My 2008 Ballot

I'm planning on going to vote tomorrow and I haven't had the time to complete all my election posts. So in lieu of actual analysis I'm just going to post my ballot if anyone is interested.

Ben's 2008 Ballot

I did at least a little research on each of the races so nothing on here is a complete shot in the dark. Although I'm not claiming my analysis is complete. For some of the races there is very little information out there.

By the way - found another good resource for local election info: Space Coast Freethought Association's Voter Guide. I got a kick out of it because they actually reference the Christian Coalition of Brevard's voter guide! Awesome.

Also, for the Sebastian's Inlet stuff I found this Florida Today article that was pretty good.

Local Elections: State Judges

In Florida, State Appellate and Supreme Court judges are appointed by the governor but face a retention vote every six years. This articles covers the judges up for retention on the Florida Supreme Court and the Fifth District Court of Appeals.

It should be noted that since this retention system has been in place (1978), no Judge has ever been voted out. And in the unlikely event that one is - their replacement would be appointed by the Governor - which means Republican Charlie Crist. So I'm not sure why I'm writing about this really... this one will probably be pretty short.

Florida Supreme Court

The following is a description of the Florida Supreme Court by the Ocala Star-Banner:

Florida Supreme Court justices consider cases from lower courts throughout the state. Judges are appointed by the governor, serve six-year terms, and are paid $161,200 per year. The office is nonpartisan.

Charles T. Wells

Appointed by Lawton Chiles. Florida Bar's poll of lawyers shows 91% support for retaining. This is probably the only judge that is important to vote yes on since he was appointed by a Democrat and if not retained would be replaced by a Republican-appointed judge. The Florida Supreme Court is fairly liberal as most of it's members were appointed by Chiles and it's good to keep it that way as long as possible.

Florida Fifth District Court of Appeals

The following is a description of the Fifth District Court of Appeals by the Ocala Star-Banner:

Appellate judges hear appeals from circuit courts. The 5th District Court of Appeal is based in Daytona Beach and its jurisdiction covers Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus, Hernando, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, Volusia, Orange, Osceola, Brevard and Seminole counties. Judges serve six-year terms and are paid $153,140 per year. The office is nonpartisan

Kerry I. Evander

Appointed by Jeb Bush. Florida Bar's poll of lawyers shows 89% support for retaining. Bio Page.

C. Allen Lawson

Appointed by Jeb Bush. Florida Bar's poll of lawyers shows 87% support for retaining. Bio Page. This guy is a Clemson alum so I think I'm contractually required to vote for him.

Richard B. Orfinger

Appointed by Jeb Bush. Florida Bar's poll of lawyers shows 89% support for retaining. Bio Page.

William David Palmer

Appointed by Jeb Bush. Florida Bar's poll of lawyers shows 85% support for retaining. This guy is the chief justice of the court. I was looking at his bio page and noticed he wrote an article called "Focus on the Family Single-Parent Family." I haven't been able to find this article to see if it has anything to do with James Dobson's evil right-wing evangelical group called "Focus on the Family" but it raised some concerns. I then noticed that his bio page mentions he is very active in the "Tomoka Christian Church." I looked up their web site and the text under the google entry states the following "Non-denominational church seeking to make it hard to go to hell from our generation." I'm not sure why church is bold and I don't really know what it means but it scares me - they are definitely scary evangelical nutjobs.

Thomas D. Sawaya

Appointed by Jeb Bush. Florida Bar's poll of lawyers shows 88% support for retaining. Bio Page.

Conclusion

I'm tempted to vote no for all of these guys since they'll probably all be retained anyway. Not very much information out there on these guys. Palmer is the only one that seems really bad. Wells is the only one I feel motivated to vote for. I'm tempted to vote no on the rest of them just because they're almost assured to be retained.

Local Elections: State Amendments

Here's my overview of the proposed Amendments to the FL constitution for the 2008 general election.

Amendment 1

The following is a good summary from baynews9.com article that Kelly found on the amendments:

The current state constitution reads, "All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, and to acquire, possess and protect property; except that the ownership, inheritance, disposition and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship may be regulated or prohibited by law. No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability."

The change would remove the portion in red.

Apparently the portion in red was added to the constitution at some point in the early 20th century to give the state the right to prohibit aliens from purchasing land - it was targeted specifically at Asian immigrants. Although there are no current state laws that utilize this part of the constitution - this amendment would remove this outdated and probably racist language.

The amendment is supported by The Organization of Chinese Americans, a non-profit group and minority rights advocate and Florida League of Women Voters. I don't know of any groups that oppose it.

I plan on voting for it.

Amendment 2

This is an anti-gay marriage amendment - it tries to apply a narrow definition to the word marriage by stating that "marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife."

