LOCAL and Florida Politics

[Dale]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

 

In this case, a little study and you’d discover that the offshore oil rigs, mostly in Southern California, came about when the region was tightly controlled by the Uber-conservative Chandler family, among others.

This was the domain of the John Birchers and the birthplace of Richard Nixon and stomping grounds of St. Ronnie.

By the time the Chandlers’ LA Times (amazing how progressive the younger generations can be!)and most of the region had moved left (thanks to the draconian immigration measures of Republican governor Pete Wilson), it was far too late to reverse the contracts (or the damage from some catastrophic oil spills)..

if, however, you need more information on the topic, I’m sure local resident prahaboheme would be happy to help.

Given Skeletor was initially all too willing to do the same in Florida until even Republicans shared with him it would destroy any future in politics and he quickly backtracked, one would hardly paint the GOP as saviors of the environment (see also, the current dismantling of the EPA.)

Guess who the new John Birchers are. Hint: the party that’s checking closets for evil Russians.

[prahaboheme]

57 minutes ago, Dale said:

Guess who the new John Birchers are. Hint: the party that’s checking closets for evil Russians.

That party being the DOJ running an investigation led by a Republican who replaced a Republican.

[Dale]

11 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

That party being the DOJ running an investigation led by a Republican who replaced a Republican.

... with the new John Birchers, flag wavers and God’s chillen’s watching his every move.

[prahaboheme]

48 minutes ago, Dale said:

... with the new John Birchers, flag wavers and God’s chillen’s watching his every move.

Fox News, no doubt!

[jrs2]

^^

you guys are awesome!

[orange87]

I don't think there's conclusive proof that man plays a significant role in our changing climate. Nonetheless, I am a big supporter of renewable energy because it helps reduce air pollution. Anyway, the article says Michael Bloomberg is giving the city of Orlando $2.5 million for environmental projects. Part of the money will be spent on adding 150 electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city by 2020.

Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2019/01/11/michael-bloomberg-gives-2-5m-to-orlando-to-fight.html?iana=hpmvp_orl_news_headline

[aent]

2 hours ago, orange87 said:

I don't think there's conclusive proof that man plays a significant role in our changing climate. Nonetheless, I am a big supporter of renewable energy because it helps reduce air pollution. Anyway, the article says Michael Bloomberg is giving the city of Orlando $2.5 million for environmental projects. Part of the money will be spent on adding 150 electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city by 2020.

Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2019/01/11/michael-bloomberg-gives-2-5m-to-orlando-to-fight.html?iana=hpmvp_orl_news_headline

I'm in the same boat as you... I also hate the noise pollution, and getting a plug in hybrid and electric vehicle makes me never want to go back. That, plus never needing to go to the gas station. So much easier to plug in at home and start every day with a full "tank".

[orange87]

55 minutes ago, aent said:

I'm in the same boat as you... I also hate the noise pollution, and getting a plug in hybrid and electric vehicle makes me never want to go back. That, plus never needing to go to the gas station. So much easier to plug in at home and start every day with a full "tank".

I'm really close to buying an electric car. I feel the technology is so close, but I want to wait a little longer until the range gets better and the number of charging stations increases nationwide.

[aent]

1 hour ago, orange87 said:

I'm really close to buying an electric car. I feel the technology is so close, but I want to wait a little longer until the range gets better and the number of charging stations increases nationwide.

If you can charge at home, do it. You won't regret it. Especially Tesla, amazing vehicles and a good supercharger network. If you can't charge at home, I'd probably hold off.

[jrs2]

On 1/12/2019 at 3:41 PM, orange87 said:

I don't think there's conclusive proof that man plays a significant role in our changing climate. Nonetheless, I am a big supporter of renewable energy because it helps reduce air pollution. Anyway, the article says Michael Bloomberg is giving the city of Orlando $2.5 million for environmental projects. Part of the money will be spent on adding 150 electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city by 2020.

Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2019/01/11/michael-bloomberg-gives-2-5m-to-orlando-to-fight.html?iana=hpmvp_orl_news_headline

...maybe Bloomberg would consider giving Orlando another $200M to fund a direct link for Sunrail to OIA.  OUC is a partner in this money already...why not take it all the way?

On 1/12/2019 at 6:40 PM, orange87 said:

I'm really close to buying an electric car. I feel the technology is so close, but I want to wait a little longer until the range gets better and the number of charging stations increases nationwide.

I think Tesla offers a battery upgrade ($$$) to give you a 350 mile range.

[jrs2]

[JFW657]

Heard mention on the local news this morning that Guv'nah Desantis is supposed to make some kind of noteworthy announcement today from Kraft Azalea Gardens in WP this afternoon at 1:00 pm.

No idea what it could be in reference to.

Stay tuned...

[spenser1058]

3 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

Heard mention on the local news this morning that Guv'nah Desantis is supposed to make some kind of noteworthy announcement today from Kraft Azalea Gardens in WP this afternoon at 1:00 pm.

No idea what it could be in reference to.

Stay tuned...

Politico is suggesting something about medical marijuana which the GOP has been delaying right and left. Stay tuned...

Oh, btw, I saw a sign for a mayoral candidate for today, albeit a name and face which were both unfamiliar to me.

Given that unseating Buddy is a tough row to hoe, I guess starting 10 months before the election is a good idea.

[spenser1058]

I put this here for those who believe politics have to be placed in a hermetically sealed room (which is a bit odd because as citizens we are responsible for what happens in our Republic), but it’s vital to note that the change in politics in the Orlando MSA is pretty unprecedented and has had a huge effect on our residents.

A lot has been made about Orange County, CA, going blue in 2018. Funny thing is, they’re way behind us.

Going back to 1964, Orange County, FL was one of the few places in the country that voted for (then far right) Barry Goldwater for president. Today, we’re one of the bluest places on the map.

We’re not alone - Osceola County, once a bastion of traditional ranching values (think Texas or Wyoming) is, if anything bluer than Orange.

With this last election, suburban Seminole County, who provided many of the most conservative leaders in the Florida Legislature over the past 15 years or so, turned a lovely shade of purple.

In the MSA, only Lake County, with its large retiree population, remains reliably Republican.

You might ask how that matters to our discussions on Urban Planet? It does because many of the infrastructure goals we discuss here are directly affected by the local parties.

Had the Orange County Commission been Democratic in the 1990’s, we would not have to make do with SunRail. Instead, we’d have a full-fledged light rail system that runs 7 days a week and actually goes to International Drive.

Even before that, the heavily Republican Orange County School Board, rather than seeking funds to build decent schools for our kids, instead built dozens of “portable farms” that masqueraded as schools.

Many here often ask why our roads and transit systems are so woefully inadequate. It all goes back to right-wing provocateur Doug Guetzloe and his Ax the Tax group. Suffice it to say, the members of that outfit did not come from the Democratic Executive Committee.

Any attempt at trying to raise funds for local projects was DOA during his reign (and yes, they tried many times).

The failure to secure dedicated funding for Lynx lies at the doorstep of the predominantly Republican Orange County Commission.

There were Republicans like Glenda Hood who tried to do the right thing for the community with her tireless efforts to save light rail. Her reward? She was all but excommunicated from her party and dropped down the memory hole while her career atrophied.

I have to chuckle when one of our posters regards me as some naive liberal when in fact I was probably a member of Teen Age Republicans before that person was likely born. I actively worked for Republican candidates and know several of our most successful GOP leaders personally.

In the end, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, I did not leave the Republican Party so much as it left me. When I returned to Florida in 1983 and became active in the resurgence of downtown, it quickly became apparent the things we wanted to do to help Orlando grow would not happen in the party of Paula Hawkins and Clarence Hoenstine.

