In Jupiter, Seven50 Presentation Becomes Town Hall

Last evening, the Jupiter chapter hosted a presentation by Phyliss Frey of the American Coalition 4 Property Rights, on the regional planning protocol known as “Seven50”.

Background: The title stands for “Seven Counties, 50 Years”, and is a work product in the area of “Regional Plans for Sustainable Development”, funded by a $4.6M HUD grant in 2010. A consortium, the developers of Seven50 formed the “South Florida Regional Partnership” to help create, support and implement the plan. Participants include local governments and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) through membership in the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) and the South Florida RPC. The plan attempts to address how to manage an expected 50% growth in population (from 6M to 9M) in the seven target counties of Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe. They have analyzed housing density, mass transit, diversity, planning and zoning and other regional attributes. The underlying assumption is a future of global climate change and rising sea levels, scarcity of energy and water, and challenges to “food security” among other things. The group’s proposals are considered advisory by many of the city and county jurisdictions that indirectly support it. Their work product can be viewed at seven50.org

Our guest speaker is a leader in the movement to challenge this planning protocol, and along with others associated with the American Coalition 4 Property Rights and many tea party activists, sees regional planning consortiums (they are all over the country, spurred on by HUD grants) as a threat to our way of life.

In her presentation, Ms. Frey used several very professional videos to make the case that the Seven50 plan would move us toward “stack ’em and pack ’em” high rise dwellings, the end of the suburbs, clusters of development along rail routes and elimination of local and county planning and zoning authority in favor of super-regional control.

Going back to the origins of “Sustainable Development” starting with the UN “Agenda 21”, she profiled the federal government’s role in implementation, starting with an executive order by George H. W. Bush, and expansion through every administration since. The Obama team has ratcheted it up a notch, using the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and HUD (Dept. of Housing and Urban Development) to promulgate a set of rules that require “neighborhood diversity” defined racially rather than economically, limits on resource use, and strings attached to federal grants flowing to local communities.

A test case and clear warning bell is provided by Westchester County, NY. A video of County Executive Rob Astorino, describing the federal lawsuits that county is struggling with, and his vow to fight back against federal overreach was a most compelling argument.

Invited to the meeting to hear the “other” side of the issue were our district 1 county commissioner Hal Valeche, Mayor Bert Premuroso and Councilman Joe Russo of Palm Beach Gardens. After the speaker made the point several times that MOUs (“Memorandums Of Understanding”) executed by local commissions and councils have limited their defense against the attacks on the local planning and zoning autonomy, Commissioner Valeche thought he needed to set the record straight. Taking the microphone to explain that the PBC commission is not constrained by Seven50 or the TCRPC, but look to groups like that as consultants and advisors. Some issues really need a regional perspective he said – like inter-county rail projects or large developments near county borders. He used the example of Avenir – the proposed development for the Vavrus Ranch in Palm Beach Gardens, as an example where TCRPC is being asked to help by collecting input from the region’s residents about such a large development in the western county.

Gardens councilman Joe Russo expanded on that, and explained that regional planning really did have a hand in developments like Abacoa, but state law has changed and it is now local rules that prevail. The Avenir development will be a decision for the Gardens Council, not the TCRPC.

Both Valeche and Russo left us with the impression that these kind of radical proposals as discussed by the speaker can happen, but only if we (and our local elected officials) let it.

At this point the meeting had become a “Town Hall” with both Hal and Phyliss taking questions from the audience.

Many were not buying that Seven50 was not a major threat though, and several called for Hal to get the PBC commission to “opt out” of Seven50, much the way that Indian River County and the city of Vero Beach have. Hal declined, saying such a motion would not pass in the current commission, and although this may be an issue in the future, currently he does not see it as an immediate issue in Palm Beach County. At one point it got raucus enough that Joel Channing, a PBCTP member who is close to the Gardens Council and is a leader in the PGA Corridor Association, made the point that “these guys are really heros” (the commissioner and councilmen) and were being unfairly criticized.

