PBCTP Co-Sponsors Candidate Forum for PBG City Council Election
Candidate Forum
Join us for an evening of in-depth discussion of city issues with the candidates for the March 12th election in Group 4. The seat has been vacant since former Mayor (and current candidate) David Levy resigned to run for the County Commission.
Moderated by Daniel Martell, President and CEO, of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
7:00 PM
Gardens Branch, Palm Beach County Library *
11303 Campus Drive
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
The candidates are:
For information, call 561-972-8789
This event is jointly sponsored by:
Palm Beach County Tea Party
Palm Beach Gardens Residents Coalition
PBGWatch
South Florida 912
* This program is not sponsored/endorsed by the Palm Beach County Library
Candidate Biographies
David Levy
Florida native David Levy was born in 1960 and is the owner of environmental engineering firm Southeast Remediation Technnology, and an adjunct professor in environmental geology at Palm Beach State College. He received a B.S in Geology from Florida State University, and a M.S. in Geological Services from Virginia Polytech.
He is the former Mayor of Palm Beach Gardens, and was a City Councilman from 2004 through 2012. County-wide, he chaired the League of Cities Environmental Committee, the Regional Hazardous Material Oversight Committee and the Water Resources Task Force, as well as participating with Workforce Alliance, the Biotech Land Advisory Board, and the Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council.
James D’Loughy
James D’Loughy, is a long-time resident of Palm Beach Gardens. A lawyer of over 17 years, James is the founder of AdvisorLaw PLLC, a legal firm that represents clients in complex business matters. He helps individuals and small businesses alike protect their assets, resolve conflicts, and plan for a rainy day.
James’s knowledge of politics is informed by a degree in political science as well as experience working on Capitol Hill. Having worked on corporate transparency and compliance issues, James seeks to bring a new level of ethical governance to the Palm Beach Gardens City Council.
James lives with his wife, Anne Louise, his two daughters, Fredericka and Wilhelmina, and his newborn son, Maximilian, in Frenchman’s Reserve, where he volunteers his time as a member of the community’s governing body.
Moderator Biography
Daniel Martell
Daniel Martell is President and CEO of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, a not-for-profit, non-governmental, non- partisan organization established in 1975. Its members come from all geographic areas of the county, represent all major business categories and encompass all sizes of businesses. Its mission statement is simply, “Create an environment to help business prosper.”
Mr. Martell came to the Economic Council of Palm Beach County from local sugar company, Florida Crystals Corporation as Vice President of Real Estate. His responsibilities at Florida Crystals included overseeing local government affairs, corporate land development, and real estate investments.
Beginning his career as the Director of Government and Political Affairs for the Gold Coast Builders Association, he was responsible for the regulatory and political issues confronting the home building industry in Palm Beach and Broward counties. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Florida, Juris Doctor from the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University, and obtained a Certificate of Corporate Finance from Cornell University in 2011.
February Boca Chapter Meeting Featuring Mark Meckler
Please join us Tuesday, February 5, at Embassy Suites Hotel Boca Raton, for an evening with Tea Party Patriot’s founder Mark Meckler. Mark will discuss the future of grassroots movements given the results of the November elections
Please click the button below to RSVP for the meeting.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 5:30pm buffet ($20), 6:30 Program
Embassy Suites Hotel Boca Raton
661 NW 53rd Street, Boca Raton, Florida, 33487
Meckler Bio
Mark Meckler is a genuine grassroots citizen-activist. Like most folks in the self-governance movement, he is relatively new to politics.
Mark hails from the rural foothills of northern California. He has a BA in English from San Diego State University and graduated with honors from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1988. He built a career in real estate and business law for almost a decade. Prior to his accidental entry onto the political scene, he specialized in Internet advertising law.
Mark knows what it is like to be a small business owner in America. He has owned a variety of businesses from manufacturing to food service, and has seen the legal challenges facing a wide variety of businesses across many industries.
