Vote NO on PBG Ballot Questions !!
On March 13, there will be a Palm Beach Gardens Election with four ballot questions related to the city charter. There are no candidates on the ballot this year.
These questions, if passed, will have the effect of seriously weakening the term limits that we so dearly won in 2014.
You may have heard there is controversy about misleading wording on some of the questions, and a city resident has filed a lawsuit to challenge the language as dishonest. If the lawsuit is successful, voters will be told that the results will not count. It is too late to change the questions and absentee ballots have already been mailed.
It is difficult to tell from the ballot language what a yes or no vote really means, but here is our synopsis:
A YES on question 1 replaces much of the charter language to “clean it up” and bring it into line with state law. It also drops the requirement for city manager annual review, lets him (or her) live outside the city, throws out the votes for a candidate when they drop out of a race late, removes the requirement for charter reviews and many other things that go beyond “fixup”. Because there are so many substantive changes under the false guide of “fixup”, we urge you to VOTE NO ON 1.
A YES on question 2 extends council term limits from the current 2 terms of 3 years (6 total – adopted in 2014) to 3 terms of 3 years (9 total). Since this changes the rules for the current council (who would not be there if not for term limits), a very self-serving move, we urge you to VOTE NO ON 2.
A YES on question 3 allows council members to run again after their term limits are reached if they wait three years. Since this would have the effect of throwing out the 4th District Court of Appeals judgement in the Woods case, which ruled that term limited councilmen cannot run again, we urge you to VOTE NO ON 3.
A YES on question 4 drops the requirement for “majority wins” (50% + 1) in council elections. In a race with 3 or more candidates, the candidate with the most votes wins – even if it is only a small percentage of the votes cast. Since this “Incumbent Protection Act” makes it easier for incumbents with name recognition to split the opposition vote by encouraging a larger field to counter challengers, we urge you to VOTE NO ON 4.
For the actual ballot language see: SAMPLE BALLOT
With no candidates on the ballot it is expected to be a low turnout – perhaps 1000 voters or so. Keep in mind that when term limits were adopted in November 2014 – 20,000 people voted and over 16,000 voted for 2 terms of 3 years. If you think it is unfair for a handful of people to overturn the will of 16,000, then GET OUT AND VOTE ON MARCH 13.
For more information, see: PBGWatch.com
TPP Call – 2/11/18
1. Constitution Minute- Chris Wright
Talked about a liberal (Ryan Cooper) proposal to dump the Constitution. In essence, garbage ideas.
2. D.C. Report-Pascoe
– Very quickly mentioned recent house/senate activities. Net result; two year funding bill passed and President signed. (See item III).
– Two new confirmations by the senate
– DACA is not resolved; being debated
– McCabe removed from FBI
3.- TPP Update-JBM
– TPP ad released; opinion Rosenstein is less than competent and misuses political power.
– Urged use of Twitter accounts to stop amnesty and several other obama initiated programs.
– Importance of Chip Roy’s election in November to help maintain house control.
– The new budget; massive spending increases.
4. November Election, Pascoe: A detailed discussion on the probable results. His conclusion is that the Republicans will not lose their majority to the democrats. The reason: the Republicans were able to gerrymander a large number of state districts after they won control of these states in the last election.
Derek Hankerson on Trump vs. Reagan
Is Donald Trump the return of Ronald Reagan? How are they similar and how do they differ?
Speaking at the Abacoa meeting on Monday, Derek Boyd Hankerson, who was the NE Florida Regional Coordinator for the President in the 2016 election, made the case that they are much more similar than many would admit.
Getting his start in politics for the 1984 Reagan-Bush ticket, he did opposition research for the legendary Lee Atwater. A good start, given that campaign’s 49 state blowout win over Walter Mondale.
Obviously, President Trump is something new in American politics, but he shares with Reagan many characteristics that make both men different from “typical” politicians. Both have roots in the entertainment industry – Trump as producer and star of the Apprentice and many years of beauty pageants, and Reagan as a prolific movie star and television host of “Death Valley Days” and “General Electric Theater”. Both were elected in times when people were calling out for radical change from their far left predecessors. Both were dismissed by the media and other politicians as lightweights who could not win a national election, and both were considered at the same time extreme and simplistic.
The two men shared deep passions and held strong principles and they were persistent in selling their agenda. Both were Democrats before they were Republicans, and both were divorced. On policy, they both favor a strong national defense, protected gun rights, low taxes and fewer regulations. Both believe that America is an exceptional country and would “Make America Great Again”.
Derek then suggested some differences between their presidencies. Trump was a newcomer to politics whereas Reagan had been Governor of California and President of the Screen Actor’s Guild. Significantly in the 36 years between, communications technology has changed enough to provide President Trump an advantage that Reagan lacked – the ability to circumvent the liberal media in a direct way and every day. Trump’s mastery of all types of media, particularly Twitter and cable news, allows him to eliminate the gatekeepers. Furthermore, his showman’s instincts let him “mess up the heads” of his detractors in a way that has never before been practiced.
Derek ended with the goal that we all share – “Trump 2020!”
Dawn Witherspoon
There were several other speakers at this meeting, including Dawn Witherspoon. Dawn’s husband, a local paramedic, was killed in an auto accident by a drunk illegal immigrant from Guatemala. She told a compelling tale of the considerable resources that are available in the area, particularly Jupiter, to aide illegals, but very little assistance is available for their victims. When her husband’s killer was about to be released by a judge on $5000 bond, to then disappear into the illegal community or leave the country, she reached out to Representative Brian Mast who was able to get an ICE hold on him.
Her story is very timely given the recent news of the death of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. He was also killed by a drunken illegal immigrant, who had also been deported multiple times.
There were also several short remarks from other speakers. Governor candidate Bob White introduced himself. Iris Scheibl spoke about the March election in Palm Beach Gardens that will present 4 changes to the charter – including a weakening of term limits (Vote no on all 4 questions!!). David Caulkett of FLIMEN described for us the upcoming meeting regarding the Florida Constitution Revision Commission. Gardens councilman Matthew Lane spoke about his approach to evaluating city contracts.
Upcoming meetings will include a forum for Governor candidates on April 2, and the Tax Day Tea Party rally in Wellington on 4/15.
