Sid Dinerstein speaks to Republican Club

Last night, Sid Dinerstein was the speaker at the Republican Club of Central Palm Beach County.

He touched on politics in his own city of around 50,000 in Palm Beach Gardens and their ballot issues, his lawsuit and the results. I was particularly interested in David Levy trying to become a council member again and the outcome of that as he fought us tooth and nail on Florida Hometown Democracy.

One of the more interesting things talked about was the race for Florida governor primary between Adam Putnam and Ron DeSantis. Mr. Dinerstein said that Roger Stone is behind the recent attack ads against Ron DeSantis. Why?  Because of the sugar industry.  DeSantis opposes taxpayer subsidies to big sugar and he voted against the farm bill. "The sugar candidate in the governor's race is clearly Adam Putnam. Agriculture commissioner Putnam is so closely aligned with the industry he would be comfy wearing candy wrapper suits," says the Tampa Bay Times.

Personally, I like both candidates and Adam Putnam is against sanctuary cities.  President Trump has endorsed Ron DeSantis.

What do you think of Term Limits?

Thursday night, the Republican Club of Central Palm Beach County met at the Atlantis Country Club. The speaker was the President of termlimits.com, Mr. Philip Blumel. His group wants three, 2 year terms for the House and two, 6 year terms for the Senate. No more elected officials in there for 20 or 30 years.

A few years ago, Philip Blumel challenged David Levy in his filing for the Palm Beach Gardens race and in his desire to run another term. If you recall, Levy had served two terms and then quit to run for County Commissioner. After losing to Hal Valeche, Levy ran again and won a spot on the City Council eventually losing it later from an Appellate Court decision. Palm Beach Gardens’ charter prevents City Council members from serving more than two consecutive terms. Their terms are 3 years each and we voted in 3 year terms this past March in Lake Worth.

The purpose of term limits is to cut down on public corruption. Thomas Jefferson believed that whenever officers of government look upon their office for the benefits they can gain from it, this longing contributes to corruption in high office.

Personally I have mixed feelings about the duration of term limits as proposed by Mr. Blumel. What do you think? Should officials be in office for life if that's the will of the people? Or is the "will of the people" manipulated by special interests and $$$? Christopher McVoy was in office for 6 years and the people decided that change was needed in spite of the fact he was an honest politician.

David Levy out says Judge

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Above photo was taken at a local debate back in February 2010 on Amendment 4, Florida Hometown Democracy. Mr. Levy was debating Katie McGiveron. In the background are former Lake Worth residents, Donna Ross and Tom McGow.

Amendment 4 got 1,681,393 votes state wide but lost the election to developers and their influence.

A judge decided that David Levy was ineligible to be reelected to the Palm Beach Gardens city council. Levy resigned yesterday.

Read about it...

Sexy David Levy Busted

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Palm Beach Gardens Vice Mayor David Levy Busted on Sleazy Sex Websites … Texted Sexual Fantasies to Strange Women Behind Wife’s Back … “My Curiosity Got The Best Of Me,” He Says!
Read more... at Gossip Extra.

David is a geologist and politician from Palm Beach Gardens and running for re-election. And the irony crossed my mind when I saw him recently at the DWC of Palm Beach County meeting as  Ryan Hartman, running for Lake Worth City Commissioner District 1, was seated at the same table. Ryan, as you all know, tried to save Briger Forest in Palm Beach Gardens and David has never seen a developer he didn't like.

Also what occurred to me was how much more handsome he had become since the Amendment 4 days when he spoke for the opposing side and debated Katie McGiveron all over Palm Beach and neighboring counties.

Supervisor of Elections Palm Beach County - Even complaints are political

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It's always the cities that have referendums whose results are unpopular with city governments that give Supervisor of Elections, Susan Bucher, a hard time.  Now it's Palm Beach Gardens.  David Levy, councilman, has never seen a development project he didn't like and certainly term limits are something for which he did not advocate. Lots of politicians want to be in there for life--it's more difficult voting out an incumbent.  Unfortunately, the voters thought differently in PBG and voted in term limits by 79%. Now Palm Beach Gardens is balking at the supervisor's bill for this election.

