developer driven campaign accountsWe are currently in the process of electing our next board of county commissioners in St. Johns County. There are 3 seats available for District 1,3 and 5. I have been attending pretty much every forum throughout the past couple of weeks and it is simply amazing to see the amount of special interest funds being distributed to certain candidates. We are not talking about $20 or $200, no we are talking a lot more money than that. I for once do not wish to be represented by someone who is heavily financed by any sort of special interests or developers for that matter. We can not afford to blindly approve undeveloped land without having a plan of infrastracture etc.. in place, it just doesn't make sense and I believe as a commissioner you need to weigh out these facts before approving such developments, that is your job! A commissioner is supposed to represent his or her constituents, not any special interests, period! There are plenty of campaign signs throughout the county, most of them are fitting to be in your front yard, yet there are some that fit "billboard" sizing and it's interesting to see where they have been placed when driving through the neighborhood or other parts of the county. Some of the candidates have even taken them into Duval county! And they aren't even taking part in this election, how ironic is that? It's almost cynical to see these campaign signs primarily on yet to be developed land, food for thought to say the least. I believe the slogan "small signs-small money" "big signs-big money" is fitting. I can only hope that every voter will get educated in details of who they are voting for and who is the actual supporting cause of their candidates' campaign account. Get online and find out, it's public record. Doing so should give each and every resident a clear picture about the integrity and representation these candidates will give their future constituents should they get elected. And we do have options this time, we do not have to repeat another 4 years of pro-development and no infrastructure. We need balance to make this county successful for everyone. St. Johns County is a place I have come to enjoy deeply and I do not believe developers and other special interests are in the best interest for people like you and me.
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Submitted by Nicole on Sat, 08/09/2008 - 2:55pm.
thanks for your reply, I enjoyed reading it and I hope many others will too. Interesting to see that I never even mentioned her name or the word "unethical" in my original post, you did, and if you honestly believe special interests don't play a role in this election or have throughout the past 3.5 years or even fall into the category of ethics there is nothing further to say to you because it would simply be a waste of my time as well as yours, which you might want to continue spending on spreading "the good word" for your friend.
Submitted by jjones474 on Sun, 08/10/2008 - 1:46am.
Why not have the candidates (or their staunch supporters!) post a BREIF synopsis of what their platform is, and what they CLAIM to do with their term if they are elected. Many, myself included, cannot get to the various meetings at the various times specified. Hell, I'm a Norhtern boy! I'm used to clear cut mayor/sherriff, etc. I have not effing clue WHAT these various candidate do or alledge to do, and I'll be damned if I waste any of my precious time going to vote for them if I don't know what they are running for or will profess to do! Submitted by doggielover on Sun, 08/10/2008 - 11:04am.
The St Augustine Record published profiles written by each candidate, I think last weekend. Those should be contained in the archives. Also, today, they published their recommendations and the reasons for their endorsement along with a summary of what each candidate stands for. Reading this information will give everyone a great idea of who they would want to supoort. Submitted by SportsNut on Mon, 08/11/2008 - 12:18pm.
I received this through some e-mail lists. Although seems to be geared towards questions for Park and Recs, at least they are showing up to answer concerned citizans questions. I recommend attending if you want to ask questions.
Dear, Incumbent Commissioners & Candidates for Commissioner: My name is Keith Martin, I am a St John’s County resident. On behalf of the county’s sports league and associations we wish to invite each of you to a town hall type meeting. PLACE: BTHS “Bartram Trail High School”TIME: 7 PM DATE: 8-12
Please consider this letter an invitation to participate and address questions from the sports community that are directly related to Parks and Recreations. I hope you each take advantage of this opportunity to answer the specific questions listed below along with a few impromptu questions from the attendees in the audience.
Submitted by MacMitchell on Wed, 08/13/2008 - 8:33pm.
With the primary election coming up fast (and with early voting already in progress) I just thought I'd remind everyone The Sun did a feature piece (July 5, 2008) on all eight County Commission candidates. You can view it HERE. Click on the photo of each candidate to see their party affiliation, short bio/background info and answers to the two following questions: What is the most important issue in the county? and What separates you from your opponents? I encourage all of you to continue sharing your thoughts here on the site in the meantime. |
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In my opinion, your post is a weak attempt at trying to distract attention from the real issues of the campaign to something that you would like to make a campaign issue. It is clear that this comes from Al Abbatello's side of things since he continuously tries to discredit Cyndi Stevenson's honesty and ethics by alledging that she is controlled by development interests. That is just not reality and her record illustrates that you are wrong. Al is running on the coat tails of other commissioners, clearly stemming from the fact that he has no other platform from which to run.
You would love for voters to believe that the only people who have contributed to Cyndi's campaign, and others, are developer interests. That is just not true. There is a wide spectrum of people who have made contributions to Cyndi's campaign.
In addition, your insinuation that ANY of the candidates are "unethical" is ridiculous and insulting. I, as a voter, may not agree with a particular candidate on certain issues. But that does not make that candidate dishonest or unethical. I challenge you or anyone else to be specific when you are talking about someone's ethics, honesty and reputation. No one has the right to question that about anyone unless you have hard evidence otherwise.