Election Analysis: Your Thoughts?
Well folks, it's just about over on the local scene. We may have to endure a couple of recounts, but otherwise it's a "done deal" for most politicians. A couple of shockers, as predicted by some on the blog. Most other races wound up "business-as-usual" for the politicians concerned.
Give us your observations and, if you want, even rub it in a bit about the results. We know there are several bloggers out there who will love (and have earned the right) to do that!
We may not have a new era in local politics in general, but perhaps a new era within the local Republican Party.
Let's hear from you.
P.S. We will announce the winners of our contest tomorrow after the final vote counts are complete; may have to use our "tie breaker" rule.
posted by Blog Master @ 11:04 PM
79 Comments:
James Walker performed at the same level as Macky Thurman. Not bad being outspent 10:1, and his first race. Maybe the state Dems will take a second look at HD24 in 2008 - when Mr. Baxley can't run again.
BARBARA BARBARA BARBARA! WOOOHOOOO!!!
Parnell, we love you man!
Hey Bobby, Congrats to your wife. A close one but she did it!
Actually, learning about the whole after-election day duties for the Supervisor of Elections, after the 2000 months-long situation:
First, isn't there an official recount? Then unless the losing candidate of that recount concedes, then they wait to officially record a winner at a certain date (after they wait for military and out of country absentee voters' ballots to arrive in the mail)?
I am unsure of the full process, but am sorry if this situation has to be realized by anyone and their family.
An undecided election could keep the issue active for a while...
The Harris defeat is a vote for rejecting his kind of politics. Stick a fork in it, it is dead.
what? no mention of the 'roads' tax defeat?
locally, not a complete Democratic victory...however...certainly significant.
Don't forget to mention, Fitos beat Harris at his own politics. She out worked him with the church groups.
Congratulations to all of the winners in local races!
Next up: Now that the issue of taxation is clearly THE issue, the county commission had better take note of their matching orders. The voters have absolutely zero concern for "enabling" more development and picking up the tab.
Our expanding local government is the result of promoting our area as a cheap place to live. Ironically as this process has continued it has only cost us much more to live here.
Our millage rates must come down more and the rollback rate should be met every year. If any commissioner does not work to make this happen they will be replaced on the BOCC. Guaranteed.
Impact fees need to be visited again and adjustments made. Hopefully we all can get a conversation about these fees going.
Wow.
Not a straight party-line percentage vote, with indications of each office being considered separately.
Either the majority think the Country is going in the right direction, or confuse supporting Republicans with supporting our Troops?
The area's Congress and State offices remain entirely and bloody red (except for Nelson & Unopposed Corrine Brown in Congress, and Sink as our new State CFO).
For myself, with being much of an outsider on the local stuff, I was most hoping for a more diverse elected body representing me:
Reflecting back on Oelrich v Jennings, Jr., I can now understand how those of you chose correctly, decided your outcomes. Even tho both men ran negatively, Oelrich was more personally focused, where Jennings was more duty focused (meaning obvious conscious and poor decisions were made by Jennings).
On the issue of Offices closer to home, either voters wanted more Woman as locally elected leaders, or they were more comfortable with Democrats closer to home--I like to think both :) However, both Harris' not being bipartisan or moderate, really affected their 2006 outcomes...
Personally, I would have given my left **t for a Harris and Surtax defeat. I am happy all my parts remain intact, and look forward to the change in District 4.
Most surprising to me, remains the resounding defeat of the Surtax. More specifically, if citizens are now so anti-growth, did people think charging a 1/2% tourist surtax was going to keep people away no matter what advertising Marion County did? I am now confused how the Tourist Surtax passed two years ago?
In closing, definitely National/CNN and very local politics should be more interesting for everyone to follow now...
Richard.
CONTEST WINNER: PWF Wins in a “Tie Breaker”!
Christopher Thurow and PWF picked the same number of winners. Each had seven. Bobby D fell out of the running with six winners.
Going to the tie breaker format: PWF had five winners that were nearest the actual results and CT had four (this included a tie on picking the Crist win at 52%).
PWF had Crist, Baxley, Cretul, Oelrich and Sales Tax nearest the final vote.
CT had Crist, Payton, Fitos and Crawford as nearest the final vote.
