Get involved in your village, town or city. And don’t forget to vote on Tuesday!
We’d publicized a panel on A Six Pillars Forum: Beyond the Local Vote. How do Municipal Elections Affect our Daily Lives?
The intent of the forum was to inform people about the importance of municipal elections – as typically in Palm Beach County, turnout is around 12% every year. A very few voters are determining what happens to you on a daily level. The goal was to both stimulate turnout, encourage attendees to get more involved via boards and to run for office. We also wanted to explore the inhibitors to participation. My personal goal is to see that all incumbents have an opponent. On the filing deadline of 2/14/12 – 44 people got ‘elected’ automatically because no one opposed them. Is that good? Is that why we get the government we deserve?
Many people worked hard to pull the meeting together in a short timeframe.
Our panelists – Steven Abrams – Vice-Chair and County Commissioner District 4, represented the view of one who has served as a city council member, mayor, and now County Commissioner; Michael Bornstein, Town Manager, Lantana, represented the view of those who run the municipalities; and Dennis Grady, President, Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, represented the business communities. Our moderator was Craig Agranoff, author of “Socially Elected: How To Win Elections Using Social Media” and award-winning CBS News Television Technology Correspondent.
Nat Roberts, board chair of the Economic Council kicked off the meeting with a brief history of the Six Pillars effort. Craig took it from there. Each of the panelists answered several questions by Craig in depth and then we quickly moved to audience questions – with a fairly free form format that worked well. I did not take notes, however copied the gist of the topic take-aways from notes written by Beth Kigel, Mike Jones and Steven Abrams. Subjects discussed included:
1) County and municipal commission/council meetings tend to happen in the middle of the day. Makes it difficult for citizens/residents to attend. Time limits on speakers and lack of genuine dialogue/interaction at meetings dissuades the public.
2) How to utilize HOAs to get information out to the residents?
3) How to encourage folks to get to their own municipalities websites and get informed about local issues?
4) The discussion got side-tracked a little when an audience member asked how to make voting more convenient? The panel subject was municipal elections which don’t have early voting – but most of the changes the audience explored were things that would require changes by the Florida state legislature.
5) Times have changed. In the past (eg 10-20 years ago), multiple ‘beat’ reporters covered each town meeting. Now we’re lucky if anyone is covering a meeting – usually only if a controversial topic is on the agenda. So how do we leverage social media, public access channels, other means to educate the residents and get them involved?
6) There was a brief discussion on salaries for municipal elected officials, and was that an inhibitor to people running? For the most part city officials are part-time efforts but still take a lot of time. County Commissioners are a full or almost full-time job.
7) Term limits were discussed as well. Are people discouraged by the daunting advantage an incumbent has and would term limits help that? As is often the case when the subject comes up, there are pros and cons.
And don’t foget to vote on Tuesday! Check at the Supervisor of Elections website to see what’s on the ballot!
We hope to build on the effort to stimulate citizen participation as the year proceeds. Please get involved with our county and look for future Six Pillars activities. For more information on Six Pillars go to the Florida Chamber Six Pillars Overview. The Economic Council of Palm Beach County orchestrated the county’s effort and the strategic plan for Palm Beach County can be found here.
Meet the Wellington Council Candidates
Marielena Stuart Anchors the March Jupiter Chapter
“I will take no prisoners – and neither should you.”
With that call to action, Senate candidate Marielena Stuart called on all of us to join the fight against socialism in this country. “It is the eleventh hour in this country, and about to strike midnight”. Having grown up in Cuba, with a father and uncle who fought Castro and were jailed as political prisoners, she knows socialism when she sees it, as the first phase of communism.
In a wide ranging talk that touched on both domestic and foreign policy issues, she drew attention to things that need to be part of the national conversation but have been avoided by the mainstream media and the national candidates:
- Sustainable development (which she associates with international socialism), driven by the UN Agenda 21, is a direct assault on our liberty.
- The Palestinian Authority is not just radical Islamist, it is also Marxist.
- Islamic law and politics are incompatible with our constitution and must be rejected in the US.
- The Department of Education must be cleared out and disinfected – you don’t want these people polluting your children’s minds.
- We must dismantle those federal departments that are obstacles to private sector growth, starting with the worst – the EPA.
It was a red meat speech and right on the money. We were left feeling that if Marielena Stuart is elected to the Senate, the place will never be the same again. Truly a candidate for the times.
In other business, we heard from Mel Grossman on upcoming events including the Tax Day Tea Party in Wellington, Terry Brady on fundraising, Iris Scheibl on the coming forum on How Municipal Elections affect our lives, and Barbara Samuels about the National Rally for Religious Freedom on March 23.
