LOCAL and Florida Politics

[spenser1058]

One problem that has arisen with the Mayor-and-Council for Life model aided and abetted by Buddy is that, not unlike many of the top Democratic presidential candidates this time (not to mention the Democratic congressional leadership), they’re just too darn old.

My mentor, George Stuart, Jr., first joined the Orlando City Council at age 26.

One reason. I hedged my answer about potential mayoral candidates is that the city , not unlike the old Carl Langford days, is no longer the stomping ground of new ideas for the region. It’s appropriate City Hall has a dome because it’s rather like the Vatican these days with the lack of energy.

The Florida House has a lot of talented youngsters like Anna Eskamani and Carlos G. Smith on the blue side. On the red side (from outside Orange County), the promising folks seem to become quickly enmeshed in get- rich-quick schemes more than good governance. Both sides seem to have little interest in local government .

Eric Rollings, who ran for Orange County District 3 Commissioner but lost, is the type of interested public servant who has the kind of ideas we need more of.

I’m not sure why we’ve stalled out so badly in new faces, although in Orlando there is this air that the status quo is just fine and why should anything change until the current mayor and council congeal in their chairs.

When you think of mayors like Pete Buttigeig who started at age 29, it makes one almost wistful. On the other side of the aisle, think about young congressmen like Paul Ryan.

Orlando is a relatively young city. More of our leaders should reflect that. It’s odd that they don’t.

 

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by spenser1058

[popsiclebrandon]

I always got the vibe Singh is looking for a bigger office.

There is quite the entrenchment here, its kind a weird city in how it responds to different trends. Orlando doesn't like to change much, even as it has gotten more liberal.

[spenser1058]

21 minutes ago, popsiclebrandon said:

I always got the vibe Singh is looking for a bigger office.

There is quite the entrenchment here, its kind a weird city in how it responds to different trends. Orlando doesn't like to change much, even as it has gotten more liberal.

Singh exists as a factor of the “D” behind his name in a blue county. He’s not a particularly skilled politician and hasn’t ever impressed me. He’d love to move up but unless there’s simply no other choice in his next race, I believe he is a textbook example of the Peter Principle.

It is disquieting to me that our Gen Y and millennials seem to have little interest in local politics. It’s quite different from the early ‘80’s when. I was in my 20’s. Of course, that had a lot to do with there being new blood for the first time in several years in the mayor’s office. On the city council, George Stuart, Jr was living proof you could be successful if you were young. Right now, it’s the same old - same old for four more years. In fact, I think the county commission is likely to be more dynamic than the city council.

I have a meeting next week to brainstorm about whether now is the time to finally think about consolidation. This is the first time I’ve ever seriously considered it. If nothing else, the effort would shake things up again.

Edited November 18, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

North Carolina has been following a similar path on tax cuts and reduction in state services as Kansas. The results are much the same.

Florida, of course, has been doing much the same for 20 years and, surprise, surprise we’re in the same boat.

You have to admire the consistency of the folks who keep peddling this swampwater.

https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article237364239.html

From The Charlotte News and Observer

[spenser1058]

Well. curiouser and curiouser. FL Rep Mike Caruso (R-Boca Raton) has filed a bill to prohibit local utilities from passing part of their proceeds to local governments. 

Given that Boca is a couple of hundred miles from Jax and JEA, why would a Republican seek to end what has been a valuable lifeline for Florida cities?

Given FPL is headquartered in south Florida, it seems they would prefer to take JEA private and pocket those funds instead of keeping taxes lower. Meanwhile, a la Rick Scott, legislators like Caruso can line their pockets with fees paid by private equity firms when the utility is sold.

Now you may be saying that Jacksonville isn’t our problem but it would also affect locally-owned municipal utilities like OUC and NSB. 

Let’s stop the madness.

 

[spenser1058]

There have been in my lifetime a few true statesmen in politics, those who you knew really cared more about their state or country than following a party line.

In Florida, LeRoy Collins and Reubin Askew come immediately to mind. When I moved to Tennessee, I immediately discovered another such patriot, then Governor Lamar Alexander.

It’s ironic  that the protege of Howard Baker, who in Watergate asked “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” has gone AWOL in our current situation. I am sad today.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/lamar-alexander-joins-republican-moderates-kissing-trumps-ring?ref=scroll

From The Daily Beast

[spenser1058]

I was asked what Pat Williams’ enablers, the DeVos family, are doing to destroy public education in Michigan and across the nation. Here’s a look:

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/michigan-shows-nation-not-improve-schools/

From the Nonprofit Quarterly

Next time, we’ll look at the attacks on marriage equality in Florida (DeVos) and the Orlando anti-discrimination ordinance (Williams). Sorry, but these people have no business being endorsed by a city that just crowed about a 100 rating on the HRC Municipal Equality Index.

[spenser1058]

Mayor Pete is now leading in Iowa AND New Hampshire. A $2 million ad buy is under way in SC, where he’s back in 5th place and the campaign is staffing up in Nevada.