Congratulations to PWF, your Bob Evans Gift Certificate is in the mail!
Also, thanks to Bobby D and Christopher Thurow for your participation. You were all pretty close in your predictions.
This is outrageous!
This is preposterous!
I demand a recount!
I'm disenfranchised!!
Just kidding. Couldn't help myself.
The commission meetings are going to be a lot better without Harris there to constantly disrupt and try to dominate everything.
Maybe, but he will be back.
Back as in installing toilets.
I bet people at Ocala National Bank are not real happy about Mr. Harris loosing. he's into them for a bundle. he sure better sell some of those lots the bank financed or he's in trouble.
now....who's still got signs up after thanksgiving?....
lettuce spray.
Rummy's gone...Nancy's the new House Leader....Bushie says he knows a GOP decorator he can recommend to her...his attempt at bi-partisanship...lame..as usual...
Dems..this is just a beginning of a restoration of democratic values, of integrity and honesty in government...of accountability and of hope for humanity (instead of profit....one does not necessarily mean benefits for the other...)
Anonymous said, "Dems..this is just a beginning of a restoration of democratic values, of integrity and honesty in government...of accountability and of hope for humanity (instead of profit....one does not necessarily mean benefits for the other...)
Let's not get carried away folks. Democratic values like as before with the corruption of the dems???The 12 years of GOP corruption will never compare to what occured in the preceeding 40 years. Dont hand me the gerrymandering of the GOP. Let's just look at Corrine Brown's district and then talk. And of course, no democrat ever profited . . . gimme a break.
Let's get real and try to work together. The dems refused to work with the gop, then the gop wouldn't work with the dems.
Let's try something new. Like work for the people. --pwf
Yes please, lets get real my far left friends!
lost our way:
FYI Randy is not running again as the REC chair. Angie Boynton and Paul Truesdell are the candidates.
Yes the Republicans are going through some big changes here in Marion. If Truesdell wins the chair you can bet he'll get the party cooking again and in a big way.
no need having to run to buy car now.
Maybe Truesdell will take the REC in the same direction he did the Republican Club in Dunnellon.
Peace takes courage
Paul Truesdell will be the new REC Chair.
I wonder how many County employees and their family members voted against Randy? You can't continually beat up the employees without paybacks. Their votes alone could have provided the margin of victory for Barbara.
Congratulations pwf on your candidate's pick victory.
Look for a progressive and fresh leadership direction from new Chairman McClain with strong support from new Vice-Chairman Stone. No more suppressed opinions now. Speak your minds gentlemen!
I'm happy with Barbara Fitos' win. Would have been nice to also have Darlene Weesner sitting on the commission. Maybe next time.
NBC just posted a projected win
for Webb (d) in Virginia.
I hope I can stop smiling soon, my cheeks are getting sore
Chairman McClain. Now that's a scary thought. Will Randy rule from behind the scenes?
I forgot to mention in my after-voting comments that r harris actually got the fewest votes of all 4 candidates (he would have ended up in last place, if the seats were not by district).
Richard.
Well now that the Democrats have total control on the National level, I'm anxiously awaiting the answers to all of our problems. I would hope that over the next two years everything will be put in order. If not, we could see a 2008 looking alot like 2006, but in a different direction.
On the local scene, more of the same, but kinder and more respectful. That's OK with me.
An additional thought. I learned many years ago to be generous when you lose and humble when you win. Darlene has not learned that lesson, even though she has toned down considerably. Two years ago she made some nasty crack about the gestopo. This time, she had some lame crack at Payton. Maybe Macky Thurman took lessons from her. -- pwf
On the Harris loss: I only talked to Randy twice during the campaign season, and I did not get the impression he was as intense and/or intersted this time, perhaps an incorrect impression.
Yesterday (after the vote) I had occasion to talk to a dozen of so friends, and the story they tell gives multi suggestions:
First. his health did not allow him to go full bore. I hope (and would do so for any candidate regardless of aprty) he is able to get full health back.
Second, there were (and still are) many friends of Parnell and Abndy Kesselring who were and still are ticked off about his active involvement in recruiting and supporting opponents for Parnell and Andy, something you just do not do as chair of a party during a primary, or while serving with them on the board. That easily could have been a swing of 500 to 750 votes.