For most of his life, Mark was not politically active. He never campaigned for, nor donated to, any candidate. Due to his distrust of both political parties, Mark has been registered as an independent for more than a decade.
Then, on February 19, 2009, Rick Santelli, a financial reporter on CNBC, issued his now famous “rant” against a government run amok, and called for a new tea party in America. Like millions of others, Mark saw that rant on the web, saw on Facebook that people actually were organizing tea parties, and decided to get involved.
On Feb. 27, 2009, Mark held the first tea party in Sacramento, California, at the state capitol. Not knowing what to expect, he arrived with his wife, his two kids, his retired parents and some handmade signs. Much to his surprise, 150 people showed up from across the societal and political spectrum. He considered it an amazing success, and he was inspired by those he met to keep organizing.
Returning home, he began networking with others around the state, and across the nation. Eventually, he was among a small core group who helped to organize the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Parties, which consisted of 850 events, and roughly 1.2 million participants spanning the country. Out of this initial surge of activity, Mark and a core group had the foresight to form Tea Party Patriots to be the go-forward entity for the tea party movement.
In 2009, Mark Meckler was one of many citizen “sparks” that helped to ignite a movement. He was the Co-Founder and a former National Coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, a group which at its peak boasted 3,200 chapters nationwide and millions of members.
Mark resigned from Tea Party Patriots in February 2009 to focus on broadening the philosophical reach of the idea of “self-governance” outside of the Tea Party movement, by founding Citizens for Self Governance.
Mark now appears regularly on television outlets as diverse as MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and the BBC. You may have seen him sparring with Chris Matthews on Hardball, or pushing back against Geraldo Rivera on Fox Business. He is highly sought after for the self-governance perspective from print and online news outlets, including theWall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Examiner,Politico and The Hill. His opinion pieces regularly run in many of the leading political outlets both on and offline.
Mark says, “I try to say what millions of American’s would say if they had the chance I’ve been given. It’s not really about my opinions, as much as it is my honest attempt to reflect what I hear from people involved in the self-governance movement all over the country.” Mark has a unique political voice, which many have said most clearly represents the citizens of this country fighting back against the incumbent machine of both political parties at all levels.
When not fighting to put the future of our nation back in the hands of self-governing citizens, Mark is an avid horseman, and lives in rural northern California with his wife Patty and two children.
661 NW 53rd Street, Boca Raton, FL 33487
February Jupiter Chapter Features Mark Meckler
Please join us Monday, February 4, at Abacoa, for an evening with Tea Party Patriot’s founder Mark Meckler. Mark will discuss the future of grassroots movements given the results of the November elections
Monday February 4, 2013
5:30pm buffet ($15), 6:30 Program
Abacoa Golf Club
105 Barbados Drive, Jupiter, Florida 33458
We have also invited municipal candidates running for election March 12th.
Please click the button below to RSVP for the meeting.
Meckler Bio
Mark Meckler
Mark Meckler is a genuine grassroots citizen-activist. Like most folks in the self-governance movement, he is relatively new to politics.
Mark hails from the rural foothills of northern California. He has a BA in English from San Diego State University and graduated with honors from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1988. He built a career in real estate and business law for almost a decade. Prior to his accidental entry onto the political scene, he specialized in Internet advertising law.
Mark knows what it is like to be a small business owner in America. He has owned a variety of businesses from manufacturing to food service, and has seen the legal challenges facing a wide variety of businesses across many industries.
For most of his life, Mark was not politically active. He never campaigned for, nor donated to, any candidate. Due to his distrust of both political parties, Mark has been registered as an independent for more than a decade.
Then, on February 19, 2009, Rick Santelli, a financial reporter on CNBC, issued his now famous “rant” against a government run amok, and called for a new tea party in America. Like millions of others, Mark saw that rant on the web, saw on Facebook that people actually were organizing tea parties, and decided to get involved.
