Sailfish City - Stuart Florida Community Site

You probably heard about some of the laws going into effect as of today - most of the ones making the headlines are the FCAT changes and the new gun laws.  There are plenty of others and in my opinion almost all of them are good changes.  No, I don’t beleive this is government once again poking it’s nose where it doesn’t belong.  These are changes that will for the most part be for the good of the people and (I believe anyway) will be what most people will would want to see changed.  All these laws benefit us.

We’ll start with the hot topic, the gun law.  It’s now legal to have a gun in your vehicle at work.  This could probably be the most debated but I don’t see how this is going to change much.  I’ve always believed personally in the right to bear arms and if you took away that right then the criminals would be the only ones armed.  If you are worried now that someone is going to go postal and come into work with a gun - what was stopping them before?  You think a law against it was keeping them at bay?  No.

FCAT laws are changing, at least for high schools at the moment and becoming less of a factor when grading the school.  Graduation rates and participation in advanced classes will be more of a factor when determining how a school is performing.  Elementary and middle school FCAT rules are staying the same for the moment, but if the laws effecting the high schools have a major positive impact I’m the the rest of the school system won’t be far behind.  They are also pushing the FCAT’s back a month to give students more time to study.

Traffic fines for speeding are going up by $17.50 or more from the Florida Highway Patrol.  And now all non-criminal traffic fines can be paid off through community service if you don’t have enough cash to pay the fine.  Most folks will pay the fine to avoid the aggrevation but at least it’s a good alternative for folks who don’t have much extra money on hand.

Two of my favorite laws are the drunken driving and the grow house laws.  Both of which are problems in surrounding areas on the Treasure Coast.  First, the drunken driving fines are doubling across the board from first time offender on up.  What’s more the fines will go up even more if you have a blood alcohol level of .20 or more.  The legal limit right now is .08.  The grow house laws have changed to reduce the number of pot plants required to be considered a grow house from 300 down to only 25.  It is a second-degree felony to operate a grow house and a third-degree felony is you lease or rent the house to someone knowing they are using it for that purpose.

The one change I wasn’t real big on was the changes to the State song.  Basically they are taking the song and doing some edits to make it more politically correct.  I’m not a politician, I’m just your average Joe - so I’ve never been a big fan of politically correctness.  If it offends someone, they’ll get over it in my opinion.  Or they won’t, either way doesn’t bother me much.  Then again I’m not easily offended.

For more info on the rest of the laws changing check out the story over at TCPalm.

 

 

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The Martin County

 

  Defender

 

– No. 60

 

 

 

 

 

The primary election Circus

 

 

SORTING OUT THE GOOD, BAD AND INDIFFERENT COMMISSION CANDIDATES

There are 15 candidates for the three open Martin County Commission positions - eight Republicans, four Democrats, and three Other. Ten are involved in primaries to be held Aug. 11-23, 2008; two have no competition. They include a mélange of people devoted to public service, people devoted to financial interests, people intent on gaming the system, and people giving themselves an ego boost.

The primaries are limited to Republicans and Democrats competing within the same party in each of the districts. If you are a Republican, you are limited to voting for a Republican. Similarly for Democrats. Residents vote for all districts.
 

Write-ins move to the general election ballot with the winners of the primaries, together with No Party Affiliate candidates (Independents).  For those who did not submit candidacy petitions signed by voters, the qualifying fee for those running under a party was $3,414.60. For those who qualified as a No Party Affiliate, the fee was $2,276.40.
 

The primary is so important because it may determine who will be elected. And that will seriously affect our quality of life.
 

YOUR EDITOR’S PERSONAL DISCLOSURE:  I don’t believe in endorsing candidates. I’m not the Political Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. However, I have followed the candidates intently as much as possible, and I want to share with readers - especially those who have asked about my candidate preferences - whom I will and will not vote for …. and why. To the extent that it is knowable, I consider candidate position and history. And since this is Martin County, Character Counts.
 

District 1 - Republicans

 
Doug Smith is the incumbent running for re-election. He rarely encounters a developer proposal that doesn’t earn his support. He voted to plop the monstrous Hinckley warehouse right next to homes in Rocky Point. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the Glatting Jackson report and the pro-sprawl Valliere Rural Cluster Amendment. Smith supported spot zoning biochemical industrial manufacturing next to residences way outside of the Urban Services Boundary (USB). He voted to stretch utility water lines beyond the primary USB to accommodate a developer. An example of Smith’s “understanding” of community economics is his statement: “I don’t understand how growth doesn’t pay for itself.” Hello? Anyone home? It’s the high cost of infrastructure, commissioner. It is no surprise that developer-related interests bestow generous contributions on his campaign. It’s truly time for a change. A vote for Smith is a vote for Browardizing Martin County!.

