Politically Homeless

This blog is created as a forum for the increasingly large number of voters in Marion County, Florida who consider themselves to be "Politically Homeless". We are individuals who are frustrated with political parties and discouraged by "politics as usual". Many of us have no registered party affiliation. Others stay registered with a party only to vote in primaries, but no longer identify with the party's current political direction. We encourage you to post your comments.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

“ELECTION CENTRAL”: Comments On All Elections

Our thread below on the “School Board Election” is getting pretty long—200+ posts. We are opening a NEW THREAD and closing that one. This thread gives our bloggers an opportunity to comment and discuss any of the election activity and campaigns going on locally or elsewhere.

Use this new thread to continue discussing the School Board races, and also use it to add your point of view on any others.

Also, we welcome some new bloggers who have recently joined us. Debating differences of opinion is often the way to better understanding!

Let the discussions continue.

P.S.: If you have not yet voted in our Straw Poll, scroll down to “Local Elections: Complete Our Straw Poll”, click on the link and vote. Voting ends on September 3.

178 Comments:

At 5:07 PM, August 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Guess I'll start out the new thread:

Vote for:

Christopher Thurow Sept. 5th

School Board Dist. 5

 
At 6:15 PM, August 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bobby D,

Has your wife decided if she is going to run for Belleview City Commissioner?

 
At 8:08 PM, August 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Noticed a few weeks ago that the Star-Banner is no longer going to endorse candidates. I think that is a good idea. Too many of our politicians spend too much time “sucking up” to the newspaper---Randy Harris excluded.

Politicians can win an election without the newspaper’s endorsement. That has proven out in many elections over the past several years. So endorsements were a waste of time. Put some more ads in the paper instead of the endorsements!

Would like to hear from others on the newspaper’s change.

 
At 8:49 PM, August 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

yes

 
At 9:09 PM, August 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bobby D....I wanted to thank you personally for donating to the kids at Shands. Very cool.

PC

 
At 9:33 PM, August 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who cares what the Star Blunder thinks about candidates.

 
At 10:20 PM, August 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

pc
your welcome

well i wasnt going to but chip said that even if you hate our show you should donate, i could relate to that. lol, good job today.

 
At 7:57 AM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Funny that when a candidate gets an endorsement from a newspaper, it is important, but when they go elsewhere, the endorsement is no good and makes no difference.

With the bias of an old newspaperman who used to do some of those endorsements, I respectfully disagree. The reason it is important is that most people do not follow governemnt other than at tax time, and have not a clue who stands for what. So a newspaper's view, biased as it may be at times, is important to at least do some education.

All of the claptrap about the OSB getting its walking orders from the New York Times, and more claptrap that the OSB is a liberal newspaper is just that. The decision not to endorse was not made in new York, it was made in Ocala. The OSB has frequently endorsed conservative (whatever that means today) caniddates, has endorsed Republican candidates, and has sometimes endorsed what this blog would call liberals.

The guys who write the edictorials (or gals occasionally) are just the same type people as those who write on this blog. They are married, have kids in school, are good Christians, pay taxes, dispise somethings about government just as much as you and I do, but they are not idiots who sit with fire from their nostrils looking for a chance to bash Randy or anyone else.

The reason they can do it is they buy ink by the barrel, and they are paid to give their opinion -- and that plus $1.50 buys coffee. They are a source for confirmed facts -- if it was a lie they would get sued. And making sure when you are risking your bosses money to defend a libel suit gives one some extra stress. I did it for 25 years.

I am sorry they will not be giving their opinion this year. Marion County will have one less point of reference in making important election decisions.

And that's my editorial for today.
--pwf

 
At 8:00 AM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

One more note to River Rat . . .
Four years ago, the then incumbent Kurt Kelly was the biggest suck up to the Banner you could possibly imagine. He did not get the endorsement. Unfortunately fort Marion County (another opinion) we are worse for it. Promise you Frank Washington would not have been trying to get a football player released from lockup after a loaded gun in school! --pwf

 
At 9:57 AM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

thurow says vote for him. he has yet to say anything to encourage anyone to vote for him. so, one last time, why vote for you, will you commit to attend all workshops and school events as most other members do. Contrary to what you have said, this is not bs, but rather very important. if you plan to attend only the evening meetings, you aint gonna get my vote.

 
At 10:05 AM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hello

mr. thurow said he will be coming into the studio on friday on the bobby d show after the school dedication which starts at 9:30am. so stay tuned in and you will be able to call and ask questions. if he gets here late and the show is going well i will ask for permission to go over 12 a little, we will see how it works.

 
At 10:34 AM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom Gallagher has yet to receive a major newspaper endorsement, though the Miami Herald is expected to weigh in Sunday.

A piece of trivia: in the last GOP gubernatorial primary, Jeb Bush didn't receive a single major newspaper endorsement and won. Pretty much sweeping the endorsements in 1994 were Jim Smith and Tom Gallagher. Apparently back then the papers liked Gallagher's moderate record and platform.

So maybe endorsements don't mean a lot.

 
At 11:46 AM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

We received a pretty slick mailer from Robert Landt yesterday. It tells me about his family and personal interests but still don't know enough about his legal backgroud qualifiying him as a judge.

 
At 1:12 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom Gallagher ain't no Jeb Bush!!

 
At 2:33 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To Anon:

I would be pleased to answer your question! I have made
a comittment to any and all meetings that are necessary
for the position. This includes important school events. If asked
I would also offer my time to travel to Tallahasee to assist our
legislative delegation in securing the needed resources for our schools.

Please remember though the current schedule
is subject to changes made by a newly seated board. Maybe
a new group would choose to make a one day workshop instead
of two or three shorter ones. My intent is to perform in this position
without meddling in the day-to-day affairs of the administration
or the acedemic process.

I am quite sure the 3000 acedemic and administrative personel
can perfom their respective jobs without me loooking over thier
shoulders.

I am the only candidate in this race with a web site to provide
some background on who I am and what I'm about. I have my
home phone number on all of my mailouts. If an individual has a
legitimate question or concern I certainly want to provide an
answer. I want to earn your vote.

I have encouraged every voter to look closely at the record of the
incumbent. The single fact alone of his irresponsible handling
of financial policy is reason enough to consider removing him
from office. I thank him for his eight years of service but I also feel
he has ignored a plethora of problems while taking credit for many
things he did not do.

Mr. Crawford is a good man but it's time for a replacement.

I have received nearly a dozen emails from people who haved
visited this blog and I thank each of you who took the time to write.
I will be happy to answer most questions via email.

www.thurow.us

cthurow@thurow.us

Thanks again and ask for your vote on Sept. 5th !!!

 
At 3:06 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well that sure is interesting. Can anyone find anything, anywhere that Crawford has done, on his own to address the above problem?
Have you asked Thurow about this problem? Is it a problem?

 
At 3:09 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I meant to add that if this is a problem ,Thurow shouldn't be involved. Yancey should be the one to fix it. If you do not like the way its being handled vote YANCEY out. Crawford is powerless in this situation.

 
At 4:21 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is exactly the reason the school board can never accomplish anything. It sooooo busy playing trafffic cop. Maybe Crawford can run out and yell at a school principal or two, wouldn't that solve the problem. Don't you people know what the school boards job really is??

 
At 5:01 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Typical bureaucratic answer Mr. Thurow. How can a bureaucrat doing a important but small job of running IT convince legislators to provide more funding when elected officials from throughout the state can not convince legislators to pony up money. Your idea of meetings "necessary for the position" troubles me. More troubling is your willingness to use Bradford County taxpayers time to be a school board member. I am no fan of Crawford, but what your website, your card you sent me, and what you have written here is pretty weak.

 
At 5:31 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What DOES impress you PAUL FERGUSON? You ALWAYS hide when you want to run somebody down. Be a man and admit you just slandered Mr. Thurow. We KNOW what your IP address is PAUL FERGUSON.

WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS MR. THUROW FIRED YOU AND YOUR TWO-BIT PRINTING BUSINESS. HE IS TO MUCH OF A GENTELEMAN TO PUT IT ON THE STREET SO I'LL SAY IT.

Here come the toothless spineless "we're for Ron" zombies!Crawford has a CRAP record. The man is a BULLY. He didn't have a JOB before the school board. unless of course you call the job BILL GLASS gave him a real JOB.
Yes BILL GLASS the same man who screwed Parnell Townely and Andy Kesselring. He will be UNEMPLOYED when he looses.