Local candidates for office that were introduced (in addition to Marielena Stuart) were Mike Lameyer (Florida Senate 29), Mary Lynn Magar and Calvin Turnquist (Florida House 82), Joe Talley (County Sheriff), Laura Hanley (County Commission District 1) and Lowell Levine (School Board district 1).
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Beyond the Local Vote – a Municipal Elections Forum
March Boca Chapter features Marielena Stuart
| DATE | Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 |
|---|---|
| TIME | Doors open 5:30pm. Buffet at 6pm. Meeting starts at 7pm, $15 per person (tax and gratuity included) |
| PLACE | Boca Greens Country Club 19642 Trophy Drive, Boca Raton, FL 33498 Click HERE for Map |
| RSVP | Call 561-302-1479 or click on the “RSVP” button below.
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We look forward to seeing you there!!!
Bio for Marielena Stuart
Marielena Stuart is a conservative Republican candidate for the United States Senate 2012 (FL).
Marielena was born and raised in Cuba, where she and her family suffered greatly for opposing Castro’s murderous Communist regime. Her father and uncles knew full well that Castro was a Marxist well before he took over Cuba, and they began to fight against Castro and his rebels as soon as they launched their terrorist activities in the 1950’s. Her father and uncles were imprisoned by Castro’s forces shortly after Castro took over on January 1, 1959. Her uncle became one of the longest-held political prisoners in the Western Hemisphere. Other members of her family were executed and killed fighting Castro’s Communist forces.
From 2010-2011 Marielena Stuart was immensely influential in helping defeat the establishment of an anti-life genetic facility in Southwest Florida– a project seeking millions of taxpayer dollars– which was backed by powerful land developers and government bureaucrats. Marielena Stuart’s courageous fight helped save Florida tax payers hundreds of millions of dollars. Her success in this grass-roots battle reflects Marielena’s determination to give Florida citizens the right to be heard in the public square – citizens who have long been silenced by Socialist backroom deals and bail-outs.
Marielena has been fighting against Sustainable Development in Southwest Florida since 2008. Her experience living under Communism has equipped her with the necessary knowledge and determination to fight against the United Nation’s Agenda 21 Sustainable Development– which has infiltrated our schools, local, county and state governments.
Marielena Stuart is a patriotic American who knows full well that Socialism is destroying our nation. She also knows that Sharia law has infiltrated America and our commerce– through powerful Islamic political influence.
Marielena is a popular and outspoken conservative columnist, covering military and foreign affairs– as well as other issues affecting our nation. Many of her articles can be read at RenewAmerica.com. Marielena speaks French and Spanish, and is an experienced international conference and legal interpreter. She has a world view of America– as the greatest nation on Earth.
An Opportunity to see Senate Candidate Connie Mack in NPB
The Republican Club of the
Northern Palm Beaches
Invites you for a very special evening with
United States Congressman Connie Mack,
14th District of Florida and
Candidate for United States Senate
Location: STORE Self Storage & Wine Storage
11010 N. Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens
Admission = $10 for members and $15 for non-members
Complimentary Wine Tasting and Appetizers!
Please reply to gopofnpb@gmail.com
Alex Berry on the CBS Evening News
Hispanic Americans for Romney
Santorum Boca event seems to be cancelled
NOTE: THIS EVENT NO LONGER APPEARS ON THE SANTORUM CALENDAR FOR MONDAY MORNING.
As you may know, Senator Santorum had to send surrogates to events in Florida today due to his daughter’s illness.
Santorum is currently scheduled to participate in a candidate forum organized by the Orthodox Union in Boca Raton, FL tomorrow, Monday, January 30th at 9am.
Location:
Boca Raton Synagogue
7900 Montoya Circle North
Boca Raton, FL
Prior to going to the event, I suggest that you check both Rick Santorum’s Event Calendar and the Synagogue.
Tea Party Patriots Candidate Forum
Dear Tea Party Patriot: Tea Party Patriots has invited all of the GOP Presidential candidates to a telephone townhall and straw poll this Sunday, January 29 at 8 pm est. This call is exclusively for Florida Tea Party Patriots. This may be your only chance before the primary to hear directly from the Presidential candidates. Our questions will focus on core constitutionally limited government and free markets. The questions were selected by Florida TPP Coordinators. At the end of the call you have the opportunity to let the country poll. Please join thousands of your fellow Tea Party activists and grassroots fiscal conservatives from the state of Florida. Register now. Space is limited. Once you’ve registered we will call you Sunday night and join you to the call for free.  Sincerely, |
