Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 31, 2008, at 4:18 pm
TBO.com’s transportation reporter Rich Shopes puts Pam Iorio ahead of the rest of her TBARTA board colleagues this morning in a story about her desire to get a Tampa-centric rail system in front of Hillsborough voters in 2010. From the article:
“I think the city is ready,” she said this week. “I think the people are ready.”
Some members of that regional authority, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, or TBARTA, think Iorio is jumping the gun.
“We need the support of multiple counties to make this work,” Clearwater mayor and TBARTA board member Frank Hibbard said.
TBARTA has had a pretty unified front until now, and while this isn’t much of a crack in that facade, it is a crack. But Iorio has increasingly been strident about her desire for a USF-downtown-airport rail line going in front of the voters, given that it will take a decade to build if it is approved in 2010. That puts rail, at its earliest, in the year 2020.
A month ago I sat down with Iorio for a 35-minute interview and she talked about transit as part of her explanation of why she is so methodical (and slow) in her decisionmaking. Here’s that excerpt:
I think being methodical works well because that’s my style, so I can’t be anything different than that. When you bring people in, you don’t make rash decisions. I give the example of the discussion of mass transit. I started three years ago in the State of the City speech saying we need to focus on transit and our bus system is very poor. Well then that started a particular cycle of conversation. Then the next State of the City speech I upped it a little bit and starting talking about, now we have to have light rail and then I produced a white paper on rail and how we had to take the Tampa plan and dust it off and re-do and get the MPO going. So that’s what we did.
Now here we are in 2008, and I think it’s been a pretty methodical approach of introducing the topic, of showing an interest in the topic, getting the MPO engaged to redo their plan, working with the Partnership to get TBARTA. It’s been a methodical process over the past three years. So you can say, well, why not just declare that we need to have light rail and go for it? Because it doesn’t work that way. That’s not how communities get light rail. No one just goes for it. It’s got to be a community consensus. You’ve got to build a dialogue. You have to get to the pont where other elected officials feel comfortable stepping out and saying, Yeah I’ll support a referendum for that.
But they’re not going to get to that point overnight. It’s got to become part of the community debate and consciousness. Now, today, light rail is an acceptable conversation for anyone to have. We’re talking about going to referendum in 2010, and I’m trying to push for a starter line that’s going to be from USF to downtown to Westshore. So there’s an example of something that you start by planting the seed of what should be a community dialogue and you start by taking the steps and it begins to evolve.
It remains to be seen whether Hillsborough County commissioners, who generally seem disinterested in the TBARTA process, would vote to put a transit tax on the 2010 ballot for Iorio.
Rep. Barney Frank attempts to decriminalize Marijuana. I’m sure the congress will get to that right after they impeach Bush and cut off funding for the war.
This is a new video from Good magazine that boils down the history of the planet (but mostly of oil and food prices) since the dawn of civilization — all in about four minutes.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 29, 2008, at 2:34 pm
Our sister paper, the Chicago Reader, is opening its archive of stories about hometown-boy-made-good Barack Obama as we enter the home stretch of Campaign 2008. Like this bit from an early profile of Obama, then running for the Illinois Senate:
… [A]fter three years of law practice and civic activism, Obama has decided to dive into electoral politics. He is running for the Illinois Senate, he says, because he wants to help create jobs and a decent future for those embittered youth. But when he met with some veteran politicians to tell them of his plans, the only jobs he says they wanted to talk about were theirs and his. Obama got all sorts of advice. Some of it perplexed him; most of it annoyed him. One African-American elected official suggested that Obama change his name, which he’d inherited from his late Kenyan father. Another told him to put a picture of his light-bronze, boyish face on all his campaign materials, “so people don’t see your name and think you’re some big dark guy.”
Obama, running to be the Democratic candidate for the 13th District on the south side, was also told–even by fellow progressives–that he might be too independent, that he should strike a few deals to assure his election. Another well-meaning adviser suggested never posing for photos with a glass in his hand–even if he wasn’t drinking alcohol.