Take your choice Romanski or Thurow but get this DIRTBAG and his band of hillbilly moochers out of office.

 
At 5:37 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It will never cease to amaze me how a guy like Crawford can get people to sling mud for him. The man has not posted once on this blog. What a work of art.

 
At 6:12 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm willing to listen to Mr. Thurow, so back to issues not personalities.

Mr. Thurow, where do you stand on elected Superintendent of Schools vs. one appointed by the Board?

 
At 7:42 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ocalaslim,

My answer is I'm not voting for any of the three in District 5.

 
At 9:13 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh wonderous and exalted ANONYMOUS.....tell us what you would do and how you would solve all are ills!! Since everybody is to stinky for you... help us "know nothings" achieve your level of political nervana!!

Come on Paul Ferguson tell us!!!!

Damn it's good to be in the company of such greatness!!

 
At 9:19 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

OcalaSlim I love you. You're my new hero. It's about time some one (especially a woman) stood up to these jellyfish who call themselves political experts.
Its true that Ferguson has pissed off so many people nobody trusts him anymore, and Crawford, loser with a capital L. Thanks

 
At 9:44 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ocalaslim a woman! LOL!

 
At 10:27 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You really need to get to know Joyce Romanski. She may not be a polished politician, but she would, in my opinion, make a great school board member. She is dedicated to the school system (former teacher) and understands our problems. I’m convinced and already voted for her. Perhaps there is too much Blog time being spent on Messrs. Crawford and Thurow. They may just get upstaged by Joyce when things come down to the wire.

 
At 11:23 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ocalaslim:

my wife and i are still waiting for an answer to our lunch date. i myself have had my differences with mr. pwf and believe me he will tell you they have been big. but you continually hide behind the name ocalaslim. you havent answered my question "are you related to a rep.committe person. why wont you take our offer to go out to lunch to meet face to face to discuss politics. you said you are a female, around 30 and an intern. but no name. in my opinion your comments hold no water unless you show your face or at least give us your name. so come on, i have no problem with you burying pwf but without a name its cowardly. give yourself some credibility.

 
At 11:24 PM, August 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ROMANSKI...IT'S POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY IF HER MANY TEACHER FRIENDS GET ON THE BANDWAGON.

 
At 7:17 AM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ocala not so slim . . . I haven't a clue what you are talking about with my IP address and all since I am not a geek, I wouldn't even know where to find one or get one. My last post was about 7:30 yesterday morning and I signed my post -- something you obviously are hiding away from because when you sign it, people will know your name -- which I believe I do now. As for slandering anyone, I dont see anything but legitimate questions. I will let 39 years of customers speak for me. Why is it you have to hide again this year? And remember, I have had professionals on my fanny, so I can handle an amateur like you. Have a great day and read another book. It's better for your blood pressure. By the way, was it you who tried to skew the voting early on? 32 year old female, what a joke. --pwf

 
At 7:30 AM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bobby D says he and I have had differences. Very true, and we surely will have some more in the future. But one thing for sure: he puts his name out there for all to see, he takes stands, some of them wrong in my view. He does treat his callers -- especially those who disagree with him -- with respect. But most important is he does try to make a difference solving problems in our community (sometimes he, like me, creates more!) by assisting groups and individuals who deliver services to the people needing help. One such charity I commend to each of you is a Bellview home for pregnant teenagers called HOME! It is run by a former advertising agency exec who was led to this wonderful ministry. Bobby may not appreciate this, but he shows up periodically with items they need to keep operating. And she tells me it is when they REALLY need things that he is led to be there. So trash him too if you want, but he is making a difference in our community. Slim, how about cutting HOME a check for $100 and forget you ever heard of me! It will be better for your blood pressure. --pwf

 
At 7:39 AM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My ISP (whatever the hell that is) will be quiet for the rest of the day. I'm busy.
-- pwf

 
At 11:54 AM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bobby D and PWF say it all concerning Ocalaslim. Finally, they agree on something!

 
At 12:23 PM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You know I didn't get on this blog to tear people down. When I got here that's all I read. Ferguson was the resident ringleader of slandering anyone who disagrees with his jibber-jabber. Post after post after post of running a guy down WHO ALREADY WON his race. Then Ferguson goes after others who apparently have had bad dealings with him.

Then he trys to "make up" to appear professional and courteous. What a fraud. I spoke out to shut him up. When he shuts up so do I. When he starts his crap so will I. He is a two-faced, backstabbing political wanna be. I want to talk politcs and not have to put up with these people who think they can influence popular opinion. THEY CANT AND THEY WONT.

CAN'T TAKE BEING PUT DOWN BY A WOMAN CAN YOU PAUL? CINO? YOU TAKE THE CAKE.

 
At 2:10 PM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Back for a few minutes to get out of the rain. Sorry I offended real Christians In Name Only. I retract calling you one *slim. It was an insult to real CINO's. But come out in the open and disclose who you are -- dozen or so people all agree and it sure aint a lady. I'll make you a deal: in the next election cycle, let's both qualify and run against each other. Loser shuts up. And I'm prepared to talk for quite a while yet. May you find peace somehow in your obviously miserable life.
--pwf

 
At 7:54 PM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

WKT,

YOU AT THE CIGAR BAR? CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!

 
At 9:52 PM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I notice that Thurow's campaign fund account is looking pretty good. Better than Mr. Crawford and Mr. Alvarez.

 
At 10:56 PM, August 25, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

From today's paper....

“The qualifying period for those interested in seeking a seat on the Belleview City Commission ended Friday with only one person filing an application.

Christine Dobkowski, wife of radio talk-show host Robert "Bobby D" Dobkowski, filed qualifying papers to challenge veteran Commissioner Paul Anderson in the Nov. 7 general election.

City commissioners receive a $300 monthly salary.”

Can we guess the name of her campaign manager?

 
At 12:26 AM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hello anonymous:

my wife is running and yes i will help her with her campaign, she is my wife. but as you can already tell she makes her own political decisions. who she ran against would not have been my choice, but her philosophy is her own. belleview has a great opportunity to elect a highly intellegent lake weir grad. who graduated saint leo college summa cum laude, and recieved her masters degree from loyola new orleans in pastoral theology. she is highly respected in her church community for her own merits and is on the planning and zoning board. she home schools her 6 children and has a huge stake in the direction belleview is going to go in. she will make a wonderful city commissioner

 
At 8:48 AM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Christines got my vote, she is a wonderful lady!

 
At 10:09 AM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

retired teacher,

Yes it appears Thurow has the cash. Right now its his but what I hear on the street is that he has a lot of money pledged in the event he goes into a runoff. He is looking pretty good.

 
At 10:43 AM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Say what you want about the guy but he sure has signs all up and down St.Rt. 200.

Don
(OTOW)

 
At 11:15 AM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Landt and Payton are also raking in some big time campaign money:

Landt $77,000

Payton $69,000

Payton still has several months to raise money.

 
At 1:07 PM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Look a little closer at the fundraising numbers and the totals aren't so impressive. Most of Landt's and Thurow's and Crawford's money is their own. The real champs in fundraising have been Sarah Ritterhoff Williams, Sue Mosley, and David Alvarez. They've actually got some community support behind them. Doesn't mean I'll vote for them, but it's nice to know they're getting out and doing some really hard work. Fundraising is the hardest part of campaigning.

 
At 1:09 PM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Desparete Dave, (alveraz) sent out his report card today...If I were Sue Moseley I would be contacting a attorney who deals in Slander cases...seems she has a good one!

 
At 3:12 PM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What was slanderous?

 
At 6:40 PM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like Alvarez has quite a bit of doctor money. Not saying this is negative, just stating a fact.

 
At 8:51 PM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So Dave's last flyer tells a verifyable lie about Sue is that she was once again unethical in a potential real estate trasnaction with another board member.

Truth is that she did show a piece of property to another board member, but what my firend Dave is not telling everyone is that Sue contacted the Ethics Commission and asked for an opinion as to whether it was inproper for her to do it. The ruling from the Ethics Commission was that as long as they did not discuss School Board Business, which would be a violation of the Sunshine Law, there was no problem having a business relationship with a fellow board member.