 
Henry Copeland is Smith’s political nightmare. Copeland is an eloquent speaker. Year after year he is on the front lines fighting against exploitation of the county by politically connected smart money. He works to preserve the Comprehensive Plan. As an attorney, he will bring special skills to the commission to monitor the shenanigans that go on at both the administration and the commission. Copeland’s answers to the key questions posed by residents in the Martin County Consensus survey (not to be confused with the increasingly irrelevant Consensus Inc.) of 1,600 citizens, show Copeland’s well conceived, constructive responses. I will vote for Copeland because it is a vote for progress and preserving our quality of life.

 

District 1 - Democrats

 

Tom Fullman , a longtime Republican, switched to Democrat in the hope that he could get on the ballot with little or no opposition. He has said that he is slow growth, but has failed to state his positions on numerous other important matters. Fullman’s publication of scurrilous accusations and false statements in the Stuart News is disquieting. More troubling is his court record (Martin County Clerk of Courts Files #1133746, #0844032, and #1741661). Both the Internal Revenue Service and the Martin County Tax Collector had to drag Fullman into court to collect taxes due. Does that enhance the confidence of citizens who pay their taxes on time that Fullman would make a good steward of public funds controlled by the commission?

 

Eric Brent has a good background in affordable housing, knowledge much needed on the commission. He kind of came from out of nowhere, so we don’t know much about him. Even so, he is a better choice than Fullman.

 

BITE THE BULLET! Democrats more concerned with the welfare of the county than their local political party would be better served to register Republican to vote for Henry Copeland in the primary. In the November general local and national election, converts can still vote Democrat … or Green Party, or Possibility Party, or 28 other minor parties if they wish.

 

District 3- Republicans

 

Lee Weberman, the incumbent running for re-election, is the commission’s loose cannon. He has earned the reputation of being rude to both citizen and fellow commissioner. Much of what was said about Doug Smith, except for Weberman’s opposition to rural clusters, is also applicable to Weberman. Perhaps more so. When pro-developer commissioners voted to cut added impact fees to a mere $1,000, even that was too much for Weberman, who opposed any increase. Better that taxpayers foot the extra infrastructure cost. Unsurprisingly, he has a big campaign treasury from developer interest contributions.

 

Patrick Hayes is a rare bird - a water preservationist who supports rural clustering. He has run before for commissioner, and lost. Hayes does not have broad support. We don’t know where he stands on a wide range of issues.

 

DILEMMA: Since “None of the Above” is not a ballot choice, I may vote for Hayes as the lesser bad, but only in the primary.

 

District 3 - Democrat

 

No primary contest here. Lone candidate Martha Bennett offers excellent pro-resident positions on the key challenges that face our county. I’ll vote for her in the general election, and hope other Republicans will rise above partisanship to support her, too.

 

District 5 - Republicans

 

Ian Pollack is, in my view, the best of all 15 commission candidates. A former police commander, he’s tough but sensitive to citizen needs, and focused on public service. Since his defeat four years ago because of the split good-guy vote, he has consistently spoken up in public meetings to oppose exploitation of our county, fighting to preserve the Comprehensive Plan that has made Martin County special. His activities on behalf of good causes has earned him wide support from diverse voter groups. I look forward to voting for Pollack.

 

Edward Ciampi is the candidate of the developer/business organizations, a DiTerlizzi wannabe, but not as clever. He openly supports Big Sugar, the source of so much of our water pollution. Ciampi also supports rural clusters. He is a poor choice for commissioner in my opinion.

 

John Hockey  has excellent positions on public issues. For example, he supports the 20-acre western rule, would vote to rescind the Valliere Rural Cluster Amendment, will not take campaign contributions from developers, and so on. However, he has not been on the battlements fighting regularly for all these and other causes the way that Pollack has year after year.

 

John Born is a good man. I know him and his family personally. However, other than his general opposition to sprawl, I do not know where he stands on many critical issues. He has not replied to the questions posed to him. Like Hockey, he has rarely been at the lectern trying to convince commissioners to make good decisions.

 

NO MORE 2004! The problem with reasonably decent candidates like Hockey and Born is that they do not really match up to Pollack in either history or consistent effort. They do not come close to having Pollack’s wide support. The fear is that 2004 can repeat itself if Hockey and Born chip away just enough votes from Pollack to allow Ciampi to slide through with a winning plurality - not a majority -  just as DiTerlizzi did in 2004. So I hope that readers will rally with me behind Pollack. It will change the complexion of the Board of County Commissioners for the better.

