The post Lake Worth Heights Election and Disgruntled Losers

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The Lake Worth Herald got one right, well sort of. This week's editorial touched on the one-on-one with the voter and the beneficial advantage of knocking on doors in order to bring home your message. This is campaigning 101.  Everyone knows that in local campaigns, the most cost-effective and beneficial activity is door-to-door campaigning. Voters want to meet the candidate up close and personal and they like someone taking their time to explain the issues.

However, the Herald was wrong when it said that disruptive issues are always raised by the same people who have plenty of time to knock on doors.  His implication is that all of us who believe in the Constitution and our right to petition don't have jobs and are miscreants with nothing better to do--this time his descriptive adjectives were hurled subtlely.

The reason why it seems there are so many "disruptive" issues is because commissions do NOT listen to the people. In fact, this commission is about the worst that I can remember...they think they are smarter and they know better. How long ago was the last referendum? Each and every time there has been a referendum, it was because the citizens were ignored by the commission or the elected officials pulled dirty tricks. Referendums were approved by the voters. It seems to always be about unpopular development issues. It's a good thing that citizens get involved in the democratic process and are "disruptive."

During this last election, the majority of people who volunteered to bring the message forward on keeping the downtown a low-rise area were working folks. There were a few like myself who are retired. And even though retirement sounds like you must have a lot of idle time and you sit around all day long twiddling your thumbs, retirees today are very active.... involved in their community and/or active on a myriad of issues and getting things done. Those working on the referendum volunteered to take the simple message to the voters. It had nothing to do with keeping the city from having a hotel district as the Herald said. It had everything to do with keeping the heights 45 feet east of Dixie and 35 feet west of Dixie in our downtown commercial district.

The developer crowd through the years has always counted on raising a lot of money to flood mailboxes full of lies and distortions, taking the lazy way out. They raised twice the money that Respectful Planning did but one knock on one door dispelled those lies and myths and all that money. Each door knock, was one more vote for honesty and integrity and the facts. And no one had to make up anything. This majority commission gave itself four extra months to "educate" the people and instead wasted this precious time by conjuring up lies and confusion instead of sticking to a simple message.

Next is the venom being spewed by this majority commission since it lost and did not get its way. They have been caught up in the rapture of politics and now we have to listen to disgruntled commissioners who want people to believe that we lied or threatened poor Hispanics about deportation or the election was only decided by 14% of the voters and therefore meaningless or we said highrises would be built next door to their houses. They are using the power of their position to transmit their distorted and loathful message. I remember the NO people and one mailer they sent to all the voters that indicated everything else around the downtown was 100 feet and 65 feet with the implication that tall buildings could be built anywhere, even next to their houses...we never said it; they did.

All the lies didn't win it for them and all their ranting now and in the future won't either. If anything is to be learned from this election, besides having an honest message, is to honor the people you serve. You didn't do that commissioners.