“Now all of this may be good political advice,” Obama said, “but it’s all so superficial. I am surprised at how many elected officials–even the good ones–spend so much time talking about the mechanics of politics and not matters of substance. They have this poker chip mentality, this overriding interest in retaining their seats or in moving their careers forward, and the business and game of politics, the political horse race, is all they talk about. Even those who are on the same page as me on the issues never seem to want to talk about them. Politics is regarded as little more than a career.”
The Reader has been writing stories about Obama since that profile in 1995, and you can find them here.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 29, 2008, at 10:42 am
Some of that old GOP desperation is starting to set into the campaign rhetoric. Two instances in the blogosphere today.
First, GOP Forida Chairman Jim Greer told a hyuk-hyukking crowd of Panhandle sycophants that his son once asked him what the difference between a Republican and a Democrat was:
“Republicans get up and go to work,” Greer said he told the boy. “Democrats get up and go down to the mailbox to get their checks.”
Yeah, that’s fresh and original, Jimbo. The Tallahassee Democrat account of Greer’s old welfare saw points out that the crowd “guffawed” in “a chorus of assent.”
I know lots of Democrats who are out busting their ass in this economy, and plenty of Republicans, too. Last I saw, the national unemployment stats weren’t cross-tabbed by party registration, but maybe that is good idea, right Jim? The reality is that after 10 years of Republican governors and leadership in the House and Senate, Florida consistently is at or near the top of Bad-News Economic Statistics lists these days.
In the second instance, Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp blasted the media (what’s new there?) and seemed to chucklingly long for the day when journalism goes belly up because it is so biased. In a speech to some Miami business owners, Kottkamp said:
… the press exaggerates the state’s economic problems because its own business is in trouble.
“Print media is really archaic,” Kottkamp told the board of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade’s nonprofit business recruitment agency. “They’re laying off people. Their view of the world is pretty skewed.”
He got called on his comments by a Miami Herald exec in the audience and quickly dissembled:
Kottkamp quickly backtracked, saying he was just advising the print media to look to the future online.
“My message is not that I don’t like you,” he said. “I love you.”
An interesting theory: the media is making Florida’s economy seem worse than it is because we’re all personally affected by the layoffs and cutbacks and it makes us dour and negative.
Any thoughts on that? Or should I spend the rest of the day linking to unemployment stats, housing starts, avg incomes, spending power, consumer confidence, etc.?
Here’s a sneak peak of the movie everyone (especially angry conservatives looking to score political points) will be talking about this fall. Presenting the first trailer for Oliver Stone’s W.
Bush to leave behind a $482 billion deficit — and that doesn’t include “the full cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the potential $50 billion cost of another economic stimulus package, or the possibility of steeper losses in tax revenues if individual income or corporate profits decline.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 28, 2008, at 3:43 pm
As I wrote about last week, former Tampa Tribune foreign correspondent Tim Collie was laid off from his job at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a victim of the industry and new Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell’s plans to remake newspapers in his own image. Here’s a shot smuggled out to me of Collie’s desk after he was shown the door, a makeshift shrine to his work and awards:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 28, 2008, at 11:37 am
Janet Zink points out in a good story in this weekend’s St. Pete Times that Democrats lead Republicans in fundraising in two “significant” races in Tampa, that of the supervisor of elections and a South Tampa-based House seat. She writes:
Democratic challengers outraised Republican incumbents in the scramble for campaign funds in two significant Hillsborough County races.
Phyllis Busansky, who’s running for supervisor of elections, raised $48,000 in the past three months, according to a report filed with the county.
Buddy Johnson, the current supervisor, raised only $11,300.
Political novice Yolie Capin pulled in more than $17,000 and loaned her campaign $5,000. GOP State Rep. Faye Culp, who’s trying to win a fourth term in her District 57 House seat, raised $4,542.
The Elections Office race is clearly significant. We could quibble over whether House 57 is or isn’t, but I’m more interested in the larger picture; those are the only two contested races where Democrats lead Republicans in fundraising in Hillsborough County. The local GOP still has a tremendous fundraising advantage over the Democrats. The top four candidates in terms of cash on hand are Republicans: Ken Hagan, $172,894.26; Brian Blair, $144,853.69; Doug Belden, $144,767.01; and Al Higginbotham, $89,461.90.