Dave needs to spend some time up there on the Ethics Commission so that he can be schooled on what is ethical and what is not according to Florida State Statute.

So do you want an elected official telling people half truths, and making what is legal seem illegal, when, don't forget, he tried to make something illegal, legal when he tried to get OPD to drop the charges on his kids friends at Vanguard.

Who is actually unethical? a board member who, prior to doing something, contacts the proper authorities to determine if she can do something to prevent any problem, or a person actually lying about what the person did and sensatinoalizing the situation for political gain. Oh and by the way, Dave knows about the ruling from the commission.

Dave I will be so happy when Sue wins, every day you spread lies about her, she gets more votes. You see I know Dave and have supported him and was going to vote for him, but this last flyer he sent out has really upset me. He ahs not only changed my mind, but that of my entire family, and I have a big family, all who vote, and many of my friends.

Dave I'm embarrassed to say that I was a friend of yours, so embarrassed that I won't sign my name.

 
At 10:41 PM, August 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for letting us know.

 
At 6:39 AM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You can look for more slander from Alvarez political consultant. There will be at least one more nasty mailer, maybe two. It is the business plan of the consultant to search and search and throw out every possible bit of mud -- collect the pieces from his other clients and compare them: they all have the same type format.

Only difference is this time he had an elected official's mother helping him with the research.

What is so important, other than ego, to Kurt, that he works so hard to control the five members of the school board and demand they follow him lock step in every vote? After all, the board votes 5-0 on 98 to 99 percent of the votes.

It was Sue's vote to allow the charter school one more year that really started Kurt's vendetta, and when she voted against his effort to bring down Steve Hering's policy of almost giving his work and products to the school board, saving thousands each year, that was his final straw and hence came Alvarez, with Kurt's mother quickly starting her research at the school board offices. Doubt this? go ask personnel at the office who did the research.

One of the issues that someone legitimately raised was if the candidates favor an appointed superintendent -- apointed by the school board rather than elected by the voters. Marion County voters have at least twice and I think three times said NO -- they do not want five people to take their place at hiring a super, and the reason is they do not want the job handed over to people like Kelly.

Well *slim, here I am again. Slime me some more.
--pwf

 
At 8:23 AM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mike, don’t yet put too much support behind Crist for Governor.

A Florida Chamber of Commerce poll has Crist's lead over Gallagher down to 10 points, with 29 percent of voters undecided in the GOP gubernatorial race.

 
At 11:09 AM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What Sue Mosley has publicly stated in response to campaign statements that she acted unethically in one of her Board votes:

[The false charge has been made that Sue Mosley was unethical in voting to approve a “sealed bid” door and hardware contract with Steven B. Hering Co. The truth is ALL board members, including the one who made an issue of this, voted to approve the same type contract each year for the past several years. Nothing was ever said until this election year. Sort of makes you wonder....maybe?

Sue promised sound business practices. Mr. Hering, in an abundance of caution, asked three separate rulings from the Ethics Commission, and each said his effort to save you money is permitted!

Sue promised to save money. One board member made this an issue, and Marion County now spends from 10% to 20% more on each hardware setup---money we could put into other school projects.

Unethical or just “plain old dirty politics”? Sue will continue to be your voice in school matters and be truthful in her campaign.]

 
At 12:03 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No Ferguson no slime just the facts. In the 2004 campaign
cycle there were over 30 local candidates. You provided
Mr. Townley’s campaign with services and one other candidate.
The second candidate fired you .In this campaign cycle there
are about 20 local candidates. You started with two clients
and one fired you. The fact is neither your self expressed political
experience or any other service you may provide are in demand.
You talk a big game but those are the facts.

PS Ms. Mosely should also fire you for the ad you wrote for her
in todays paper. The child like rambling made no sense.

 
At 12:07 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

And what is he unemployed from????
I want him to spin how the company he was president of was so unsuccessful that it filed bankruptcy. There are a number of locals who knew him and invested in his company, only to lose their investment. Let's hear from his people, like kurt and chip and ocalaslime and jfuller: how about an answer to a real question. Makes you wonder why the star banner hasn't asked about the bankruptcy.

 
At 1:04 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not interested in the clients of Ferguson (whoever he is). I am however interested in why Alvarez thinks Sue Mosley has done something unethical in voting to save the taxpayers money when the decision was cleared by the Ethics people in Tallahassee. Doesn't sound too ethical on Alvarez's part to me. Dirty politics usually comes from losing campaigns---could that be the case here?

 
At 3:21 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ocalaslime,

Continuing to bash people without having the nerve enough to say who you are only goes to show that we should pay no heed to your "childish ramblings". While those of us on this blog may not agree with everything PWF and Bobby D say or PC or Chip for that matter at least they stand behind it with their names. What is it that keeps you in hiding?? Afraid that once we know for sure who you are we won't even waste our time reading your responses?? Come on back up what you say, show your face and how about taking Bobby D up on his offer for lunch or are you afraid of having conversation with a REAL woman like his wife.

 
At 4:51 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gloriaor,

I'm sure with you, that flyer was just too much "mud". It turned me off. Sue Mosley doesn't deserve that.

 
At 5:58 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This really is fun to watch folks.

Ron Crawford, Sue Mosley, Chris Thurow should all be commended for an "above reproach" campaign. They have not mired themselves in the self serving "look how great I am" tactics of Alvarez and Kelly. It is so ironic that Kelly gives his "above reproach" speech, recruits Alvarez to take out Mrs. Mosley, gets his mother to be the "go-for" in the Alvarez campaign and then they reach into the bottom of the barrel and try "extremely below reproach" tactics to accomplish a victory.

Kurt, Dave and whoever else would associate with these kind listen up.

You have 9 more days to sit on your high horse and then the fall will be great.

It will not necessarily be joyous moment for those of us who are not for you but rather a moment to embrace the fact that in the end truth wins. You have tried to force the will of the people and you will lose.

p.s. While you are in a "facts" mode Dave don't forget to mention you were in charge of a company that went bankrupt. Learned a lesson in distribution channels and what not to do?

 
At 6:49 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Repeat for the umpteenth time, PWF is NOT the campaign manager for Mosley. Printer he is, running the campaign he does not.

 
At 6:54 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

interesting that we haven't heard any more from Nancy Stacy. Guess Alvarez told her to shut her mouth even though she has already gotten many votes for Mosley. She did the damage.

 
At 7:23 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I’ve seen a couple of Alvarez signs IN the big cemetery on 441 S. toward Belleview. You suppose he knows something about our county voter registration roles that others don’t?

 
At 9:12 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

 
At 10:31 PM, August 27, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Graveyard? With these negative mailers and Nancy Stacy's mouth that is exactly where his campaign is at!!

 
At 8:51 AM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

From yesterdays Marion Oaks Political Forum:

“Questions and comments for School Board candidates stemmed largely from plans to build more schools to serve the children of Marion Oaks.

In her opening statement, District 2 incumbent Sue Mosley drew applause when she said the board is in constant discussion about bringing a high school to Marion Oaks "so the kids don't spend 45 minutes on the bus going to Dunnellon High School."

Mosley's opponent, Dave Alvarez, had an exchange with School Board member Steve Hering, who was in the audience. After Alvarez made several references to the board's consideration of a contract with Hering's company, Hering addressed Alvarez, asking why he avoided telling the full story.”

 
At 11:20 AM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In fairness..."I was there" may have been there, but what is quoted...is a quote from the OSB.

Dave's response, which you must have missed in the article quoted was simple and effective:
"It has nothing to do with you personally," Alvarez said, "but the philosophy of whether the School Board does business with a member."


Chip's opininion: It's also about whether elected officials need to ask the lawyers to OK them doing business with the school system or with other members. Sue has completely answered why she voted how she did, but apparently she needed to ask about the legality of doing business with another elected official. Why some of you feel this is not an issue worth discussion is understandable.

 
At 1:11 PM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's get down to the nitty gritty, Chip. The issue is judgement. Knowing you as I do, I know you would have gone off your gourd had it not been your brother-in-law who attempted to have a police officer censured for making a proper and lawful arrest for trespassing at midnight on Vanguard property when other schools had been vandalized. Had it not been his child's friends, I doubt he would have given a damn, but he did, and you would have gone after him properly -- as I say, had it not been your brother in law. I would have gone after him had it been my brother doing such a stupid stunt. So, we are talking about judgement.

