1

Garbage Pickup Have you had a problem

with your garbage pickup? What about local
property taxes?
Whos Responsible? All these day-to-day,
quality-of-life issues are the responsibility of your
local government: the mayor and the city council
members of our towns, villages, and cities. Yet, the
vast majority of registered voters never exercise
their right to choose their local elected offcials.
Its Unfortunate Its unfortunate that voters
dont show the same interest in local contests
as in presidential elections, even though local
governments have a more direct impact on our
daily lives. It seems that unless there is some big
problem in the city, eligible municipal voters tend
to leave it to a few to elect their local leaders.
Past Voter Participation In Palm Beach
Countys municipal elections:
In 2011 12.3 percent of registered voters
In 2012 11.6 percent
In 2013 10.9 percent.
In 2014 Even more disgraceful?
Lets Go Scott Free in 2014
Municipal Election Issue #3 of 3
Why Local Elections Matter
March 8, 2014 SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH EVERYONE No. 14-5E
Senator McConnell
Where Are The Jobs?
Speaker Boehner
Where Are The Jobs?
Are you currently receiving The
Democratic Voter by email? If not, and
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Why Local Elections Matter
by Susan Bucher
Supervisor of Elections, Palm Beach County
[Note: Susan Bucher is a non-partisan state official.
She spends much of her time trying to get citizens to
register to vote and to encourage them to get to the
pollsno matter their political persuasion. ed.]
Potholes Have you ever grumbled about
a pothole on your way home that hasnt been
repaired and you just never have taken the time to
fnd out who to call?
Emergencies Have you had to call 911 for
an emergency, and the fre or police department
showed up in minutes to save the day?
Public Transit Do you have the need to use
public transportation?
Playgrounds Do you take your kids to the
neighborhood playground?
Drinking Water Have you ever wondered
about the quality of your drinking water.
Low voter turnout
generally favors
Republicans.
Do You Know If Your City Has A
Municipal Election On March 11th?
See page 2
2
[Continued on page 7, Municipal Election]
Do You Know If Your City Has A
Municipal Election On March 11th?
Mail Ballots Were Mailed on Friday, Feb. 21.
Did You Get Yours Yet?
CITY OF ATLANTIS
Seat 1:
Fred Furtado (Inc) - R
Daniel Larkin - R
Seats 3 and 5 are unopposed
CITY OF BELLE GLADE
No election in 2014
CITY OF BOCA RATON
Mayor:
Susan Haynie - R
Anthony Majhess NP
Seat B:
Mohamed Abdalla - I
Michael Mullaugh - R
Craig F Ehrnst - R
Eric Gooden - D
Seat D:
Rosetta V Bailey - R
Robert S Weinroth D
Yaniv Alcalay - R
CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH
Dist 2:
Mack McCray - R
Paula Melley - R
Dist 4:
Joe Casello - D
Carmela R Nanton - NP
TOWN OF BRINY BREEZES
Usually no election. When someone steps down, someone else
steps up.
TOWN OF CLOUD LAKE
No election in 2014
CITY OF DELRAY BEACH
Seat 2:
Richard Burgess - NP
Chris Davey - NP
Al Jacquet (Inc) - D
Seat 4:
Pamela Brinson - D
Angeleta E. Gray - D
Jordana Jarjura - R
Victor Kirson - D
TOWN OF GLEN RIDGE
No election in 2014
VILLAGE OF GOLF
No election in 2014
CITY OF GREENACRES
Council Dist III:
Rochelle Gaenger (Inc) - D
Judith Dugo - R
TOWN OF GULF STREAM
6 at-large candidates competing for 5 seats
Robert Ganger - R
Scott Morgan - R
Martin E OBoyle - R
Joan Orthwein - R
Tom Stanley - R
Donna White - R
TOWN OF HAVERHILL
No election in 2014
TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH
Commission:
Dennis Sheridan (Inc) - R
Rhoda Zelniker - D
**Ballot question: see below for wording and explanation.
TOWN OF HYPOLUXO
3 open seats and 4 people filed
Linda Boone Allen - D
Bradley Ross Boyle
Michael C. Brown (Inc) - R
Christine Nagy - I
TOWN OF JUNO BEACH
Seat 1:
Jason Haselkorn - NP
Joseph Rooney - R
TOWN OF JUPITER
Dist 1:
Joe Charles
Todd Wodraska - R
TOWN OF JUPITER INLET COLONY
No election in 2014
TOWN OF LAKE CLARKE SHORES
No election in 2014
TOWN OF LAKE PARK
Mayor:
James DuBois (Inc) - D
Steve Hockman - NP
CITY OF LAKE WORTH
No election in 2014
TOWN OF LANTANA
No election in 2014
TOWN OF LOXAHATCHEE GROVES
No election in 2014
** Shall the town of Highland Beach amend its charter to
authorize the appointment of the Supervisor of Elections, Palm
Beach County; the Town Clerk; and a Commissioner appointed by
the Town Commission as the towns Canvassing Board?