So I switched. We won’t even talk about the civil and human rights one of the political parties refused to grant me despite my many years of work in their vineyard.

I go to great lengths not to mention any political activity in Washington that does not affect us locally (although sooner or later, every issue in Congress and the White House does trickle down to us in the provinces). Things like access to visas for foreigners and immigration are especially important for us given our tourism and agricultural economy.

In the end, it’s fine to disagree - after all, the purpose of politics is to achieve the things we need by talking and avoiding violence and warfare. To pretend like it has no part in our discussions, however, is simply to ignore the facts.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by spenser1058

[aent]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I put this here for those who believe politics have to be placed in a hermetically sealed room (which is a bit odd because as citizens we are responsible for what happens in our Republic), but it’s vital to note that the change in politics in the Orlando MSA is pretty unprecedented and has had a huge effect on our residents.

 

No, we just want the topics about our buildings that generally have little to nothing to do with politics not to have snarky ass remarks in them, that if responded to, would completely derail every thread from the discussion of the construction of buildings in our metro. You aren't making comments like "The mayor pushed for this change" or other factual things, just opinions, such as...

 

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Had the Orange County Commission been Democratic in the 1990’s, we would not have to make do with SunRail. Instead, we’d have a full-fledged light rail system that runs 7 days a week and actually goes to International Drive.

 

The democrats were in power for quite some time in this state, and didn't accomplish much. And they're in power now, and I haven't even seen a peep about going back to those interested in building a maglev from the airport, infact, I heard nothing of support from our democrat mayor for that transit system, because the concern is too much to create a system for the poor instead of solving the need of moving people around the metro. The Republicans made a deal to make Sunrail happen, Brightline happen, and until John Mica was voted out, was pushing hard for the OBX line to be built as well. The simple fact is the Republicans get it done, the Democrats spend money on studies and bus lines that don't work, and just look for "dedicated sources of funding" rather then actually getting it operational.

 

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

 Even before that, the heavily Republican Orange County School Board, rather than seeking funds to build decent schools for our kids, instead built dozens of “portable farms” that masqueraded as schools.

 

I lived in a VERY liberal area at the same time the "heavily Republican Orange County School Board" and they were also building dozens of portable farms. Infact, they were even trying out "concretables" which were "permanent portables". That was just the trend among both sides at the time.

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

 Many here often ask why our roads and transit systems are so woefully inadequate. It all goes back to right-wing provocateur Doug Guetzloe and his Ax the Tax group. Suffice it to say, the members of that outfit did not come from the Democratic Executive Committee.

 

I've seen plenty of areas with less funding for roads, and they are able to have much better road systems then us. Our local road engineers unfortunately seem to just not understand how to do their jobs, because very simple modifications to the way they design and plan for the future could allow much better traffic flow then what they're doing. There seems to be a lot of NIMBYism in this area, lots of people not wanting connectivity, an awful lot from the left to push people out of cars, and on the right not wanting to increase density near their homes and concerns about the traffic problems extending closer to them. And our politicians (on both sides) have failed to lobby the state as well as every other metro in the state... we seem to have a much less complete state road system then every other metro in the state. To me, thats just a failure of the local politicians, we should be able to lobby them better then anyone else as we're the true swing area.... but we don't. I think its just a failure of our "experts" on this topic not understanding how to do their job well.

 

I think I've made my opinion clear without addressing the rest of the issues. I don't mind politics being discussed here, its no part a piece of how we get our development done and has large effects on it, as you rightly say, but I just hope it can stay to the political threads so we don't get derailed on threads about buildings...

[Dale]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I put this here for those who believe politics have to be placed in a hermetically sealed room (which is a bit odd because as citizens we are responsible for what happens in our Republic), but it’s vital to note that the change in politics in the Orlando MSA is pretty unprecedented and has had a huge effect on our residents.

A lot has been made about Orange County, CA, going blue in 2018. Funny thing is, they’re way behind us.

