The voters said no more of this, an
anomaly in our downtown
anomaly in our downtown
Amendment 2 YES votes won 12 precincts--The NO votes won 4 precincts.
The top percentage was won in district 3078 (my district) with 144 YES votes to 68 NO votes or winning 67.9245% of the total votes cast. These voters cast their ballots at Lakeside United Methodist Church, 1801 12th Avenue South.
Mary Lindsey got her people out in College Park--
The 2nd top percentage was a NO vote won in District 3042 at 156 YES and 230 NO or 59.5854% of the total votes cast. These voters cast their ballots at the First Congressional Church at 1415 N K Street.
The YES side won the Absentee votes by 152 to 72 or 67.8571% of the votes cast.
March is a detriment to getting out the vote. We who are involved in politics find it difficult to understand why people don't take an interest.We do not have a constitutionally protected right to vote written in our Constitution. The 15th Amendment protects the rights of Americans to elect their leaders and vote on issues such as the heights in our downtown by saying...Section I--The right of Citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
The NO side, under the leadership of the President of the Neighborhood Presidents' Council and president of her neighborhood association, rallied its supporters in-spite of their twisted and deceitful message. It's really corrupt and pathetic that the NO side took the "lo" side.
The rents at the casino will not cover the note, which means lk worth will be on the hook for hundreds of thousands. Many years of mayors and commissioners were involved in this ineptitude. We need a new dais without any from the past.
ReplyDeletethis NAPC really has you worked up. i hear they do alot of good work for the city. i have been on cleanups with them. they are a productive group who gives back this will probably get trashed. not a popular post for your blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, the neighborhood associations do a lot of good work, I agree. But many of them are powerful political influences and with Lindsey as the head of the pack, you can see what's happening here and will continue.
ReplyDeleteShould we hire a catholic priest here as city manager. Would we be able to trust him?
ReplyDeleteBecause we are involved in the city and our own neighborhoods, we tend to be more informed and probably more opinionated on the issues in our city.
ReplyDeleteMary Lindsey goes WAY out of her way to ensure a HUGE separation between what she believes and what is her Association's stance on any one issue. That goes for the Neighborhood Association President's Council as well. She has stated, in no uncertain terms, that both the neighborhood associations and the council must remain apolitical. (Any other Neighborhood Association President please correct me if I am wrong; even anonymously)
You tried to hammer anyone associated with this the council or their own associations as political. Most people in my association probably know where I stand and the same with College Park. Your assertions we use our standing or position to influence our members is way off base.
We (South Palm Park) attempted to have an informational meeting addressing the issue and were trashed for it being one sided. It was not supposed to be any sided.
Bryant Park had an informational meeting as well. How did those precincts vote? However, due to us at least bringing the issue to our meeting, people were more informed and were able to vote using that knowledge.
We all had hoped your side would agree to a forum of ideas so the public could hear both sides of the issue and have the answers to both sides challenged, but that was not to be. All most people could do is vote based on the rhetoric from both sides.
We knew the "no" vote would be an uphill battle and many of us didn't think we had much chance of winning, but with only three weeks to change minds on a highly emotional issue, I'm happy that it wasn't 80/20.
And we even won 4 precincts!
Too much bad blood. Too much name calling.
I waved a "NO" sign at a poll in the morning and had a good conversation with some yes sign wavers. Didn't change minds but had meaningful conversation. All the residents want what's good for Lake Worth. Even the extremists on both sides.
I would like to encourage people to look to the middle ground. Try to find compromise. I also won't hold my breath.
Chip Guthrie
Mary Lindsey goes WAY out of her way to ensure a HUGE separation between what she believes and what is her Association's stance on any one issue. That goes for the Neighborhood Association President's Council as well
ReplyDeleteWhen you campaign and take a public stand on a candidate or an issue, how do you separate your "non-political" stance with your personal particularly when you are a public figure? You can't and you don't.
It all came down to one question--do you want 65 feet or 45 feet? There was no reason to debate it. All the NO people wanted to do was vilify and bring the low-rise people down.
It really should have been 80/20 but your lies confused the voters. There was compromise until the commission changed the Comp Plan. That was your first mistake.
I spoke with more people who were confused by what they had been told by "yes" supporters at their door. When they heard the other side, including that it didn't cover the whole city, only the three block strip, and hurt jobs and property values some changed their minds.
