Men in Power and Sexual Harassment

$44 million to be paid in Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct settlement

Remember when our very own Jeff Clemens snuffed out his political career (and was supposed to take over as leader of the Florida Senate Democrats in 2019) and changed his life--Democratic state Sen. Jeff Clemens resigned after a report that he had an extramarital affair with a lobbyist

Then came along Republican state Sen. Jack Latvala's of Clearwater, whose four-decade career in politics collapsed. He resigned following allegations of sexual harassment and public corruption.

Read about Weinsten... but who cares really?

Adam Schlesinger's history with Lake Worth and the Gulfstream Hotel

What caught my eye in the Palm Beach Post Sunday's edition was that Adam Schlesinger was back in the news. He and his companies are involved in the Ambassador Hotel Cooperative Apartments on S. Ocean Boulevard and have just been sued by them. It is stated that he is using a lot of scare tactics pressuring people to sell their units to him.

If you recall, the Schlesinger family was highly entrenched in our city at one time regarding The Gulfstream Hotel.

Back in July 2005, Schlesinger bought the historic hotel for $12,910,000 paying over double what it sold for only two years before. The hotel is 13,500 sq. ft. situated on 0.399 acres directly across from the Intracoastal Waterway and Bryant Park. It has 106 rooms in 65,456 square-feet and most rooms have a water view.

Adam Schlesinger came before a former Planning & Zoning Board on numerous occasions as well as the City Commission while Jeff Clemens was mayor. He was crying the blues that he couldn't get financing but NO one on the P&Z Board back then, (Lisa Maxwell, former candidate for District 4, Wes Blackman, former candidate for District 3 and Phil Spinelli to name a few), asked him to prove what he said--none of them even asked. They took him at his "word." They continued to give him extension after extension and allowed the Gulfstream to languish.

This is a hotel that survived the Great Depression but did not survive the financial depression we had. Asset Holding Company 5 LLC filed a foreclosure lawsuit against CSC Lake Worth Limited Partnership (Schlesinger) on August 11, 2010 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The lawsuit sought repayment of a $12 million loan, plus the foreclosure of the hotel property." In May 2010, it sold for $7,225,000 to HH GULFSTREAM LAND HOLDINGS LLC (Hudson Holdings). Another suit ensued and Carl DeSantis now owns the Gulfstream Hotel. Where is Steven Michael these days?

Read about Schlesinger... in Sunday's Palm Beach Post. In the meantime, the hotel, once an icon of our city, is still in limbo all these years later.

Thanks Jeff Clemens, thanks a lot

Early voting under way to replace Fla. Sen. Jeff Clemens; cost to taxpayers $1M 

That little affair with lobbyist Devon West probably forced Clemens to step down from his Florida Senate seat. It will cost us #1 MILLION BUCKS! You did a lot for Palm Beach County, Jeff. When you think about it, Clemens probably started this sexual harassment revolution even though many of these women were complicit or agreeable in some way shape or form.

"Bucher said projected expenses for the primary and general elections combined include $409,438 to hire about 1,000 poll workers for the district’s 178 polling places, $165,995 to print ballots, $135,800 to mail absentee ballots, $86,400 in communications costs for the Internet-based system poll workers use to verify voters and $52,920 for a moving company to haul equipment to the 178 voting sites

Read about it...

Those running for Jeff Clemens' seat

Jeff Clemens gave his District a special present for the New Year and what a shocker it was.  He resigned (we won't mention why as everyone already knows why) from his Florida senate seat. I just don't know why he got involved with a total loser who ended up destroying his career. I hope Devon West gets her own little bit of karma in the new year.

SENATE DISTRICT 31
— Vacant because of the resignation of Lake Worth Democrat Jeff Clemens.
— Includes part of Palm Beach County.
— Special primary election Jan. 30.
— Special general election: April 10.
— Registered voters as of October 2016: 305,998

WHO IS RUNNING?
Democrats:
Lori Berman A progressive, first elected on November 16, 2010--she is term limited in 2018 and stepped up to run for Clemen's seat.
Arthur Morrison  Who in the hell is he?
will face off in the Democratic primary.

