Last night I got to meet Rachel Waterman and her husband Yuri (not the least bit sure on the spelling) who I was told is an artist here. He is very supportive of Rachel. This was the first time I have ever met her. She was extremely friendly, articulate and had a good sense of humor. She knows the challenges that confront us.
She has 19 years experience leading urban development and major infrastructure projects and bringing new investment into Palm Beach County. She supports the work that the PBSO is doing in our city. She holds a Master's degree in Community Economic Development, graduating Summa Cum Laude and she has a Bachelors degree in International Studies.
Regarding the folks attending and their feelings on the PBSO, it was mixed. I had one woman say that we had to have the PBSO at any cost and who was unconcerned about where to get that money to another who was very concerned about the millions more that it is costing us and wondered why Lake Worth can't run the city like a business instead of caving into emotions. People attending knew the issues, something I have always wondered about as you never see them at commission meetings or involved in any way. 99% of those attending were Lake Worth residents, many of whom are homeowners, and all concerned about the welfare of our city. As one group left, another group would arrive to meet Rachel.
This is the first Meet & Greet to which I have been invited and I was amazed that it was not the same people that I see everywhere. I only knew perhaps 10% of the people there, if that. The Meet and Greet was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Grimm. Ed is a member of the Lake Worth CRA.
Rachel says, "As an economic development professional with a career in public service, I know how to attract new investment in Lake Worth. I'm raising my children here because I believe in our city. With my experience, leadership and commitment, we can build a great city together." And after listening to her, you could not help but believe in her sincerity.
9 comments:
Hopefully we will get to hear her speak. I was not invited.
Rachel is a human, who draws no lines, does not put people up against one another, which her presenters have, consistently, with labels and false accusations.
Rachel would not go there,she embraces life.
Having listened to Varela ,who claimed to bring economic developement, attract investment(the Park of Commerce is still our Dead Horse, could have been used tot create alternate nergy sources,)bring businesses and jobs,leadership, make the City safe, etc.etc.It behoves us to do background checks!
I set great store by moral fiber.
her opponents have non of her qualities.
Dee McNamara
Waterman = Cara. Lynn you must know that Waterman is a huge Cara fan and puppet. You can't be that stupid. Cara has you fooled that money is the issue with PBSO. It's not. Cara and her gang hate the sheriff because they make it more difficult for Cara and the other anarchists to act up. Cara controls Mulvehill, Golden and McVoy. They are all not too smart and do what ever Cara tells them to do. Unless you want to see this city stay a dump smarten up and support pro-prosperity candidates.
Please, Anonymous, come out with supporting documentation. Otherwise your accusations are nothing more that political bull and a desperate attempt to malign good people. Prove it.
As far as the PBSO is concerned, I BELIEVE THAT MONEY IS THE ISSUE and I am not anyone's puppet.
To say that someone with a PHd is not all too smart or that someone with a Masters is not all too smart, is bull politics. So take your own advice and speak with the rest of the 35,000 people living in this city who will be heavily impacted by non-affordable contracts.
I am all for pro-prosperity. Who in the hell wants to live in a ghetto? If there is one person out here, please check into a mental facility immediately.
Just prove your statements before you smear.
Cara and her anarchist alliance want to live in a ghetto and you're along for the ride.
By statements I'm assuming you mean proof.You claim that to say someone with a phd or masters is not too smart is bull politics. I present Mulvehill and Mcvoy. I know they are your friends, but have you ever REALLY listented to what they have to say? Golden said- get used to living in a ghetto. I'm sure she has some kind of college degree. Yet she's standing in your main photo beaming proudly at Waterman. Does she look like she's worried about Waterman cleaning up the city? No that's because it won't happen. They all work off the same script, no exceptions. The anarchists are getting better at picking candidates that can fool people like you but the results will remain the same. Case in point Mcvoy. Pursue a silly pointless useless agenda while ignoring the most important issues. Waterman CLAIMS she supports PBSO but rest assured if she was mayor PBSO would be gone.
You along with the city manager and commissioners like to blame past commissions on ALL the city's problems. 3 million IS alot of money. 1 BILLION is alot more money. That's the money the city lost by ignoring the blight. If the city had done ANYTHING to at least slow the blight and property values dropped 45% which is still the highest in PB county and 10% more than any other ocean front city, that's 5% of 1 BILLION that could have been saved. Yet they did nothing. Need more proof, look out your car windows as you drive around town camapigning for Waterman. There's your proof and documentation. Like wht you see?
Vote for Waterman twice.
First of all, and to make this perfectly clear, something that you challenge me on constantly, I HAVE NOT ENDORSED ANYONE for mayor. Frankly, she told me that "I am my own woman; no one directs me." Of course, anyone can say that but at what point do you believe anyone? Even this commission has thrown out Jennings ideas and voted their own way. You have some stupid political strategy of grouping these 3 in with anarachism and that is TOTALLY FALSE and frankly, disgusting. I have to wonder how you people even sleep at night. It is your side that has played dirty.
Your next point $3 mil vs $1 billion in property values is well taken but once again, you are putting the blame on this commission instead of where the blame needs to be. Housing values fell THROUGHOUT the country and we went through a crisis worst than the Great depression. Cara Jennings did not cause this.
Now you are maligning Waterman. I have heard her speak one time now, one time more than you.
It's been documented over and over again that 75% of the drop in LW tax base is due to the additional homestead exemption that Mr/Ms Anonymous probably voted for in 2008. Not sure what "5% of $1 billion" means or where it comes from.
By the way, we had properties on the west side of town that were worth $50K selling for $200K in 2007. That's called a RE bubble, and it burst in case you haven't been following the news since 2008. Sounds like you (Mr/Ms Anonymous) have not.
The CRA's priority mission is to address blight. They have not done so. Maybe you should ask them why. They are using your tax dollars as well. Jeff Clemens wasted $16MM when he was chair of the CRA and then refused to acknowledge the budget issue with the PBSO contract that he voted for with no negotiation when he was mayor. Didn't care that other municipalities with twice our population and twice our square miles were paying half of what we agreed to pay, even when finance staff stated that the contract was terrible.
You should thank this commission for living within our means. It's about time we got some clear thinkers who aren't beholden to developers or police PACs.
I've known Rachel for well over a decade. It tickles me to hear people call her a puppet as she is one of the most fiercely independent thinkers I know. You may not like her stance on issues - but you should be assured they are her own.
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