The last time, it was Lake Worth and the General Obligation Bond. Lake Worth didn't balk at the cost which at the time was estimated to be approximately $5,500 as the majority of the expenses were borne by the County Supervisor of Elections as there were several candidates and another issue on this August 26, 2014 primary election. But our city complained about this initiative being defeated, losing by 50.40% of the vote, and went after poll volunteers and those at some of our precincts for not counting 14 votes because of various issues like not signing their ballot. Also the city didn't like having to pay a charge of $400 for copies and refused to pay the SOE's legal fees.

When elections go their way, especially city backed initiatives, there are never any complaints about the Supervisor of Elections Office by any city government for anything.

Everglades Earth First Group Hugs Tree

You expect hugs on Valentine's Day but Everglades Earth First organization protested the City of Palm Beach Gardens today by hugging a tree. They along with the Environmental Coalition have protested the Mayor, David Levy, before for wanting to build on the last bit of forest.

Mayor Levy, if you recall, was one of the spokesmen against Amendment 4. He wants to be able to build anywhere at the cost of our natural resources.

Amendment 4 featured in Letters to the Editor PB Post today

Although Eileen Tucker’s letter to the editor today was inaccurate in the facts or understanding of Amendment 4 and that is probably why she does not embrace it overall, she did capture the essence of the problem that we residents have been dealing with for several decades—city councils that vote against residents’ interests and just plain put aside their common sense. Are you listening Mayor Levy?

Amendment 4 only has to do with land-use changes—not variances to local Ordinances.

We are featuring Carl Terwilliger of Lake Worth who said "Put the public in charge of their communities." He does understand Amendment 4 and why we all should vote YES.

Amendment 4 would take power from deepest pockets

Amendment 4, Florida Hometown Democracy, would give you the right to vote on changes to our city and county comprehensive plans. In my community alone, there are almost 100 acres that developers had rezoned from one unit per acre to two units per acre. After spending more than $40 million, the company went out of business and left the properties to fill up with invasive plants. The homes were left to rot and became hangouts for drug dealers.

By changing Palm Beach County's comprehensive plan to allow twice as many homes to be built, the amount of money wasted was increased. Our county commissioners ignored the community's request to leave the plan in place. Changes to the comprehensive plan are supposed to benefit society and not developers.

Florida Hometown Democracy would not have stopped the building spree. But it would have slowed the pace and contained the areas developed. Just look at County, where developers want to push the urban boundary out into the western agricultural areas.

Put the public in charge of their communities, not the special interests with the deepest pockets that have corrupted so many of our county commissioners. With this amendment, developers would go through the same approval procedure as before, yet would also have to prove to us, at their expense, that their project will benefit the community. You can be sure that there would be only a few items to vote on because it will be easier and cheaper to just follow the comprehensive plan.

CARL TERWILLIGER
Lake Worth

Amendment 4--Ryan Houck--Mayor David Levy, are you listening?

"Your statement, and that of others who repeatedly make similar arguments about the right of our voters to control changes to the city Comprehensive Plan that blame the lawsuits on Hometown Democracy type policy are either total stupidity on the parts of you and others who say that, or are a result of your intent to lie and mislead the voters of St. Pete Beach and the entire state of Florida. Is that clear. You are either too stupid to understand that of which you are talking, or you are intentionally defrauding those to whom you spread these lies. There you have it. Polite didn't work, so it should now be clear what your comprehension or intentions are," so said former vice mayor of St. Pete Beach, Ed Ruttencutter.

Read more at St. Pete Beach - the truth.

Boom, Bust and Building in Florida

Chris Zuppa, Times Photojournalist and a Sanford, Florida resident and filmmaker said, "What happens in Florida is that good planning gets compromised with politics, and the people with the money run the politics, and the people with the money are in the development industry."'

Read his article on Arrested Development

After reading this, you naysayer politicians will be one step closer to voting YES for Amendment 4. Yes, I am talking about you, David Levy and Mike Lameyer candidate for Florida Senate District 27.

Yankeetown, Florida has the right priorities

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Spoonbills in Yankeetown
Photo by Marsha Drew
(I have never seen a Spoonbill in the wild)

Marsha Drew of Yankeetown says, "Yankeetown is a rare jewel in Florida. It's the last undeveloped...sorry...not over developed community with deep water access to the Gulf. The town government is very proactive and environmentally responsible. We purchased a 400 acre wilderness area which we've developed into a low impact park and we have thousands of acres that we've set aside for conservation. Our Comp Plan and land development code is strong and we have Hometown Democracy in place.

