Are you celebrating Labor Day unemployed or underemployed? Then help fix that by voting YES on Amendment 4 this November 2.Placed on the ballot by the Florida Hometown Democracy volunteers, Amendment 4 guarantees future growth plan changes (the precursor to radical zoning changes) must be approved by local voters instead of just politicians. Passing 4 will first bring stability to our home values, then confidence to our real estate market, and finally be the incentive for out of state fence sitters to come to Florida.
This Amendment will do more to move Florida to the front of the recovery line than any public-private giveaway. Without it we could be waiting decades at the back off that line for the rest of the nation to recover first. Can your family wait that long?
Unconvinced? Look deeper.
Ever wondered why corporations invest over $100,000 to get a politician elected to a city commissioner’s job that only pays $17,000? It’s for the Land Use Changes and other lesser giveaways. Ignoring the vacant lots and empty storefront consequences of past changes, those same politicians now want you to blame the recession. Don’t buy it. Even during a recession people retire, relocate, and move to find a better life. Now they just go to North Carolina and Tennessee.
So why are people fleeing Florida instead of coming? Because there is no confidence in our state economy or home values. Since there are no new residents it is us, the existing residents, who are stuck with the bills for extending roads, schools, and other infrastructure for vacant lots and half built homes where they were never intended to be. How did it get so bad so quickly? The wheels started to come off when giveaways like CRA's resulted in cities running low on money for municipal services and improvements, and -- worse -- low on WATER! Then throw in the fact that from 1997-2007 we had more politicians indicted on land use and zoning corruption than any other state in the nation. Add it all up; over development in sensitive areas + statewide political corruption + neighborhood intrusion by commercial and high density speculators and there you have it, and the newcomers stopped coming. We are left holding the bag while speculators made millions.
So where do we go from here? We start by taking responsibility for protecting our own communities by passing Amendment 4. The benefits are plain;
1) It provides the long-lost confidence that your home will not suddenly have a Wal-Mart next to it.
2) It assures that the commercial project that your employer starts today will not be made unprofitable by unfair giveaways to a campaign contributor tomorrow. 3) It reduces the profit in bankrolling a corrupt or incompetent local politician into office. Everyone wins with Amendment 4 - except the speculators and the politicians who serve them.
Want to talk economic development? Ask yourself who is going to bring their company, much less their family, to a place where the basic elements of a good life are not guaranteed? No one will. Roofers, retailers, restaurateurs, workers at all levels and from all walks of life have a stake in turning around our economy and recreating lost jobs. The economic crash has taught us that our homes, our neighborhoods, and our economy are just too important to leave strictly in politician’s hand. Let’s pass Amendment 4 and create a warranty on our quality of life backed up by our neighbors at the ballot box.
Visit www.FloridaHometownDemocracy.com for full details.
Greg Gimbert (386) 852-0751
Daytona Beach
1 comment:
Go, Lynn!
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