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Election notes Got a comment? Make it here.
What the hell are we voting for, anyway? Council seemed to have pulled a number of favors to draw in supporters, which created some interesting scenery. Gondo publisher Bob Vedder was seated next to former mayor Merle Graser, who in turn was sitting next to Councilman David Farley. What immediately sprang to my mind was Bob Dole's famed quote: "There they are -- See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Evil." Some new twists in the sales pitch were evident. On prior occasions, when asked why all four projects were bundled into one bond, Hunt had stated that $10 million was the lowest bond amount that could be requested. Hunt abandoned that approach with a brand new spin: that the beach renourishment, the purchase of beach property and the pier reconstruction are all tied together economically and that it would be unfeasible to do them separately. Meanwhile, a serious question about the ballot itself was raised. The ballot doesn't actually refer to any purchase of property from the FAA for use as a beach. Instead, the phrasing appears on the ballot as a referendum to, among other things, "...expand and improve a municipal park." Specifically, the bond referendum, as shown on the sample ballot (from Sarasota County's election web site) appears as follows:
No purchase is mentioned. Just expansion and improvement of an already existing park. A park. Any park in particular? Council candidate Gary Anderson raised that question and was rebuffed by Calamaras, who stated that we all know what park the ballot is referring to. Really? Calamaras reiterated that even if the bond referendum doesn't pass, the listed projects will be done, it'll just take more time to raise the necessary funding. The bond literature, soon to be mailed to all city residents, contradicts the mayor's statement. The city-produced brochure states that if the bond referendum doesn't pass, the beach property purchase will probably not take place. On the upside, the city didn't try to insult anyone's intelligence with another run of that horrible PowerPoint slide presentation. Instead, they opted to try to meaningfully communicate with the citizenry by actually talking to us like we are adults. Maybe Calamaras does actually read this web site on occasion.
Hunt's résumé While Levine hasn't had a chance yet to do any serious digging, one notable item stands out. According to the résumé, Hunt started out his public service career as an Administrative Assistant (read: gopher) for, of all things, the Broward County Task Force on Organized Crime. Broward County is located in southeast Florida and includes the city of Fort Lauderdale. The résumé states that Hunt worked for the task force from October 1978 to February 1979. Yes, you read correctly: at one time, Hunt actually worked for an organization that fights organized crime. That's the best joke I've heard this month. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?
Farley's comeback? The first rumor concerns a Farley appointment to replace Virginia Warren. Warren, who has been suffering visibly from increasing health problems, will probably resign soon from council. In spite of term limits, Farley could be tapped to replace Warren for her final year. Warren has publicly acknowledged that she has been diagnosed with cancer in the past, but has stated that the disease has gone into remission. Within the past few months, it has become visibly apparent that Warren's health is deteriorating rapidly. The normally vibrant councilwoman has lost weight, appears to be very frail and has resorted to using a walker to get around. Warren did not attend the last scheduled council meeting of September 22 and it is unclear if she'll be present at the regular council meeting scheduled for later today. The second rumor concerns a Farley mayoral run in 2004. According to inside sources, Farley may have been tapped by by the CQG power mongers as the next Good Ol' Boy candidate for mayor. When asked, Farley denied both rumors. Farley stated that Calamaras will be running for reelection as mayor in 2004 and that he would not even consider challenging Calamaras. Calamaras has also stated that he will run for another term, in spite of rumors that he is considering stepping down after his current term. OK, so that rumor may be wrong. Then again, maybe not. Bowing out for a bit of time would reset the term-limit clock and would allow Farley to have another stab at a long term on council. Calamaras may change his mind over the next year and decide not to run again. Who knows? As far as replacing Warren, Farley incredibly stated that he has heard nothing about Warren resigning or any talk of Warren being replaced. "Nobody's even talked about that that I've heard," Farley stated. It is impossible to believe that nobody on council has considered the possibility of Warren resigning in the near future. Denying that such speculation has taken place is just not even remotely credible. So that part of Farley's denial just doesn't ring true at all. If Warren were to resign and if council were to wait until a day or two after the election to appoint Farley, that would also reset the term-limit clock, as Farley's service would not be consecutive -- there would be a one- or two-day gap. Additionally, it would allow Farley to serve one more year without having to go through the reelection process. That's not a bad deal from Farley's perspective. On top of that, it would also let his term run out at the same time as Calamaras', thus allowing Farley, if he so chose, to pursue a mayoral candidacy. Again, who knows? Only time will tell.
Taylor gets a web site There's a few typos here and there in Taylor's site, but what really stands out is the fact that she is taking some bold stances on substantive issues, stances that may make her unpopular within CQG circles. On her Opinions page, she offers some inclusion of Venice Taxpayers League members in overseeing the bond money, which assumes the upcoming referendum is passed. She also suggests that Deputy City Manager Marty Black, and not City Manager George Hunt, be the head of the bond oversight committee. That's called a snub. But wait, she's just getting warmed up. Further down on the page, she writes:
The upshot: Taylor is running against Mike Gelormino, who is also a harsh critic of Hunt and his policies. Both are running for Burt Brown's seat. Brown has been a Hunt loyalist. Taylor and Gelormino are not Hunt loyalists, both are publicly and privately stating extreme unhappiness with George Hunt.
Anderson bribes Amos; Amos withdraws from council race
The ramification of accepting that final bribe (shown at right as Anderson hands over the damning biscuit) didn't hit Amos until the next day when he suddenly realized that nobody was attempting to bribe him anymore. Appeals from Amos' campaign headquarters to Gary Anderson to kill the deal have so far been met with little sympathy. "Amos has to learn that a deal is a deal," Anderson stated. Amos' handlers are reportedly considering filing a complaint against Anderson with PETA: "Amos was duped, suckered in by the tempting odor of a delicious, succulent Milkbone. Anderson played on the dog's basic instincts. It was a rotten trick. If Anderson continues in this mean-spirited fashion and tries to hold Amos to the agreement, we will contact PETA. If PETA decides to sit back and take no action, we'll have no other option than to have Amos repeatedly wizz on Anderson's front yard and in his bushes." Officials at PETA have so far refused to comment on the incident.
John Patten is the head of Web Operations for Creative Pages, and has worked in broadcasting for over 12 years. He can also be incredibly rude at times. |
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Last
night, city council made yet another pitch for the $10 million bond, this time
on their home turf - in council chambers. The event, led by Mayor Dean Calamaras
(shown in photo taken at the meeting with City Manager George Hunt;
Hunt is wearing glasses and a brown jacket), drew a small crowd of about 40 people, mostly
supporters of the bond issue.
While
councilman David Farley (shown at right) is not
running for reelection, don't count him out of city politics yet. Two rumors about
the funeral director's political aspirations are swirling through the city, two rumors that
Farley states are absolutely untrue.
The
bribery platform worked so well that Amos managed to get himself bribed right
out of the race. In an unprecedented, savvy and incredibly sneaky move, council
candidate Gary Anderson bribed Amos on Sunday, October 12, into withdrawing from
the race with two 