On Feb. 27, 2009, Mark held the first tea party in Sacramento, California, at the state capitol. Not knowing what to expect, he arrived with his wife, his two kids, his retired parents and some handmade signs. Much to his surprise, 150 people showed up from across the societal and political spectrum. He considered it an amazing success, and he was inspired by those he met to keep organizing.
Returning home, he began networking with others around the state, and across the nation. Eventually, he was among a small core group who helped to organize the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Parties, which consisted of 850 events, and roughly 1.2 million participants spanning the country. Out of this initial surge of activity, Mark and a core group had the foresight to form Tea Party Patriots to be the go-forward entity for the tea party movement.
In 2009, Mark Meckler was one of many citizen “sparks” that helped to ignite a movement. He was the Co-Founder and a former National Coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, a group which at its peak boasted 3,200 chapters nationwide and millions of members.
Mark resigned from Tea Party Patriots in February 2009 to focus on broadening the philosophical reach of the idea of “self-governance” outside of the Tea Party movement, by founding Citizens for Self Governance.
Mark now appears regularly on television outlets as diverse as MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and the BBC. You may have seen him sparring with Chris Matthews on Hardball, or pushing back against Geraldo Rivera on Fox Business. He is highly sought after for the self-governance perspective from print and online news outlets, including theWall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Examiner,Politico and The Hill. His opinion pieces regularly run in many of the leading political outlets both on and offline.
Mark says, “I try to say what millions of American’s would say if they had the chance I’ve been given. It’s not really about my opinions, as much as it is my honest attempt to reflect what I hear from people involved in the self-governance movement all over the country.” Mark has a unique political voice, which many have said most clearly represents the citizens of this country fighting back against the incumbent machine of both political parties at all levels.
When not fighting to put the future of our nation back in the hands of self-governing citizens, Mark is an avid horseman, and lives in rural northern California with his wife Patty and two children.
President’s Remarks
Obama and Moderate Republicans See Conservatives as Common Enemy
Rush Limbaugh describes what’s “really going on”.
February Wellington Meeting features David D’Eugenio
Palm Beach County Tea Party Chapter meeting in Wellington
The first Wellington meeting for the New Year will be held on
DATE: February 11, 2013
PROGRAM: Our keynote speaker will be David D’Eugenio from Home Safety Academy who will be speaking about the Second Amendment and what we can do to safeguard our homes from thieves.
HomeSafety Academy’s mission is to provide superior learning opportunities for all students at all levels seeking the best courses in safety and firearm training.
It will be an extremely informative meeting, so please bring your friends and neighbors.
TIME: The buffet dinner begins at 6:00 for $15 and the meeting begins promptly at 7 PM
LOCATION:
Binks Forest Golf Club
400 Binks Forest Drive, Wellington, Florida 33414
(561)333-5731
DIRECTIONS: to the Binks Forest Golf Club:
Take FL Turnpike to Exit 97 or I-95 to Exit 69 or Military Trail or US-1 onto westbound Southern Blvd (FL-80) past Forest Hill Blvd. to Binks Forest Dr. Left on Binks Forest Dr.0.5 miles to golf club on left.
To RSVP for the event and the buffet, please click on the button below, or send an email to wellington@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org. You can also call Marion at 561-723-8596
OVERSIGHT ARCHIVE
OVERSIGHT ARCHIVE
NEWS YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE GLEANED FROM THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA
Compiled by Ed. Wolff
As more recent OVERSIGHT posts preempt older posts, those older posts are moved here to serve as a searchable resource.
Please send any comments you have to: oversight@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org.
OVERSIGHT CONTRIBUTORS
The people involved in the oversight activities and the initials used to identify their contributions are:
Joe Burge – J.B.; Marion Frank – M.F.; Mickey Gallagher – M.G.; Barbara, Mel Grossman – B.M.G.; Sally Schmiedl – S.S.; Carol Wagner – C.W.