Third, don't sell the growth issue short. I don't know that there would be the slightest difference if there were five new commissioners because they are limited in what they can go short of doing absolutely nothing and let concurrency shut down the 50,000 to 75,000 construction related jobs. Two years later, there would be more new commissioners.
Four, of the county employees I have talked with in the past two weeks, only one was firm in his decision to vote for Harris. As someone wrote, you can't beat up on your people for years and expect them to vote for you.
Fifth, the disintegration of the REC also played a major part. There were no members (not literally but generally) out there to work. We got no calls from any GOP phone bank. Unfortunately, we got three in one evening from Barbara's phone bank and one the night before. Didn't do any good at my house, because we do not vote for anyone who disturbs dinner, regardless of party. Can Paul Truesdale and Chris Armstrong rebuild it? Only time will tell. I think it will take more than one or two election cycles. --pwf
Paul Truesdale? God help us all.
Truesdale is a "my way or the highway" guy. He has tried to buy his way into authority for sometime. Looks like he will make it work this time. He and Armstrong haven't been members of the REC and now they are going to be elected Chair and Vice Chair? Wonder how he and right winger Cavanaugh will get along.
First I believe it's Chris "Boyd" not Chris Armstrong. Secondly Truesdell has honed down his edge. In the past he was a handful but I now see a man who wants to work with others more. Good for the Republicans.
After reading Brad's editorial this morning I was quite ammused. Not only has Randy gotten "the" message but apparently Brad has too.
Marion county voters do not want to subsidize government growth via new rooftops. The millage rate being hedged (you know, hold the line) but also pouring dollars into new infrastructure so homebuilders can keep their bank accounts full.
Pauls (Ferguson) statements regarding all of those construction jobs, while legitimate is missing the point. These jobs were not here 5, 10 or 20 years ago. The constructin worker follows the work. If work here subsides they'll go elsewhere. Would it hurt us non-transient residents? I could go on all day how it would help.
My point is Marion County has finally grown up and away from GOB politics and we can only hope the trend continues.
"Pauls (Ferguson) statements regarding all of those construction jobs, while legitimate is missing the point. These jobs were not here 5, 10 or 20 years ago. . . . Would it hurt us non-transient residents? I could go on all day how it would help."
My answer: The percentage of (growth oriented) construction jobs vs the population 48-40-20-15-10 years ago is about the same as today. When the 200 or so homes in Woodfields were build in the 1960's, it was a sizeable percentage of growth for a county with 50,000 people.
Jack Clark, former Mwayor and a major player in construction in the 1955-1985 era, once told me it is all a matter of "zeros." when I renewed a note for $2,000 it was as difficult as it was when he renewed one for $200,000 or $2,000,000 -- just more zeros.
The problem has come from all of you newcomers moving to Marion County, and now you want to stop other newcomers from moving here.
A large number of those construction jobs are home grown, Marion County natives, not transient. True they follow work, and I will bet you more Marion County natives have left here to go elsewhere for work, than the percentage of newcomers moving here to build at the Villages etc.
Your move here proves the point. You moved here because you wanted to get out of the rat race in wherever you came from and wanted the good life in rural Marion County. You then went to Bradford county for work.
Now, you want to shut down growth.
And one Democrat wining a very close race against a controversial, outspoken commissioner a change in direction does not make. --pwf
Thurow is correct. It will be Truesdale as chairman, Chris Boyd as vice chairman. Paul has toned his edge down, but they have a big job ahead of them to try and get back to where the REC was when Harvey Klein's health began to fail. Harvey, who gets credit as the father of the GOP in Marion County, was a wodnerful guy, and I miss his counsel. -- pwf
I disagree with “Takeastand”. The moderates in both parties are going to be the ones who get us out of the mess we are in. It has been the right and left leaning nut cases who have been the problem. People like Randy Harris are typical of why we still have many of the local issues to confront. He spent all his time running his mouth about issues no one but him and a few of his storm troopers were interested in at the expense of solving more important problems. More moderates are what we need, not more Harris types.
Here is a great You Tube three-minute ad called “The Morning After”!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZlBeCASuQ0&eurl=
DITTO TO YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEED FOR MORE MODERATES.