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Also present at the meeting were candidates for CD18 Ellen Andel and Ilya Katz, CD21 candidate (against Ted Deutch) Henry Colon, and Senate 32 candidate Brandon Cannon (a Republican challenging Joe Negron).

Standing Room Only at the September Wellington Meeting

Our Wellington Chapter of the Palm Beach County Tea Party held its meeting on Monday, Sept. 9th in the classroom at Total Wine in Wellington. People started arriving a full hour before the 7 PM meeting in order to get a seat. By the time the meeting started, it was standing room only.

The Chapter Coordinator, Marion Frank opened the meeting with a short discussion on Syria. She opined that the whole ordeal was a Wag The Dog scenario and was just meant to divert America’s attention away from all the scandals.

Henry Colon was called up to speak for a few minutes to introduce himself to the group. Henry is running as a Republican for Congressional District 21, the seat currently held by Ted Deutch.

Mel Grossman was formally introduced as the new President of the Palm Beach County Tea Party and he spoke for a moment about our future plans. He also spoke about the meeting we had in August with Dennis Michael Lynch, fighting the Amnesty bill with everything he’s got. We watched the beginning of Dennis’s documentary called “We Come To America, Part II”. If anybody wants to get a free copy of this chilling documentary, they can leave a message and let us know.

Janet Campbell gave an accurate accounting of what is coming with Common Core. Many Tea Partiers were hearing this information for the first time and they were shocked by what they heard. Janet offered a math example to everyone. She handed out index cards and asked everyone to multiply two compound numbers together. Most people were done in about 30 seconds and all got the correct answer. Janet then handed out the instruction sheet for Common Core way of doing the same  math problem. It involved drawing boxes and guessing. After about 4 minutes, Janet told everyone that it no longer matters if the right answer is found, as long as you show your work, the teacher cannot mark you wrong. It was also pointed out that the new American history books will skip over our Founding Fathers and begin with Abraham Lincoln. Our children in elementary school will also learn that Martin Luther King, Jr. will be labeled as a “founding father”. This was all the Tea Partiers needed to know about Common Core and all are ready to fight it in our state.

The next Tea Party meeting in Wellington will be held on Monday, October 14th.

Some pictures from Delia:

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County Tax Trends – Some Perspective

The public hearings on the county budget are Monday 9/9/13 and 9/23/13 at 6:00 PM.

Palm Beach County Tea Party Announces New President

Press Release
September 3, 2013

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The Palm Beach County Tea Party Board of Directors has elected Mel Grossman as its new President.

Mr. Grossman is a co-founder of the group, founded in 2011 as a spin off of the now defunct South Florida Tea Party, and has served as its Treasurer.

Mr. Grossman moved to Florida in October 2001 after selling his successful small business of 35 years and lives in northern Palm Beach County. He has been involved with the Tea Party efforts since 2010 and has taken an active role in grassroots activities across the county.

In a brief statement, he said:

Mel replaces former President Michael Riordan who resigned last month.

Reasons for Optimism – The “Defending the American Dream” Summit

This past weekend in Orlando, Americans for Prosperity Foundation hosted a conference for grassroots activists from around the nation.

With informative breakout sessions in the mornings to highlight successes on the state and local levels, and “big tent” events in the afternoon with national conservative leaders, there was something for everyone, including ample free time to “network”.

The “malaise” that affected many of us locally after the bitter results of the 2012 Presidential election has been pretty widespread, and organizers from many locations reported falling attendance at many of their events. Hopefully, that is now starting to change. Although we are still licking our wounds, conferences like this one demonstrate that there is still life in the conservative grassroots, we have leaders in the movement that “get it” and have the fortitude to take it to the President – to lead the fight against the train wreck that is Obamacare, the endless debt and deficits, the administration that cares little for the rule of law, the separation of powers, or the role of the states in our constitutional republic.

“It’s amazing what is possible in America“, said Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, when people are free – free to make their own choices, free from the suffocating regulations of intrusive government. He talked about education as the key for the jobs of tomorrow, and the success they have had in his state in shutting down failing schools and greatly expanding the charter school system which has done a lot to improve the lot of minority children. Last week, unfortunately, Obama’s Justice Department has decided to sue Louisiana to roll back these reforms and return students to their failing schools. Judging by his fiery critique of the President and his policies, it is clear he will stand up against our rogue Attorney General and fight to retain the success they achieved.