I fully support gay rights and gay marriage so obviously I would never support this but I think that even if you don't support allowing homosexuals to use the word "marriage" you should still be against this amendment because it also contains the following language: "no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." I'm pretty sure that makes civil unions unconstitutional too... wow.

Also, does anyone else see the irony in that the first amendment is to remove hateful, discriminatory language from the state constitution and that the second amendment is to add hateful, discriminatory language?

Amendment 3

This amendment basically says that if you make improvements to your house to make it more hurricane resistant (like wind shutters) or generate renewable power (like solar panels) then the government cannot increase it's assessed tax value to reflex those changes. This amendment would basically allow the legislature to pass laws to create property tax exemptions for making those improvements to your house.

It's not clear if a constitutional amendment is required to do this and apparently local governments already have the power to grant tax exemptions on renewable power sources. Also this doesn't apply to new or commercial construction.

Even with some of those negatives this still sounds like a good thing. I'll support just about anything that encourages renewable energy so I intend to vote for this.

Amendment 4

This amendment would create a "conservation" land classification and allow those lands to qualify for a tax exemption.

This seems to be a measure designed to encourage land conservation which is definitely a good thing. The down side is that if the laws based on this amendment are not structured very well then this could turn into a give away for developers. Currently all land is taxed at its highest and best rate unless it is classified as agricultural land. This means that non-agriculture land is taxed based on its future potential as developed residential property. Apparently agriculture land can be re-classified as normal land relatively easily so developers often abuse this setup by putting a few cows or trees on land they intend to develop eventually so they can get the tax break. If proper safeguards are not put in place a conservation classification could be used in the same way. If there is enough developer abuse then it could affect government tax revenue.

This amendment has pretty wide support from groups like The Nature Conservancy, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Wildlife Federation, and Audubon of Florida. I don't know of any groups against it.

I think the concerns about developer abuse are valid but ultimately since this isn't structuring the actual conservation classification but just forcing the legislature to have one I think I'm going to vote for it.

Amendment 6

This is similar to Amendment 4 but instead of creating a classification for conservation it is instead creating a special classification for "working" waterfront property like commercial finishing.

The argument for this amendment is that waterfront property is so valuable as residential property that it makes it difficult for marine based businesses to turn a profit. The intention seems to be to maintain the viability of marine business to encourage economic diversity.

The argument against this amendment is that waterfront property owners do not lose their development rights and that there is no provision to recoup lost tax revenue.

Supporters of this amendment include the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida TaxWatch, boatyard owners, fish house owners, marina owners, and the Marine Industries Association of Florida. Opponents consist of the AFL-CIO.

I'm a bit unsure on this one but I'm inclined to vote no. I can get behind lost tax revenue for land conservation but for business it's less appealing. Besides, that land still maintains it's value and the owners still have development rights.

Amendment 8

This amendment would allow local governments to increase the sales tax to support community colleges. To implement the sales tax increase, local governments would need ballot approval which would need to be reauthorized by the voters every 5 years.

Basically what's happened is that the Florida legislature is targeting funding cuts for community college education and is attempting to shift the burden to local government. Community colleges are important and need to be funded in some way. This is allowing local government to pick up the slack.

The crappy part of this is that shifting the burden to local government creates all kinds of problems. It has the potential to create very unequal education opportunities based on which counties approve the tax increase and which don't. It opens the door for more state-level cuts in the future by trying to shift the burden. It's unclear what would happen if there is one community college serving multiple counties. It's inherently unfair to smaller, less affluent counties - especially since sales taxes are pretty regressive and hurt poor students and areas more.

Supporters of this amendment include Florida Education Association, Associated Industries of Florida, United Faculty of Florida, Florida TaxWatch, and Eduardo J. Padron, President of Miami-Dade Community College. Opponents include the Orlando Sentinel and Manatee Community College.

I think this is shitty solution to an ugly problem. Somebody needs to fund community colleges and since state government has apparently decided not to, I'm probably going to end up voting yes - I don't like it though.

Resources

• Ballotpedia.org
• Space Coast Progressive Alliance Amendment Guide (see pgs 10-12)
  
• Sun-Sentinel Recommendations
• Cape-Coral Daily Breeze
• BayNews9.com

Local Elections: Democratic Tax Collector Nominee

This about the Democratic primary for the office of Brevard County Tax Collector. The election is on August 26, 2008.

This is the first partisan election I've covered on here and the dynamic is definitely different than the nonpartisan elections because we need to consider the general election. In the republican primary there are two candidates (this is an open seat - no incumbent) who both seem to be well funded because I've seen their signs far more often then either the Democrats...

The Republicans

First, there's Jackie Colon, who seems to be very well funded (I even saw that commercial on her web site on actual TV!) and is even endorsed by Governor Crist. It seems like her signs are everywhere - far more than anyone else in this race.

