OK, this is a Democratic blog, so are you surprised I’m going to tell you to vote Dem up and down the ticket? But the following lists some of these races that are very important to me and you and I am telling you why I think you should vote for them---and NOT because of party bias.
This will be my last post until Wed. I will be working the election and hopefully, you will as well. Politics is important because it affects so much of our lives, so it makes sense to get involved.
Alex Sink for CFO: The race for Chief Financial Officer should be nonpartisan, but its not. Looking at both candidates, the race is so lopsided its not even funny. Alex Sink is honestly the most qualified person in the state for this job: She has over 26 years expererince in the finacical world and ran Florida’s largest bank. Her opponent has NO experience. Zilch, Nada. He is a career politician. And when asked anything complicated or financial, he resorts to attacking Alex as a liberal. How lame. Alex Sink has been endorsed by EVERY MAJOR NEWSPAPER in the state, as well as many prominent GOPers, and for good reason. The only reason Lee is doing well at all is that he is part of this years GOP slate—but if people actually take the time to look at both candidates and vote on who is best for the job, not on party line, then Alex would win in a landslide.
Jim Davis/Daryl Jones for Governor/Lt. Governor: Charlie is not a right-wing zealot like the current governor, and frankly, he’s not a bad guy. But Jim is better. The insurance companies have donated thousands to Crist, and I’m sure they are expecting something in return. Jim has a real plan to reform our FCAT, whereas Crist’s plan is to “stay the course”. Finally, for no other reason, its important to have balance. A Democratic governor will ensure the moderates instead of the zealots rule Tallahassee, as it should be. PS—to attract the extremist vote, Charlie picked one of them to be his running mate. Daryl Jones, on the other hand, has universal appeal and can stand on his own.
Jeremiah Jaspon for State Senate (District 22): Anywhere else, if a guy got two DUIs and then tried to wrangle his way out of it with a political connection, he would have been tossed out on his rear. But here in Central Florida we live in a different reality. After embarrassing himself and his constituents, Lee Constantine is still running close with Jeremiah and even got the Sentinel to endorse him. (Although the Sentinel would have endorsed him even if he had a dead body in his basement--asking the Sentinel to vote against an R incumbent is like asking the Bush GOPs to cut the deficit). I already wrote about Constantine’s legislative failures and his horrible efforts to stifle municipal Wifi at the behest of the telecommunications lobby. But for everything he is not, Jaspon is. Jeremiah has great ideas about education and drug reform, he's energetic, and has even been able to get significant support from local GOPers. He is the best man to represent all of us in the FL Senate.
Ernie Langdon for State Rep (District 33): This is one man you don’t ever need to worry about turning corrupt. He raises all his own money, and not one penny has come from Tallahassee special interests, or Miami special interestes, or, in fact, ANY special interests. This is unlike his opponent, who has raised almost all of her money from lobbyists outside of Tallahassee. It’s time this district gets somebody to represent
them for a change.
Jack Chagnon for Congress (FL-7): This former Marine officer has a great plan for energy, education, and the Iraq quagmire. It is a refreshing change than the arrogant rubber-stamp currently in office who refuses to even debate Jack-- or even talk the issues with the constituents he is supposed to be representing. Mica has supported Bush on just about everything, including “stay the course” on Iraq and refusing to fund stem-cell research. Now that Bush is unpopular you don’t hear that very much.
And look how seriously he takes his job as guardian of airport security. He actually mocked a reporter for suggesting it was a big deal if a bomb blew up at OIA. (Really--scroll down a few blogs). We need a real change. We need Jack.
Clint Curtis for Congress (FL-24): He knows election fraud first-hand, and has made that his signature issue. He has been endorsed by the Daytona Beach paper. He’s smart, knows the issues, and unlike his opponent, is willing to actually discuss them. Feeney’s entire campaign has been to smear Clint. This coming from a man who was in Abramhoff’s back pocket and was ranked MOST CORRUPT from the nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog group, CREW. Curtis is in a statistical tie with Feeney, and with your help, we can send Tom packing.
Marian Williams for Seminole Elections Supervisor: Why this is a partisan race is beyond common sense. Elections Chiefs should always be nonpartisan. But since they aren’t, you need to go with the best candidate. Marian Williams has a Leon Sancho mentality when it comes to protecting your vote. She will demand a paper trail, not just pay it lipservice; and she will have an INDEPENDENT AUDIT of all machines. She will hire bilingual translators, (which would have helped move the line along when I early voted yesterday), and expand voter education. A little more than half of the people here in Seminole are registered, which is fine by the current chief because they are mostly conservative. Marian has been nonstop in registering everyone she can, which is a commitment that should be expected of an elections official. Her opponent has embarrassed himself by sending out campaign material disguised as official mail, put up campaign signs illegally, (how should he know?), and most reprehensibly, allowing poll workers to take home electronic voting machines. Vote for the better choice Nov. 7.
AMENDMENT 3 (The amendment making you reach a supermajority to pass amendments): ONE MORE TIME!!! NO NO NO NO NO!!! I haven’t seen or heard of any endorsement for this, and the thing you need to ask yourself is this: If this is truly about “keeping our Constitution pure”, then WHO THE HELL IS PAYING FOR ALL THOSE SLICK COMMERICIALS and GIANT BILLBOARDS I see!! Yes, the special interests!!. They can squash any measure they want in Tallahassee, no matter HOW popular, because they own the legislature lock, stock, and barrel. (And since the GOP controlled legislature is so gerrymandered, the reps don’t need to be responsive to their own constituents).
So if the people want to stop cigarette smoking in public places, get smaller class sizes, or increase the minimum wage, the citizens have this avenue to bypass the corrupt legislature. IN fact, that is the big reason it is being pushed this year—to prevent a voter initiative to draw districts FAIRLY! Vote No on this amendment, or give up what has lately been the only voice we had.
There's of course other races, like the big Senate race (Go Nelson!), local ones (Go Sally McGinnis!), and ones not even in Seminole (Go Charlie Stuart!--for goodness sake, even the Orlando Sentinel had to recommend him!!).
But I trust you will make the right decisions. Get unbiased information at the League of Women Voters
www.vote411.org.
I honestly beleive that if you compare the candidates and the issues, and make an informed decision, you will vote very similar to how I did.