Our own Senator Marco Rubio declared “There is nothing wrong with America – but there is something wrong with this President“. The good news, he said, is that “we still have time to save the American Dream“, by reforming the tax code and eliminating regulations. “We don’t need Common Core”, he said, and he will not vote for any budget that funds Obamacare or to increase the debt ceiling without a balanced budget amendment and specific cuts.

Unfortunately for Senator Rubio, there is still a lot of anger in the movement about his role in passing the “gang of eight” Senate immigration bill. In the hall were members of Flimen with pink shirts that said “Pink Slip Rubio”, and throughout his speech you could hear sporadic calls for “No Amnesty”. Although he avoided this issue in the speech, he did address it in a smaller group that met with him prior to the session. In a hotel suite with about 40 supporters, after answering some questions about Syria, Obamacare and other issues for which he was among friends, someone in the back asked “what about immigration”. A hush fell across the room at this point and he had no choice but to address it with a somewhat lengthy justification that amounted to “the status quo is unacceptable so we have to do something“. To me it sounded like doubling down. Not good.

Then Arthur Brooks, President of American Enterprise Institute, succinctly summed up the Obama message: “Rich people have your stuff and I’m going to get it back for you.” This shouldn’t have worked as envy is not American, but unfortunately all our side had to say to his supporters was “You’re a moocher” – no wonder we lost. The words “fairness” and “compassion” have been kidnapped by the left and we should take them back and own them, because progressive ideology is neither fair nor compassionate. As a humorous and memorable side comment illustrating our difference in values, he recalled a bumper sticker seen in San Francisco – “Your body may be a temple but mine is an amusement park”.

Next up was Governor Rick Scott, gearing up his re-election bid with a positive jobs message. Recalling his 2010 pledge to create “700,000 jobs in 7 years”, he reported us as on-track, with the likelihood of 900,000 jobs created by 2018. Scott is still popular with the Florida grassroots, although his support for Medicaid expansion had a lot of heads scratching. We do still remember that he declined to create a state Obamacare exchange, though. A few hecklers in the audience periodically shouted “No Common Core”, reflecting dissatisfaction with the direction that our education system has taken over the last few years. Scott talked about his activities as a booster of the state’s business climate and his good-natured rivalry with Texas and Governor Rick Perry who was the last major speaker of the day.

A 2012 Presidential candidate until his campaign faltered early in the primary process, he is possibly gearing up for another run in 2016. Well known as a jobs governor, the record of the Texas economy on his watch has been very impressive. As he makes the rounds of the states selling the Texas miracle, he has gained the ire of many blue state governors who do not appreciate his pointing out the shortcomings of their performance or the failings of the Progressive economics.

On another theme, “All roads lead back to the states“, said Perry. One size fits all federal programs (like Obamacare) are anathema to the founding principles of this country. A favorite target of the Obama administration, whose ideology sees the power in the states to be a roadblock to their big government agenda, Texas is now being sued by Eric Holder and the Justice Department as they try to end-run the Supreme Court and re-impose Voting Rights Act restrictions that require federal permission for such things as Voter ID laws.

On the final day of the conference, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, another possible 2016 presidential candidate and clearly the favorite of the gathering gave us reasons for optimism. With the success of Rand Paul’s filibuster on drones, and the failure of gun control initiatives after Sandy Hook, the President was forced to “listen to the people”, he said. On Syria, with Obama now going to Congress for authorization, on immigration, on common core, – the people are making their voices heard and throwing a wrench into the Obama agenda. His job as a Senator, he says, is to restore economic growth as the lack of growth is related to all of our other problems. Tax Reform (“Abolish the IRS“), and regulatory reform (“Repeal Obamacare – every single word“) are the key. He sees Obamacare as the greatest job killer of all time and sees de-funding it in the upcoming budget process as the key. In answer to skeptics that see that tactic as a political liability for Republicans, he says “You lose 100% of the fights you surrender at the outset.” Standing ovations were frequent for this speech.