In contrast, the three highest county-level Democratic campaigns in terms of money left in the bank at this point are: Phyllis Busansky, $69,468.39; Kevin Beckner, $61,930.82; and Joe Redner, $4,480.24.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 25, 2008, at 6:04 pm
The hammer is dropping at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and one name on the list sticks out for me, my former colleague at the Tampa Tribune, Tim Collie. (h/t to The Daily Pulp)
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 25, 2008, at 10:00 am
She’s back writing.
OK, she never really left, if you count reading her MySpace page. But the former Interbay Superstar blogger Rachel Moran has a new blog and appears to have moved back to her native New Jersey. She wrote a killer blog here, contributed stories to CL and to the ill-fated Orange faux-alt weekly and Sticks of Fire and the faux tabloid tbt* and got into several controversies.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 25, 2008, at 8:21 am
I finally got a chance to speak with Elected County Mayor PAC founder Mary Ann Stiles and opponent Jim Shirk, who has filed a lawsuit against the November referendum, too late for our print edition story, but both had interesting things to say.
Stiles sounded exasperated by what she called falsehoods about her proposal to replace the appointed county manager with an elected county executive. The biggest lie? “That it’s going to add more layers of bureaucracy and its going to increase costs. More layers? It’s a replacement, replacing it with an elected person. The structure for that person is already there.”
As for increased costs? “The mayor’s salary will be set by the board [of county commissioners, so there is accountability].” What about the fact that an elected mayor likely would have to hire a professional chief of staff/administrator anyway? Stiles countered that current County Manager Pat Bean already has a coterie of deputy county managers, any one of whom’s positions could be converted to a chief of staff. “She’s already got all those positions. I think an elected county mayor would actually cut positions.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 24, 2008, at 2:09 pm
Coupla tales from the front lines of the economic disaster that is Tampa Bay.
First, good news!!! Our housing market is so bloated with inventory and our houses are losing so much of their value that we made the Today Show’s segment on “Housing markets where you can rape the shit out of the current owners/the bank because of the market slump.”
Now the bad news: more and more restaurants are closing. I drove over to the Boston Market on Kennedy Blvd. to buy a chicken caeser salad but found it stripped clean and closed. The Hardee’s in Britton Plaza shuttered its door in the past few months. And now this morning I read in the Business Journal that the highly annoying steakman Sam Seltzer is closing his Brandon restaurant:
Sam Seltzer’s Steak Houses of America Inc. lost $11.5 million over the past three years due to its unsuccessful rapid expansion and reduced sales from hurricanes followed by the economic slump, bankruptcy court records say.
The restaurant chain, based in Tampa, lost $7.1 million in 2007, $3.9 million in 2006 and $528,500 in 2005, according to court filings.
To turn things around, the company closed another three restaurants on July 14.
No longer operating are locations at Brandon Town Centre, Port Charlotte Towne and Altamonte. It had already closed two restaurants in Lakeland and Palm Harbor.
Oh, and Florida leads the nation in job losses. And Tampa Bay leads Florida.
Can’t wait for Governor Charlie to get back from Europe with his socialite fiance to fix these problems. After he first celebrates his birthday at a $5,200-a-head soiree at The Breakers in Palm Beach.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 24, 2008, at 8:47 am
That’s the question I investigate in my story about the movement for an elected county mayor in this week’s print CL editions. As in, do you have seven county commissioners running Hillsborough County with the help of an appointed, professional manager, or do you elect one strong county mayor to run things instead of the current appointed county manager. Here’s an excerpt:
Last week, the bipartisan group supporting an elected county mayor rolled out some decidedly B-list and C-list political figures who are on board with their movement. They have a PAC and are raising money for campaign ads, with a professional political consultant helping guide their efforts.
The opponents, meanwhile, are unorganized and without either consultants or a fundraising committee.
And yet I have to think that beating the county mayor plan wouldn’t be all that tough. Opponent Beth Rawlins, a political consultant (and former colleague of mine when I was running campaigns), offers this simple strategy for defeating it:
Advertise on several huge billboards along I-275 before the election, with the simple words “County Mayor Brian Blair” and Blair’s picture. The following week, you swap out Jim Norman’s name and photo for Blair’s. Then Ronda Storms. And so forth until Election Day.