Republicans:
Tami L. Donnally is unopposed in the Republican primary. It's hard to beat a Democrat in this district but her campaign is going well she told me.

A special election for the position of Florida State Senate District 31 has been called for April 10, 2018. A special primary election has been called for January 30, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was December 6, 2017

3 candidates qualify for Jeff Clemens' seat

Democrats, State Rep. Lori Berman of Lantana and Arthur Morrison of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County Republican Party's Vice Chair Tami Donnally have qualified for the Senate District 31 race that was held by Jeff Clemens.

The last special election for the Florida Legislature in Palm Beach County, in 2009, cost about $1.5 million according to Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. Jeff, you don't mind me calling you a jerk, do you?

Tami Donnally

Lori Berman runs for vacant Jeff Clemens' seat

Photo taken at Lake Worth City Hall

Lori Berman Tenders Resignation from Florida House to Run for Vacant Senate Post

Read about Lori...

Special election to replace Clemens could cost over $1 million

Dates set for special election to replace Clemens

Read about it...

The Rise and Fall of Jeff Clemens

Read the article... on Jeff Clemens' rise and fall in politics.

I still say, "What a shame."

A famous quote comes to mind:  "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it."  Jeff had everything going for himself. If Clemens had just kept his personal house clean, he had every chance to climb up the ladder--he, no doubt, would have been a contender.

Jeff Clemens screwed up, literally

UPDATE 6:00pm

Jeff Clemens Resigns after Admitting Affair with Tallahassee Lobbyist
Read about it...

Published 2:15pm

Just when we think things might be getting boring with all this Russian intrigue and Uranium One revelations, we have a scandal that affects one of our own.

"Florida's incoming Senate minority leader finds himself in hot water after admitting to an affair with a Tallahassee lobbyist, coating the state Capitol in intrigue and scandal well before next year's legislative session has begun.

POLITICO first reported about the scandal on Friday. By mid-morning, Clemens had gone dark on social media, deleting his Twitter account as the headlines went out about his private life." [Sunshine State News]

Read about Jeff...and the lobbyist who squealed.

Is Online voter Registration form illegal?

Susan Bucher, Supervisor of Elections Palm Beach County, has said that the new online form is against the law.

State Sen Jeff Clemens who wrote the law says, “When I wrote the law, I was concerned with making sure the registrations that were performed online weren’t treated any differently than those that were handed in on paper. So I didn’t really contemplate that they would ask for different information from online registrants.”

Register to Vote Online

Let's get an Even Playing Field

It's time for real transparency in Tallahassee, says Alex Snitker who wrote an opinion piece for Sunshine State News.

I have always believed that every candidate running for elected office should  be working with the exact same amount of funds...no hidden contributions...no possibility of special interests influencing our elections...run on your own merits.  But it happens all of the time with Political Committees in spite of the fact that there are limits on individual contributions.

Take Fl Sen. Jeff Clemens, chair of Each Vote Counts PC as a prime example--As of June 30, 2017, that committee had expended $917,187.70 to influence elections. He is chair of another committee--Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee  that has reported $960,627.50 in contributions and $433,015.38 in expenditures since June 30, 2017.

Read the latest on Jeff

 PC's can give unlimited amounts. Let's get special interests out of our elections.

Sober Home bill was signed by Governor

Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg said, “You will see a lot of the illegal marketing that drives people down here from other places will start to dry up — the free plane tickets and exaggerated claims, you’ll see far less than that. That could mean you’ll see fewer out-of-state patients than you see today, where 75 percent of all the individuals in recovery are from out of state.”

Dave Aronberg appeared on the Megyn Kelly show last Sunday. After watching this show, no parent will be sending their kids to South Florida for recovery.