Colon's opponent is Lisa Cullen, whose web site claims she won some kind of straw poll and is even endorsed by the AFL-CIO. I've seen her signs all over the place too - although I still think Colon is better funded - and the Crist endorsement makes it clear the republican establishment is strongly behind her. I would be surprised if Cullen wins this one.

Carie Exline

Judging by the signage on my route to work, Exline seems to be the best funded of the Democrats. Her campaign web site is fairly blah but I like the fact that not only is she a CPA, but she that has a masters degree in accounting. I'm not sure exactly what being the Tax Collector involves, but it seems like a strong background in accounting would be good. She is currently an internal auditor for the Brevard County Clerk of Courts. Having a background in Brevard local government also seems like a good thing to me.

Laura Dils

Again, judging only from signage - Dils seems to be less well funded then Exline - I don't think I've seen any signs for her. From her web site, it seems she's running as the "outsider" with statements like "I am the only candidate running for Tax Collector who is not a career politician or currently employed by one." In something like a local election, I just don't see how that's a great thing to brag about. It's not like she's Mr. Smith Going To Washington - this is only Brevard County - it seems like knowing how local government works would only make you better at something like Tax collector. In national elections I tend to be pretty anti-establishment - so I guess this attitude is a little odd for me - but I just find her sales pitch kinda cheesy.

Also, she seems to emphasis that she's from the "private sector" with a degree in business and a resume filled with titles like "regional manager", "marketing specialist", and "banking consultant." Maybe it's just my personal biases - but I don't find this background too appealing or impressive when talking about government posts.

Conclusion

So I don't have a lot of hard facts on this one - since I don't know what the hot button "issues" are in a tax collector race and the web pages are all pretty blah - I'm judging this one more on feel. As you can tell, I think Exline is probably the better candidate here that's probably who I'm going to vote for. She's got a good resume, knows local government, and appears to be running a more successful campaign than Dils (which is going to be important if the apparently well funded Colon wins the republican race).

Local Elections: County Court Judge, Group 3

This is about the nonpartisan office County Court Judge, Group 3 for the election on August 26, 2008

Oscar A. Hotusing

Hotusing is the incumbent in this office. He was appointed by former Governor Jeb Bush in 2006. His campaign web site is fairly boring and uncontroversial as you would expect for a nonpartisan office. His background includes being a JAG officer in the army and working as an Assistant State Attorney. About the only interesting thing I could find on Hotusing was that he was the Judge on Rep. Bob Allen's solicitation trial.

Michelle Baker

Baker is the challenger in this race. According to her web site, she has been "a practicing attorney in Brevard County for 20 years." Her web site is kinda strange with odd statements like "I have wanted to be a judge for the latter part of my career--at least the past five years." Really? Wow, a whole five years, I can tell this is important to you. But seriously, the only thing interesting I found on her web site was that she speaks "at the Women’s Center to abused women" and is "a Board Member of Brevard County Legal Aid." From what I can tell, the Brevard County Legal Aid focuses on aid for domestic violence cases. That all sounds good.

Conclusion

This is a tough one because there just isn't that much information out there. Neither one of the candidates web pages are that informative. Since Hotusing was appointed by a republican and has a military background (not to mention my general distrust of all incumbents) I'm a little hesitant to recommend him. I like some of Baker's charity work (Women's abuse center, etc) but her web site is just a little strange. Since incumbents usually win anyway, I'll probably vote for Baker but if anyone has any additional information on this race please let me know - post a comment or something.

Local Elections: Judge, 18th Judicial Circuit, Group 17

Here's our next election overview for the nonpartisan office of Circuit Judge, 18th Judicial Circuit, Group 17. This is for the election on August 26, 2008.

Meryl L. Allawas

There's not a lot of information out there on judges at this level, and it's been hard finding information on both of these candidates other than what is found on their web pages. Meryl Allawas' campaign page tells us that she is currently the incumbent and that she was appointed by former Governor Jeb Bush. Prior to holding this office she was a state prosecutor specializing in child abuse and sex crimes cases.

Robert T. Burger

The challenger in this race Burger's campaign page tells us he's a "Florida Bar certified trial lawyer with 33 years of experience." We can translate this by taking a look at his law office page which tells us he's a personal injury/medical malpractice lawyer.

Conclusion

The only real interesting fact about this race is that Meryl Allawas was reprimanded by the Florida Supreme Court for "not expeditiously issuing rulings in a dozen cases." That sounds pretty serious to me. Allawas claims that she has learned from her mistakes and is now better able to handle her caseload. Burger has not hesitated to point out her reprimand on his web site and seems to be running his campaign on the theme of "I work hard." There is something just a little bit sleazy about Burger but since it's clear that Allawas has actually been incompetent... I'm think I'm going to vote for Burger.

UPDATE: Local Elections: School Board, District 5

There's a tropical storm outside so it's a good time to update the old blog.