“You basically just run through the County Commission,” said Rawlins, who has helped defeat strong mayor referendums in several communities in Florida on behalf of her clients, the Florida City and County Management Association and the International City/County Management Association.
Her point should be well taken by even those who support the county mayor plan: Do we have a single politician who can unite the entire county and has strong managerial skills and not some crazy agenda?
I couldn’t reach Elected County Mayor PAC founder Mary Ann Stiles before my deadline, but I spoke to her yesterday, and she said the scenario cited by Rawlins is “presumptuous,” since voters haven’t even yet approved the change to an elected administrator.
I’ll post the results of my interview with Stiles here later today, along with an interview with Jim Shirk, the Democratic activist who has sued to take the Elected County Mayor referendum off the November ballot. It is the first media interview with him, to my knowledge.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 23, 2008, at 12:49 pm
What is it about Max Linn’s campaign videos that make my skin crawl just a bit? I can’t put my finger on it. Here are two he has put together (not embeddable, sorry) for his new fundraising website, Congress Must Change.
Bonus cuts: Here’s video from Linn’s unsuccessful 2006 gubernatorial race, plus our own Max Linn vs. Max Linsky (former CL writer and editor) story from that campaign:
It’s not so much that Bush says Wall Street got drunk and now has a hangover that stings. It’s that he brought the alcohol to the party in the first place.
Obama gets a little face-time with both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 22, 2008, at 4:49 pm
Ron Paul has one-upped Barack Obama. The Democratic nominee is merely giving his acceptance speech in Denver’s Mile High Stadium. But Paul informed the rEVOLution faithful today that he has booked the Target Center PLUS has a lineup of supporters set to perform and entertain that simply defies description. In Ron’s own words:
Later this week I will announce two internationally renowned musicians as headliners for the Rally for the Republic. We’ll also be joined by rock star Aimee Allen, NBC’s Tucker Carlson, Barry Goldwater Jr., Gov. Gary Johnson, conservative stalwart Grover Norquist, former Reagan deputy Attorney General Bruce Fein, presidential historian Doug Wead, MTV’s Adam Curry, musician Mark Scibilia, and Frank Sinatra impersonator Rick Ellis. Other special guests will be announced soon.
Yes, the ONLY way to top former MTV VeeJay Adam Curry is with a Sinatra impersonator. What a lineup!! I just pray to God I don’t get stuck in the beer line and miss the set by Bruce Fein.
Oh, for those of you who might have let the entire Aimee Allen rock star phenomenon slip by them, here’s her ode to Ron Paul:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 22, 2008, at 3:38 pm
The sight of a shuttered office where local weekly music pub Reax used to be in Ybor City set some tongues wagging, so the freebie’s founder felt compelled to let the faithful know that Reax is not dead, according to this e-mail:
REAX MUSIC MAGAZINE PUBLISHER
DEFUSES SELLOUT RUMORS
Magazine Remains Independent, Readies Feature-Packed
Back To School Issue
(TAMPA, FL) - All week, people have been coming up to Joel Cook and asking why he sold REAX, the free monthly music and culture magazine he founded over two years ago. Cook doesn’t know what to tell them, because he doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
“It’s crazy,” he says. “Nobody seems to know where these stories come from, but everybody’s obviously heard it.”
It’s true that REAX recently shuttered its Ybor City offices, in order to take advantage of the greater resources offered by a new location just outside of Tampa. Cook calls the move “temporary” and “extremely beneficial,” and guesses it might have been what started tongues wagging about the magazine being sold off, or going out of business completely. Both rumors are completely unfounded.
REAX has not been sold. The magazine and website remain independent, and staffed largely by the same idealistic music fans who helped put together the very first issue. REAX continues to provide opportunities for young and emerging writers to hone their chops, see their work in print and learn from more experienced peers.
REAX is not going out of business. Cook and company are currently putting the finishing touches on their Back To School issue, on stands August 1. In addition to features on such iconic acts as My Morning Jacket and the Melvins and rising artists like The Stills, Trivium and Matt Pryor, the August installment features informative overviews on Florida’s college towns, including guides to cheap eats, cool bars and venues and interesting businesses.
