2008 elections

I'll be hosting a discussion of some of the election issues facing District 3 voters tonight at Orange Park Town Hall. It's open to the public, begins at 7, and I hope folks will come, join the conversation and hopefully leave a better-educated voter and citizen.

We'll have four guest speakers. County Commission Chairman George Bush will be there to talk about the two BCC-sponsored referendum questions on casino gambling and changing the time alcohol sales can begin on Sundays. Jane Padgett is going to be there to talk about the three Charter Amendment questions sponsored by CTLAC. Two candidates on the November 4 ballot, write-in candidate for Chairman Mike Heemer and independent District 3 BCC candidate Ron Raymond, will also be there to talk about the issues in those two elections.

Following November's election, either three or five people will stand in front of Mahogany Row on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building, raise their right hands (if they're not dyslexic) and swear an oath to, by God, do the best job they can in their new jobs as County Commissioners. Usually, they take a minute or two posing for pictures, then grab a seat in their new big, leather chair.

Between the pictures and their first official fanny print, there should be another step in the inaugural process. While the red and yellow dots from the photo flash are still swirling about on their retinas, each new County Commissioner should be grabbed about their shoulders by the largest citizen volunteers available (should be the easiest-to-fill volunteer assignments in local government history) and shaken until they return to reality.

To: Travis Cummings and Ron Raymond

Re: Election Day, November 4

Hey, fellas,

Things in the District 3 campaign got pretty quiet here on MCS after I had to drop out of the race. Then the discussions of the sheriff's race and, later on, the clerk's race got really nasty, and I sure couldn't blame any candidate who chose to avoid personal participation on the website.

But those races and that nastiness are over, it seems. So are you guys willing to join me here in a gentlemanly discussion of a few issues that concern me as a District 3 resident and voter? I promise I won't bring up animal control.

In the midst of the 2008 Clay County, State and USA Election-- The City of Green Cove Springs will have a Special Election too....When Debbie Ricks qualified in the campaign for Supervisor of Elections she provided the City of GCS with an resignation letter from her Council Seat 5 effective January 5, 2009. This requires a Special City Election and the date has been set for November 4th.  Information below is provided by the GCS City Clerk

It's nice to see George Bush taking an interest in the tom foolery going on in the SOE's Office. Story today in the TU Metro Section, the link is provided below.  Check out the last two lines, Chris Chambless who is running for SOE is part of a canvassing board overseeing the vote counting?

How can this be right, fair or even legal?  Barbara Kirkman who is supposed to operate as non partisan has publicly endorsed a candidate and has them physically working in the SOE Office and if I understand this correctly will be directly involved in the process of vote counting.  How can this be fair to the other two candidates?  I know she was sure vocal at the hearing (as were the three attorneys) about how unfair it would be for Freds would be opponents if he'd been put back on the ballot.  Where is her concern for Debbie Ricks and Stephanie Thomas? 

Clayton and Lois Dukes are folks who've been active in Clay County politics a long time.  If it's election year, the Dukes are going to throw another of their famous meet-and-greet barbecues.  This campaign season's feast is tomorrow and, as usual, it's open to every candidate and their families, along with any local citizen who'd like the opportunity to meet the folks running for various offices this year.

Folks who attended Wednesday night's candidate forum have already been invited, courtesy of County Clerk candidate Wayne Spivey, who left the impression (by saying it) that the barbecue is in honor of his candidacy.

Issue 1 - Quality of Life

District 3 County Commission candidate Ron Raymond listed the issues he believes are important in this year's Clay County elections and asked for our opinions. Well, one of my opinions is that each of the issues he mentioned deserves its own discussion, so I decided to tackle them one at a time, beginning with the nebulous "Quality of Life."

Regular folks don't talk about their "quality of life." It's a phrase invented for government, something it often attempts to study and quantify. Despite its exclusive appearance in political discussions, getting a politician to tell you exactly what he or she means when they say they'll protect your "quality of life" in return for your vote is damn-near impossible. So, let's get exact.

Bad choices. That's State Sen. Steven Geller's assessment of the Legislature's ability to set priorities. He's right, but didn't go far enough.

Try embarrassingly bad choices.

According to recently-released U.S. Census data, Florida ranks 50th in per capita spending for education. Dead freakin' last. To put that in perspective, the people in Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia and those other states we've joked at for years, can now justifiably begin laughing about ignorant Floridians. And that was the Legislature's choice before citizens approved the Amendment 1 tax cut.

If you combined all the nasty politics from all the campaigns for the various political offices on this year's ballot, it probably wouldn't match the bitterness in the race for Sheriff. That's not unusual for Clay County. Every four years, campaigns for Sheriff are almost always the nastiest.

Even here at MCS, that's the race that gets most of the comments. It's the race where candidates' children have been mentioned, and whether missing a funeral indicates that the Sheriff is uncaring. That kind of stuff doesn't belong in any campaign, but it is the unfortunate norm in the race for the county's top law enforcement position.

Grandpa McCain for President Well it’s an election year and this will be my first ever unindorsement post. I am officially not backing John McCain. Grandpa McCain as everyone knows is the republican nominee in the 2008 presidential election that will take place this fall. I am not a republican and I am certainly not a democrat. I used to be an official card carrying member of the Republican Party, however, the rampant corruption, greed and dishonesty in the Republican Party at the national and state level has led me to become an independent. Since joining the Democratic Party is simply is not an option.