Background: The current Canvassing Board consists of the
members of the Town Commission. In other words, if there is
a contested vote, the ballots are reviewed by the current Town
Commission (which gives the appearance of the fox guarding the
henhouse). Highland Beach is the only municipality in Palm Beach
County that populates its Canvassing Board with all of the sitting
Commission Members and follows this procedure. The ballot
measure mends this appearance of possible impropriety.
3
[Municipal Election, continued from page 6]
TOWN OF MANALAPAN
Seat 2:
John J. Murphy (inc) R
Clark Appleby
TOWN OF MANGONIA PARK
Seat 3:
Clarence R. McConnel (Inc) - NP
Edward Earl Smith - D
Seat 4:
Ariyan Alipanah
Kelisha Buchanan-Webb D
Addie L. Green (Inc) - D
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH
No election in 2014
TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE
3 candidates for 2 open commission seats; no incumbents.
James Bonfiglio - D
Rich Lucibella - NP
Roberta Wehr - R
CITY OF PAHOKEE
No election in 2014
TOWN OF PALM BEACH
Next election in 2015
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS
Group 3:
Eric Jablin (Inc) - D
Michael J Peragine - R
Group 5:
Marcie Tinsley (Inc) D
Robin Deaton - R
TOWN OF PALM BEACH SHORES
Mayor:
Tom Mills - R
John Workman (Inc) - R
Commissioners Vote for two
John Maffett - R
Tom Sullivan - D
Lisa Tropepe (Inc) - R
VILLAGE OF PALM SPRINGS
No election in 2014
VILLAGE OF ROYAL PALM BEACH
Mayor:
Laurel Bennett - R
Matty Mattipli (Inc)
Felicia Matula - NP
Martha Webster - D
CITY OF SOUTH BAY
Seat 1:
Esther E Berry (Inc) - R
Kina Green-Phillips D
Seat 5:
R. L. Thomas Jr. NP
Virginia K Walker - D
John Wilson - D
Charter question moved to Aug 26th ballot.
TOWN OF SOUTH PALM BEACH
No election in 2014
VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA
No election in 2014
VILLAGE OF WELLINGTON
Seat 2:
Anne Gerwig (Inc) - R
Sharon Lascola - D
Seat 3:
Howard Coates (Inc) - R
Matt Kurit - D
We Are The 99%
We are the 99% is a political slogan
widely used by the Occupy movement.
The phrase directly refers to the
concentration of income and wealth
among the top earning 1%, and reflects
an opinion that the 99% are paying
the price for the mistakes of a tiny
minority within the upper class.
According to IRS reports, as of 2009
all individuals with incomes less than
$343,927 belong to the lower 99% of
the United States income distribution.
4
[Continued on page 5, Tea Party]
Bad officials are elected by good
people who dont vote.
Im voting from home!
Are you?
Why Vote By Mail?
No Waiting In Line Vote from the
convience of your own home.
Save Gas No driving, traffic, or headaches
finding a parking spot at the polls.
Save Time No rushing to the polls (at 7 in
the morning!)
Be Fully Prepared Use your computer to
research candidates and issues.
Never Miss An Election Just mail in your
ballot.
You Can Even Track Your Ballot Online
at www.pbcelections.org
Make YOUR Vote Count (And verify that it
was counted!)
You Can Change Your Mind You can wait
and still vote Early or on Election Day.
No Questions Asked About address, name,
signature . . . fight voter suppression!
Campaign Phone Calls and Mailers
STOP since you have already voted!
Dont Stand In Line
VOTE IN YOUR PAJAMAS
Request a Mail Ballot
You can request a mail ballot until March 5th !
561-656-6200
After March 5th you may pick up a mail ballot
at your Supervisor of Elections offce, right up
to Election Day. For offce locations,
Google: Supervisor of Elections, your county
name, and state
Believe nothing that you read or
hear until you check it out. Trash
on TV is common. 80% of political
advertisingon TV, newspaper,
or via U.S. Mailis intentionally
dishonest or downright lies.