Pwf refers to receiving multiple calls from the Barbara Fitos campaign Monday night. Unfortunately, Barbara’s phone vendor split part of one of the Monday night call lists in two with the intention of loading each half on to a different server to get the calls out faster. However, he inadvertently loaded the same half on both servers, resulting in many people getting the same call twice minutes apart. Those on the half not called Monday were called the next day.
I know Barbara regrets the error and any inconvenience it caused anyone.
Pwf claims that “we got three in one evening from Barbara's phone bank and one the night before.” He goes on to say, “Didn't do any good at my house, because we do not vote for anyone who disturbs dinner, regardless of party.”
Here are the date and time stamps for calls made from the Fitos campaign to pwf’s home telephone number in the period he discusses:
2006-11-06 18:22:00
2006-11-06 18:26:12
2006-11-04 07:52:17
The times are Mountain Time. His home received one message Saturday at 9:52 AM EST and a second, different message delivered at Monday at 8:22 PM and again about four minutes later. All of these messages were answering machine deliveries, so pwf didn’t have to leave his chow to answer the phone. Does anyone seriously believe pwf would complain about his dinner being interrupted if Harris had sent a call to his house around 8:30 at night?
It seems that pwf cannot be relied on for accurate information about Barbara Fitos even when it comes to how many calls he receives at his house or when. He has spent years bad-mouthing Barbara and bloggers can look forward to years of him sniping about everything she does as a county commissioner. It has nothing to do with county policy, he’s just mad he had nothing to do with her successful campaign and his persistent attempts to use this blog to coerce her into coming over to his office to kiss his fanny were a complete failure.
As an indicator of what kind of man we had on our county commission for 12 years, here is a fact for you:
A full day after she defeated him, Barbara Fitos had not been contacted by Randy Harris.
How many Dems, who lost, actually called their opponents? I know of at least two locals who didn't!
And now the excuses start in an effort to minimize the significance.
Harris supporter pwf says:
“First. his health did not allow him to go full bore. I hope (and would do so for any candidate regardless of party) he is able to get full health back.”
What a bunch of bull. Fitos described Harris as “aggressive” in appearances they were making in the last weeks of the campaign. He was shaking his finger at the audience. Very vigorous.
Harris raised about $81,000, which is about twice his previous record for a campaign. Fitos only raised $23,000. They each spent a little over $4,000 to get on the ballot, leaving him with about $79,000 for advertising and her with only about $19,000. I don’t think you can say a guy with four times the money for advertising isn’t going full bore. If she had had as much money as Harris for advertising, he wouldn’t have lost by two points. He would have lost by ten points.
Anonymous said...
"How many Dems, who lost, actually called their opponents? I know of at least two locals who didn't!"
Shame on them, too.
Brian >>: give it a friggin break. Nobody cares about your fight with Ferguson, who told you off 2 yrs ago and he told me in June he would not do any commission races. So shut the hell up and quit sniping at Harris. you have long since passed being very boring, all over your pro poro and pro gay stance.
Creekbaumn you accuse pwfr of bad mouthing fitos for years . was it bad mouthing her he he lobbied to get her reupped to the library board when she came back to ocala and he caught hell from us on the REC? gawd i would hate to be so bitter and narrow as you.
“Brian >>: give it a friggin break. Nobody cares about your fight with Ferguson, who told you off 2 yrs ago and he told me in June he would not do any commission races.”
Gee, why does my inbox have 15 e-mails from Ferguson from the past two years? I don’t have a fight with Ferguson. I prefer to think of it as Ferguson having a fight with facts and an allergy to anyone who possesses them.
“So shut the hell up and quit sniping at Harris. you have long since passed being very boring, all over your pro poro and pro gay stance.”
It’s unfortunate that small minds confuse defending access to ideas with agreement with those ideas. The library contains an essay by Ronald Reagan on abortion that I donated. I think that people should have it available to read. That says nothing about whether I agree with it.
Here’s a bet. You won’t begin reading on the blog now that I oppose abortion because I donated the book. That’s because when you defend freedom of speech as a principle, little people start running around trying to tie you to controversial speech covered by the principle. Keep it up little person. You have no effect on who I am or what I believe.