Good news when it comes to this election... I was driving home the other day and noticed the Stuart Rowan signs all had an additional piece of paper attached to them that said something along the lines of "Endorsed by the Brevard Federation of Teachers."

According to Hannah, BFT is the largest teachers union in this area and is the local branch of the Florida Education Association (FEA). To my knowledge there are essentially two large national teachers unions in this country: The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which is a part of the ALF-CIO and the National Education Association (NEA). While at USC, Hannah was a member of NEA and she seems to trust them. She says she doesn't know as much about the AFT. We're a bit confused about the FEA because according to their web site they are affiliated with both the NEA and the AFT. Regardless of who the BFT really is, an endorsement by them is almost definitely a very good thing.

So I'm about this write this post and I'm referring back to my original post on the subject and I notice that someone has left a few comments. Guess what... It's Stuart Rowan himself!

Ben: This is the guy with the bad tie! (Sorry, I was warned!) I do not support vouchers, I am in favor or holding charters accountable for both their finances and product. I am also a firm believer in the seperation of church and state. The Science classroom should teach science and all of its corroborating theories, and our churches should teach Faith and all of its corroborating lessons. I am endorsed by the BFT (Brevard Federation of Teachers) and by BASA (Brevard Association of School Administrators.) Sorry, the tie thing is without explanation. drop me an e mail. Sturow@aol.com

I'm glad he seems to have a good sense of humor about my tie joke but more importantly, he firmly states his belief in the separation of church and state. So, I think I feel pretty good about voting for Rowan and I encourage everyone else to do so as well.

Local Elections: School Board, District 5

So from now on I'm going to attempt to post my research on local elections. Most people don't pay much attention to local issues so I figure this can add some value to the blog. To start off, we'll be looking at races in the Democratic primary for Brevard County, FL taking place August 26, 2008.

First off: the Non-Partisan office, School Board Member, District 5.

Margie Kinder

Wow, this one is a doozy. DO NOT vote for this lady... please, I'm begging you. Why? Well for starters, check out her myspace page. This is impossible to read! And what's with the babies? That's just creepy. But seriously, bad myspace formatting aside, if you keep scrolling you'll eventually see pictures of Charlie Christ (UPDATE: and Mitt Romney!) at a Young Republicans meeting and someone called the "Fair Tax Babe." Ok... yeah, this is scary. But it's the school board right... a nonpartisian position... I mean, her campaign page probably isn't that bad.

NOPE! Check out some of these "issues":

• I support charter and Magnet schools as a way to promote public school choice (Pretty good so far...) and the school voucher program (No! ahh, fail) as a way to promte competition between public and private schools.
• I oppose the adoptions of text books that include historical revisions or political correctness. (What does this mean? "Politically correct" is usually a republican code word)
• I oppose the concept of "social promotion"
• I oppose the involuntary use of teachers' union dues to support or fund candidate for politcial oice (Yes, this is copied straight from her web site) or their campaigns.
• I support the "Be there Program" for the increase of parent involvement. I DO NOT believe it takes a village to raies a child as my opponent Andy Zeigler states on his brochures and website. (Really, Zeigler says that? Wow, I might vote for him now)
  
• I oppose state income taxes. (What does this have to do with the School Board?)
  
• I support less government and bureaucracy. (Yes, clearly we spend too much on education...)

So yeah, please, don't vote for her.

Stuart Rowan

Ok, first off, I'm not sure I can vote for a guy who wears this tie:

But seriously, about all I can find on this guy is that he's an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene which is an evangelical denomination. While I find all evangelicals scary, I think this is especially scary when you're talking about a position like the school board. His campaign page is rather boring and his "issues" page are things that I think most people would agree with. He's clearly playing it safe - which is more of what I expect from someone running for a local nonpartisan office. So I'm not sure what to say about this guy - could be really bad, but he might be the best of our options because this next guy...

Andy Ziegler

is even more openly religious than the Nazarene guy because he believes "we need to share our resources, training, and opportunities with all schools including Charter schools, Religious, Pre-K and Early Intervention Programs." Yeah, sounds a little unconstitutional to me - but hey - Bush has gotten away with his faith-based thing - maybe Ziegler can do it too.

On the other hand, the rest of his campaign web site is pretty uncontroversial and guess what - he's a Software Engineer (degree from FIT). He never worked for Harris but his page does say he was awarded the coveted "Harris Preferred Supplier Award." That puts him in the same category as Jabil! Wait... is that a good thing?

Conclusion

So none of these people seem like particularly good options. I'm not sure what to recommend. Hannah thinks that Rowan is the least bad. Not sure what I think... Ziegler earns points for being a SW Engineer and the whole "it takes a village" thing that Kinder attacks him for - but his religious thing is scary and Rowan's a fucking minister. We have learned one thing though: don't vote for Kinder. Really, please.