REAX is not funded by radical secessionist group New American Dawn. REAX pays its bills the same way it always has - through advertising, and the sale of counterfeit Girl Scout cookies.
PoHo recently got word of an upcoming event from our friends at the GLBTA Democratic Caucus who, along with the Northwest Hillsborough Democratic Club and DFA Tampa Bay, are sponsoring a Judicial Candidate Forum. This is an opportunity for voters to meet the candidates for circuit court judges and candidates in Hillsborough County.
The forum will take place on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the West Tampa Library, 2312 W. Union St. Mitch Perry, assistant news director at WMNF 88.5 FM Community Radio, will moderate the forum and ask questions submitted by the audience.
The organizers say to “Call Sally at (813) 382-8172 or Susan at (813) 390-3616 for more information.”
UPDATE: Organizers have added another sponsoring group and sent out this amended notice:
The Public is invited to attend a Judicial Candidate Forum, sponsored by the Hillsborough County GLBTA Democratic Caucus, the Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus, the Northwest Hillsborough Democratic Club and DFA Tampa Bay on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the West Tampa Library, 2312 W. Union St., Tampa 33607. This is an opportunity for voters to meet the candidates for Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge. Mitch Perry, Assistant News Director at WMNF (88.5 fm) Community Radio, will moderate the forum and submit questions taken from the audience.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 22, 2008, at 2:06 pm
The southeastern regional Society for Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Awards are in, and the Tribune/tbo.com (6) and Times/tampabay.com (20) did pretty well.
Thanks to The Daily Pulp for the full list of first, second and third places, which is on the jump:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 21, 2008, at 12:13 pm
Today’s digital stream of e-mails bring this criticism of my reporting about changes in Tampa Bay media:
Mr. Garcia:
I will be polite in commenting on your article referenced above. More polite than your backhanded reference to the “chubby doofus in the tropical shirt” during your comments on Tampa Bays’s 10 Citizen Journalist initiative.
In saying “more polite” then you will know that I’ve seen a picture of you…..so let’s leave the chubby part aside………although the man in the “picture” is far from that had you taken the time to watch the promo.
What upsets me more and where I find you most slanderous in your comments would be the “doofus” part. Again, had you taken a moment to find out who the man in the tropical shirt was, the word “doofus” would never have come to mind. The man you refer to is multi-award winning Photojournalist with a very long history of shooting, editing and turning out stories with the utmost professionalism. During the last 16 years he has worked throughout the south before settling in the Tampa area 6 years ago — earning multiple AP and SPJ awards, the distinguished Edward R. Morrow award and has reached the pinnacle of the Emmy Awards. “Doofus”? Hardly………not even close. Oh, and by the way? He’s a really, really nice guy.
The Citizens Journalist initiative is a sign of the times. While downsizing and the way we find our news changes constantly, this project is unique and special. The new Administrator of this program took a step away from the work he loves so much to head up this initiative because he believes it will be 150% successful and will bring the community into the world of journalism — not to replace the professionals at Tampa Bay’s 10 — but to bring in the views of smart, articulate people with the desire to be heard through their video clips. These people aren’t just in it for $20 bucks and free camera……..most simply want to be a part of something important.
Kudos to Tampa Bay’s 10 and the extremely talented man heading up the Citizens Journalist project. I, for one, cannot wait to see what the people of the Tampa Bay area have to show us.
Shame on you for passing judgment and making insulting comments on something you obviously took only a few seconds to investigate before print.
Anonymous
I responded to Anon that, as a chubby doofus myself, I felt more than qualified to make that call. In addition, my telephone call to the producer for Tampa Bay’s 10’s new Citizen Journalism initiative went unreturned.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 21, 2008, at 12:09 pm
Having written extensively, along with CL reporter Alex Pickett, about the longtime problems plaguing the St. Petersburg Police Department’s morale, staffing, funding, etc. So the story that CL Senior Editor Eric Snider tells over on Blurbex about his encounter with one not-so-helpful cop this weekend shouldn’t have surprised me — but it did anyway. Seems Snider’s ride ended up with a flat tire on the way home from the stadium and he limped along trying to find a safe, well-lighted place to change his tire when he got pulled over:
I pulled into a side street. Police are gonna lend a hand, I thought. One of the officers asked me for license and registration. Turns out it’s illegal to drive on a flat tire, and it’ll get you a $141 fine in St. Petersburg. That’s what the policeman told me.
