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The Martin County 

  Defender 

The e-newsletter for aware citizens – No. 78

NOV. 4, 2008 

COUNTY COMMISSION ELECTION 

Number of candidates: There were 14 initial ballot candidates for the three Commission slots (a write-in and a couple that dropped out early are not counted). 8 were Republicans, 4 Democrats, and 2 No Party Affiliation (NPA). 9 of the 14 were in contested Primary races. 8 of the 14 made it to the General Election - 3 Republicans, 3 Democrats, 2 NPA.

Congratulations …. and Condolences

We congratulate the successful Martin County Commission candidates – Doug Smith in District 1, Patrick Hayes in District 3, and Ed Ciampi in District 5 - on their election victories. The condolences we offer are, perhaps perversely, to the winners rather than the losers. This sympathy is a recognition of the tough job commissioners will face in these difficult economic times; the requirement that they spend the large amount of time necessary to learn the full implications of decisions they will make; and the paramount need for patience and understanding in dealing with citizens who feel passionately about our community. It’s a weighty obligation. 

Financial analysis of the election

Campaign expenditures: A total of about $765,000 was spent by all of the Primary and General campaigns, including an estimated $35,000 which has not yet been reported. This is a record amount, especially notable in this depressed economy. About 60% of the total was spent during contested primaries.

Not included in the $765,000 are substantial amounts spent by independent groups. For example, the Keep Martin Green committee spent $129,065 this year for various issues and candidate positions.

Biggest spenders: For the Primary and General Elections, Doug Smith is expected to have spent about $200,000, Ed Ciampi and Lee Weberman over $100,000 each, mostly from business/developer related sources. They have  claimed that such generous contributions will not affect their decisions on the Commission. These three alone accounted for more than half of the campaign expenditures by all 14 candidates. The median total campaign expenditure for the eight final candidates was $43,910. 

Money matters – but not always: In the District 3 Primary, incumbent Lee Weberman outspent fellow Republican challenger Patrick Hayes $108,305 to $25,489, but still lost. So if enough people are fed up with a candidate, even a 4-to-1 money advantage will not save him. But in all General Election Districts, it was the biggest spenders who won.            

Voting analysis of the election 

THERE IS NO SINGLE FACTOR THAT DETERMINES VICTORY.

The four factors that seem to determine who will win are:

– Running on the Republican ticket

– Spending the most money

– Having multiple opponents split the vote

- Being better known 

In District 1: Running on the Republican line, Doug Smith spent more money by far than his two opponents combined. As an eight-year incumbent, he is well known. Furthermore, those two opponents split the Preservationist or slow-growth electorate. Since there is no runoff thanks to the state law of several years ago, which one can call The Incumbent Protection Act, Smith was elected  by a plurality (49.29%), not a majority.

In District 3: Running on the Republican line, Patrick Hayes outspent his Democratic opponent, a lesser known political newcomer. 

In District 5: Running as the official Republican candidate, Ed Ciampi also spent far more than his opponents. 

This election underscores the importance of the Primary election. So much money was spent on it because it turns out to be the election.

Wrap-up 

Even with two new faces, the new Commission will have more or less the same composition as the previous one – 4-to-1 in support of Expansionist or faster-growth proposals. If Preservationists want to prevail, they will need a more unified leadership.

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

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

Al

Al Forman, Editor                                  11/5/08

The Martin County

Defender

The e-newsletter for aware citizens – No. 70

PARAPHRASING SENATOR JOE LIEBERMAN:

“County matters more than party!”

A strong two-party system provides stability nationally. However, in local matters, political parties do not play such an important role. After all, what social, cultural, economic and philosophical differences are there about fixing a pothole? That is why many communities across the nation have made elections non-partisan.

Rather than voting for a local candidate just because of his or her party label, it makes better sense to vote for the person on the basis of record, character and qualifications, as well as position on issues. The worst reasons to vote for a candidate are the non-binding promises to do this and improve that.

When we vote for one of the 100 senators and 435 congressional representatives, we are voting for 0.019% of the legislative body. When we vote for a county commissioner, we are voting for 20% of that body. So it pays to focus on the individual at election time.

After considerable thought and examination, I have chosen the candidates in Commission Districts 1 and 3 whom I’ll vote for. It was not an easily made choice, because the race is not between an angel and a devil. It’s between well-intentioned individuals - not necessarily equally desirable individuals - vying for both the power and the opportunity to serve.

DISTRICT 1 CHOICE

In District 1, I will vote for Joan Wilcox , a long time Republican running as a No Party Affiliation (NPA) candidate. The primary reason for this decision is that the county is desperately in need of experienced financial management experience. Her credentials in this regard are far superior to those of her opponents.