This report does not represent any official positions of the Palm Beach County Tea Party
For Later Posts Go to OVERSIGHT.
The more recent archived information, reported first, includes:
The Oversight Archive file has grown to the size where it causes a problem for the web site.
Accordingly, it has been broken up into pieces. The pieces are
OVERSIGHT ARCHIVE, OCT-DEC 2014.
OVERSIGHT ARCHIVE, JUL-SEP 2014
OVERSIGHT ARCHIVE, APR-JUN 2014
OVERSIGHT ARCHIVE, JAN-MAR 2014
OVERSIGHT ARCHIVE, JUL-DEC 2013
and
OVERSIGHT ARCHIVE, JAN-JUN 2013
Introducing Mike Riordan
Editors note: these remarks were delivered at the January 7 PBCTP meeting at Abacoa Golf Club.
Good Evening,
I realize that many of you don’t know who I am. In a moment I’ll introduce myself, but before I try, I first want to thank Pam Wohlschlegel and the board of directors. They have done a fantastic job under intense pressure and serious circumstances. Please take a moment to thank them for all they have done for this county and this country.
My name is Michael Riordan.
I think the most important thing for you to know right off the bat is that I did not vote for barrack Obama.
I was born and raised in Plymouth, MA the very place where 400 years ago the pilgrims, fleeing religious persecution in England, first set foot on American soil. It is known as America’s home town.
I was educated in public schools where the teachers still taught the Constitution and about American Exceptionalism. I went to college at Boston University where I began to study political science and where American Exceptionalism was starting to be called American Arrogance. I switched majors and graduated with a degree in Public Relations. However, I did not use it right away. Instead I returned to my high school. I became a special education teacher of students with moderate to severe disabilities.
I spent almost a decade in the Plymouth Public Schools, but it was my last three years that plays a major role in why I am here. Through a series of events I still can’t quite figure out, I became the full time president of one of the largest public teacher’s unions in the state of Massachusetts. Along with a phenomenal executive board, I spent three years building and reorganizing that union into a formidable force in local and state politics.
It was a well-kept secret that I was a conservative and when I realized the true goals of the public sector unions . . . I resigned. I moved to Florida to begin a new life. I started a small, PR and Marketing business with my sister.
And that, in short, is who I am.
But it doesn’t answer the question of why I am standing in front of you now.
I suppose I am here for the same reasons that you are here. I believe that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States are the greatest documents ever written. I believe they are miracles of human thought and evolution. I believe that the constitution is the roadmap to freedom and prosperity for all mankind. I believe that it is a document that has created the greatest country, the greatest people and the greatest standard of living the world has ever seen. And, I believe that this document, this miracle, is under attack. I am here, to join with you, to protect it.
On Election Day, when it became clear that the greatest country on Earth had re-elected a man who has shown no respect for the constitution or its principles, I was crushed. I resigned to keep my head down. We had lost. I was going to remove myself and my thoughts from politics. Finally, I was going to join the blissful masses and divert my attention to more important things like Jersey Shore and Honey BooBoo. And I was going to call my friends up and talk about it on my shiny, new Obama phone.
But then something happened. Terry Gallagher and the rest of the board approached me after the last Tea Party Meeting.
Unfortunately, my escape into ignorance was halted when they asked me to take over for Pam.
I declined at first, but I went home. I thought about the men and women who have come before us and I thought of their sacrifices. . . many we know. Names like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln are well known to us. . . But many names we don’t know.
I decided that to turn away now would be to dishonor the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice on foreign soil. To turn away now would be to deny the dreams of the countless families who, for hundreds of years, have left everything they had and braved the oceans to reach our shores.
To turn away now would be a betrayal of the human soul and its absolute need to be free. To turn away now would be the guaranteed end of everything this country has ever stood for.
The choice was simple: lay down and hope for a good life, or stand up and fight for it. I am standing in front of you today because my mother and father did not raise a coward. AND, I suppose, neither did yours. So we will stand together.