70% of the community is on board with us but the other 30% has been very vocal against everything. Such is the case everywhere I suppose. Everything we've done, which has included being sued over 20 times by a developer wanting to build something they couldn't (they lost every one), could be changed one day by a more pro-development group of town reps, but we hope not.

Come and visit...I'll show you around. We need strong voices and people who care to live here and help us keep the status quo. Have a great day...I'm going kayaking...the Roseate Spoonbills are here right now and I love to go and sit in the middle of the flock."

Editors' note: Yankeetown does not have FHD but what they have is similar to what they have in St. Pete Beach--the comparison that Ryan Houck, David Levy and all the rest of his lying buddies love to use as the SAME as Florida Hometown Democracy.

I have reported on this before but essentially the litigation that resulted in St. Pete Beach dealt with the developers attempt to submit their own comprehensive land-use plan to the voters without complying with the Florida Growth Management Act. It had nothing to do with Hometown Democracy.

This is just another reason why we need Amendment 4--to stop the land grabs and the dirty politics. As Marsha says, their quality of life in Yankeetown could be changed by the flick of a Bic from the Dais.

Save our Florida Panther - Vote YES on Amendment 4

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In February, five conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal court in Fort Myers, Florida against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its failure to designate critical habitat to protect the Florida panther. Listed as an endangered species since 1967, fewer than 100 Florida panthers survive in the wild.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Sierra Club (David Levy, you should resign), the Center for Biological Diversity, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and the Council for Civic Associations say they are suing to protect the panther's remaining habitat before it is lost due to sprawl development and climate change.

Read MORE on this....just another reason to vote YES on Amendment 4 this November 2.

Demonstration tonight - David Levy

There will be a demonstration in front of the Palm Beach Gardens City Hall starting at 5:30 this evening.

The purpose of this demonstration is three-fold:

• Mayor Levy's support of Comprehensive Plan changes to accommodate Scripps and unnecessary development
  

• His resistance in allowing the people of Palm Beach Gardens to petition against 3 year terms

• Being a spokesman and Co-Chair of Palm Beach County for the Anti Amendment 4 developer groups. Are you being paid for this job, Mayor?
  

We can't even get Mayor Levy's Treasury Reports to verify where he got his campaign donations.

Transparency and truth are missing.

David Levy, Mayor of Palm Beach Gardens, does not believe that the people have the right to vote

We ask, why is Mayor David Levy of Palm Beach Gardens "fighting" the people's right to vote on land-use changes? Is this what an elected official should be advocating? Does being elected all of a sudden make you God?

Two months ago Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy (the "Vote No on 4" campaign) announced its co-Chairs for PB County: David Levy-- Mayor, Democrat, and environmental leader--and Brian Seymour-- attorney, Republican, and business advocate. The two are working together to defeat Amendment 4 in Palm Beach County.

Now, don't you think that Mayor Levy of Palm Beach Gardens should have better things to do with his time like controlling bad growth in his own town instead of spreading the lies about Amendment 4? Mr. Seymour probably represents developers so we can understand where he is coming from.

David Levy and Brian Seymour say that Amendment 4 would cost jobs, raise taxes, and encourage sprawl. Ryan Houck, the campaign's executive director said, "We're honored to have them leading the campaign in Palm Beach." Well, of course you do, Ryan. Your entire campaign is a bunch of lies.

David Levy is the Mayor of Palm Beach Gardens, a member of his local Sierra Club, and a former Environmental Specialist for the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation. "This ill-advised amendment has the potential to wreak havoc on Florida's natural resources by encouraging sprawl, which will disrupt our unique quality of life," said Levy.

Mr. Levy, you just don't understand. What has disrupted our quality of life and what has cost us high taxes and jobs is YOU, the Chamber of Commerce, developers, and your friends. And now you want to stay in power for life in Palm Beach Gardens. The people here can't afford any more politicians such as yourself.