Going back to 1964, Orange County, FL was one of the few places in the country that voted for (then far right) Barry Goldwater for president. Today, we’re one of the bluest places on the map.

We’re not alone - Osceola County, once a bastion of traditional ranching values (think Texas or Wyoming) is, if anything bluer than Orange.

With this last election, suburban Seminole County, who provided many of the most conservative leaders in the Florida Legislature over the past 15 years or so, turned a lovely shade of purple.

In the MSA, only Lake County, with its large retiree population, remains reliably Republican.

You might ask how that matters to our discussions on Urban Planet? It does because many of the infrastructure goals we discuss here are directly affected by the local parties.

Had the Orange County Commission been Democratic in the 1990’s, we would not have to make do with SunRail. Instead, we’d have a full-fledged light rail system that runs 7 days a week and actually goes to International Drive.

Even before that, the heavily Republican Orange County School Board, rather than seeking funds to build decent schools for our kids, instead built dozens of “portable farms” that masqueraded as schools.

Many here often ask why our roads and transit systems are so woefully inadequate. It all goes back to right-wing provocateur Doug Guetzloe and his Ax the Tax group. Suffice it to say, the members of that outfit did not come from the Democratic Executive Committee.

Any attempt at trying to raise funds for local projects was DOA during his reign (and yes, they tried many times).

The failure to secure dedicated funding for Lynx lies at the doorstep of the predominantly Republican Orange County Commission.

There were Republicans like Glenda Hood who tried to do the right thing for the community with her tireless efforts to save light rail. Her reward? She was all but excommunicated from her party and dropped down the memory hole while her career atrophied.

I have to chuckle when one of our posters regards me as some naive liberal when in fact I was probably a member of Teen Age Republicans before that person was likely born. I actively worked for Republican candidates and know several of our most successful GOP leaders personally.

In the end, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, I did not leave the Republican Party so much as it left me. When I returned to Florida in 1983 and became active in the resurgence of downtown, it quickly became apparent the things we wanted to do to help Orlando grow would not happen in the party of Paula Hawkins and Clarence Hoenstine.

So I switched. We won’t even talk about the civil and human rights one of the political parties refused to grant me despite my many years of work in their vineyard.

I go to great lengths not to mention any political activity in Washington that does not affect us locally (although sooner or later, every issue in Congress and the White House does trickle down to us in the provinces). Things like access to visas for foreigners and immigration are especially important for us given our tourism and agricultural economy.

In the end, it’s fine to disagree - after all, the purpose of politics is to achieve the things we need by talking and avoiding violence and warfare. To pretend like it has no part in our discussions, however, is simply to ignore the facts.

 

 

It’s not so much that people here believe that politics should be hermetically sealed as it is that the orthodox among us (and you know who you are) believe that they should be hermetically sealed from equally pointed dissent.

Some even go so far as to hide from it.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Dale

[spenser1058]

There’s too much to unpack here without going on unnecessarily but one place I can say is fact not snark is the decision on light rail. Democratic OC Chair Linda Chapin was in favor of it, period.

Unfortunately, she was term limited out of office before the final vote. She was replaced by Republican Mel Martinez. Mel refused to lift a finger to steer his fellow party members to pass it. It failed. He went on to serve as HUD secretary under dubya two years after the vote and left town.

That’s not even mentioning the party of the president who offered us the funds in the first place.

All of those are facts.

As far as the schools go, I’ll stick to Orange County because it’s simple fact. Who spearheaded the move to increase the property and sales taxes to fix the schools?

None other than Dick Batchelor, one of the state’s most liberal voices.

If you’ll notice, I don’t deal in generalities here but specifics. 

