Ballot Box
OK, OK, I got the message. You want some guidance at the ballot box. Here are some observations that I have made and I look forward to your contributions to this task. In some cases we are able to offer a more defined suggestion for a candidate or issue. In other instances I have made observations for your consideration when placing your vote. In either case I hope this “BALLOT BOX” will assist you.
November 2010 Ballot
For Florida Supreme Court:
We all know the final outcome resulted in a 5 to 2 ruling against placing the Florida Healthcare Freedom Initiative back on the ballot, thus eliminating our chance to choose whether we wish to participate in the government run healthcare program, at least for now. Four of the 7 Supreme Court Judges are on the ballot this year in November.
We owe it to everyone across the state to let them know that Canady and Polston are the only ones who voted to keep Amendment 9 (healthcare) on the ballot. The rest of this Supreme Court need to be defeated. This year we can vote out Labarga and Perry (see below). They didn't say one word during the entire argument, which meant they had their minds made up before they even entered that courtroom and protecting their backsides for the November election through their silence. Shameful. What are the Florida residents paying them for if they don't even engage in the courtroom discussion. We sat in that courtroom and witnessed this firsthand.
So: Canady yes to keep
Labarge no (not retained)
Perry no (not retained)
Polston yes
Research on the 7 Judges up for retention on the 1st Dist. Appeals Court.
Hat tip to Paula Helton for doing this excellent research:
For what it's worth I've spent time this morning doing a little research into the 7 judges up for retention on appeals court. Below is what I have come up with:
Nikki Clark - (yes) Crist appointment. Prior to being appointed to appeals court she was one of the judges ruling against the Gore camp trying to overturn FL election results. I didn't find anything in the negative on her.
Paul Hawkes - (yes) Bush appointment. He is very pro family and pro life. Found nothing negative except ACLU and feminist groups don't like him. That's a plus in my book.
Charles Kahn - (no) Chiles appointment. He was involved in the Childers scandal and was forced to step down as Chief Judge in 2006 on charges of misconduct. He's a big no for me.
Phil Padovano - (yes) Bush appointee. Very pro life, pro family disliked by liberal feminists groups. Again, that's a plus for me.
Lori Rowe - (no) Crist appointee. She was endorsed by the NAACP as an "activist" judge. She's a no for me.
Kent Wetherell - (yes) Crist appointee. During his time as an Administrative Judge he made very constitutional rulings. To some his negative is being T.K. Wetherell's son. I think he's a conservative and should stay.
Jim Wolf - (yes) Martinez appointee. Very conservative, pro life and pro family. Found nothing negative
Amendments to Florida Constitution and the North Lake TEA Party Recommendations:
AMENDMENT 1: Recommended vote “YES”:
This Amendment repeals the State funding for political campaigns. A “Yes” vote is to vote for the repeal of State funding of political campaigns.
AMENDMENT 2: Recommended vote; “consider the following before voting”:
This amendment would grant an additional $25,000 homestead exemption to military homeowners “DEPLOYED”. While most people want to give our military all we possibly can, in the amendment there is no definition of the term “deployed”. Then there is a complex formula for determining the amount of the homestead exemption. Consider two problems for our tax assessors; 1) When is a military person “deployed” and what does that mean? 2) Determining when the “deployment” ends and calculating the amount of the homestead exemption. We believe passing of this amendment would open the door for lawsuits because of weak language.
Abiding by this amendment would cause additional bureaucracy in our local government in order to calculate the benefit. As a republic should we not petition our legislators to institute this benefit to our military rather than amend our state constitution? As you might imagine, discussion of this amendment was spirited and lengthy.
AMENDMENT 3: Stricken from the ballot.
AMENDMENT 4: Recommended vote “NO”:
This amendment would require a public vote for any land use changes. It was tried in St. Pete Beach and the city literally ground to a halt where any land use change was required. The amendment is backed by anti-growth groups, the Sierra Club, and numerous adult entertainment businesses. It is conceivable that voters would be called upon to vote on up to 200 land use changes at a time. Issues would either wait until the next election, or a special election would have to be called. You can see how passing this amendment would stifle growth. For additional details we recommend www.florida2010.org.
AMENDMENTS 5 and 6: Recommended vote “NO”:
These amendments affect redistricting of State and Federal legislative districts. The amendments are put forth by “fairdistrictsflorida.org” George Soros’ organization, SEIU and other labor unions. The amendments are complex, but if these organizations and people are for them, they are not good for the conservative cause.
Challenges to redistricting would be many and decided in the courts rather than by our legislators who represent the people. Here again this amendment would give authority to the courts rather than legislators and further distance us from We The People.
AMENDMENT 7: Scrubbed from the ballot by courts.
AMENDMENT 8: Recommended vote “YES”:
This amendment deals with maximum class size of schools. Under current State law, maximum class sizes of Pre K- 3rd grade is 18 students; grades 4-8 is 22 students; grades 9-12 is 25 students. There is an additional limitation relating a maximum number in a particular subject. These numbers are absolute and require the formation of an additional class if even one additional student is admitted during the course of the year. Amendment 8 raises class sizes Pre K-3rd grade to 21; grades 4-8 to 27; grades 9-12 to 30. Obviously, the teacher’s union is against this amendment. As I write this note, I wonder why an amendment to the State Constitution is required for this action. Do we have no faith in our legislators? Oops, sorry I asked.