Jeez! Is this blog about politically homeless, or ad hominium arguments? The blog czar needs to delete these non productive items.
Didja see the sign that said;
"Press 1 for english"
"Press 2 for deportation"
recdropout said...
"Creekbaumn you accuse pwfr of bad mouthing fitos for years . was it bad mouthing her he he lobbied to get her reupped to the library board when she came back to ocala and he caught hell from us on the REC?”
True. Ferguson did do some lobbying on library board appointments consistent with what some of us in the library community wanted to see happen.
I vividly recall when Norman Cates and others had applied to the library board but the county commission re-appointed Nancy Young. Ferguson stood out in the breezeway bragging about all the political capital he had expended convincing Andy Kesselring to vote for her and basking in the glory of his success. The only problem was that, when I checked the ballots later, it turned out that Henning, not Kesselring, had become the third vote. Ferguson had advised us that there was no way Henning would vote for Nancy. Of course, none of this had stopped Ferguson from basking in the glory of his imaginary accomplishment in front of all the library people.
There they are again, those pesky facts.
Barbara Fitos was appointed in 2003 when there were only nine applicants for five positions and none of them was identifiable with the Harris position. Harris even ended up voting for Barbara, probably because there was little in the way of viable alternatives, not because of any lobbying anyone did.
The Supervisor of Elections has some interesting color-coded precinct maps at http://www.votemarion.com/enrsummary.aspx?eid=80. Just click on the precinct detail map for the race you’re interested in. I haven’t had a chance to look at things in depth, but one of the first things that struck me was that Fitos won rural precincts in District 4 (the Harris and now Fitos district) in the extreme Northeastern and Eastern parts of the county.
Anyone want to bet whether or not the Library Board is reestablished?
My bet is that it will, but in a much different way. And I mean a much different way.
Forget it. No change from the way it is---no library board.
I read this letter in the Gainesville Sun and the last paragraph makes much sense to me. Are we looking for scapegoats and not solutions? I think so.
“Only Citizens Can Bring Real Change”
Like many Americans, I want change. Unlike many Americans, I do not believe that this election will create or foster that change.
With few exceptions, the problems we face as a community, a state, and as a nation are not caused by the politicians in (Ocala), Gainesville, Tallahassee or in Washington, D.C. Thus, the solutions do not lie there either.
The problems and their solutions lie inside ourselves. The loss of 4 million jobs to overseas factories is not the fault of Clinton, Bush, or NAFTA. It is our fault. As greedy consumers, we buy cheaper imported goods rather than do business with our neighbors.
The experts have tried to tell us that we have too much debt, yet we continue to run up credit card debt. Regardless of who sits in the White House or on Capitol Hill, we continue to consume 25 percent of the world's oil production. We choose to build our homes too close to the oceans and rivers and then expect the government (i.e., the taxpayer) to rebuild our homes after the storms come.
We spend our money on sports stadiums rather than build schools for our kids. We are responsible for the pollution in the air, the waterways, and in the ground.
We criticize the candidates' negative campaigns, and then we tune into Comedy Central where the issues and politicians are mocked and ridiculed. No wonder voter turnouts are less than 40 percent.
The truth is, most Americans are not interested in solving these problems. They are not interested in electing leaders. They just want scapegoats. They want to be able to blame someone else for their own problems.
Ray Reid,
Gainesville
The big story for me is why we
still have 60% of Americans not
voting?
Thank you to the 40% who did take the time to vote.
I was surprised by the turnout.
How can we get more young people to the polls?
Instead of wasting more money on educating young people on the dangers of smoking, which is what the DARE program is for, why not
spend the money on education programs in the schools on civics and the electoral process.
I know they call it American history but how much time do they really spend on the right to vote,
the history of suffrage?
It should be introduced in grade school with mock elections held
at all levels in school.
Yes Virginia, your vote really does
count!
If 75% of this country voted it would really send a message with
less room for voter fraud.
The face of politics could be rewritten.
How many of the working families
in Marion County can actually afford those $170,000. + homes
they are building at breakneck speed down here?
After taxes and health insurance costs, and other living expenses, I am left with nothing for savings.
I don't have a mortgage and I can't afford one either.