All in all, the speakers reminded us that conservatism is not “in trouble” as the mainstream media may have you believe, but resurgent and full of fire. With his agenda in tatters, the Obama team sees winning back the House and holding the Senate next year as their only chance to have a legacy of anything but failure. Any thought of compromise or even dealing with a Republican House is not is the President’s wheelhouse. Although 2014 will be a harder slog than 2010 when we took them by surprise, at the end of this conference it was clear that we have depth, we have tools and we have a maturity that comes from adversity and learning from the losses of 2012. Thanks to AFP and organizations like them, the conservative grassroots will have help and structure that will amplify our effectiveness going forward.

Dennis Michael Lynch Delivers at Jupiter

Author and producer of the films “They Come to America” and “They Come to America 2”, Dennis Michael Lynch drove the issues surrounding illegal immigration and amnesty home to a substantial crowd of several hundred at the Abacoa Golf Club.

Co-sponsored by the Palm Beach County Tea Party and the Martin County Tea Party / 912, Mr. Lynch used a series of video clips, anecdotes and personal stories to shed some light on what is really happening on our southern border, and what could happen if something like the “Gang of 8” amnesty bill were to become law.

Immigration is a complex issue, yet it is approached by politicians and the media in sound bites, misleading statements and 1200 page bills with loads of subtle consequences.

The Dream Act for example, allows for the best and brightest of illegals in our schools to remain in the country. It also provides entry for all their relatives through “chain migration”, a deal breaker for many conservatives.

H1B visas, favored by high-tech companies who need skilled workers in IT and other technical disciplines, have the side effect that the participants are effectively indentured to the company that procures their visas and consequently work for below standard wages – crowding out Americans with equal skills and credentials. (Editors Note: the Senate Immigration bill would make this worse by eliminating “middlemen” who obtain work visas for tech workers and then hire them out as contractors to the tech firms).

Senator Rubio’s claim that the newly legalized would “not get Obamacare” and other benefits is a similar problem – companies could hire these folks and not have to provide them health benefits or face Obamacare fines.

My biggest takeaway from Mr. Lynch’s many fine points concerned Barack Obama and his legacy. “It is not Obamacare for which he would most like to be remembered, but immigration reform”, he said. More than anything else, flooding the country with tens or hundreds of millions new immigrants would “fundamentally change America”, the President’s first and foremost goal.

Finally, regarding the border, enforcement, and the billions of new spending on border patrol in the “Gang of 8” bill, he said it is “not about the money”, but about the will to fix the problem. Until we have a government that has the will to act on the problem it will not be solved.

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Several elected officials joined us last evening, including District 1 County Commissioner Hal Valeche, and Juno Beach Councilwoman Ellen Andel. Ms. Andel, who is running for Congress in the crowded CD18 Republican field, was joined by Beverly Hires, a new entrant in that race, and Ilya Katz. Mr. Katz was a candidate in CD23 against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but is moving north and decided to join the CD18 race instead. Also running in that district are former state representative Carl Domino, and Alan Schlesinger , both occasional visitors to PBCTP meetings.

July at Abacoa with Senator Joe Negron and Representative Mary Lynn Magar

Representing the far northern communities of Palm Beach County, including Jupiter and Tequesta, the Republican team of Senator Joe Negron and Representative Mary Lynn Magar provided us with their perspective on this year’s legislative session and the issues of interest to the audience.

Representative Magar represents house district 82, consisting of Jupiter/Tequesta and the southern part of Martin County. Her day job is VP and General Manager of Heart Care Imaging, and she addressed the issues surrounding health care in the state, including the House decision to reject the federal medicare expansion, legislation to increase access to the medicaid program by the elderly, and assistance to those afflicted with spinal cord injury. She highlighted some of her sponsored bills in the area of helping businesses collect on bad checks, and attracting manufacturers with a sales tax moratorium on equipment purchases, which she says helps us compete with other states in the Southeast.

Taking a few questions, she promised to “look into” the core curriculum status (which was signed into law under Charley Crist and not on the session agenda this year), and she thought “local is good” regarding planning decisions under 7/50.