I explained that I was looking for a safer, better-lit spot to pull over, that I’d never changed the tire on the Prius and didn’t even know where the spare was, that I didn’t know it was illegal to drive on a flat but now that I thought about it, it made sense, that my wife was out of town and I didn’t have a AAA card. This was all 100-percent true, but the cop at first seemed incredulous. I shrugged, as if to say, ‘What can I tell ya? I guess he decided to believe me.
“You gonna drive that car home?” he asked. Odd question, I thought; I told him no. He gave me a pass. I thanked him. Then I made a mistake. I should’ve asked him if he was heading toward Placido Bayou – protect and serve and all that. I didn’t think of it until several miles of walking later.
Yes, there was a time in America when a cop would stop and help you out, lend a hand or find a way to assist you, rather than roll up on you all bowed up and shit, spouting about how you are breaking the law by limping along in a Prius with a flat tire. Yes, it’s official: we have solved all the other crime problems in the city, we don’t need those neighborhood policing officers or such, and we are down to enforcing such laws as driving with a flat tire, spitting on the sidewalk and looking funny at a cop.
This is fucking outrageous, and if you live in the ‘Burg, you should be outraged, too. That is, if you are not already so used to it that you are numb.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 21, 2008, at 11:53 am
That is the worry of some South Florida Hispanic leaders, according to a column by the Miami Herald’s Andres Oppenheimer. He writes:
There is a fierce behind-the-scenes battle for influence over presumptive Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s Hispanic and Latin American agenda, and some Democratic strategists say that its outcome could determine the result of the November elections.
Some Obama backers in South Florida, in particular, are especially miffed at what they see as excessive power by labor-union-tied, left-leaning Mexican-American leaders at Obama’s Chicago headquarters over the campaign’s nationwide Hispanic and Latin American policy strategies.
In a confidential July 4 memo sent to 25 prominent South Florida Hispanics, former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre — well respected in nationwide Democratic circles — called for creation of a ”South Florida Hispanic policy advisory group” to counterbalance what he perceives as excessive micro-management of state campaigns by Obama’s Chicago headquarters.
Let’s be clear: we can’t have icky union people like that in positions of authority. Perhaps Obama should have appointed a Cuban?
These whiners (who couldn’t organize their way out of a cocktail party with their RPOF buds) have the cojones to complain about the efforts of real organizers, the very folks who brought Obama to this point?
And last week I taped an interview with Democratic political consultant Ana Cruz, a Puerto Rican who was a supporter and advance person for Hillary Clinton during Clinton’s failed primary bid. Cruz sat in on a recent meeting with HRC’s top Hispanic advisors with Obama and detected no such overtones but did say that Obama has some work to do to win over Latino leaders, especially in Florida. (Look for that interview soon online and in next week’s print edition.)
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 18, 2008, at 5:07 pm
From the LGBT wing of the Democratic Party, the Pinellas Stonewalls today announced a slate of endorsements in a handful races. Most interesting is the dual endorsement in Congressional 10, for Dunedin Mayor Bob Hackworth and activist Samm Simpson. Here’s the entire list:
U.S. House District 9 ………………………………………………….. Bill Mitchell
U.S. House District 10 ……………………………….. Bob Hackworth and Samm Simpson
County Commission At Large District 3 …………………………. Darden Rice
School Board At Large District 1…………………………………… Janet Clark
Download the Pinellas Stonwall Democrats announcement here in .pdf.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 18, 2008, at 4:31 pm
In the course of researching a story on the opponents to the upcoming Elected County Mayor referendum I ran across the burning question: with opponent Ralph Hughes having passed away earlier this month, what happens to all that money in his PAC, Let’s Make the World a Better Place Because We Have Been Here? Is it available still to fight against the referendum or support his usual slate of candidates?
