt and inept officials and staff at City Hall

“I' ve never made a dime off of dolphins,” says Rene Varela. He is a partner in a company involved in dolphin trafficking that made over $4 million selling 28 captured dolphins to Dubai.

“He is a racist.” Cara Jennings talking about Scott Maxwell who is an advocate of legal immigration. Jennings then threatens to boycott Nature’s Way because Maxwell had booked a fund raiser there.

"If Commissioner Jennings' actions toward the Nature's Way Cafe owner are what passes for ethical behavior, it's no wonder that the people of Florida have so little faith and confidence in our elected officials or in the state's ability and willingness to hold them accountable," said Mary Lindsey. Mary then files an ethics complaint against Cara Jennings that is eventually dismissed by the Ethics Commission. Mary forgot to mention the negative and deceptive flier against candidate Laurence McNamara with a return address of LW Utilities that she sent out during the Mayoral run-off.

“I don’t know who he is; we were just told to show up and wave his sign.” Union Firefighter for Rene Varela. The Union continues negotiations with Lake Worth for higher retirement benefits. This is the same Union, that had merged to the County, that sent out a deceptive robo call the night of the election using a City of Lake Worth phone number belonging to the former LW Fire Department.

"This is nothing but a witchhunt," says Commissioner Jennings regarding the firing of Annabeth Karson. The Commission then capitulates and decides to go out on an RFP to hire someone else for the job.

“This is a reverse witch-hunt to make me look bad and I am sick and tired of these games.” Commissioner Scott Maxwell, with the perfected spin of a politician, makes the statement after citizens used his name in e-mails to the City Manager in 10 to 1 support of Annabeth Karson to keep her in the position to coordinate the 2010 census. The implication was that Maxwell was one of those who spearheaded the firing of Annabeth Karson.