Read about it... and the new state law that eventually will give us some relief. Thanks to Bill Hager and Jeff Clemens for all their help on this bill and locally to Commissioner Andy Amoroso for his work on the Sober Home Task Force.

The bills — House Bill 807 and Senate Bill 788.

Sunshine not too bright in the Florida Legislature

Half of Florida’s legislators rate ‘F’ or ‘D’ in their support for open records

Read about all our Florida Legislators and how they were graded by the Florida Society of News Editors on Open government. Our representatives didn't do too badly. Lori, proud of you.

Jeff Clemens and Lori Berman

Last night, Senator Jeff Clemens said he voted against the Education bill, 7069. First he voted for it on April 13th-- then on May 8th he voted against it. He and Berman said basically it was because of a few things in it. The final vote was 20/18 and among the 18 who voted nay, 15 were Democrats.

HB 7069 revises charter school provisions and expands the authority of high performing charter schools and systems. The bill authorizes the establishment of Schools of Hope, revises traditional public school improvement provisions and creates the Schools of Hope revolving loan program. The bill revises teacher certification provisions, modifies eligibility requirements for the best and brightest teacher scholarship requirements.

Primarily the "siphoning off money from public schools" was Clemen's biggest problem. He is not a Charter School advocate.

CS/HB 7069: Education

GENERAL BILL by Appropriations Committee ; Education Committee ; Diaz, M. ; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Cortes, B. ; Donalds ; Fischer ; Roth

Education; Requiring the Auditor General to conduct annual audits of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind; requiring that the lowest-performing elementary schools be determined by specified assessment results; creating the Schools of Excellence Program; providing charter schools are eligible for capital outlay funds pursuant to specified provisions; deleting a provision requiring the Algebra II end-of-course assessment to be administered; creating the Florida Best and Brightest Principal Scholarship Program; authorizing all students, including home education and private school students, to participate in specified virtual instruction options, etc. APPROPRIATION: $418,950,000.00

Effective Date: 7/1/2017

Last Action: 5/8/2017 House - Ordered engrossed, then enrolled -HJ 1642

Jeff Clemens and Lori Berman to speak at commission meeting

Tonight, Rep. Lori Berman and Sen. Jeff Clemens will, in some respects, give a very one-sided report on their Florida legislative update to the Lake Worth City Commission and to the public. Both are Democrats in a Florida Republican Legislative world.

We will probably hear all about their joint bills, Senate Bill 1114 and House Bill 6025, that is for abortion providers. They feel bill 1411 restricts healthcare services to women and the language is unconstitutional.

Clemens' bill on cannabis possession halted

Jeff Clemens wanted to decriminalize possession of one ounce or less of cannabis — described as a “personal use quantity — It would be a civil violation, rather than a misdemeanor.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee postponed the bill. Under the proposal, a person over the age of 18 who knowingly possesses an ounce of marijuana or less would be assessed a civil violation of no more than $100--a slap on the wrist.

SB 1662: Cannabis

GENERAL BILL by Clemens

Cannabis; Providing that possession of a personal use quantity of cannabis or a cannabis accessory by an adult is a civil violation; providing that such possession by a minor is a civil violation; prohibiting state or local penalties or obligations other than specified penalties or obligations concerning possession of personal use quantities of cannabis or cannabis accessories; specifying that certain violations may not be considered probation or parole violations, etc.

Effective Date: 7/1/2017
Last Action: 4/17/2017 Senate - On Committee agenda-- Criminal Justice, 04/17/17, 1:30 pm, 37 Senate Office Building --Temporarily Postponed
Location: In committee/council (CJ)
Bill Text: Web Page | PDF

Florida HB 13

I have to wonder what Jeff Clemens will think about this bill as this is where his political career began. Actually, it began for many such as Shanon Materio now a West Palm Beach (now a sanctuary city thanks to her vote) city commissioner and Andy Amoroso a Lake Worth City Commissioner.