The answer seems to be no. Earlier this year, in January, the remaining dollars in the PAC’s bank accounts — more than 700,000 of them — were spent, leaving less than $8,000 in the PAC that was originally endowed with a $1 million check from Hughes’ Cast-Crete company. The vast majority of the money went back to Cast-Crete, listed as a “prorata return of contribution.” The rest went to state and federal income taxes and accountants.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 18, 2008, at 9:59 am
PoHo has been invited to join Bill Adair of the St. Pete Times’ Politifact on Your Turn with Kathy Fountain today at 12:30 p.m. on Fox 13. The topic: the incendiary Barack Obama as a Muslim cover of the latest New Yorker. Be sure to tune in if you are near a television.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 17, 2008, at 10:20 am
The dirty tricks are already under way in Florida as we begin hurtling toward our November general election date. The latest ratfucking is occurring in a handful of state legislative seats, where last-minute, unknown Green Party candidates have filed to run.
The Green Party says it doesn’t know who they are and can’t reach them to find out. They smell a rat.
Democrats point out that the five candidates switched parties and, in somc cases, addresses at the last minute before filing to run. Having a Green candidate on the ballot, with that party being more progressive, draws votes from Democratic candidates. They smell a rat.
The Republicans say they know nothing, nooooooo-thing.
“I’m shocked and I’m suspicious,” said Echo Steiner of Lake Worth, the state co-chair of the Green Party.
Party officials have sent certified letters, e-mails and even tried knocking on doors so they can vet the candidates and officially endorse them. The candidates have until July 21 to fill out a questionnaire.
Democrats, who often lose votes to third-party candidates in competitive races, are accusing Republicans of being responsible.
“If it’s true, this will be the first time in history that a state party has had a coordinated effort to put sham candidates on a ballot to manipulate an election,” said [state Sen. Dave] Aronberg, D-Greenacres.
The mystery candidate running against Aronberg in his district spanning from Palm Beach County to Lee County? Aniana H. Robas of Riverview, which is here in Hillsborough County and, suspiciously, not in Palm Beach County nor Lee.
Another race affected by the mystery greens is House District 69, where Democrat Keith Fitzgerald is running for re-election.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 17, 2008, at 9:41 am
Kevin Beckner, who faces a Democratic primary against Joe Redner and Dee Layne for the fight to do battle with County Commission Brian Blair in a Texas Cage Death Match, picked up another endorsement, this one from someone who carries weight in West Tampa and the party in general:
STATE REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL SCIONTI ENDORSES KEVIN BECKNER FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY COMMISSION
Kevin Beckner wins the support of yet another local leader
TAMPA: Adding to a growing list of endorsements and supporters, Kevin Beckner can now add state Representative Michael Scionti (D) District 58 to his list.
“The residents of Hillsborough County have a real opportunity for change and true leadership with Kevin Beckner. I am proud to support his candidacy and look forward to seeing him take a leadership role on the county commission,” stated Representative Scionti in his endorsement of candidate Kevin Beckner.
“I am honored to have earned the support of Representative Scionti,” stated candidate Kevin Beckner. “This endorsement and the groundswell of support we have been receiving is a clear signal that the residents of Hillsborough County are hungry for a fresh new voice on the county commission.”
“Representative Scionti and the many other local elected officials and organizations know a winner when they see it,” stated Mitch Kates campaign manager for Kevin Beckner. “Kevin’s message of change and his vision for the future of Hillsborough County are connecting with our local leaders and with the voters. Our campaign is continuing to grow everyday. We look forward to the Primary Election on August 26th and then on to a historical win on November 4th when we defeat Brian Blair.”
The JibJab folks return with their latest hit, “Time For Some Campaignin’.” It’s got a little something to piss off everyone, which means it’s damn funny. Enjoy.
As for increased costs? “The mayor’s salary will be set by the board [of county commissioners, so there is accountability].” What about the fact that an elected mayor likely would have to hire a professional chief of staff/administrator anyway? Stiles countered that current County Manager Pat Bean already has a coterie of deputy county managers, any one of whom’s positions could be converted to a chief of staff. “She’s already got all those positions. I think an elected county mayor would actually cut positions.”
where last-minute, unknown Green Party candidates have filed to run.
