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The Lake Worth Democratic Club had several candidates attending its meeting last night at Pegasus in spite of the heavy downpour.Paulette Burdick spoke prior to the general meeting as she had another meeting to attend. The best quip of the night was when Harvey Millstein said to Ms. Burdick, “PB County passed on an ethics committee so maybe you will stay out of jail.” Pete Brandenburg was there running for District 89 as was Jeff Clemens.
The "Pro" and the Con were there regarding Florida Hometown Democracy. Both speakers are native Floridians. Our own Katie McGiveron, sounded like a seasoned "pro" on the subject. Speaking for the very first time ever in a public forum regarding the ballot initiative, she stood up to Councilman, David Levy from Palm Beach Gardens. Lesley Blackner, founder of FHD, could not attend.
I just never really know for sure if politicians get it wrong on purpose or if the lie is just something they perfect as they go along. Mr. Levy, a geologist, was first elected to office in 2003 and is in his 2nd, three year term as Vice Mayor of his city. He comes up for re-election on March 9. You can bet that he is backed (financially or philosophically) by every builder organization that ever existed for his loyalty to growth at any cost. Incidentally, Palm Beach Gardens Treasury Reports are not on-line.
Mr. Levy’s biggest argument was turning Florida Hometown Democracy’s arguments 180^. He said that Amendment 4 was bad for the environment, his most outlandish lie of the night. Well, not quite—there was another one that stood out when he said that every 7 years we would have to go out for Referenda on our Comp Plan. It is a statement such as this that convinces me that we need to be in charge of where we live. Voting “good” people into office is the biggest challenge we face.
He referred often to St. Petersburg Beach as an example of why Amendment 4 was “bad” even saying what happened there was “the clone of Amendment 4.” This is when Katie stepped in to explain to the club membership that St. Pete Beach did not have Amendment 4, that is was like “putting a saddle on a cow and then crying when you didn’t win the Kentucky Derby.” (If anyone wants an explanation as to what really happened at St. Petersburg, let me know. I will be happy to send you information)
In summation, Amendment 4 is on the ballot because elected officials are gutless; they can’t say “no” to bad growth. And it almost seems as if they will never say "no" to any building. With enough units on the market to accommodate 100 million people, we don't have to worry about housing for those who are migrating here. Katie said, “I am tired of people telling me that the voters are too stupid to vote on land use changes. Commissioners are not smarter than we and didn’t grow another brain when they got elected.” Harvey Millstein's quip is how many of us feel about elected officials and our State is proof positive of their reckless disregard.
On November 2 we will all be able to vote on how we want our communities to look if a commission dares to change a land use in our Comp Plan, our legal bible. Politicians have done a dreadful job for decades and their messes have finally caught up to us all.
6 comments:
Lynn, thanks for your kind words. I would also like to give a big thank you to the Democratic club for allowing me to come and give the members an idea of what Amendment 4 is really about.Our state and our economy has been brought to it's knees because our elected officials just can't say no to bad growth. Amendment 4 is the only recourse we the people have.
Did Clemens mention the $34.000.000 recycled County,treated sewage,industrialwaste and toilet water, Contract he signed for Lake Worth Citizens for drinking water? We now have to give $4.100.000 to terminate that Contract for his vote fishing,political capital getting Contract, cash to terminate what we did not need.We have our own R.O.pure well drinking water coming up.He should be made to pay that. We have a budget deficit!Really???With such chicanery?
Did anybody mention that during his tenure, Lake Worth was robbed with $60.000.000 waived bidding Contracts, which denied us the lower costs, because of this economis downfall!A certain road to bankruptcy.No Commissioners stopped that runaway train.Citizens put new train parts to have that to continue running away!There is no accountability and bad fiscal management.
Did he or any one mention his refusal to sign the FMPA termination agreement, keep us strangled with extortionate FMPA electric rates????
While at the CRA he voted for eliminating the 110 public parking spaces Koolik was supposed to provide if permitted to build
his legally non-compliant,the Lucerne?
Clemens forced the give away of our Senior Center,for $85.00 per month, which could have given us $144.000 per year revenue!For Compass votes !
Clemens refused to give our Olympic pool rehab job to a County professional Co.like Lytal,and allowed Greater Bay to mess up our pool producing green slime, no heater , a bubble wrap cover!!!!
For $428.000.-!!!!
Nobody said a word?etc etc.
Dee Mcnamara
(can you please E mail this to DorothyMGordon@aol.com?
Thnaks.
Lynn - calling this a lie - "there was another one that stood out when he said that every 7 years when governments make amendments to their Comp Plan, it would have to go out for Referenda." Really?
Directly, from Hometown Democracy's website ... "A plan change approved by a commission will be listed as a referendum election item and scheduled ... for election" and Amendment 4 covers comprehensive plan changes".
Please connect the dots for me ... Councilman Levy states that amendments to the Comp Plan would got to referenda, FHD says the same, yet you attach Mr. Levy and call him a liar.
Regardless of your feelings regarding Amendment 4, please stick to the truth.
Keep on stewing--
If the local government CHANGES land uses within our Comprehensive Plan, we will have the right to vote on that. This does not mean that we will have to vote every seven years. This was an erroneous and/or exaggerated statement by Mr. Levy and meant to distort the truth.
Lynn, I understand your argument on the side of Amendment 4. Myself, I've been to the April 15th Tax Day Tea Party in West Palm Beach. And as inconvenient as it may have been, leaving my family for four days, hotel bill and plane fare, I also attended the 912 rally in Washington this past Fall.
Why? For the same exact reason you support A4. We're frustrated by the same misleading, untruth we're being force-fed by our City officials. There is little faith remaining within us to bestow on others claiming to represent our "best interests." I've thought about the proposition for many hours, trying to make sense of either side.
As much as I relish the concept of emancipating neighborhoods, enabling them to band together on issues, and to make the in-your-face decisions our elected officals often avoid, I remained uneasy with my own desire for that very empowerment. It was then that the answer occurred to me, and I was able to see clearly what many haven't. The answer is not to create legislative gridlock, if you will.
The answer is to remove those who will not relay public sentiment, and those who betray their obligation of trust, and diminish the sanctity of the office which they hold. The solution is to find those individuals who will present the facts, and only the facts, to the people who have elevated them to these positions of honor.
It is because I believe that communities are very capable of finding suitable persons to serve in official capacities, that I cannot support Amendment 4.
Very respectfully,
Rob Palladino
Thanks, Rob. I only wish your solution was an answer. Unfortunately, it is not and that is why Amendment 4 came to be. Our elected officials, over and over again, have destroyed our trust. A lot of damage can occur in a term...yours is 3 years. All that power on the dais and not listening to constituents but rather the developer that has lined the pockets of elected officials across the State. Just think of campaign contributions alone. Seeing that you are a Realtor, I well understand where you are coming from on this issue as well as the fact that there are not too many politicians that want the voters to have any power at all other than to elect them.
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