ReplyDeleteThat's where the debate or forum would have helped our side and therefore it was a wise decision for your side to shun the debate. You could only have lost votes.
I personally believe Neighborhood Associations should be MORE political. Where better to go to to get information on what is important to YOUR neighborhood? My board feels differently and so we only try to bring information and encourage everyone to get educated on the issues, but do not endorse one way or the other.
Board members of Neighborhood Associations are usually well informed and passionate about making their neighborhoods a better place to live.
That passion can influence a vote and that may be the case as you view each precinct results.
The nastiness and name calling doesn't help anything.
Some People were only confused by the NO people's signs and message.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you on the NA'S and believe they should stay out of politics.
It is impossible to debate liars. What would the percentage be to do so? Luckily more saw through your lies.
It's impossible to debate "belief". If you vote no, we believe there will be skyscrapers and evil doers. (it's in the Charter you know) If you vote no, we believe not much will happen.
ReplyDeleteThe no sign's message just pissed people off. It didn't confuse beyond what was already out there.
The banner might have been confusing because it referred to the whole property, not the building.
I guess you put the two best liars up on a stage and see who comes out on top.
The liars who told my neighbors that if they voted no, there would be ten story buildings in their back yards would then have to defend that comment.
And we'd have to defend how a yes vote threatened the Gulfstream or how a no voted kept Lake Worth "lo rise".
I think the truth got stretched to new lengths on both sides. Such is politics in Lake Worth.
I guess "liar" is the most polite we are going to get here.
You won. Good for you.
Chip Guthrie
The NO people wanted HIGHER bldg. heights, but their signs said vote no to keep Lake Worth Lo rise.
ReplyDeleteChip ,you and Mary and Greg and Loretta and Wes and Herman, all of your supporters and your people are true bullshit slingers. You are common liars. You are law breakers. You should be ashamed ,but you have no conscience. You managed to confuse a lot of people. What a low group you all are. No pun intended. Katie Mcgiveron
What was unfortunate, Chip, was the false narrative the NO people presented that was believed by some.
ReplyDelete"Liar" is not exactly a polite description of what the NO people did in this election but it certainly describes what they did to win votes.
No one told people that there would be 10 story buildings in their back yard but it would have been very likely that 10 story buildings would have been built down the road and in the future right next to a single family residential neighborhood. This is the neighborhood that started the petition.
So, basically I take great offense at your belief that we lied when in actuality it was the NO group that lied over and over again to win. This is not just politics; this is corruption from some community leaders who believe that their word is gospel and the rest of us should have no voice.
Ahhh... Always so nice to hear from Katie. Like a breath of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteI am a "NO" supporter. Listen up. I did not then and do not now want HIGHER buildings.
I supported the building heights limit to remain as it was before last Tuesday. I also support additional Charter Amendments bringing it into compliance with our Comp Plan and LDR's. So please don't tell me what I think and then state what you say I'm for is a lie.
Can you post anything without going into the gutter? Calling people names? Trashing them? How about trying to address the issue.... any issue.
Chip Guthrie
Chip, we did address the issue. It was very clear. It was also very clear what the NO folks did to win. After today, it is time to stop this debate. The vote is in.
ReplyDeleteChip- I have no intention of showing the NO supporters any respect. Why should I? Why should anyone ? When the NO supporters run an honest campaign on the merits of their beliefs, then you will have earned respect. Until then ,go bite each other. You suck. Katie Mcgiveron
ReplyDeleteI can understand why some people were in favor of height limits and I can understand why some people were against it. We all have our own perspective based on where we live (how close we would be to the tall buildings), our profession (realtor/developer), etc.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the No voters, I think seriously undermined their position (which again I thought was a reasonable position) by saying a no vote would keep LW lo-rise.
The vote is in. The battle was won. But one battle does not win a war. Yes vs. No is far from over. Neither side wants to work out a solution to a problem that still exists, and the name calling and finger pointing aren't helping make both sides look ridiculous. Get together and fix this so L.W. can attract some income producing businesses to our city.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am sure that you folks will ignore the will of the people and ignore the vote.