I can only hold on to what I have -- and that isn't much.
Work hard and get nowhere ...
It is clear I will have to work until I die.
At the same time, let's give those retired folks another homestead exemption.
They paid their taxes right!
The greatest generation - or the cheapest?
They can't afford to retire up north so they come here with the expection to live on someone else's dime.
They are so vocal to the county commissioners on "their" needs
in their communities, aren't they?
Who is standing up for the working class struggling paycheck to paycheck?
The failure of the road improvement sales tax is proof in the pudding.
The idea may have been ill-conceived but the cost of road improvements isn't going down either.
It's time for a flat tax folks.
This has nothing to do with election analysis but I would like to say "Happy Veteran's Day"
and thank you to all veterans, past and present.
Ray Reid posted the Gainesville Sun editorial with bthe last paragraph most important:
"The truth is, most Americans are not interested in solving these problems. They are not interested in electing leaders. They just want scapegoats. They want to be able to blame someone else for their own problems."
Too many people who voted Tuesday with Growth as their main issue do NOT realize that if we never platted a new subdivision, something like 100,000 more homes could be built, many of them on land without paved streets, no central water and no central sewer, i.e., septic tanks ... and lots and lots of problems and complaints.
No one, you me or the five elected commissioners or the next bunch, can stop it because those properties and their lots are vested, having been subdivided years and years ago. Only the courts could change that fact, and they have already ruled.
But again, the people complaining the loudest are the people who caused the problems we have: they moved here from other areas, generally to get out of similar problems, and be they horse farmers or residents of the Villages or State Rd. 200, they cause the problems here they fled.
However . . . . it seems to me that we may have found a way to slow growth: it is called TAX BILLS. The spiral in property "values" driven by what was a shortage of houses meaning sellers could just about set their own price, coupled with the effect of Ammendment 10, has created a very unfair tax situation and lots and lots of people are getting very upset. It will be wait and see, and almost never do property values go down. They may be forced down a bit this time. --pwf
Pwf said:
“Too many people who voted Tuesday with Growth as their main issue do NOT realize that if we never platted a new subdivision, something like 100,000 more homes could be built, many of them on land without paved streets, no central water and no central sewer, i.e., septic tanks ... and lots and lots of problems and complaints.”
”No one, you me or the five elected commissioners or the next bunch, can stop it because those properties and their lots are vested, having been subdivided years and years ago. Only the courts could change that fact, and they have already ruled.”
Wrong. There is something called a market. The government declaring supply is available doesn’t necessarily mean there is demand for a product or service. A lot of this stuff that was vested an eon ago doesn’t fit what the market wants today.
I'll enjoy the coffee but I aint paying $4 for any coffee anywhere anytime.--pwf
I don't even drink coffee. I do enjoy eating the lunch of a politician occasionally, though.
The key word there is "OCCASIONALLY". You rarely ever ate the lunch of Harris. Mostly the other way around. However, you deserve to gloat for a few days. It's been 12 years, and thanks to many others you now can. Let's see what Fito's is able to do.
Looks like Brian has “bought” himself a puppet on the County Commission. Ah, shades of Bill Glass and John Lund! Will we watch Fitos dance as he pulls the strings? Could be.
whoa....I can't be gone two weeks and Puffer (pwf) is again in bad form. Looks like Thurow and Creeckbaum has this superman figured out. Oh but wait Puffer has battled with PROFESSIONALS before. Not sure what that is but his brand of manure spreading is running outta gas. Yo PuffDaddy heres a FACT for you, YOU moved here from outta state. It does'nt matter how long ago it was. What a DUMB argument you make. Retire now while you're ahead.
Jim said:
“However, you deserve to gloat for a few days. It's been 12 years, and thanks to many others you now can. Let's see what Fito's is able to do.”
At last count there were 49,484 voters who put the big pooh-bah in his place.
”Looks like Brian has “bought” himself a puppet on the County Commission. Ah, shades of Bill Glass and John Lund! Will we watch Fitos dance as he pulls the strings? Could be.”
