Saturday, January 23, 2016

They're Baaaaaaack!

Comment Up

Around Summer of 2014 when this PAC was stumping for the City of Lake Worth including (Scott Maxwell, Pam Triolo and Andy Amoroso), they raised over $19,950 to get the General Obligation Bond passed, part of Lake Worth 2020.  Money helps but it isn't everything--Lake Worth YES Pac thinks it is. $50,000 wasn't enough for this group back then, money used by the City to "educate" the voters on why we needed to vote ourselves into debt.  The PAC raised $19,950,00 more.  It has to make everyone sit up and take notice--spending $70,000 to win an election is not about potholes. It's too bad that at the time every voter did not know about this obscene amount of money to put the property owners in debt for 34 years. But all we needed was one vote to defeat them and we got 25.

Then on top of the insult, the City made a big deal out of the vote trying every attempt they could muster to dishonor it.  This commission, to this day, says we lied. We beat them on principle with little money.

Some of their contributors back then were:
  • $5,000: Marty Welfeld, Parrot Cove resident. He and his wife, still in the game, have given to all three incumbents for the March 15, 2016 election of $2,000 each.
  • $1,000: Friends of Mark Foley, former Congressman who sent suggestive emails and sexually explicit instant messages to teenage boys who had formerly served and were at that time serving as Congressional pages. He's still in the game too and the last I heard, trying to reinvent himself...he has given $500 each to all three incumbents running in March, Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso.
  • $2,000: Southern Waste Systems, the company that dumped all sorts of questionable stuff on our landfill and was involved in suspicious campaign contributions to a resident who was fined by the elections commission for accepting them. Still in the game--Mayor Pam Triolo accepted a $500 contribution from one of their companies for her March re-election.
  • $1,000: Weiner, Lynn and Thompson LLC in Delray, municipal and county land development zoning regulation lawyers. Who knows what their claim to fame is but they are from DELRAY, that should tell us something.
  • $1,500: Hudson Holdings Lake Worth LLC, an investment holding and development company in DELRAY that had recently bought The Gulfstream Hotel at that time. We know that they're still in the game, waiting in the wings to see what happens on March 15. They still want our beach complex and this trio of Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso want to give it to them.
  • $1,400: In-kind contribution from a community affairs manager for printing.
  • $2,000: Committee for a Prosperous Florida PAC--Jeff Clemens...who the heck knows what he's doing.
Back in 2014 when this PAC was formed the following were the members:
  1. Chair Herman Robinson who is also a political appointee by the Mayor to the Historic Resource Preservation Board and acts as Chair
  2. Treasurer Nadine Burns
  3. Greg Rice, Public Relations for the PAC and a political appointee and now Chair to the Planning & Zoning Board.
The interest of this PAC at that time was "Advocacy for passage of the Lake Worth Ballot Question of 08/26/14." Don't know what it is now but I am sure it fits their bill like getting these incumbents re-elected.

Today, the Chair and Treasurer is Peggy Fisher, the always serious looking woman who usually sits in the back row at city commission meetings and screamed in my ear one evening at city hall. She too is a political appointee of Scott Maxwell's to the Electric Utility Advisory Board. At the time of the bond election, Ms. Fisher filed a complaint with Tallahassee against the opposing PAC, Citizens Against Unfair Taxation because it did not have a registered agent. Of course, the Palm Beach County Supervisor's office never told them that they needed one.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I contributed to all three incumbents too. I also volunteer my time on a city board. So what? Seems those of us invested in the city are involved in many ways. You happen to sit on the side and oppose everything that moves this city forward by throwing bombs and finding minutia in every vote.

Why not look at the contributors to your choices for the commission? Most from out of city or out of state. In one case, one candidate has contributions from only two addresses, one, an apartment complex where he lives and the other, a former commissioner that is also "still in the game" and her family.

Lynn Anderson said...

LOL.
Most people can read and understand this blog. And they also know what "moving the city forward" means to all you moneyed folks.

H.M. said...

Peggy always seems very unhappy. She slammed her fist down hard on my new car one night outside of city hall.

Enrique said...

This pay to play activity is much of the reason Donald Trump is so popular- his supporters know he will not be beholden to contributors.

In Lake Worth the unholy trio and bow-tie wanted to dupe the citizens when most of those who would have been paying through the nose for 34 years for a $131 million bond were out of town and did not vote. It would have lost by a much more significant majority had it been on the March or November ballot.

The supporters wanted to create a new gravy train for elected officials and contractors at the peoples' expense, and they of course were the ones who lied to get it passed.

Thank God the people rose up against it and defeated this robbery.

Weetha Peebull said...

Yes, I remember - Maxwell called us racists and the Mayor called us liars. Like Andy - they are nice as pie till you disagree with them then watch out! They will use every ounce of their power to knock you down and out! They will do for each other on the dais what they will not allow M&M to do. The Mayor has no problem censoring and rebutting public comments but WILL NOT ALLOW McVoy to even ask a question. Maxwell should know better having felt alone at one time - instead of sensitivity & common sense when passed the gavel he puffs his chest and SHUTS UP - Ryan Maier, an elected Rep (8:51 1.19.16 Meeting) when he has the floor and according to the rules 'The Chair cannot close debate as long as any member who has not exhausted his right to debate desires the floor'.

What goes around comes around and they will get what they deserve from the seed (dirty deeds) THEY PLANTED!

Anonymous said...

This doesn't surprise me at all. I WAS surprised that Hudson Holdings only contributed $1500--pretty damn cheap for ocean front property I'd say! This revolving door pay-to-play has got to stop. Remember the FBI was here for a two years because of this. Unfortunately with HH it seems we have imported the worst Delray has to offer. My cousin lives there now and she likes living where she is and can walk to things. But it's grid lock if you try to go anywhere by car. And is backfiring. Too much greedy development and now it is no longer a destination because of the grid lock. Put too many people in a little space for short term gains and that's what you get.
Lake Worth is such a precious and valuable little gem in the midst of all this concrete greed; we really have to see we retain our integrity and charm as the small seaside town/city that we are. That's our greatest resource. I have spoken with many on the beach who return here for up to 20 years just because it has not been over commercialized and overbuilt like almost everything around us. They love our beach just exactly how it is now. To think these thugs with money almost destroyed it in the shadows of Bornstein with some monstrous Convention Center, to think just how close they came, with this gang of 3--just makes me want to scream. They don't own us, they don't own OUR beach, and don't own our town. Even if they think they do, and it's easy to rob us poor little "broken people with broken sidewalks." They have money and greed; we still have the right to vote them out. OUT, OUT, OUT!!! Out damn spot and all your dirty money encrusted black hearted developer conniving friends.

Weetha Peebull said...

Did you know in LW 2020 bond if passed
each Commissioner was to get a 'slush fund'
of $800,000.00 ($3.2 MILLION DOLLARS TOTAL).
There were no guidelines given or even restrictions
on what they could spend the money on.

Did you know we also lost our finance director
after he released (public record) of the TOTAL
AMOUNT the bond would cost.

We've lost yet another finance guy (during budget time)
because apparently telling the truth isn't desired
or respected by this trio! One can only guess because
they get a golden parachute to 'go away quietly'.

...and they call us radical - pffffft!

We can read, comprehend and share the truth with others
while they can't hide a lie. Thank God the truth sets
us free and we can and will replace the bad reps!

Anonymous said...

Lake Worth Yes-thank you for spending your money and reminding everyone where to go to kick Pam Triolo, Andy Amoroso and Scott Maxwell out of office.

Anonymous said...

spot on anon 10:01

what the devil means for bad
God will use for good