Money and Politics

It's so difficult to elect good people--people who have common sense as well as growth management sense and those looking out for the welfare of the residents. It takes a lot of money to win in Palm Beach County and it definitely pays to be a Democrat in a County where Democrats far outweigh Republican voters by nearly 132,000.

The Palm Beach County Commission lost a good one when it lost Jess Santamaria to term limits. Most  on the PB County dais couldn't stand him. He tried to hold them to a higher standard. Yesterday Melissa McKinley, Democrat, was sworn in to replace Santamaria. She raised $394,938.28 to become commissioner, with donations from contractors, Realtors, Attorneys, Lobbyists, Unions and even Sun Recycling companies (they're everywhere). Jess's daughter, running as an Independent, Michelle Santamaria, only raised $54,496.  You can't win without money and no Party backing.

Paulette Burdick was passed over to be the next mayor.  Priscilla Taylor, outgoing mayor, nominated Shelley Vana instead...another commissioner who is development oriented at the expense of the residents who live here. The vote was 5/2 with Burdick and Abrams voting nay.

The way I see it, we have one definite commissioner looking out for the people--  Democrat Paulette Burdick. And there is a hope in Republican Abrams especially if he watches developer creep in the Ag Reserve.

As Burdick said, "It is apparent that there is a majority on the Board that is pro-development to a fault."