Plenty of time to pull ahead in Florida before our March 17 presidential primary.

Have you registered yet?

Meanwhile, 6 candidates have qualified for the December debate. Andrew Yang needs one more poll - dcluley is calling all his friends to join the Yang Gang (I think...)

[spenser1058]

Even Anne Rice is all in for Mayor Pete. He owns the vampire vote!

20 PETE 20

Edited November 27, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

If you live in Orlando District 6, don’t forget to vote in tomorrow’s runoff:

Bakari Burns is facing off vs. Gary “Baggy Pants” Siplin. This is an important one!

Edited December 2, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

An interesting look by the UK’s Labour Party into the state of the privatized British passenger railways. It’s of interest to us because it includes a look at, ummm, Virgin Trains.

The vid is produced by Britain’s leftist party so keep that in mind. So far as I can determine, though, the facts seem to be correct:

 

[spenser1058]

A shoutout to the fine voters of Orlando District 6 for electing Bakari Burns as their new city commissioner.

That means Gary “Baggy Pants” Siplin will crawl back under his rock for a couple of years.

I am occasionally asked if there are Democrats I would not vote for. Siplin leads that list. 

https://twitter.com/byryangillespie/status/1202018286269014017?s=21

 

[nite owℓ]

10 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

A shoutout to the fine voters of Orlando District 6 for electing Bakari Burns as their new city commissioner.

That means Gary “Baggy Pants” Siplin will crawl back under his rock for a couple of years.

I am occasionally asked if there are Democrats I would not vote for. Siplin leads that list. 

https://twitter.com/byryangillespie/status/1202018286269014017?s=21

 

I think his initiative was referred to as "Droopy Drawers" which, if I'm being honest, was quite bold and necessary to address guys who intentionally walk around in public with a full moon on display in boxer underwear sheathing. I'm shocked to see that there are a few guys who still dress that way to this day & I don't think there's anything wrong with encouraging people to do better... or "Be Best".

I've interviewed with Bakari in the past and found him to be respectful, motivated and a visionary. I was in transition between jobs and considered working for an organization that addressed the needs of the homeless population as a way to give back to the community. I didn't get the job (reason unspecified, maybe I not a match or because I was probably seeking higher pay than they could offer). But even after all these years, something about that guy really stands out... he definitely has a certain je ne sais quoi.

It will be interesting to see how someone with heavy experience in community outreach will fare politically. I do not see him as a pushover, and my fear with those "types" is that as a cog in the wheel he will have the power to sacrifice certain developments that do not favor community outreach. Remember how Teresa Jacobs initially clashed with Buddy over DPAC and nearly jeopardized it's progression? Granted, she eventually crossed over to the dark side and allowed herself to be "molded" by them, but I can foresee situations where Bakari has the potential to be a similar kind of holdout over certain initiatives in the future. I could be talking out of my ass on this, but that's just my impression and hopefully it's just an irrational fear of mine lol.

[spenser1058]

The question with the pants issue is whether it was something a state legislator needed to be spending time on.

Nevertheless, if you like we’ll give him a pass on that. More disquieting were his shady antics of various descriptions, highlighted by video of a state senator running from a TV news crew and jumping a fence to avoid talking to them about one of his unsavory deals.

I’m sorry, but I know there are people in office dedicated to public service and he is so far from that standard I am not pleased to be in the same party with him.

Given his various unsuccessful attempts to get back in office, it seems that thankfully the voters tend to agree with me.

[nite owℓ]

5 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

The question with the pants issue is whether it was something a state legislator needed to be spending time on.

Nevertheless, if you like we’ll give him a pass on that. More disquieting were his shady antics of various descriptions, highlighted by video of a state senator running from a TV news crew and jumping a fence to avoid talking to them about one of his unsavory deals.

I’m sorry, but I know there are people in office dedicated to public service and he is so far from that standard I am not pleased to be in the same party with him.

Given his various unsuccessful attempts to get back in office, it seems that thankfully the voters tend to agree with me.

Please don't take my stance on Gary Siplin's Droopy Drawers act as some kind of endorsement on his behalf. I know very little about him and I have no idea what Siplin's or Burns' initiatives are, but it doesn't seem like the voters overwhelmingly rebuked Siplin since Burns only won by 1,000 votes. And for some reason, in my mind I confused Gary Siplin with the mild-mannered Sam Ings (sorry Sam) lol.

I had to google the video you mentioned and just from what little I've seen, I'm kind of shocked by what I've seen. He gives me the creeps.

 

[spenser1058]

35 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

Please don't take my stance on Gary Siplin's Droopy Drawers act as some kind of endorsement on his behalf. I know very little about him and I have no idea what Siplin's or Burns' initiatives are, but it doesn't seem like the voters overwhelmingly rebuked Siplin since Burns only won by 1,000 votes. And for some reason, in my mind I confused Gary Siplin with the mild-mannered Sam Ings (sorry Sam) lol.

I had to google the video you mentioned and just from what little I've seen, I'm kind of shocked by what I've seen. He gives me the creeps.