Sleepwalking Toward Plutocracy
Marshall C. Whitfield (1935-2012)
for Buzzflash At Truthout
Chapter 4
How The Hell Did This Happen?
[Continued from Issue 14-4]
Think Tanks In the period following WWII,
while corporations and wealthy individuals
were still making business-as-usual donations
to Republican politicians, a new element
policy institutesbecame a factor in the game.
These "think tanks" offered the Plutocrats an
opportunity to influence conservative ideology at
its very source.
Rewards Naturally, the think tanks which
best advocated small government and lower taxes
were rewarded with the most donations. Over
time, the think tanks became dependent on a
lavish flow of dollars, and the Plutocrats attained
effective control over Republican ideology.
President Reagan One of the more zealous
true believers in this ideology was Ronald Reagan.
In 1981, Reagan became President promising
lower taxes and proclaiming that "government is
not the solution to our problems; government IS
the problem." That was the pivotal capitulation.
At that point, the Republican party quietly and
willingly became a de facto subsidiary of the
Plutocrats.
Bribe In Unison It's worth noting that,
in this process, no conspiracy or collusion was
necessary between the various Plutocrats. They
were and are united by sharing a common enemy:
government regulations and taxes. They all bribe
in pitch-perfect unison without even needing to
talk to one another.
Tea Party Enforcers for the right-thinking
think tanks, the loyal candidates, and the can-do
5
[Tea Party, continued from page 4]
Local Elections Are Like
Professional Baseball
Often, voters feel that local Municipal elections are not
important. But consider this: professional baseball
is divided into two groups: the major leagues (the
majors) and the minor leagues (the minors). The
baseball clubs in the majors need a place where young
players can develop their skills and older players can
work on shoring up their weaknesses. A young player
will usually spend some time in the minors before being
recruited by a major league team. Without the minor
leagues, major league baseball scouts would not know
which players should be considered as candidates to
be brought up to the majors.
The same is true in politics. Local politicians
(county commissioners, mayors, school board
members) develop their skills and abilities in the
offces they have been elected to. Their communities
can assess their skills and abilities (in the minor
leagues) and scout them for higher offce. If you, the
voter, dont scout your minor league players, you are
very apt to end up with political players, going to the
majors, whose ideas are totally contrary to yours.
Sometimes players go up to the majors without
playing in the minors. However, they are not
unproven. They have performed in other venues of the
game, such as high school or college. Can you think
of any major league team which selects a completely
unknown? In the 2010 elections many unproven
players with no political history were selected by
voters, not by their proven record, but purely by the
emotion provided in false advertising of the moment.
If someone who has performed as a school board
member wishes to run for the Florida legislature, their
actions as a school board member will tell you if they
support your pothole-flling philosophy.
The Republicans have been building their
minor league bench for years. This has put them
in an excellent position to move up to other elected
positions.
We need to set Democrats up for victory, not this year
or next, but in 10 yearswhich is how long it will take
to fll the pipeline. Only then will we garner enough
candidates to be competitive and take back control of
various offces.
Remember, when you vote in local elections, you
are scouting players who may eventually run for the
majors. Know your candidates histories...and vote
for them! d.i.
Beltway lobbyists has always been their carrot,
but the Plutocrats now have a stick. Tea Party
candidates have become the Plutocrats' enforcers.
As we all saw in the 2010 mid-term elections, if any
Republican isn't prepared to drink the Plutocratic
Kool-Aid, they can count on being opposed by a
massively-financed Tea Party candidate in their
next primary.
Moderates Eliminated Thus the Plutocrats
control over the Republican party has closed like
a vise. Respected moderates like Mike Castle
were eliminated in the 2010 GOP primaries by
Tea Party candidates. Remaining moderates like
Olympia Snow are an endangered species. There
is little hope that even a universally-admired
Republican like Colin Powell could rise up to
wrest control from the Plutocrats.
. . . little hope, but two remaining, puzzling
questions: Many of the surviving Congressional
Republicans are people of principle; how were
they seduced into adopting the Plutocrats
agenda? Next, how did these hijacked Republican
standard-bearers then persuade millions of lower-
income Americans to vote for the Plutocratss
agenda and against their own interests?
Libertarianism It required a kind of alchemy.