When the old Sullivan Cadillac building became available, and knowing that Mr. Kelly was on a rumble against Steve Hering, Sue asked for and received an opinion "to be above reproach" and in the presence of the listing broker, showed the building. It was not bought, so there was no deal.

But as long as we are on ethics, judgement and business experience, how about a discussion on L3 Communications? The Banner wrote about the years old bankruptcy of a former county commissioner, they nailed Norm Perry to the wall on his antics, the emdia, including radio, and it was on your station this morning about Katherine Harris judgement, but no oe: you, Mr. Alvarez or the Banner have had a thing to say about the judgement that went into business decisions that are well known. So is it not fair to inquire about a statement on the financial side of L3 and Mr. Alvarez?

To quote you "Sue has completely answered why she voted how she did, but apparently she needed to ask about the legality of doing business with another elected official. Why some of you feel this is not an issue worth discussion is understandable."

Mr. Alvarez, the Banner and now you have questioned Sue's judgement, and it is a legitimate issue until you know the facts. So, my friend, is your brother-in-law's former company. I await your reply and that of Mr. Ocalaslime.
--pwf

 
At 1:35 PM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not that I have any position on the issue but according to the county clerks records and the state of Florida there are no bankruptcy filings for L-3 Communications, Microdyne or David Alvarez. Bankruptcy dispositions are always recorded in the county of the filing. If this man did indeed file bankruptcy, where are the records?

 
At 1:59 PM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please pardon my rushed typing. A bankruptcy disposition is filed in the county of the petitioners residence.

 
At 2:01 PM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have certainly read on this blog that a bankruptcy happened. I have yet to see any evidence that it ever happened. Another anonymous poster says he knows of folks here in town that were affected. Who? Name some names of folks that were hurt? When did this alledged bankruptcy happen? Why are there no records...or does Kurt Kelly's Mom have so much power that she controls the entire government and all its reporting agencies?

Paul,
As a newspaperman you know why the OSB hasn't reported on this. There is nothing to report because it simply didn't happen.

 
At 7:09 PM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hope everyone saw the forum tonight on Channel 12. Obviously, Mr. Alvarez's speech was written as he could not talk without looking at his notes. But the most obvious was when questions were asked. He couldn't look at notes and seemed a little speachless!! Mosley took the high road even when he tried to bring up the sealed bid from Mr. Herring. She is our best representative in Marion County, for the people, students and teachers. Beware, folks of Alvarez's slander. Not true. Look at the facts. Good job Mrs. Mosley.

 
At 8:00 PM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

probably about 500 people watched it. they should have advertised the forum.

 
At 11:20 PM, August 28, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hello everyone:
well a week away and the mud keeps flying by the unmanly. this whole herring vote, "beyond approach" thing is a complete joke. what happened to men being men and not having to bash women to make themselves feel big and powerful. these types of bully politics against women dont work anymore. if there was a real ethics violation to put in the words of chip, the paper would have been writing about it. it doesnt exist. now if 2 guys want to duke it out and take the gloves off, for me thats ok, as long as the family doesnt come into play. but for a real man to try to win an election by trying to ruin the credibility of a women by attacking her morals or ethics over a door contract that was approved by the ethics commission is digusting. is this what we want in marion county. a real man, even if the female politician did something questionable, would take the high road. notice ron crawford and christopher thurow have done nothing to put down ms. romanski, even democrat bill nelson has said nothing neg. about kathy harris, these are real men. men that i personally could trust around my wife and daughters. maybe im old fashion but how a real man could vote for another man that has to verbally beat up a women and try to publicly humiliate and intimidate a women to win an election is beyond me. how can mr. alverez enforce any bully laws in the school system when he is doing the same thing to mrs. mosley. oh do as i say not as i do,(vangaurd h.s.) typical weak politician. i have faith in the real men of marion county, the veterans and other solid christian men, that they will see what i have seen and show there disgust and vote for the stronger of the two, a women who hasnt had to resort to bashing. i wonder if david alverez would have had the courage to take the challenge for a manly dual with aaron burr. based on what i have seen mrs. burr would have been his speed. shame on you mr. alverez, i hope that our county is never represented by a man that is so weak that he has to put down women to make himself feel powerful. would you want your daughter going to a high school where a school board member had to bash a women to get elected. he has already expressed what he feels is good clean fun. what would happen if a female student was being verbally abused by a male student, maybe one in our famous vangaurd program. would alverez expell or call it good clean fun, the male student would just be following mr. alverez's bullying behavior. i personally think that this election is a blow out for mrs. mosley and i also think ron crawford will get the 50% needed to stay in office. but what this election has done is flush out the unmanly men of marion county, that have to berate women to feel macho. where have we gone wrong america?

 
At 5:57 AM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amen to the last two posts.
Thanks to Mr. Walker for his research. Only thing I could find is they had to restate sales which werent sales which caused their stock to go south. When L3 goes south we all are in trouble. ill ely on former associates at elite Cornerstone school where his kids attended and he as on the board. not pleasant and difficult to work with is their story.

 
At 7:50 AM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agreed. And it will remain that way.
But look for Alvarewz' consultant to come with one more effort to drag clearly the best school board member we have through the mud. Consultants just can't hrelp themselves. They only know how to destroy.

 
At 9:13 AM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blah Blah Blah...real men who are politicians kill each other...blah....blah

I don't get it...why do people home school or put their kids in places like Cornerstone, Grace, Trinity, St Johns, OCA, etc? Is it because the school board is doing such a great job and everything is hunky dory at our schools? Is it because they're elitest? Is it because they are making decisions based on their kids future and the means at their disposal. Perhaps Dave learned something during the thousands of hours he donated.

The incumbant makes the case that her record speaks for itself and her surrogates hurl wild accusations about Dave and his motives.

The challenger offers his credentials, his plan and makes the case that we do not need politicians who have to ask when it is appropriate to do personal business with the entity they have been elected to govern. I don't see that as mudslinging, but then he is my brother-in-law.


Is this a great country or what!

 
At 9:32 AM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You keep talking about ethics and doing business with schoolboard Chip but you will not answer the ethics and bullying of your brother-in-law over the Vanguard incident.

Is your head in the sand? The Alvarez platform questions the ethics of someone who ask for a ruling before taking action and Dave and Kurt call the law to intervene in good kids having fun after midnite, trespassing on school property??

You have made somewhat of a name for yourself by being objective on the radio but now I guess the saying is true, "all politics are local"!! Nothing wrong with keeping it in the family Chip. Like you say, it is a great country.

 
At 9:41 AM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

As the primary nears, it is worth noting some recent events, for those who are standing on records that is.

Under the careful watch of an allegedly diligent school board, a high ranking official arrested for lewd and lascivious acts in public during an education convention (not sure where that fits in the “No Child Left Behind Act”).

Yet when an alleged violation involving a weapon on school grounds occurred, the Chairwoman was able to obtain a delayed police report outside of official channels.

Legal opinions are sought on business transactions by members of the board. It seems that high standards are to be taught but not exemplified.

Perhaps the most significant, clarifying event was Jim Payton’s childish tirade at the EDC meeting in which senselessly he berated a woman.

Though the real concern should have been Pete Tesch’s decision to allow Jim to circulate petitions but “keep it low key.” How many ethical or moral acts need to be kept low key?

By the way, can I have $1 million just to keep my company in Ocala? Should she lose, perhaps Sue can sell the 24 high paid salaried employees new homes.

Just some things to consider when casting your ballot.

Too bad the public couldn’t ask these questions last night, it was invitation only and closed door. Was Munroe Regional a sponsor?

 
At 10:12 AM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The last post has some interesting points, though not real clear. I wish the individual who posted it would come back and clarify each point. Thanks

 
At 11:13 AM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

chip writes,
The challenger offers his credentials, his plan and makes the case that we do not need politicians who have to ask when it is appropriate to do personal business with the entity they have been elected to govern. I don't see that as mudslinging, but then he is my brother-in-law.

Mike writes, ofcourse Dave dosen't feel it necessary to ask permission for anything, Dave is working off of the same "God" complex as Kurt Kelly! They are always right,They are perfect and they know everything there is to know about everything! Dave even stated in Marion Oaks that he new more then the Ethics Commision.
Kurt Kelly hides kids with guns in school while Sue Mosley obtains a public record police report to remove the kids with guns, and we take issue with that?