Nope. If Barbara just doesn’t lecture the public at county commission meetings like some sort of potentate, which she won’t, she will be satisfying much of what I set out to accomplish in the election. The beauty of the situation is that I don’t even have a personal agenda on most of what the county commission votes on. Somebody else who put in money asked me what we would do now that we caught the car. My response was that, hey, I just helped get her elected, and she’s the commissioner, and it’s up to her to figure out what to do with it. One thing I’m sure about is that I will not be dealing with a District 4 county commissioner who uses a radio program and press interviews to slander me.
Not many with business before the county commission gave her money. She's probably the most unbought county commissioner we've had in years.
Don't count on her not being bought. She has an agenda. It won't take long for us to see it....tax and spend.
Maybe not as illuminating or tantalizing as Tobey or Franco are in the Spider-man 3 trailer, or even of the pics of Brandon Roth straining his muscles as he works out in preparation of flying in his Superman sequel that will include promised fighting elements, but I have appreciated nonetheless of reading the posts by creekbaum and pwf on the past political politicking of Marion County.
With the personalizations bestraddling over most current political banter due to the high of victory, and the humiliation of defeat, I look forward to a combined endeavor of the 5 w's of the local political abode.
Seriously.
Richard.
Richard,
You're a Hoot!!!
I want to post the last 6 and then the 10th year of total property taxes levied in Marion County. Tell me what you think.
2006 $344,868,190.15
2005 $273,032,564.32
2004 $244,764,442.50
2003 $226,305,099.36
2002 $205,460,131.35
2001 $183,763,155.17
2000 $170,414,037.28
1997 $142,891,619.36
how abt posting population figs and demand for varios services those new folks including u have to have.
Population, 2005 estimate 303,442
Population, 2000 258,916
Population, percent change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 17.2%
I guess we need twice as much money to take care of 18% more people.
Good point. Where is the tax money going?
From Susan Estrich, a very vocal George Bush critic.
Ask yourself: Is George Bush really out to make the Reid/Pelosi team look good? Or vice versa? Which side has the power to compel the other side to come to the table? In whose interest is it, other than maybe the average citizen’s, to make such a partnership work? Could they if they wanted to? Can zebras change their stripes?
There is a famous story everyone tells in politics (and elsewhere, I’m sure) about the scorpion and the frog. The scorpion wants to cross the river but he can’t swim, so he asks the frog for a ride. The frog says, “How do I know you won’t sting me?” and the scorpion says, “If I sting you, you will die, and I will die with you.”
Convinced, the frog gives the scorpion a ride. Twice, the scorpion is tempted to sting the frog but restrains himself. The third time, he succumbs. Just as the frog is about to die, he says to the scorpion, “Why? Why?” and the scorpion replies, “It’s my nature.”
Bush and the Democrats? There’s a lot of nature to overcome.
Probably the way things will go in D.C.
Question for C. Thurow: so what is the solution to the road funding issue now that the sales tax was defeated?
Hope he answers you. He didn't offer any solutions to any issue in the campaign for school bd.
Christopher Thurow: as far as your attempt at correlating population growth to County budget growth; one factor you have neglected to mention is the citizen demand for services. They are increasing faster than the raw population growth.
Check out Proposition 1%:
http://www.thebobandbillshow.com/
Incoming House Speaker Marco Rubio this afternoon named his leadership team:
- Dennis Baxley of Ocala will serve as Speaker pro tempore
- Marty Bowen of Winter Haven will serve as Majority Leader
- Ellyn Bogdanoff of Ft. Lauderdale will serve as Majority Whip
- Adam Hasner of Boca Raton will serve as Deputy Majority Leader
All are solid conservatives. Is Rubio setting up for a fight with Gov. Crist?
I hope someone fights with Crist.
Rubio's "leadership team" only proves the fact that the Republicans just don't get it. Moving to the extreme right will, in the long run, alienate Florida voters.
If it hadn't been for the ridiculously biased redistricting process, Florida voters could have their revenge. Average Floridians aren't extreme right - they're 50-50, as evidenced by our statewide elections.
Shame on Rubio. Hopefully, Crist will somewhat balance things out.
Not all conservatives are "far right". Perhaps Rubio does get it in re-establishing what true Republicans really want in their leadership.
I agree. Even Dennis Baxley received a mandate from the local voters to keep doing what he is doing.
Relatively speaking, Baxley got more of an mandate than Fitos did!
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