ReplyDelete1200 votes hardly represents the will of the people. If you look at the results of the vote, you see a segment of the voting public that is more concerned with their personal agendas than what would be beneficial to the citizens of Lake Worth. It' s sad that 3000 people can determine the direction this city takes. Unfortunately reality is not a factor that points the voters of Lake Worth in a direction that would help all of us. I must express some amusement in the argument that Lake Worth is a tourist destination. With old Florida charm when it does'nt have a single hotel in it's downtown.716 f
ReplyDeleteWe had a turn-out of 14%. This is terrible but it is typical for March. We did better than a lot of cities. We had the option of keeping the election in November. The voters turned it down. Why they did that is strange because it was only 5 years ago or so when they voted FOR November. That is the month where there are larger turn-outs. During the presidential election, it is 3+ times the number of voters.
ReplyDeleteLake Worth is a tourist destination. If you go to our beach, you will literally meet people from all over the world. We need a hotel, desperately, and hopefully a hotelier will agree.
Lake Worth beach? Other than parking fees and a few meals purchased at the beach restaurants this helps our economy how? You are absolutely right, Lake Worth does need a hotel. Preferably more than one, as well as those businesses that would spring up to support them. Would making it possible for the Gulfstream to reopen ruin the downtown? Perhaps other hoteliers would be encouraged by a step forward. The current business model doesn't seem to be working.
ReplyDeleteWhich voters would you be talking about? How many turned out for that vote?
ReplyDeleteThe international flavor of Lake Worth Beach has nothing to do with the downtown. I would guess that our beach is probably a lot less crowded than other local tanning spots which would encourage people from all over the world to drive a few extra miles for a quieter stretch of sand.
"We who are involved in politics"? I wasn't aware that you were elected, appointed, or hired by the city of Lake Worth. It seems as if your only involvement is your desire to inject yourself into the running of our city business.
ReplyDelete"Yes, I am sure that you folks will ignore the will of the people and ignore the vote."
ReplyDeleteWe, the people voted in the 65 ft and 100 ft limits and put them in the Charter. That was back when we were "pro-growth".
Times change. Narratives change.
When we TRULY hit rock bottom, maybe then we the people will once again embrace growth.
Reducing and restricting opportunity for Lake Worth while neighboring communities expand opportunities will eventually sink in.
Your anti-development views are even more evident as you rail against West Palm proposing a zoning change that would allow for NOT ONE BUILDING OVER 3 STORIES but does promote growth and development.
It never was about height. Many short ugly buildings are built (17th and D) and many stunning buildings are also built. Some even exceed the nose bleed, thin air height of 65 foot.
You either grow or you dwindle. We have just amended our Charter to encourage dwindle.
You were on a REAL RAMPAGE last night, anonymous. Not the least bit sorry you lost as you are still spreading the lies.
ReplyDeleteWhere you think I have anti-development views is just another BIG LIE by you and your silly NO group. I was talking about ZONING in West Palm Beach, anonymous and a commission that does not care about property rights of those who bought in there as a residential community. DO YOU EVER GET IT? We can "grow" but we need to do it within the 45 feet and 35 feet downtown. Stop making mountains.
P.S. I didn't read all these long comments all the way through so if you spot anything unsavory be sure to let me know.
@ 10:06--I am involved in politics probably more so than many people keeping up on many of the issues and taking an opinion. I am entitled to an opinion as are you just because I am a voter. The difference, here is my view differs from yours and that just makes you show your true colors--anger and nastiness. I certainly would not be presumptuous as some may be to think that I can influence decisions in this city but I can bring awareness. Just another evil put-down from the NO group. Why not give up your hate?
ReplyDeleteYou voted to change the elections back to March. Every city gets a small turn-out in March but especially when there is an issue and not a candidate. And it wasn't 10% as you stated last night, it was 14%.
Many of those who come to our beach also visit out downtown. Tourists are coming so now figure out how to build a 45 foot hotel or a 45 foot extension on to the Gulfstream property. You can do it. You are very smart.
So, go bite the bullet!
Hey, Chip, you may stand with Lindsey and college Park but I stand with Katie. We won. How do you get off saying your NA is not political. You had Mr. Palen there and no one from the Yes side. Do you believe that this is educating your members? ReaLly? Chip, the voters are stupid and you have all the answers.
ReplyDeleteL.A., You are absolutely right why can't anyone figure out how to fix the problem with the Gulfstream, or construct a downtown hotel within the 45ft. restriction? Does anyone have an answer for this? Is in financially feasible? Does it make good business sense? What has the city done to discourage business development? I sure don't know, but I hope someone can figure it out.
ReplyDelete