 
At 2:30 PM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is a big difference between being a factory manager and a corporate CEO! Was this political “hype” by Alvarez or does it go directly to an issue of candidate integrity?

 
At 3:16 PM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon . . . writes "Yet when an alleged violation involving a weapon on school grounds occurred, the Chairwoman was able to obtain a delayed police report outside of official channels. "

Not true. The report was not delayed at all, nor was it out of official channels -- simply not true. It was completed on time and filed. It just was not reported upon by the media on time. As for getting a report out of channels, wrong again. You, as a citizen, could have gone down and obtained a copy of it, but then you couldn't have been anonymous, since they would have given you a receipt for the cost of the report. It was obtained when a witness objected to the testimony of Mr. Kelly as Vice Chairman of the Marion County School Board, urged the release of someone who had taken possession of a gun on a school campus (a violation of the policy Mr. Kelly voted for) and who later was accused of using the gun in an attempted armed robbery. But then, he, like the kids at Vanguard, was a good kid, a natural leader . . . The witness called Mrs. Mosley to appear before the school board. When he told her of his concern about Mr. Kelly's testimony in the criminal case, and she went to find out what the true story was. She then took the report to Jim Yancey, who then moved to expell the students for violation of our no weaspons policy. But the channel was clear, not a back channel, and was quickly disclosed because she took the report directly to the superintendent.

Surely you are not suggesting she should have covered up Mr. Kelly's effort to excuse the violation of adopted board policy?

As for the arrest of the school official, a complete tragedy for which his famnily will pay a very large penalty the rest of their lives. But that was quickly disclosed.
--pwf

 
At 4:48 PM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

question to Chip: do you approve of "real men who are politicians kill each other"? Is this ok with you and your brother-in-la? My father was a politician in South Florida for 25 years and never had to stoop to this low level. Some folks may send their kids to Grace, Trinity, OCA and St. Johns' because of religious beliefs. They may also send them to Cornerstone and Hale Academy because they can afford to pay for smaller class sizes. That's fine. It has no reflection on the public schools. We just don't have the funds to do what they can do. Remember when we tried to establish a dress code? Can't enforce that because you can't make the general public go out and buy certain types of shirts, etc. Try it and the ACLU will be all over you. Private schools have that right. However, Mrs. Mosley and Mr. Crawford have been committed to appropriate dress. I agree that we should look at the real issues, stop mud-slinging and get through this election. Mrs. Mosley and Mr. Crawford can at least hold their heads up high. God bless them for another term.

 
At 5:43 PM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Several posts back someone said "Under the careful watch of an allegedly diligent school board, a high ranking official arrested for lewd and lascivious acts in public during an education convention (not sure where that fits in the “No Child Left Behind Act”).
Reminds me of Bill Clinton and the use of the intern for sex. Never has anyone ever been more closely watched by the press, and it all depended on what "is" is. That too was a tagic misuse of talent (both Bill and Monica) but it was not the fault of congress, the press, the public or anyone except the president himself. If that man had won the lottery you would not suggest he should share it with the school system, would you? Not our fault.
--pwf

 
At 9:22 PM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think this lady would be a great Circuit Court Judge (5th Circuit, Group 7). Check out her background.

http://www.electmorley.com/

 
At 10:24 PM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey chip:

touch a nerve? blah blah blah. everyone knows that the herring door thing and the "beyond reproach" thing is a bunch of crap. alverez is following kellys lead on this one and it was a big loser, it cost alverez the election. beating up women to win an election is cowardly and everyone knows it. kelly wants alverez in because mosley wont back down to kelly, and she is stronger than him and he knows it and know everyone knows it and its killing him. mr. alverez calling city officials to get kids out of trouble because of thier "statis" is a serious ethics violation and everyone knows that except the people in the alverez campaign. have any of those kids parents donated money to his campaign? it would be easy to find out. oh i just did dr. fang, talk about a conflict of interest.
ill say it again. where is america going when men, and i use the term losely, have to beat up women to win a political campaign. anyone for a ear piercing and body wax.

 
At 10:42 PM, August 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alright, haven't logged on for a while, been out of town. Interested to see all the stuff that has happened while I was away.

Couple things that I think I need to straighten out. First if someone is saying that Sue obtained the police report on the thugs that committed the Robbery illegally, aren't you also saying that the Police Department did something illegal? I know this isn't going to be popular, but let's look at the law, a novel idea, since someone is alleging a violation. The law states that a law enforcment agency can share informatino on all arrests, misdemeanor and felony with the Superintendant or his designee of the School District where the juvenile attends. The law further states that any juvenile that is arrested for any offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult regardless of age is a public record. And lastly that law requires that the law enforemcent agency that arrests a juvenile for a felony share that informatino witht he Superintedant of the School District where the child attends. I'll say that again, the law REQUIRES that the information be shared with the School District.

So lets look at the facts. Sue gets a call from the probation officer who is livid that Kurt testified for the kid. Why did Sue get the call? well, I think I read somewhere that she is the Chairperson of the Board. So then she goes to the Police Department and asks for a copy of the report, which she is entitled to in all three exceptions to the Juvenile arrest records. First she is a representative of the School Board and is entitled to it if the child committed a misdemeanor, second the police department is REQUIRED by law to give her the document due to the fact that the crime that was committed was a felony, and lastly she was entitled to it as a matter of public record. Any citizen could have gone to the Police Department and obtained a copy of the report.

I challenge any one of the Dave supporteres to walk into the Police Department and ask for the report, they will get the same thing Sue got.

Doesn't this sound familiar? Dave's friends kids get arrested by OPD at Vanguard and all of a sudden OPD did something wrong, not the kids. Kurt does something wrong, as did the kids, and now we are not focused on the kids, but OPD has once again done something wrong.

More smoke and mirrors......

Now Dave and Kurt keep saying that Sue is unethical due to her voting and personal business dealings. I just found out that Kurt's wife is a teacher. How can Kurt vote on anything that has to do with his wife's working conditins or salary. He gets a direct benefit out of those votes. How is that not unethical, sounds like Kurt, once again, has failed his "above reproach" edict.

So now Kurt wants to get his friends on the Board so that they can vote to help him and his wife out. Really starting to smell......

Billy

 
At 8:49 AM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Michelle Morley is absoutely the best candidate in that circuit judge race. Please give her your support.

 
At 8:53 AM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree. Welcome Alachua citizen. I feel Crist is the best choice. He will not tear people apart like the other Republican. Crist will bring most Floridians together. Charlie will serve everybody well.
While I like Rod he has some political baggage.

 
At 9:50 AM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope everyone saw Ms. Romanski’s piece in the paper. She has taken a back seat to the other candidates in this race and the article speaks volumes about her.

While I think everyone in this Marion county would love to have all of those things for their children, this is socialism!

Romanski lays out her huge liberal agenda without any idea or experence to pay for it. I don't want more taxes! She will have to go on a spending spree with our money and the children will suffer. Dream on!

 
At 10:17 AM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I read that. At this very moment I am looking at my tax notice and I can see it going up and up and up under the Romanski Dream. Dream On indeed.

 
At 10:26 AM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Crist is most likely the best Republican. Gallagher's flip flops on past positions is not good. Check out this website:

taxingtom.com

 
At 11:27 AM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why can people not realize that you are paying for all goods and services whether you pay higher taxes or not? So many people label Democrats as tax and spend, but is that better than the Republicans plan of don't tax and still spend? The problem is not what we pay, it is how the money is spent. If we all spent as much time keeping an eye on the spending as we do complaining about higher taxes, we might make some progress. How much of our taxes have gone directly to developers in the last few years? How many people think they are saving money by shopping at Walmart, only to find that a portion of their taxes is going to pay for government services to the employees because Walmart refuses to pay them a decent wage? Everybody seems to be willing to mortgage their future to save a few dollars today. I don't understand that mentality.

 
At 11:50 AM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Romanski asks a lot of hypothetical questions and wants to saddle taxpayers with her dream list, but offers not one avenue to fund this stuff. Us voters need broad solutions not dreams.

 
At 1:03 PM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just saw this on one of my other frequented Blogs:

They're called "values voters," social conservatives, evangelicals, and Tom Gallagher is their favorite in the Republican primary for governor. Right?

Wrong, according to the non-partisan Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Charlie Crist, the candidate Gallagher has been calling a "liberal," actually is favored by those voters by a margin of 53 percent to 38 percent.

 
At 3:32 PM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Salute to Veterans
_______________________

Grassroots Celebration

Downtown Ocala
“On the Square”

Friday, September 1, 2006
-- 5:30 PM --

Free Ice Cream -- Patriotic Music

Come Meet

CFO Tom Gallagher
The only veteran in Florida’s Governor’s race.

Please welcome Tom Gallagher to Ocala. Hear and compare!

Politcal Advertisement paid for and approved by Tom Gallagher, Republican, for Governor

 
At 4:00 PM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I got an email today from Mary Morris. I tried to reply but it came back as undeliverable. I'd like the opportunity to respond to your comments, so please write me back from a different email address.

Thanks,

James Walker

PS - Sorry I missed Bobby D's lunch bunch today. I didn't realize it was an early release day and my turn to pick up my daughter. I'll be there in Sept for my date with Mr. Baxley.

 
At 8:04 PM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hello mr. walker:

no biggie, had fun, missed you but looking forward to an exciting sept. lunch bunch.

 
At 9:19 PM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Glad to know that TG is a vet. I'm still not sure who to vote for on the R side.

 
At 11:27 PM, August 30, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ANYONE BUT CHARLIE CRIST!

 
At 9:08 AM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Joe Moseley, a neighbor of David Alvarez, writes in the Banner this morning . . .

“Some incumbents have not understood that the seat in which they serve does not belong to them - it's the people's seat. It is the responsibility of voters to examine the records of the incumbents to assess their performance. During an election, the voters have a right to have a spotlight placed on the voting record of an incumbent. If an opponent points out inconsistencies or poor performance in an incumbent's performance, based solely on the incumbent's record, that is not dirty politics. It is simply sharing the truth with the voters. It is not the opponent's responsibility to gloss over ineffectual performance by an incumbent. An incumbent's record should speak for itself with well-documented, specific examples, rather than feel-good rhetoric, and if the incumbent is haunted by her decisions, that's the consequences of her action or inaction.”

Well, as has been typical of David’s campaign, he is about half right.

First point: He is right, the seat does belong to the people, not the incumbent, or to any incumbent (Kurt Kelly) who is attempting to take out two other incumbents and thereby have control of the school board.

Second: voters do have a right to the voting record of the incumbent, but not the “record” as seen by a consultant (me included) or a campaign worker (Kurt’s Mom) who distort a record. What surprises me is that outside of two particular issues, everything he has attacked Sue for, his mentor, Kurt, also voted for!!!! Maybe the investigation of the record should have taken that intro consideration.

Third, to state a record in literature and ads that is a distortion or in fact false, is in fact dirty politics. I would prefer to be “haunted” by her decisions than to have to live with his distortions and lack of any record himself.

Fourth, it is cleaver by at least half to have someone like his neighbor Joe Moseley, not related to Sue Mosley, write a letter attacking her. Good play, David.

As always . . .
--pwf

 
At 9:35 AM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Guru of Subliminal Puffery (pwf) has spoken.

 
At 11:09 AM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gosh, I wouldn't have even known that letter was about Sue if PWF hadn't mentioned it.

Don
(OTOW)

 
At 11:34 AM, August 31, 2006, Blogger Blog Master said...

HERE IS AN OFFER FOR PWF AND CHIP MORRIS!

How about each of you predicting the winners in the two School Board races; including the percent of the vote each will receive. Post your predictions before September 4.

If you both pick the same candidates, the tiebreaker will be the one whose WINNERS are closest to the actual percentage vote. If you each pick only one winner, the same tiebreaker rule applies.

The winner gets a $20 gift certificate to Bob Evans, compliments of the Politically Homeless blog.

Are you guys in?

 
At 3:29 PM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hope they do it.

 
At 4:21 PM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm always game for food.
To make sure we know the definiation of "is" is, do you mean Sept. 4 or before Sept. 4. Just want to remove all of Chip's wiggle room.
Count me in.
--pwf

 
At 4:39 PM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

to blogmaster, campgains can be fun if they are clean. One of the 2 Candidates in Dist. 4 can't seem to run a clean campaign. Your offer to PWF and Chip Morris is the only "fun" thing I've seen lately because of Alvarez's poor tactics. So, can we all be in on this deal? Pick our candidate and the percentage of win/lose?

 
At 6:53 PM, August 31, 2006, Blogger Blog Master said...

PWF: Submit your predictions “before” September 4.

Drewman: We would like to extend this to all bloggers, but our budget can’t take the hit! However, encourage you to post your predictions anyway and see how you compare with the two bloggers we’ve invited to compete.

 
At 7:19 PM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ok blogmaster: Mosley 62% to 38%

 
At 7:58 PM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Glad when this thing is over.


Dave will do good to get 42% of the vote.

The other 58% don't/care for his brand of politics.

Congratulations Mrs. Mosley.

How can a guy give himself an "A" and his opponent an "F"?? If you go along with his marketing scheme with the report cards, don't you have to be in school "elected" before you can get graded?? Nice try Dave but it ain't going to work

 
At 9:51 PM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey does anyone know if Sarah Ritterhoff-Williams ever thanked Robert Landt for suing Governor Bush so that we would have the right to vote for her? Good ol' Jeb was going to hijack this elected county judge position and "appoint" one of his good ol' boys to the position until Robert Landt took him to court to stop him. I guess nobody else including Ms. Ritterhoff-Williams cared that much about the position until after Mr. Landt went to court in Tallahassee and fought for his right to run for and your right to vote for your county judge. And she sure is making a big deal about his lack of "jury trial" experience considering that less than one percent (yes 1%) of the cases in this county court involve a jury. I guess that's because she only has jury trial experience and has never practiced civil law. Just some food for thought before you decide who to vote for.

 
At 10:57 PM, August 31, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

my predictions;

crawford 49% goes to a runoff

alvarez 51% in an upset

landt 53%

 
At 7:58 AM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just what we need, a School Board member who can't spell!! Check out her big political ad in today's paper. Ms. Mosley, the word is "judgment". No "e" in the spelling, unless you are using the term in a biblical sense--which you weren't.

 
At 8:24 AM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are so right anon, we can't have a bad speller on the School Board when we can have Arrogant liar!

 
At 8:26 AM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alavarez 51% a thumb biting squeaker, Thurow 42% runoff with Crawford, Landt will take his race.

 
At 9:55 AM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thurow 51%
Crawford 25%
Romanski 24%

 
At 10:04 AM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dave has upset too many people with his tactics. I doubt he will pull 30%.

Mosley 71%
Dave 29%

 
At 10:08 AM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now now, don't blame Mosley for her "consultants" mistake. He's the one who kain't spil.

 
At 1:11 PM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't forget. Tom Gallaher will be at the downtown square at 5:30 today. Free refreshments.

 
At 2:56 PM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

at a popular downtown restauant at lunch today the numbers were flying. The consensus is Mosley, anywhere from 58-69%. Quite the talk.

 
At 8:32 PM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm, sownds like Paul Ferguson agin. I want to be just lik him and rite reely neet thangs. I caint hyde lik hym tho.

 
At 8:35 PM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I haive bad judgement

 
At 9:51 PM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ocalaslim, i'm sorry you wont engage in any conversation with me or answer any of my questions. how come?

 
At 11:31 PM, September 01, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ocalaslim seems to have some real personal hangups with PWF. This is starting to get a bit old. Also, why is she/he so afraid to engage Bobby D? Perhaps because Bobby D will get the better of the discussion.

 
At 9:18 AM, September 02, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wish AGENT would chime in and let ocala slim know he is not PWF!