 

District 5 - Democrat

 

Linda Green  is a sincere person with the best intentions. She is a bit out of her depth in brutally competitive Martin politics. As JFK is reported to have said: Politics ain’t beanbag.

 

OTHER CANDIDATES: Joan Wilcox and John Patteson have registered as No Party, and will be on the general election ballot. Donald Gleichman has registered as a write-in candidate.

 

In summary, my primary votes will go to

IAN POLLACK & HENRY COPELAND

 

 

My letter of 6/20/08 in the Stuart News

 

Change party to vote in Republican primary

 

If you want to vote for your preferred County Commission candidates, it’s easy to overcome the obstacles being placed in your way.

 

Recognize that some voting rules for local officials are questionable, such as our closed primaries that restrict voters to the candidates of the party you registered with. Worse yet, some voting rules are ridiculous, such as write-in faux candidates who will not appear on the ballot, but do force a closed primary. That is the legal, but unsavory tactic being employed by some Republicans calling themselves the Iron Claw.

 

You can turn the Iron Claw into a pile of rust simply by filling out a form to change party affiliation. Suppose you are a Democrat or Independent who wants to get rid of an incumbent Republican commissioner who always votes for developer proposals at the expense of residents. Just become a Republican - at least for the moment.

 

As described in the Martin County Defender Issue No. 58, just pick up a Voter Application Form at any library, government annex or Tax Collector office. Or go online to www.martinvotes.com, click on “Voter Info/Education” and “Update Your Registration.” Print out the form, fill it out noting party change, sign and mail before July 28 to:

 

Supervisor of Elections

P.O. Box 1257

Stuart, Fl 34995

 

Presto! Change-o! You can now vote in the primary for good Republicans. Of course, you can vote for whomever you want in the general election in November.

 

Personal Political Disclosure: I have been an Independent for decades, joining one party or another only rarely when vital primary issues require it. This is such a time. I have become a registered Republican (temporarily) to help preserve our quality of life.

 

Al Forman

 

Upcoming Candidate Forums

 

July 21, 2008 at 6:00 pm.  County commission candidates. Blake Library. Sponsored by Martin County Conservation Alliance.

July 22, 2008 at 6:00 pm.  County commission candidates. Hospice of the Treasure Coast, 1201 SE Indian St., Stuart. Sponsored by Martin county Interagency Coalition.

August 11, 2008 at 6:00 pm. Candidates for two House of Representative districts. Blake Library. Sponsored by Martin County Conservation Alliance.

August 13, 2008 at 6:00 pm. County commission candidates. Blake Library. Sponsored by League of Women Voters.

August 14, 2008 at 6:00 pm. Superintendent of Schools and State Representative District 81 and 82 candidates. Sponsored by League of Women Voters.

 

+++++

 

For a free subscription to The Martin County Defender, send request with “Subscribe” in the subject line to:

 

mc-defender@comcast.net

 

Comments and requests to unsubscribe may be sent to this same address.

Al

Al Forman, Editor                                  6/28/08

 

 

 

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Stuart, FL - Bathtub Beach is open to the public once again but it isn’t back to full capacity just yet and probably won’t be for quite a while.  Over the weekend I took my family up to Bathtub Beach for a nice family day and for the most part was pleasantly surprised.  The thing that drew people to the beach in the first place, Bathtub Reef is still doing a great job keeping the beach nice and calm even at high tide.  My daughter is usually scared of the waves at Stuart beach (she’s only 16 months old!) but at Bathtub she was laughing and giggling in the water.

The difference is in the waves, which at Bathtub is little more than a ripple on the water.  If you are a surfer, this is not the place for you.  But if you have a family, particularly with small children or enjoy snorkeling there isn’t a better beach anywhere in driving distance! 

The beach itself is narrow with the erosion and the parking is very limited for now but it actually made for a nice balance.  The limited parking helped offset the limited beach area and kept the beach from getting overcrowded.  Though it may take you some time to find a parking spot on the weekends.  The water was very calm and clear and you could clearly see anything under the water as far as obstructions.  Just in case, there was always a lifeguard close at hand with adequate equipment to get to any swimmer in distress quickly.  No, no one was in distress on my trip but I did see guards patrolling on four wheelers and kayaks.

The water is a little deeper than I remember but it was high tide and the deepest part of the beach was almost midpoint between the shore and the reef itself, with either end of the spectrum being only four or five feet deep.  Toward the middle it probably got to around six feet. 

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