Lake Worth needs leaders who are not beholding to special interests

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With the entire country in a financial mess, Greg Rice says that we need change and that we need strong, truthful leaders. There is nothing wrong with that statement and we agree. Change has to come from the top.

Here in Lake Worth, we have a Commission (that makes policy decisions) that hired City Manager, Susan Stanton, to do that very thing--make the hard and unpopular determinations to get us on track...to tell the truth. The Union pensions have been our biggest and most out of control cost and this City has approached this problem head-on.

Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill has made excellent and fiscally responsible decisions to help us rise above this economic chaos. We have new businesses opening in Lake Worth. The City is proceeding with the largest development project in history that will create jobs--the beach redevelopment and Casino. Once built, this will attract more dollars and more people will be moving here and investing in our City. Mulvehill has been behind this since she first campaigned over two years ago.

In the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, Greg seems to infer that our current politics here in Lake Worth are the problem and offers no solutions from his favored candidates, one whose husband was the Fire Chief with the Fire pension being one of our biggest and most absurd, out of whack costs. Lake Worth's pension contribution to the Firefighters is a shocking 152.13% of payroll. Carla Blockson has taken campaign contributions from 5 different Union PAC's. Now I ask you, will she be looking out for your interests as a taxpayer in this City or will it be the Unions?

The other candidate, Lisa Maxwell, is involved in development and got a campaign contribution from Gold Coast Builders. We are sure that there will be Union money to follow. Update: Lisa Maxwell just received $1,000 from 2 Firefighter PAC's. Who loves ya baby?

Because his candidates say they are pro-business, the implication is that Mulvehill and McVoy are not. And even though we like Greg Rice, we do understand that this is nothing more than vacuous political pandering.

Mr. Rice's PAC is against Amendment 4. Not grasping the Amendment or even agreeing that residents across the state of Florida should have a vote (democracy in action) when it comes to what they want their community to look like, we believe that Mr. Rice and his group only want to grab back the power at the expense of you and me.

Below is Greg's letter:

Lake Worth needs leaders who will help businesses

I was thrilled to read "Lake Worth races pit two business-backed newcomers vs. enviro newcomer, incumbent," pointing out the dire situation that the city finds itself in.

As stated in the article, "Falling property values, unkempt homes, burdensome electric rates and the city's need to attract and retain businesses" are issues on my mind. Lake Worth needs change to recover. As a member of the Business Aligned for Change political action committee, I believe that business creates a thriving and sustainable community. As a longtime homeowner in Lake Worth, I know that Lake Worth will never be West Palm Beach. The people and families living here are what give the city its unique charm. It is when those families have no choice but to leave Lake Worth to survive that the city will change for the worse.

I want to see change that the residents of Lake Worth need: a thriving, healthy and economically stable community that can happen only with strong, truthful elected officials.

GREG RICE

Lake Worth