 
At 10:26 AM, September 02, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, you are back *slime.
Sorry to let you know, I am not Agent. I am willing to sign my own name which is something you are obviously not willing to do. But I am happy to oblige those who have nothing better to do than slam me. As I said before, in my career, I have had real professionals go after me and I am still here . . . you are not even a blip on my radar screen. Next time, however, you might want to get your facts straight. In the 2004 cycle, I did work for eight, count them eight candidates. Several called to ask why you did know of what you speak.
Anyway, go vote and maybe sometime you will have the courage to stand up for what you claim you believe.
... And maybe I was speaking Biblically with the use of judgement ... funny how one guy can use his faith in an ad and you object to my use of the word. Like I said, a CINO. I'm even up for Lunch with you and Bobby D and me . . . Agent, you can come too. That should be interesting but *slime wont show. Oh well, Bobby, Lunch on Wednesday?
--pwf

 
At 11:02 AM, September 02, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

See that James Walker has been called up to serve in Iraq. Hope he will decide to stay in the race against Baxley...since he doesn't have to go until late 2007. I think he would be a better Rep. from Iraq than Baxley is from Ocala! There have been other elected officials in similar situations, and they were able to serve their country and constituents at the same time.

 
At 5:53 PM, September 02, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another good letter to the editor about Mosley today, seems the writer didn't bother to report accurate facts either(something Dave does in every article of print he has)All five board members voted for those low impact fees because thier high dollar attornies told them they had no other choice or they would be sued by every builder in the State!

 
At 10:56 PM, September 02, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

pwf wrote,

"And maybe I was speaking Biblically with the use of judgement"

Come on! A real man would admit his mistake.

Paul, I agree with Ocalaslim you're getting a little out there.
Now you're name calling (*slime)
Is that the trademark of a gentleman? Show us that list of eight candidates you worked for. I followed up on OcalaSlims research and I think she's right.

You're gonna eat crow when you meet this young lady. (OcalaSlim) Be careful Paul.

 
At 11:03 PM, September 02, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The heck with all this politics tonight.

GO GATORS!!!!

You folks been missing me?

 
At 12:02 AM, September 03, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I got a couple of flyers from Ritterhoff -Williams in the mail today, again touting her jury trial experience. I wonder why she isn't pushing any other qualifications since I read on this blog and in the paper that less than 1% of the trials in county court are jury trials.
I revisited her link on the candidates report website and noticed she has removed her statement from the financial report link where she was again touting her jury trial experience then proceeded to explain to all of us idiots what a jury trial is. I also noticed that Landt has almost twice as many donations from fellow attorneys as Ritterhoff-Williams. I found that interesting since he comes from a private practice with one partner (his wife) and she comes from the states attorneys office.

 
At 6:50 AM, September 03, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ok Teri . . . it is fine for you guys to call names, but when I try to have a bit of fun with the distortions, you object. I was joking about the Biblical use. So I goofed. Funny how spell check works. To, too and two, judgment, judgement etc . . . Sort of like the 21,000 Pepsi shirts that used the wrong Roman numerals to celebrate Florida's championship. Or the use of a croc instead of a gator on their press book a couple of years ago. Things get by you and you goof. Our mistakes are there for everyone to see, while mistakes in your business may not be. If I had used "judgment" instead of "judgement" the correct use would have been the other. Either way, it must have hit a real nerve and it did give you guys one truthful thing to use. Opps, that's not a gentlemanly thing to say. Sorry.

And maybe I should have left the "e" off "*slim." And since the "*" is a blanket search, that too was an effort to be funny.

Your research is very lacking, however. When I went back to our records. I shorted myself. It was actually nine in the 2004 cycle. List them? Why should I list my clients when you folks wont even disclose your names. You are right, however. I would be surprised to meet any of you. But then a gentleman wouldn't say why I would be surprised, now would I.

And for surprises, I now where to find your IP address too! But no one has to wonder about mine, since I proudly sign my name. Have a great Labor Day weekend.
-- pwf

 
At 9:52 PM, September 03, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

{Jeany sent her comments via e-mail and requested we post them.}

I’m politically homeless even though I am a registered member of the Democratic Party.

I never considered myself a party member until George Bush told us the way to "sacrifice" for our country was to go shopping; I voted a split ticket locally, and tended to vote Dem at the top of the ticket, although I voted for a lot of Republicans through the years. To be perfectly honest, I don't like our two-party system, and would like to see more independents be able to run strong campaigns and get elected without being spoilers for one of the parties.

I wouldn't even mind if we started growing some viable third parties, but I don't think that will happen until we start getting strong independents elected.

Two things would make that possible; one is public financing of political campaigns. Six states have such laws, and have proven success. Probably the best example is Arizona. The other element is Instant Runoff Voting, which has the voter rank the candidates when there are more than 2. The paradigm of a winner and a loser only holds true when there are only 2 candidates, and as we know perfectly well, a spoiler candidate can be a disaster.

The place to initiate Instant Runoff Voting is at the local level. We need a campaign to institute the process locally. The website Fair Vote is a clearinghouse of information for people who are trying to get IRV passed; it can be found at http://www.fairvote.org/irv/. There you can see how it happened in Burlington, Vermont, North Carolina, San Francisco, and Maryland. It's on the ballot in Minneapolis.

Sorry to just bust in, but it's all Jeremy's fault; he told me about your blog, I stuck my nose in and couldn't figure out how to post. Honestly, I didn't read very much, but we'd been talking about this, and I felt compelled to get it off my chest.

I am alarmed and pessimistic about the direction of our country, and extremely pessimistic about the capacity or will of either party as currently constituted to change direction. The two items I mention here are, in my opinion, cause for hope, because both are developing a proven track record where they've been implemented. We can be part of that process, and if enough localities and states demand change, and change themselves, we will have a changed system.

Change, wealth and water can fall from the sky or percolate up from under the ground.

I don't know who you are, but this is what I want to say to y'all.

 
At 11:29 AM, September 04, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gallagher has just lost my vote with this stupid release that Crist might have fathered a child out of wedlock. The source is a real nutcase and I can't believe Gallagher would allow this to be spread.

 
At 11:38 AM, September 04, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

P.S.: The woman accusing Crist is alleged to have received $60,000 for her story. How convenient this late in the race!

 
At 12:58 PM, September 04, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agent,

The only thing worse than government or political paties getting into our individual personal data would be newpapers. And that is happening.

 
At 5:59 PM, September 04, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blogmaster:
In response to your challenge, I submit the following:

School Board:
Mosley 56 percent of the vote. In spite of his efforts to knock her down with baseless charges, Alvarez has not given a real reason to replace Sue.

Crawford 51 percent of the vote. Same thing here, just not the constant negative mailers by either of the two challengers.

Ritterhoff-Williams in a squeeeeeeker, Gourley, Eddie Scott, Morley and Merritt (I think his name is) are winners for Judge. Unfortunately, Crist will probably win the GOP nod, Rod Smith in an upset for the Dems.
--pwf

 
At 6:39 PM, September 04, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK--we know the PWF predictions.

Where are the Chip Master's?

 
At 6:49 PM, September 04, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agree with them or not, here are some words from a long-time politician friend of mine that relate to the comments about Tom Gallagher:

“Don’t blame Tom Gallagher. He is in this race to win, and he will utilize everything he and his people can use to win. THAT is how political winners play the game. We may complain about it, but come the day after the election, people may well be talking about the great campaign Gallagher ran.

Some will complain, telling us this is NOT how the game should be played. They will tell us about their utopian vision of how politics SHOULD be played, and then on Sept 6 they will look around and wonder how their candidate(s) lost.

If you are not willing to play the game as the rules are written, don't get in the game. If you aren't in it to win, why play?

First rule, don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.”

It’s just modern-day politics folks and that’s why I hate it, got out of it and disagree with my friend!

 
At 6:59 PM, September 04, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Politico, I am not sure which guy, Gallagher or Crist, started the dirt, but this has been one of the dirtiest campaigns for Governor in my 50 years in Florida watching and covering politics. Reminds me of the Smathers-Pepper race where Smathers used everything including "Red Pepper" to beat Pepper in the Senate race of 1952 or 54. Even called him a Thespian, which to Florida cracker voters back then was quite a thing and they voted against the Thespian.

Frankly, I liked the campaigns of the 60's when I could help three or four of my friends, all running for the same county commission seat. You simply put forth the best points of each guy, and they all knew they were getting a good shot, and no hard feelings (most of the time!).

Neither Gallagher or Crist would be my choice if I could select the nominee. But he who puts down his dime (or millions) is in the race. And they sure didn't bring knives to this battle. Those are cannons I hear!

Understand why you got out of the business. It is not fun any more.

cu

--pwf

 
At 10:40 PM, September 04, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like pwf is going to win by default.