Last night, the Lake Worth Director of the CRA, Joan Olivia gave a lengthy presentation on the CRA. She mentioned that the CRA began in 1989 and expanded in 2002. They are now going to give residential grants for landscaping up to $2,500 and delve into a loan program helping people up to $5,000.

The bill says it is providing a phase-out period for existing community redevelopment agencies; providing a limited  exception for community redevelopment agencies with  certain outstanding bond obligations. There will be all sorts of stringent reporting requirements for all CRA's.

CS/HB 13: Community Redevelopment Agencies

GENERAL BILL by Local, Federal and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee ; Raburn

Community Redevelopment Agencies; Provides reporting requirements; revises requirements for operating community redevelopment agencies; prohibits creation of new community redevelopment agencies after date certain; provides phase-out period; creates criteria for determining whether community redevelopment agency is inactive; provides hearing procedures; authorizes certain financial activity from inactive community redevelopment agencies; revises requirements for use of redevelopment trust fund proceeds; revises county & municipal government reporting requirements; revises criteria for finding that county or municipality failed to file report; requires DFS to provide report to DEO concerning community redevelopment agencies with no revenues, no expenditures, & no debts.

Effective Date: 7/1/2017
Last Action: 4/3/2017 House - On Committee agenda-- Ways and Means Committee, 04/05/17, 9:00 am, Morris Hall
Location: On agenda (WMC)
Bill Text: PDF

Democrats want convicted felons to vote

Democrats, after having lost the Florida election to Donald Trump, want convicted felons to be able to vote and even are going to put it on the ballot in 2018. It doesn't matter who can vote--convicted felons, illegal immigrants if they can figure out a way--as long as they vote Democratic.

Lake Worth Democrat Sen. Jeff Clemens wants to allow felons the right to vote. He just filed a joint resolution (SJR 74) for lawmakers to consider in the 2017 session, which begins in March. No House version has been filed yet.

Read about Jeff wanting felons to vote...

I read where a Lake Worth resident on Facebook said that Jeff was doing a very good job. I guess it depends upon what party you represent. He voted against every major key vote but one while in the legislature.

Jeff Clemens just elected Democratic Leader in Florida Senate

Read about Jeff Clemens

Jeff Clemens has expanded his scheme to register voters

State Senator Jeff Clemens filed a new measure this week that would expand upon the federal 'Motor Voter' law, which allows people to register to vote by submitting an application at licensing offices. Under Clemens' bill, no additional paperwork would be needed. Clemens said, “If you’re an American and a legal citizen, you shouldn’t jump through an extra legal hoop just to exercise your constitutional right to vote."

As Democrats are bewildered why their turnout at the polls was not as expected, they are doing everything imaginable to get potential voters registered.

With the large illegal population in our state, this could open up all sorts of possibilities down the road  for fraud. There has been a big push to allow illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses in our state. At this time, a total of 12 states plus the District of Columbia allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver's license. These 12 states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Vermont and Washington. However, anti-immigration groups against this idea say granting driver’s licenses to illegal undocumented immigrants will encourage illegal immigration and won’t increase road safety.  Non-citizens should never vote in our elections.

Can you even imagine an illegal alien controlling our vote in Florida? Thank God for a Republican Legislature. Jeff Clemens needs to concentrate on the Sober Home problem not beefing up the registered Democratic voters.

Clemens bill:

SB 72: Voter Registration

GENERAL BILL by Clemens

Voter Registration; Providing that driver license or identification card applications, driver license or identification card renewal applications, and changes of address for existing driver licenses or identification cards submitted to the department serve as voter registration applications; specifying that an applicant must consent to the use of his or her signature for voter registration purposes; providing for paper-based applications, etc.

Effective Date: 1/1/2018
Last Action: 11/28/2016 Senate - Filed
Location: Filed
Bill Text: Web Page | PDF