But now, the question becomes . . . How? That, I’m afraid, is not so easy to answer.
There are two mistakes that we cannot allow ourselves to make. The first mistake would be to assume that our opponents are not capable simply because we disagree with their views. They won. We lost. They have a message that appeals to the masses. We don’t. That must change.
The second mistake would be to underestimate the levels to which our opponents will sink to get what they want. They will lie and cheat. They will use fear and propaganda. They will use perversions of the law to tie us in knots. They will use guilt and the good, compassionate nature of the American people to advance their agenda. They will produce despair and poverty and they will sell it as hope and change. They will be relentless.
I want to be clear: we will never stoop to those lows, but we must understand them. We must be prepared. We must accept that we play by the rules, but the playing field is not level. We cannot meet every month only to tell each other horror stories and scream that the sky is falling. We must be the beacon of hope, the heralds of freedom, the sources of truth. We must be teachers. We must remind people that this is the greatest country in the history of the planet. We must stay true to our 3 tenants, but we must communicate them better.
We believe in three things: Constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility and free markets. It is a truth, a sad truth, but those 3 beliefs do not mean the same things to all people.
We have to adapt. We have to communicate better. We must work with other groups . . . together . . . without ego or quarrel. For united we WILL stand.
I know that it seems bleak right now. Many of us see a future coming that is disheartening: A future where, for the first time in American History, our children will not have better lives than we have had . . . a future where our best days are behind us. In moments of doubt, in moments of weakness, I see that future.
But it is not our future. We are Americans. We are free to choose our future and that . . . IS . . . NOT. . . IT.
Our future is the realization of the dreams of our forefathers, ours is a future of hope. Our future is a future of prosperity. It is a future where America is the solution, not the problem. It is a future where America is an inspiration to freedom loving men and women the world over, not just those who live within our borders. Our future is bright. Our future is free.
I thank you . . . from the bottom of my heart . . . for allowing me to be a part of that future with you.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Michael Riordan
PBCTP Kicks of the New Year with New Leadership
In its 2013 kickoff meeting, the Palm Beach County Tea Party introduced its new leadership to a good sized crowd at the Abacoa Golf Club last evening.
The meeting was called to order by new Jupiter chapter leader Laura Hanley, a local business owner and long time tea party member who was also a candidate for County Commission last year. Laura then passed the microphone to co-founder Mel Grossman who introduced the new county coordinator Michael Riordan.
Mike comes to us with an interesting background. A public relations practioner and local business owner, he started his career teaching special needs children in Massachusetts and did a three year stint as head of their Teacher’s Union. Organizing for political action is nothing new for Mike. In his remarks, he laid out the challenges and opportunities facing us after the not so successful election of 2012. Honing the message of the three principles – consitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets, will be his primary focus. Getting all tea party members to internalize these principles and be able to explain them succinctly to friends and neighbors as well as the public at large is our task. (For the text of Mike’s remarks see: Introducing Mike Riordan)
Dominique Feldman
Mike then introduced the new Communications Director Dominique Feldman. Like Laura and Mike, Dominique is also a local business owner. Active in political campaigns in 2012, she is a familiar face having led seminars on social media for the South Florida 912 and other groups. In her PBCTP role, Dominque will use her MBA and technology skills in efficiently honing and disseminating our messsage.
Also at the meeting was the new chapter leader for Wellington, Marion Frank. Marion has been active in the PBCTP for quite a while and brings her insight as a healthcare professional to the fight against the government takeover of medicine.
As the group moves into 2013, the initial focus will be in three areas – communicating the conservative message led by Dominque, fundraising led by Terry Brady, and government oversight led by Ed Wolff. Volunteers for these committees are sought – contact info@palmbeachcountyteaparty.org for more information.
The February meeting will feature a forum for canididates in local municipal elections. Stay tuned for details.
Some pictures from the event:
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