If that sounds medieval, its apt. The alchemy in
this case is Libertarianism, a somewhat obscure
but persistent political philosophy. Like the
classic alchemists dream of turning lead into
gold, it has never proven workable but has always
attracted passionate believers.
6
Check Your Voter Status
For your peace of mind, its always a good idea to check the status of your registration and Vote-By-Mail
application. You can quickly do that here: http://registration.elections.myforida.com/CheckVoterStatus.
(See sample below.) If you dont have a computer, phone your supervisor of elections offcetheyll be
glad to help you.
561-656-6200
Theres a Lot At Stake in 2014
There are thousands of key positions up for grabs
in Florida in 2014 many of them in your own
backyard. Decisions made at the local level have
a real impact and progressive candidates running
for local offce have been on their own for too long.
Local offcials can decide whats taught in our
schools and set priories for our towns and our
state governments, but their campaigns are often
waged with very little outside attention. Once you
have voted, keep your eyes out for reports on how
your elected candidates are doing. If they are
doing well, vote for them next time they run. Keep
them where they can make life better for workers
and students.
Did You Know?
Your vote has more of an impact
in a small municipal election
than it does in a statewide
election.
7
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Robert S. Weinroth for Boca Raton City Council
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Republican Texas Judge Has
Had Enough Of Republican
Homophobia And Bigotry,
Switches Parties
It seems that Bexar, Texas County Criminal
Court Judge Carlo Key has had enough of the
fire-breathing homophobia and racism of the
Republican party. In a video posted to YouTube
today, Key renounces his Republican affiliation
and goes into quite the rant over why he has
decided he will run for re-election as a Democrat.
I can no longer be a member of the Republican
Party. For too long, the Republican Party has
been at war with itself. Rational Republican
beliefs have given way to ideological character
assassinations. Pragmatism and principal have
been overtaken by pettiness and bigotry. Make
no mistake: I have not left the Republican Party.
It left me. I cannot tolerate a political party that
demeans Texans based on their sexual orientation,
the color of their skin or their economic status.
I will not be a member of a Party in which hate
speech elevates candidates for higher office rather
than disqualifying them. I cannot place my name
on the ballot for a political party that is proud
to destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of
federal workers over the vain attempt to repeal a
law that would provide health care to millions of
people throughout our country.
Dan Isaacson, Editor
8
Authorized and Paid for by Dan Isaacson, Editor and The Palm Beach County Democratic Party
Does Your Community Have A March
Municipal Election in 2014?
Vote By Mail!
To get your mail ballot:
By Phone: Right now, before you forget,call your
Florida Supervisor of Elections at 1-866-308-6739
and request an absentee ballot for all the elections
through 2016. It takes two minutes.
NOTE: If you wish your mail ballot to go to an
address other than your residence address,
you must submit a request in writing.
Your vote is important!
D a n I s a a c s o n , E d i t o r
6 0 5 5 V e r d e T r a i l S o u t h , A p t . H 2 1 9
B o c a R a t o n , F L 3 3 4 3 3 - 4 4 2 3
5 6 1 - 4 7 0 - 7 2 5 8
What is a
"Democratic Executive
Committee"?
The Democratic Executive Committee is the
official local county arm of the Florida Democratic
Party.
Objective of the Democratic Executive
Committee The primary objective of the
Democratic Executive Committee is to register
(to vote) as many Democrats within its county as
possible, during campaign seasons to identify vot-
ers supportive of Democratic candidates, and to
insure the highest possible base Democratic voter
turn-out in all elections held within the county
As part of this effort the Democratic Executive
Committee shall:
Advance the visibility and viability of the
Democratic Party and its candidates within the
county.
Insure that Democratic Party values, principles,
and initiatives are effectively advanced and
promoted within the county.
Engage as much as possible in local county
affairs of interest to County Democrats.
The DEC shall seek to recruit Democratic Executive
Committee membership in order to fully staff its
precinct organization and other personnel needs
and to raise sufficient funds to:
Effectively support the election of Democrats,
To communicate with the public regarding
electionsand our candidates, as well as
national, state, and local Democratic Party
positions and initiatives.
Dan Isaacson, Editor
To Subscribe, please send an email request to:
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Assistant Editors: Robin Blanchard, Debra Kanter, Corinne Miller,
Nancy Morse, Diana Demarest
Research: Roger Messenger, Marion Lang
Offce Staff: Ed Odette, Marie Isaacson
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