Brian Seymour Chair of the Environment and Land Use practice with the law firm of Gunster, Yoakley, & Stewart, P.A. added, "Amendment 4 would further decimate Florida's struggling economy by contributing to high unemployment and preventing the creation of much-needed jobs." Brian, you know this is hogwash but then that's what attorney's do.

Do we want jobs created at the expense of our wetlands, the environment, our agriculture land and the Everglades in order to create a concrete jungle?

Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy (the "Vote No on 4" campaign) is an umbrella organization that leads opposition to Amendment 4. The campaign's statewide Board of Directors includes former National League of Cities President, Clarence Anthony, Florida Chamber of Commerce President, Mark Wilson, and Florida AFL-CIO Executive Committee member, Frank Ortis.

You have to wonder how these supposedly educated fellows can believe the garbage they spew. Is power really that important? Are cutting deals under the table just normal politics they don't want to lose? Is it just almighty greed that they just can't envision losing? Take your pick but it's probably all of those things.

The People are not Sheep Mr. Levy

In March, David Levy was re-elected to the Palm Beach Gardens Council for another three year term and is now the Mayor. He has already served six years but this is insufficient for Mr. Levy. He said, “Six years is not enough to figure out how things work and be effective.”

Can you even imagine someone working in corporate America suggesting such an idea? “Gee, boss, give me at least over six years to figure it out.” Can you imagine any CEO or shareholders even accepting it? If you don’t know your job and you don’t know the desires of your constituents, and you don’t understand the repercussions of the decisions that you have made or will make, than you have NO business being an elected official.

His opponent, Rob Palladino, is working on a Charter Amendment and is gathering the signatures to get the question of term limits on the November ballot. The Clerk at Palm Beach Gardens told him he had to go out on an Ordinance Amendment that required 15% of the registered voters—a Charter amendment only requires 10% and that is what Mr. Palladino’s group is pursuing. We have already learned here in Lake Worth that State law trumps City law in this process.

Every City is the same—misinformation, stonewalling, out of the sunshine, holding up petitions, threats, some of which involve law suits, “my word is gospel,” and the list goes on. Government really does not want to hear from the people once they are elected. They prefer to govern sheep.

People do not want career politicians. Look how they have messed up everything. Let the Right to Petition triumph and here’s hoping that Mayor Levy has learned that the people’s rights prevail over his own self-desires to learn his job.

St. Petersburg Beach and Florida Hometown Democracy - Not in the Same Ball Park

Lesley Blackner
The opponents of Florida Hometown Democracy, primarily Floridians for Smarter Growth, The Florida Chamber of Commerce and developer groups, keep using what happened in St. Petersburg Beach for their main reason to vote NO on FHD. No matter who I confront or send information to, they don't want to listen. Their minds are made up---they derive their livelihood from development or developer dollars.

Overturning the views of politicians and the developer crowd is very difficult, but voters in Florida are smarter than to believe the opposition's lame arguments.

We have some in the City of Lake Worth who like to use this bogus claim. Even the CRA sent out an e-mail about St. Petersburg Beach and why FHD is similar, suggesting that all cities would be subject to the same fate. David Levy, Councilman from Palm Beach Gardens who recently got re-elected, used it in a debate here last month. Pay attention, David.

Alex Sink gives the same old ridiculous argument (the Mac McKinnon argument) to oppose Florida Hometown Democracy: "I believe that in our system of government we entrust our local leaders to make these difficult decisions, and if we are unhappy with their decisions we have the ability to elect someone new.” Yes, Alex, that argument no longer cuts mustard as proven by the terrible state of affairs in our State and country. Too much damage can be done in too short of time. Sorry, Alex, you don't get my vote.

Now here's the kicker Mr. Levy--Ken Weiss, the lawyer for those who are suing St. Petersburg Beach says, “It seems that some of the developers and the development community in the State have tried to make St. Pete Beach the hallmark of Florida Hometown Democracy. And the fact of the matter is, the litigation in St. Pete Beach has absolutely nothing to do with Florida Hometown Democracy.”

Read more about it HERE.

For all of you in Sanford, you can listen to Lesley Blackner tomorrow night. For more information, click HERE.

Florida Hometown Democracy Ballot Language - Has to do with Future Land Development

Because more and more politicians, builders and the Florida Chamber of Commerce are spouting bullet points of lies and distortions, I want to post the exact language of the Ballot initiative for Amendment 4.