November 2010 Ballot
For Florida Supreme Court:
We all know the final outcome resulted in a 5 to 2 ruling against placing the Florida Healthcare Freedom Initiative back on the ballot, thus eliminating our chance to choose whether we wish to participate in the government run healthcare program, at least for now. Four of the 7 Supreme Court Judges are on the ballot this year in November.
We owe it to everyone across the state to let them know that Canady and Polston are the only ones who voted to keep Amendment 9 (healthcare) on the ballot. The rest of this Supreme Court need to be defeated. This year we can vote out Labarga and Perry (see below). They didn't say one word during the entire argument, which meant they had their minds made up before they even entered that courtroom and protecting their backsides for the November election through their silence. Shameful. What are the Florida residents paying them for if they don't even engage in the courtroom discussion. We sat in that courtroom and witnessed this firsthand.
So: Canady yes to keep
Labarge no (not retained)
Perry no (not retained)
Polston yes
Research on the 7 Judges up for retention on the 1st Dist. Appeals Court.
Hat tip to Paula Helton for doing this excellent research:
For what it's worth I've spent time this morning doing a little research into the 7 judges up for retention on appeals court. Below is what I have come up with:
Nikki Clark - (yes) Crist appointment. Prior to being appointed to appeals court she was one of the judges ruling against the Gore camp trying to overturn FL election results. I didn't find anything in the negative on her.
Paul Hawkes - (yes) Bush appointment. He is very pro family and pro life. Found nothing negative except ACLU and feminist groups don't like him. That's a plus in my book.
Charles Kahn - (no) Chiles appointment. He was involved in the Childers scandal and was forced to step down as Chief Judge in 2006 on charges of misconduct. He's a big no for me.
Phil Padovano - (yes) Bush appointee. Very pro life, pro family disliked by liberal feminists groups. Again, that's a plus for me.
Lori Rowe - (no) Crist appointee. She was endorsed by the NAACP as an "activist" judge. She's a no for me.
Kent Wetherell - (yes) Crist appointee. During his time as an Administrative Judge he made very constitutional rulings. To some his negative is being T.K. Wetherell's son. I think he's a conservative and should stay.
Jim Wolf - (yes) Martinez appointee. Very conservative, pro life and pro family. Found nothing negative
Amendments to Florida Constitution and the North Lake TEA Party Recommendations:
AMENDMENT 1: Recommended vote “YES”:
This Amendment repeals the State funding for political campaigns. A “Yes” vote is to vote for the repeal of State funding of political campaigns.
AMENDMENT 2: Recommended vote; “consider the following before voting”:
This amendment would grant an additional $25,000 homestead exemption to military homeowners “DEPLOYED”. While most people want to give our military all we possibly can, in the amendment there is no definition of the term “deployed”. Then there is a complex formula for determining the amount of the homestead exemption. Consider two problems for our tax assessors; 1) When is a military person “deployed” and what does that mean? 2) Determining when the “deployment” ends and calculating the amount of the homestead exemption. We believe passing of this amendment would open the door for lawsuits because of weak language.
Abiding by this amendment would cause additional bureaucracy in our local government in order to calculate the benefit. As a republic should we not petition our legislators to institute this benefit to our military rather than amend our state constitution? As you might imagine, discussion of this amendment was spirited and lengthy.
AMENDMENT 3: Stricken from the ballot.
AMENDMENT 4: Recommended vote “NO”:
This amendment would require a public vote for any land use changes. It was tried in St. Pete Beach and the city literally ground to a halt where any land use change was required. The amendment is backed by anti-growth groups, the Sierra Club, and numerous adult entertainment businesses. It is conceivable that voters would be called upon to vote on up to 200 land use changes at a time. Issues would either wait until the next election, or a special election would have to be called. You can see how passing this amendment would stifle growth. For additional details we recommend www.florida2010.org.
AMENDMENTS 5 and 6: Recommended vote “NO”:
These amendments affect redistricting of State and Federal legislative districts. The amendments are put forth by “fairdistrictsflorida.org” George Soros’ organization, SEIU and other labor unions. The amendments are complex, but if these organizations and people are for them, they are not good for the conservative cause.
Challenges to redistricting would be many and decided in the courts rather than by our legislators who represent the people. Here again this amendment would give authority to the courts rather than legislators and further distance us from We The People.
AMENDMENT 7: Scrubbed from the ballot by courts.
AMENDMENT 8: Recommended vote “YES”:
This amendment deals with maximum class size of schools. Under current State law, maximum class sizes of Pre K- 3rd grade is 18 students; grades 4-8 is 22 students; grades 9-12 is 25 students. There is an additional limitation relating a maximum number in a particular subject. These numbers are absolute and require the formation of an additional class if even one additional student is admitted during the course of the year. Amendment 8 raises class sizes Pre K-3rd grade to 21; grades 4-8 to 27; grades 9-12 to 30. Obviously, the teacher’s union is against this amendment. As I write this note, I wonder why an amendment to the State Constitution is required for this action. Do we have no faith in our legislators? Oops, sorry I asked.
