Candidate Ryan Hartman's speech at Vernon Heights

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Although I was told three times over two days that the general public was not allowed to attend this meeting, I understand that some of the public was in attendance to hear and meet the incumbents and their challengers for the upcoming City of Lake Worth March 15th election. Following is District 1 candidate Ryan Hartman's speech:

"Thanks to the Vernon Heights neighborhood association for having me. I spent a few hours today, walking around the neighborhood and listening to folks' concerns. Like every time I go door knocking, today was pretty eye opening. As you all know, I'm running for city commission in District 1 and when I win, I will address as many of these concerns as possible.

For the past two months, I've run a positive campaign; choosing to focus on the issues our neighborhoods are facing as opposed to spewing negativity about my opponent. Unfortunately, the three incumbents have not played the same game.  They are degrading our democratic process by acting like bullies and fabricating stories about me.  The worst of which is Scott Maxwell telling people I am a terrorist.  Why would he do that?  These questions kept me up at night. Then I remembered that Maxwell has run unopposed for the past two terms and is scared of having an opponent...worried about voters having an option to pick a different District 1 Commissioner. 

And he should be worried because from going door to door, it appears that public trust is low for the current majority.  They have ignored the opinions and demands of the residents. They have refused to put amendments into effect, and they have given the public misinformation about the beach project finances in an attempt to bring private development to the beach. They have rubbed their corruption in our faces with their back door meetings, their dinners at Dave's, and most recently by hosting an event together at a local bar where they gave people free alcohol to register to vote. At one point during that event, it was announced that the drinks were courtesy of the city commissioners. They have sat up here and denied that they have these back door meetings, but just this afternoon, before their public meeting, they were behind a locked door doing who knows what.

I understand that this is politics, that in order to win an election often times energy has to be spent throwing dirt on your opponent.  I encourage anyone who has questions about my activism to talk to me.  I trust that voters are independent thinkers who will research each candidate before they make their opinion.  And when you do, you will find segments of Maxwell's radio show “Connect the Dots” where he espoused his anti-immigrant rhetoric.

These commissioners have had a 3-2 majority for the past year. While 3 is surely a bigger number than two, it is by no means a mandate. I can't imagine being part of a majority and silencing the voice of the minority. This is not the way government—or anything—should be run. I was at the two city commission meetings where the anti-homeless ordinance was passed and the one where the resolution finally went through. The vote was 3-2 and the voices from the crowd were equal. Did that make these incumbents go back to the drawing board and try to come up with something that we could all feel ok with? Nope; they ignored half the population and 40% of their peers, and as usual did what they wanted to. This was a horrible, non-solution to a serious issue this city faces, and the vast majority of folks here know that.

The homeless ordinance is just another in the long list of examples of the arrogance of the incumbents. When I talk to people in neighborhoods they tell me that they want their roads fixed, that they want the beach to stay public, that they voted for a height limit, and that they want the Sheriff's department held accountable for the rise in crime. Some support the Park of Commerce, but are frustrated to hear that at the behest of Scott Maxwell—the City is allocating millions of dollars to benefit commercial property owners while our roads are riddled with potholes..

I want to be city commissioner because I want to do what the people want. It doesn't matter what I want; it matters what the people who hire me want. It's about compromising, working with people that you may not see eye to eye with, and making decisions for the betterment of the people in the City of Lake Worth. Every person who lives in Lake Worth should have an equal say in what happens to Lake Worth. As much as we need tourism and new residents, there are over 35,000 people who live here now, many of whom have lived here for quite a while, who feel like they are being ignored by this commission as they rush to make Lake Worth like every other city in South Florida."


Political advertisement paid for and approved by Ryan Hartman for City Commission