Amendment 4 has to do with land use changes ONLY. Even David Levy, politician from Palm Beach Gardens threw up our own ballot language to us at the debate held at the Lake Worth Democratic Club in order to make a point to a group and people that did not have the information to know what he said was just flat wrong.

Florida Hometown Democracy explains --The plain language of Amendment 4 establishes voter referendum only over comprehensive plan changes that concern “future land development.” Nothing else. Other types of plan changes that do not address “future land development” will not be subject to referendum. As Floridians know, “future land development” changes often determine the future of a community for decades to come.

Ask yourself the following question--Why is it that most all politicians, ALL builder groups, developers, Realtors and the Florida Chamber of Commerce oppose FHD? And why do they have to lie?

Q: What does Amendment 4 say?
A: This constitutional amendment will give Florida voters the right to decide whether their city or county Comprehensive Land Use Plan should be changed. Currently, city councils and county commissions exclusively make those decisions.

Here’s the ballot title and summary you will see on the November 2010 ballot:

BALLOT TITLE
Referenda Required For Adoption And Amendment of Local Government Comprehensive Land Use Plans.

BALLOT SUMMARY
Establishes that before a local government may adopt a new comprehensive land use plan, or amend a comprehensive land use plan, the proposed plan or amendment shall be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by referendum, following preparation by the local planning agency, consideration by the governing body and notice. Provides definitions.

Councilman David Levy lies at Lake Worth Democratic Club

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The Lake Worth Democratic Club had several candidates attending its meeting last night at Pegasus in spite of the heavy downpour.

Paulette Burdick spoke prior to the general meeting as she had another meeting to attend. The best quip of the night was when Harvey Millstein said to Ms. Burdick, “PB County passed on an ethics committee so maybe you will stay out of jail.” Pete Brandenburg was there running for District 89 as was Jeff Clemens.

The "Pro" and the Con were there regarding Florida Hometown Democracy. Both speakers are native Floridians. Our own Katie McGiveron, sounded like a seasoned "pro" on the subject. Speaking for the very first time ever in a public forum regarding the ballot initiative, she stood up to Councilman, David Levy from Palm Beach Gardens. Lesley Blackner, founder of FHD, could not attend.

I just never really know for sure if politicians get it wrong on purpose or if the lie is just something they perfect as they go along. Mr. Levy, a geologist, was first elected to office in 2003 and is in his 2nd, three year term as Vice Mayor of his city. He comes up for re-election on March 9. You can bet that he is backed (financially or philosophically) by every builder organization that ever existed for his loyalty to growth at any cost. Incidentally, Palm Beach Gardens Treasury Reports are not on-line.

Mr. Levy’s biggest argument was turning Florida Hometown Democracy’s arguments 180^. He said that Amendment 4 was bad for the environment, his most outlandish lie of the night. Well, not quite—there was another one that stood out when he said that every 7 years we would have to go out for Referenda on our Comp Plan. It is a statement such as this that convinces me that we need to be in charge of where we live. Voting “good” people into office is the biggest challenge we face.

He referred often to St. Petersburg Beach as an example of why Amendment 4 was “bad” even saying what happened there was “the clone of Amendment 4.” This is when Katie stepped in to explain to the club membership that St. Pete Beach did not have Amendment 4, that is was like “putting a saddle on a cow and then crying when you didn’t win the Kentucky Derby.” (If anyone wants an explanation as to what really happened at St. Petersburg, let me know. I will be happy to send you information)

In summation, Amendment 4 is on the ballot because elected officials are gutless; they can’t say “no” to bad growth. And it almost seems as if they will never say "no" to any building. With enough units on the market to accommodate 100 million people, we don't have to worry about housing for those who are migrating here. Katie said, “I am tired of people telling me that the voters are too stupid to vote on land use changes. Commissioners are not smarter than we and didn’t grow another brain when they got elected.” Harvey Millstein's quip is how many of us feel about elected officials and our State is proof positive of their reckless disregard.

On November 2 we will all be able to vote on how we want our communities to look if a commission dares to change a land use in our Comp Plan, our legal bible. Politicians have done a dreadful job for decades and their messes have finally caught up to us all.