Ms. Wilcox has a fair chance to win if the almost 50% of Republicans who voted in the primary for Copeland (Wilcox and Copeland positions on issues are essentially the same) are joined by more of the 21% of voters who are Independents. Furthermore, realistic Democrats who recognize that the Democratic candidate has little chance to win, may wish to vote for Wilcox rather than split the vote to allow the fast-growth, pro-cluster incumbent to be re-elected. Only Wilcox has a chance to win against Smith.

DISTRICT 3 CHOICE

In District 3, I will vote for Martha Bennett, a Democrat. The main reason is that line-in-the-sand issue: The Valliere Rural Cluster Amendment. Bennett will work to rescind it, while her opponent will support it.

Ms. Bennett has a fair chance to win if she can gain the votes, not only of Democrats and Independents, but those same Republicans who supported Copeland in District 1.

ELECTION CONSEQUENCES

Unlike the Primary Election, the November General Election is open. Any voter can vote for any candidate, irrespective of party affiliation or lack thereof. A vote for Wilcox and Bennett is a vote for change. Why do we need change? Well, consider what the present Commission has caused or failed to anticipate: The closing of parks; the reduced library hours; the staff layoffs; negatively impacted residential neighborhoods; the eroded Comp Plan; and developers poised to sprawl into western county as soon as the real estate market turns up. Change for the better is vitally needed ….. and it’s achievable if we recognize that “County matters more than party.”

GRIM IRONY DEPARTMENT: Some pro-Fullman slow growth advocates did not raise a finger to increase the vote foo Henry Copeland when he could have beaten Smith (Copeland lost the Republican District 1 Commission primary by only 188 votes). Now they are hand-wringing, crying because they can’t muster enough support for their candidate. Well, boo hoo!

Nasty shenanigans by Commission majority

Lovely Peck Lake Park would be closed for want of $10,000/yr to operate it. The park is located in District 4, represented by Sarah Heard.  All commissioners have a reserve, funded by a district tax. How to spend this reserve is at the commissioner’s discretion, subject to Commission approval. Heard has retained almost $2 million.

So some people, including a Stuart News scribbler and Commissioner Weberman, more or less accused Heard of unreasonably withholding the money that would keep the park open. Here’s what really happened previously: To embarrass Heard, Commissioners DiTerlizzi, Weberman and Valliere initially prevented her reserve money from being spent on two other District 4 parks. Their hollow argument was that she wouldn’t be the district commissioner forever.  Yep, it’s the same bunch that does not let Heard rotate to the chairmanship.

This story still has a good ending in spite of the political shenanigans. Finally, because of adverse publicity, the Commission voted to allow Heard to allot $20,000 to keep the Peck Lake Park running for the next two years. Separately, instead of using her district reserve as a tool for political influence, Heard has allocated $200,000 for work on an apartment building to house 40 homeless and working poor women, and up to 80 homeless children.

Is 2% the magic number for growth?

Mr. H, one of our critical but friendly readers, has been asking me some reasonable questions: Why are we always urging slower growth? Isn’t our recent 2% annual rate slow enough? Do I have some other growth rate in mind? And implied: Why not be more receptive to faster development? Here is our answer:

Perhaps you think a 2% growth rate should immunize fast growthers from criticism. Not so. Broward once had a low growth rate. The issue is what are influential fast growth forces poised to do if we give them the opportunity. We’ve seen the home building overstock in anticipation of faster growth. We’ve seen public utilities going west to accommodate developers. We’ve seen clustering to induce sprawl and higher taxpayer infrastructure cost. We’ve seen reduced Level of Service traffic to accommodate more construction. We’ve seen zoning and land use regs changed to benefit you-know-who. We’ve seen residential neighborhoods punished for being close to where industry wants to build. We’ve seen commissioners saying yes yes yes to the Comp Plan eroding growth machine that feeds their campaign treasuries.

If you want to stave off the damage of an impending hurricane, you don’t start taking action when the winds hit. You start as soon as you see the direction the storm is heading. Our Comp Plan provides for the kind of growth that will not ruin our quality of life, whatever the growth percentage.

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

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

Al

Al Forman, Editor                                  9//13/08

The Martin County Defender is published and Copyright 2008 by WordsmithAmerica, Box 1828, Palm City, FL 34991. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording for public or private use, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. NOTICE:  All correspondence not bearing legal copyright notice which is sent to the Defender or its editor is subject to being edited and published.

All previous issues of the Defender are archived at our website:

www.MartinCountyDefender.com

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

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.

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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