Don
(OTOW)

 
At 7:03 AM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chip must have been afraid to come out and predict that his brother-in-law (whom he has paraded all over town)was gonna win!He didn't want to look like a political idiot when he was wrong!

Or maybe Bobby D was right about him!

 
At 11:22 AM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Marion Education Association

School Board endorsements:

Davis Alvarez Dist. 4

Christopher Thurow Dist. 5

 
At 11:25 AM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

DAVID Alvarez, sorry

 
At 11:27 AM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thats three for Thurow:

The firefighters
The vets
The teachers

 
At 11:56 AM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

If elections are won by endorsements, then Tom Gallagher is going to zonk Charlie Crist!

Let's wait and see what happens after 7:00 PM this evening.

 
At 12:42 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No, endorsements do not win elections, but any coming from good organizations are always welcome by candidates.

 
At 2:18 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The MEA endorsment is always the Kiss of death!

 
At 2:30 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Of course it is. Why? Because Mosley and Crawford didn't get it.

Please don't tell us about Carmine Maines. We know. Judi Zanetti beat her by working her you-know-what off.

But 7:30 today will tell us all.

 
At 3:18 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Four years ago the MEA endorsed Frank Washington,Kathie Rushlow and Jeff Carr! As for Zanetti she won from the Black vote and she will never get that vote again!

 
At 3:37 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The MEA did not do any endorsments this year. Yet one more lie from Dave and his cronies....

 
At 3:38 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, jfuller, where are you getting your information from?

 
At 5:44 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

jfuller, I will bet you my lunch bet with the blogmaster the endorsements you wrote about are phoney. Show me the endorsement and I will show you the money.
--pwf

 
At 6:01 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To Anonymous who stated:
"The MEA did not do any endorsments this year. Yet one more lie from Dave and his cronies"

I actually called Mr. Alvarez and said "hey I hear you were endorsed by the MEA". His response was "NOT TRUE, they have endorsed no one to his knowledge. Another LIE told by someone & HIS CRONIES who know nothing but gossip.

 
At 6:36 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

From the MEA website:

http://fea.aft.org/mea/index.cfm?action=downloadasset&assetid=861d71c8-cdb6-4850-8374-0b376fdea542

 
At 6:51 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

well if the mea did endorse "al" then my vote for mosley was dead on right!

 
At 7:02 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awe pwf was wrong again. Why don’t you go print some more posters and stop trying to play with the big boys. It seems the person who made my cheeseburger is more politically active then you but that’s just according to my own humble.....judgment.

 
At 7:08 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awe pwf was wrong again. Why don’t you go print some more posters and stop trying to play with the big boys. It seems the person who made my cheeseburger is more politically active then you, but that’s just according to my own humble.......judgment.

 
At 7:17 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Paul,

Ha ha ha ha ha

Sincerely yours,

OcalaSlim

 
At 8:34 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ocalaslim,

Better look at the results PWF predicted. The ha ha ha is own you, young lady!!!

 
At 9:16 PM, September 05, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Stick a fork in Thurow...his political career is finished!

 
At 6:47 AM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, Radioman here folks.
Looks like ole pwf and bobby d were dead on target with that alvarez-mosley race. not sure where this ocalaslim comes from but for all her education she claims, sure dont know much about politics. And what witn these last minute lies about endorsements for alvarez.
And Thurow is done thououghgly!
Off for a quick start on the front nine. Oh yes, ocalaslim, better put some meat on them bones. you are done at politoics.

 
At 8:43 AM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A good night's sleep (and it was no nice, peaceful, and successful) and I am ready to go again.

*slim, seems you have more schooling to attend to. Might start by checking your facts a bit better, but then with an anonymous name, truth doesn't have to be with you. jfuller, well, nothing you said was true, so forget it. Ditto for Lois.

Must have been a long, long night (no peaceful sleep there) for Kurt and his family: they went after the leader of the school board with all they had -- distortions, false statements, etc, and they lost -- nine points worse than I had predicted.

What it meant is after all the mud he slung, he ended up exactly where he started -- 35 percent.

An old political pro, the late Bill Chappell, former county elected official, former state rep, former speaker of the house, and former l5-16 year Congressman, Florida, told me 30 years ago "35 percent of the voters are against you for whatever reason. 35 percent are for you for whatever reason. Your job is get 16 percent fo that 30 percent undecided.

Well, Alvarez started with the 35 percent who were against Sue for whatever reason. And he stalled because he had no issues, and the distortions were seen for what they were: false.

As for Kurt until he can reccruit someone else to run for another office, he can still be quoted as Vice Chairman.

Now, it is off to Bob Evans for dinner on the Blogmaster! Sorry *slim, I have a date with the most wonderful wife a guy could have ever found!

God Bless.
--pwf

 
At 3:08 PM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's interesting how well women did in all of the races. Mosely, Morely & Ritterhoff-Williams won BIG. Did anyone think Landt would have been clobbered the way he was? Romanski and Hawkins are still alive in their races.

I'm sensing a pattern here. Think it might have any chance of carrying over to the general?

 
At 4:15 PM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chip Morris should remember that as a radio personality, he also is fair game for libel and slander lawsuits

I thought for statements to be slander or libel they had to be untrue

 
At 4:39 PM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Read between the lines...or is that beyond your abilities.

 
At 4:47 PM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I did read between the lines, you are still insinuating that the lies that we told were actually true, that is why I called you an idiot.

Read between the lines.

 
At 4:52 PM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agent- asinine-foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid: It is surprising that supposedly intelligent people can make such asinine statements.
See I can use mine in a sentence.

 
At 4:57 PM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agent,

you are right on target with last post.

Time will eventually get us all my friend, but what will always prevail is TRUTH.

Kurt, Alvarez, et al didn't have it on their side and the results prove it.

THe process works.

Godspeed to all the winners!!!

 
At 6:16 PM, September 06, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ANON commented on how well the females did in this election and asked if that could be a trend in the general election.

It could if the Ds had better quality candidates than Fitos and Weesner. Won't be a trend in the next round.

 
At 1:55 PM, September 07, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Women can run strong b ut lose: Weesner will get a bigger percentage than she has ever had, but will still lose by say five points. Fitos will take Harris to the may, but still lose by say six-tenths of a point. People -- especially the newcomers who cause the problems -- are tired of the growth, traffic, no roads, ever increasing taxes.

 
At 6:30 PM, September 07, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What are you smoking? Fitos within .6% of Harris....get serious! You have reversed the % for Fitos and Weesner. Weesner has a much better chance of taking down Payton (especially with some of his recent rampages) than Fitos does with Harris.

 
At 10:30 AM, September 08, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ocalaslim has seemed to have gone missing. We should be very concerned, maybe the CRUSHING defeat was to much for him/her...

Good job Sue!

 
At 3:51 PM, September 08, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

His signs are still up so graduates of his "Natural born leaders" class will have something to vandalize instead of school property. Good clean fun you know.

Oh almost forgot, before they vandalize them they will pump a couple of rounds from a loaded .357 magnum into them.

 
At 11:57 AM, September 09, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The comments below are sections from a morning report about James Walker’s candidacy in the Star Banner. I think it is good that we will have a choice for State Representative. Don’t like having unopposed politicians.

“James Walker, the challenger to Dennis Baxley, will stay in the race even though he will be sent back to military service in Iraq in the fall of 2007.

News reports of Walker's call-up apparently brought increased attention to his campaign.

"I just got dozens and dozens of calls and e-mails from people I never met before urging me to stay in the race," he said. "I talked it over with my family and my wife supported it, so I stayed in."

If elected in November, Walker would be able to attend his first legislative session in person next spring. Walker commented that state Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, kept his seat and introduced legislation when he was in the state House and was deployed in Iraq as a sergeant with a National Guard unit out of Leesburg.”

 
At 6:13 PM, September 09, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Speaking of Dennis Baxley.

It looks like from what I read and hear that the Baxley style politicians are going to be edged out in influence by those with the Nancy Argenziano style. An interesting change in circumstances? Think it will have any impact on State politics?

 
At 8:04 PM, September 09, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Argenziano the new wave of politicians---give me a break!!!

 
At 9:03 PM, September 11, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am very glad to see that James Walker is not going to let his military duty interfere with running for the legislature. Go James!

 
At 11:38 AM, September 12, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Me too.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home