Senator Negron, represents district 32 – the coastal communities from Jupiter / Tequesta north to Vero Beach. He hit briefly on three topics and then took some questions in a free flowing conversation. He first discussed the “stand your ground” statute in the context of the Zimmerman case, and said he does not want to see any changes to the law. Then he mentioned his “drone bill”, which limits the use of unmanned aircraft by law enforcment except in limited circumstances, and explained it in the context of the balance between liberty and security. He also addressed the “public right to speak” bill which enables citizen input at meetings of public officials, which many cities and counties opposed.

Addressing issues of interest to the audience, he gave his view of the “tea party” – not a monolithic point of view but a decentralized body of opinion that reflects the diversity of its members. He was an early supporter of e-verify in the state (which didn’t pass), and believes that businesses should not be overly dependent on illegal labor. He explained his view of medicaid expansion (which unlike the House bill would have accepted federal money), and explained (in answer to a question) that currently Florida does not provide medical care to illegals except in the case of 1) pregnancy and delivery, and 2) emergency care.

Other items at the meeting included the announcent that current PBCTP President Mike Riordan is stepping down to focus more time on his business. The board will carry on until he can be replaced.  Member Joel Channing also introduced Mike Stetson of the Pacific Legal Foundation.  The foundation had just won the Supreme Court case Koontz v St. Johns River Water Management District and Mike spoke a little bit about the case and PLF.  He also described PLF’s ongoing case against Obamacare challenging it on the origination clause:  Now that the individual mandate has been declared a ‘tax’, the bill originated in the Senate and all taxes must originate in the House.

2014 candidates attending the meeting included Alan Schlesinger (CD18) and Brandon Cannon (FS32).

Some pictures from Fred and Ed:
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Jupiter Chapter Addresses IRS Issues

Last evening at Abacoa, the June meeting of the Jupiter Chapter addressed the national scandal surrounding the IRS and how it relates to the local tea party.

Kicked off by chapter leader Laura Hanley, the microphone was passed to President Mike Riordan who started with an overview of the IRS harassment and intimidation suffered by conservative groups since 2010. As members of the Tea Party Patriots, we are supporting their legal activity and the board is meeting with leader Jenny Beth Martin later this week.

Mostly targeted have been 501(c)(4) “social welfare” applications, a category that allows some political activity, as long as it is not the primary purpose of the group (as opposed to 501(c)(3) that does not). At the present time, PBCTP does not hold either exemption, but a decision has been made to apply for both (3) and (4) designations. As Mike pointed out, with all the Congressional and public scrutiny of the IRS, now is probably the best opportunity for a speedy decision.

A primer on how best to communicate with public officials then followed, along with some talking points on the issue, including:

• Targeting of ANY group based on political beliefs is unacceptable
• What can happen to one American can happen to ANY American
• The revenue collecting arm of the government cannot be used to target, intimidate or destroy
• We demand a full investigation into the IRS at all levels

Following some Q&A, we then heard from Ed Wolff on Oversight updates,  Fred Scheibl of the Taxpayer Action Board (TAB) about the upcoming county budget hearing next Tuesday where county staff plans to propose a tax increase, Lynne Sherrer about current activities surrounding the Common Core fight, and Jack McLain of the Constitution Party of Florida with his book “Which Way America?”

Finally, Congressional candidates in CD18 Ellen Andel and Alan Schlesinger introduced themselves to the group.

United Stand for America – Tea Party Values in Wellington

The Palm Beach County Tea Party hosted their 2013 tax day rally – United Stand for America, at the Wellington Amphitheatre on Sunday, under a bright blue sky and seasonally warm temperature. South Florida 912 and Martin County Tea Party / 912, and Americans for Prosperity were co-sponsors of the event. Moderated by PBCTP President Mike Riordan, the afternoon’s lineup of speakers covered a variety of conservative themes.