 

Sam is a great guy - I just voted for him as mayor!

Turnouts on runoff elections are usually awful so Bakari’s margin was actually pretty good.

I haven’t met him yet but he seems to be honest and hard-working. As we know, with Orlando’s strong-mayor form of government he won’t get the chance to do much, but if he represents his district well, he’ll be a success.

Edited December 4, 2019 by spenser1058

[smileguy]

3 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

Please don't take my stance on Gary Siplin's Droopy Drawers act as some kind of endorsement on his behalf. I know very little about him and I have no idea what Siplin's or Burns' initiatives are, but it doesn't seem like the voters overwhelmingly rebuked Siplin since Burns only won by 1,000 votes. And for some reason, in my mind I confused Gary Siplin with the mild-mannered Sam Ings (sorry Sam) lol.

I had to google the video you mentioned and just from what little I've seen, I'm kind of shocked by what I've seen. He gives me the creeps.

 

"only won by 1,000 votes" isn't a good characterization of the results. Burns won by 36 percentage points -- and received more than 2 votes for every vote that Siplin received. 

[nite owℓ]

1 hour ago, smileguy said:

"only won by 1,000 votes" isn't a good characterization of the results. Burns won by 36 percentage points -- and received more than 2 votes for every vote that Siplin received. 

Oops, I stand corrected.

https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2019/12/03/orlando-city-council-run-off-election-voter-turnout

Edited December 4, 2019 by nite owℓ

[spenser1058]

Scott Maxwell at the Sentinel weighs in on how awesome Bakari Burns’ victory was. Not only did he defeat ethically-challenged Gary Siiplin, but he also defeated the theme park interests that were propping up Mr. Baggy Pants’ run.

Scott also notes the good guys also won in the battle of local arts organizations vs. Kathy Ramsberger. 

Folks, it’s not hopeless. The light side of the Force can indeed prevail in Central Florida if we work at it.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-bakari-burns-beats-siplin-orlando-scott-maxwell-20191204-ci25nhyomjceppduwtobo4p5r4-story.html

[WAJAS]

On 11/17/2019 at 1:12 PM, Dale said:

This sounds like the hurry up and die meme which can’t account for young people developing minds of their own. Incidentally, I just got back from two weeks in SF and Seattle. And I can attest #Resist is strong out there. Talked to two groups of people out there, people who are not afraid register disgust about Blue policies and people a little afraid, but the disgust dribbles out.

I’m curious.  In your view, is it only a hive mind when Democrats are involved?  Does the older generation not also have a hive mind that favors conservatism?

Either way, what you refer to as the hive mind is also called a stereotypical position, which simply describes the general view of a demographic.  The only times views don’t align somewhat demographically are in extremely divided times and transitional periods.

[spenser1058]

Scott Maxwell compares the Universal $125 million road deal with the promised DeVos “community gyms” that netted the billionaire millions of tax dollars.

In both cases, it was like the billionaires and taxpayers went gold mining together. The billionaires got the gold and the taxpayers got the shaft.

https://twitter.com/scott_maxwell/status/1206622360788492288?s=21

https://twitter.com/scott_maxwell/status/1206623227558211584?s=21

 

[spenser1058]

Something you don’t see often: FL House Rep Carlos G Smith says that if he were an OC commish he’d vote against the Universal deal.

https://twitter.com/carlosgsmith/status/1206664958316089344?s=21

Legislators are usually loathe to wade into local issues like this. Given the sclerotic nature of our local governments these days, it’s good to see a politician under 60 taking up the challenge!

[spenser1058]

John “For the Workers” Morgan’s minimum wage statewide amendment is on its way to the ballot:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-minimum-wage-amendment-20191219-h6i6ikwufbgr7i7a76u66lpg6a-story.html

From the Sentinel 

[spenser1058]

The Sentinel just goes to the bottom line on the shenanigans of the Universal road deal and artificial constraints on both I-Drive’s CRA and the TDT: they call it the “rigged economy”.

The same sort of larding the barrel for the folks at the top of the food chain while letting everything else go to seed is the same sort of nonsense that led to Daytona’s current malaise starting decades ago.

I never thought our local leaders would put up with that, but they seem content to enjoy the spoils as they stay in power too long with no encouragement of new ideas from the next generation.

Tragic.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/editorials/os-op-orlando-rigged-economy-tourism-taxes-20191220-3lticytqlzfrhbfxbci3msxmaa-story.html

Edited December 20, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Well. This week, I’ve been reminded a good bit by those who are convinced that Orlando will magically overcome its lack of interest in baseball the last several decades and the corresponding fading fortunes of the teams in Miami and St. Pete with a mantra from the ‘80’s film, “Field of Dreams”: “If you build it, they will come”.

It seems I’ll now have to jump on the bandwagon also. Why? It turns out the star of the movie, Kevin Costner, is endorsing Mayor Pete for president. It must be a sign!

https://twitter.com/lis_smith/status/1208085825407209472?s=21

 

Edited December 20, 2019 by spenser1058