BTW, if you want to talk about the movement in Florida politics from the Urban Moderates who worked diligently with Gov. Bob Graham to solidify growth management, protect the environment and improve the schools, and then the switch to the Conservative Democrats (they still existed then - led by former segregationist Dempsey Barron and his puppet, John Vogt) working with Republican Governor Bob Martinez and his cabinet (including a name you may know, Jeb! Bush) to dismantle all those things, I’ll be happy to have that debate with you. In case you’re wondering, those Conservative Democrats, within the next few years after that, had almost all switched parties to jump on the Jeb! bandwagon.

How do I know this? Quite simple - I was there. 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by spenser1058

[aent]

 

7 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Democratic OC Chair Linda Chapin was in favor of it, period.

Unfortunately, she was term limited out of office before the final vote.

 

10 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

There were Republicans like Glenda Hood who tried to do the right thing for the community with her tireless efforts to save light rail.

I don't claim to know about the old light rail proposals, it was pre-me-in-Orlando-times so I'm gonna have to take your word for it, but even doing so, it sounds like there were a few people who supported it on both sides. And our more recent proposals all came from the right.

I personally don't think Orlando has a real transportation funding shortage. Money seemed to be thrown at all sorts of things. SR 408 is among the best landscaped long stretches of highway I've seen (not counting short areas of other highways that are pretty around a couple exits). Our bridges all seem to be well kept, generally are all kept painted. We throw money at beautification projects, such as the faux suspension cables on 408 all the time. They even seem to paint entire jersey barriers for miles to keep with the beauty, infact, I've even seen them paint temporary ones to fit in with the color scheme. It just seems that where the focus is, not on making a well functioning transportation system, doing what it takes to get roadways connected, nor looking for simple, cheap improvements that can positively affect traffic flow.

7 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

As far as the schools go, I’ll stick to Orange County because it’s simple fact. Who spearheaded the move to increase the property and sales taxes to fix the schools?

 

 

And thats part of my problem with democrats: there is so much waste in government, but they always need new, dedicated funding sources instead of just working to redirect wasted funds to get the job done without taking more of the people's money. 

[Jernigan]

I don’t think transit supporters would require that the funding source be new, just that it be dedicated.  

[aent]

53 minutes ago, Jernigan said:

I don’t think transit supporters would require that the funding source be new, just that it be dedicated.  

So I'm curious to what that means then? My previous understanding of a "dedicated" funding source meant a tax that could only be used for that purpose, such as a 1% sales tax increase, a property tax millage increase, etc.

Also, I'm a big transit supporter. I just want it done designed to move a mass amount of people and be useful for everyone rather then as a method to help the poor. The infrequent buses that go tons of places doesn't seem to accomplish the goal of making people want to use the system, its a thing of last resort.

[spenser1058]

An interesting question to ponder: why is the upcoming Tampa mayoral race attracting nine candidates, several of whom are quite legitimate possibilities for election.

I mention this only because it’s several more than ran for Orlando mayor the last time an incumbent wasn’t running (2003) and a bunch more than ran in 2018 for Orange County Mayor.

I’m not sure of the answer but it is something I’d like to understand.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Tampa_mayoral_election

From Wiki

[spenser1058]

Interesting breakdown of Florida’s electorate. There’s upside for both parties but the Democrats continue to have a harder row to hoe to turn out their voters.

A wild card in 2020? How many of the newly eligible Amendment 4 voters will register and vote.

https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2019/01/25/trump-2020-elections-florida-1125442

From Politico

[spenser1058]

Jacksonville, Florida’s last major Republican city, went purple in 2018, but it’s gonna take several years to move much further left.

Demographics belong to the Dems but the GOP sill own the organizational process.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-political-future-of-a-changing-jacksonville/

From The Jaxson

[spenser1058]

“One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” (From the original Pledge of Allegiance)

And a reminder from an Italian company with corporate headquarters in both Europe and the U.S. But that’s fitting: we are multitudes.

 

[spenser1058]

If Tampa is any indication, Amendment 4 is going to have a significant impact on Florida elections:

https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/02/07/amendment-4-is-already-changing-tampas-electorate-heres-how/

From the St. Pete Times