Keynote Kevin Jackson, a conservative blogger and creator of the “Black Sphere”, gave the audience some good advice. “The Republican Party” he said, “is about civil rights, but may have lost its way.”. We need to strengthen it though, not abandon it. For this two things are necessary: infuse the party with warriors, and understand that “liberalism is a disease, AND YOU CAN CATCH IT!”. He cited Colin Powell as an example of one of those who “caught it”.

Local radio personality Joyce Kaufman, heading to Washington on Tuesday to fight against the “gang of eight” immigration bill championed by Marco Rubio, told of politicians settling into office and abandoning the principles that got them elected.

Former NY radio personality Imre Beke likened the taxpayer to a pig with a wooden leg, and the politicians view that “You don’t eat a special pig like that all at one time.”.

Larry Kawa, of American Courage PAC gave us home economics analogies to the federal budget and pointed out the absurdity of the Washington stewardship of the national wealth.

Former Washington DC prosecutor Jeff Shapiro gave us insights into the current discussion of gun rights from his perspective of enforcing the DC gun ban in the pre-Heller days.

We also heard from Angela West about her new blog “Republican Coffee Corner with Angela“, PBC GOP Chair Ira Sabin, South Florida 912 Founder Shannon Armstrong, Martin County 912 leader Cindy Lucas, Republican Black Caucus leader Sean Jackson, and Leigh Lamson, the leader of the Port St. Lucie Tea Party/912.

Some pictures from the event:

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Slade O’Brien Educates Boca Crowd On Realities Of Florida Politics!

With a crystal-clear night on the back end of a Florida “cold-snap” (getting into the 40’s the day before), there was another exciting night of patriotism from the Palm Beach County Tea Party.  Though the turnout was lighter than this past month, it was an unquestionably exciting evening of brisk dialogue amongst Patriots in Boca Raton.   Slade O’Brien was the guest speaker, and his perspective as a leader of grassroots movements, and dealing with politics on the LOCAL level, was quite illuminating.  As the Florida Director of Americans For Prosperity, Slade has an extraordinary inside perspective on Florida politics, with access to all the “movers and shakers” within the political sphere in our state.

What he revealed about statewide graft and corruption in state contracts from legislators “thanking” their lobbyists and supporters who got them elected was both sickening and motivating at the same time.  Slade also updated us on the “Five For Florida” initiative that AFP began last year, and updated us on their progress.  While much has been accomplished, we have a “long road ahead”, as Slade said.

This also marked the return to Boca Greens Country Club, and exceptional venue for our group in terms of space, facilities, location, and food.  Salad, Rolls, Chicken, and Salmon was served with a Vodka Penne dish, and a yummy-looking Apple-Cobbler type of dessert (I did not partake).  It was a great crowd, populated by both familiar faces, as well as many new people.  PBCTP Co-Founders Mel and Barbara Grossman made the trip from Jupiter to be with us, as did Terry Brady.

Boca Chapter Coordinator Alex Berry began the proceedings at 7:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Carlos Manuel Santana then regaled us with his impassioned version of the National Anthem.  After the usual protocol of explaining what the PBCTP is, and what it stands for, Alex made general announcements, and then asked former Board member Francisco Rodriguez to come to the podium.  Francisco explained how he has recently published a book that addresses the critical issue of WINNING ELECTIONS, and how that starts on the local level, something we can all participate in.  And this dovetailed well with Slade O’Brien’s discussion of the “pragmatics” of politics….

Alex then introduced Slade, who held the crowd captive with a personal account of his observations on how Florida has foolishly discouraged entrepreneurial activity with miles of red tape.  He was actually very encouraging, however, because he drew parallels between what Scott Walker has done in Wisconsin, and what is possible here in Florida.

Slade followed his presentation with a boisterous “Q&A” session with the audience, moderated by Alex Berry.  Tea Party members donated the raffle prizes, and the winners were announced at the drawing, concluding the evening.

We look forward to more great meetings in 2013 for our Boca Chapter—please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our next event, which will be on April 2nd, 2013!!! Remember—we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars!  Please get involved if you aren’t yet, and STAY involved if you already are!  Remember, we are LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL BOCA TEAM LEADERS, including a Boca Chapter Coordinator (leader in Boca).  Please help out if you can!

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