THE RACES ( http://www.keys-elections.org/candidates.aspx )
COUNTY:
BOCC
Dixie's done.
Sylvia's in.
Sonny might survive the election, but only if he dos not lose the sex suit.
Too bad we can't vote AGAINST that maniac DiGennaro right now.
SHERIFF
Peryman looks the best - most qualified. Qualified trumps. The helicopter is what wins or loses this race.
CLERK OF THE COURTS
Danny Kolhage - running unopposed - Yea!
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Harry Sawyer has a great, and well-earned reputation. All his staff is well-trained, efficient, dedicated, and all have great customer-service skills. There's no reason to vote for his opponent
PROPERTY APPRAISER
Ervin Higgs is the best PA Monroe has had in years, and needs to be re-elected to continue his efforts. Chris Sante wants the job, owns a lot of property, and is totally not QUALIFIED to run anything except his rentals.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Randy's got it. Fred L Colvard is ok, but not strong enough to take out an incumbent. This is one which is going to get noisy, and probably nasty.
SCHOOL BOARD, KLWTD, KL FIRE & EMS MED DISTRICTS, MOSQUITO BOARD all kinds of activity -- too low for the radar
WASHINGTON:
House of Representatives
No more Ileana, hope she loses. We only see her when she's running. Hope Annette Taddeo wins.
STATE:
Attorney (Circuit 16)
Dennis Ward or Mark Kohl - hhmmmm... This one's really "time for a change" ... sorry Mark
Senator (District 39)
No more Larcenia Bullard. Another one we only see during elections (thank you!) Too bad nobody's running against her - so we're stuck with her.
Representative (District 120)
Ron's running unopposed. Good. Oops - not anymore.
Circuit Judge (only Part 4 of District 16 - 16/4)
Lots of names, not much info available - yet. Richard Behr, Manny Madruga, Jiulio Margalli, Tegan Slaton, Mary VanderBrook.
Posted June 8, 2008 8:40 PM
Anonymous said...
I went to bed and Sonny was mayor. I got up next morning and DiG's got the gavel again. I'll never feel safe going to sleep again !Really - who the hell do Sonny & DiG think thye are? Or, really - their shennanigans show what they really think of the Citizens of Monroe County. I was thinking about voting for Mark Kohl. Not any more. Point me towards the booth. I can't wait push the button for Dennis Ward. And Mark can thank Sonny & DiG for that! And the ultimate insult - just for the record - no way do Monroe citizens believe that dumb-ass cover story about DiG having better communications with Charlie. The real truth is in DiG 's actions - especially at the BOCC meetings - watch him - he just can't sit still, or keep his mouth shut - he continually tells Sonny - "hold it". "wait - I want to talk", " Let me answer that." He goes on and on. The reality is that it's DiG's pathology - he's a power craver. He just can't play second chair. The worst part is that he's going to take us all down with him. His legacy to the county is already clear - when that boat goes down (Mario's Folly) - he should open his checkbook, and take some of his $8 million, and pay us back our $2 million. If he thinks this is such a great idea, let him pay for it. And if he tries to orchestrate anymore people standing at the dais saying what a good idea, and how much it will benefit - I swear, I'm going to have to go stand next to the deputy, to make it easier to escort me out. I don't know which is bigger - DiG's ignorance or arrogance - regardless, his ego will be his downfall. And I can't wait - I'm going to be the first $$ donation to anybody who runs against him.
Posted June 10, 2008 7:30 PM
Anonymous said... It's a sad time in Monroe County. Hopefully, we'll recover under a stronger, healtier and honest new leadership. One can only hope!
Posted 6/11/08:
Better local government makes better headlines
It's no secret that Monroe County is in the midst of a fiscal crisis. Headlines on our pages have detailed one county crisis after another, many of them documenting the path to the current budget crisis.
But just as headlines about soaring windstorm insurance rates don't really hit home until the bills reach homeowners' mailboxes, stories about inept leadership and poor decision-making in county government
are just beginning to click for some now that layoffs, reduced services and higher taxes are becoming reality.
With the election season approaching, we believe it is particularly important to remember how we got here. Here are a few headlines from the past year to jog memories:
Tourism board weighs wreck funding (May 2007)
County may close Marathon courthouse (June 2007)
Willi reveals $20 million shortfall (June 2007)
Hickory House costs mounting (June 2007)
Breaking lease cost county $130,000 (June 2007)
Project taxes county budget (June 2007)
Six figure public salaries on the rise (June 2007)
Chambers: No more funding for wreck (July 2007)
Grand jury probes airport expansion project (July 2007)
Longtime head of Marine Resources gets 30 days' notice (July 2007)
Seniors beg to keep bus service (July 2007)
Fire hydrants axed in budget cuts (July 2007)
Shipwreck funding contract binds county (July 2007)
New county job added in lean times (August 2007)
Grand jury: Airport oversight 'negligent' (August 2007)
County to pay $3 million in [airport contractor] debt (September 2007)
County taps reserves to delay budget pain (September 2007)
Fees for county services increase (October 2007)
Budget targets libraries, buses (November 2007)
More issues pressing, board tells Tom Willi (November 2007)
Willi won't go — County chief survives the ax (November 2007)
WILLI FIRED: Walks with $282,354 (December 2007)
County has no money to hire leader (December 2007)
Hickory House negotiations stall again (December 2007)
County poised to make more layoffs (January 2008)
County starts cutting jobs, services Friday (January 2008)
County digs deeper to balance budget (January 2008)
County job cuts finalized (February 2008)
6-cent gas tax back on county agenda (February 2008)
Sales-tax hikes tempting in tight times (February 2008)
Social services latest victims of budget cuts (February 2008)
So here we are, with a new government complex on the drawing board in the Upper Keys, a $31 million-plus airport terminal (named after a sitting county commissioner) near completion in Key West, more than$3 million (taken from wastewater funds) committed to sinking an artificial reef, another $3 million-plus (also taken from wastewater funds) tied up in a waterfront restaurant.
Meanwhile, county workers are looking for new jobs. Critical county facilities like the Marathon courthouse (slated for renovation years ago) and the Marathon library are crumbling. Charities that fill critical social needs in our county — MARC House, Wesley House, AIDS Help and others — are seeing 20-percent cuts in county support (often translating into equal or greater losses in state or federal matching funds).
We can only hope Monroe County voters will help us improve our headlines this fall.
Posted 6/27/08
WASHINGTON 6/27/08: The Supreme Court affirmed the right to have guns for self-defense in the home and addressed
what it means to say the people may keep and bear arms.
The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns and imperiled similar prohibitions in other cities, Chicago and San Francisco among them. Federal gun restrictions, however, were expected to remain largely intact.
The reaction broke less along party lines than along the divide between cities wracked with gun violence and rural areas where gun ownership is embedded in daily life.
The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791. The amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual's right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia, a once-vital, now-archaic grouping of citizens. That's been the heart of the gun control debate for decades.
Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said an individual right to bear arms exists and is supported by "the historical narrative" both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted. Joining Scalia were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.
Scalia said the Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home." Scalia noted that the handgun is Americans' preferred weapon of self-defense in part because "it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police."
But he said nothing in the ruling should "cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings."
In a dissent he summarized from the bench, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons." He said such evidence "is nowhere to be found." Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas." The other dissenters were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter.