Ray's blog

If you've lived in Marion County for any serious period of time, the issue of growth management and development is probably one of your big issues - and you would be correct about this being a big issue.

For decades, our county has allowed massive and rather wasteful developments to be built. None of these developments ever truly paid for themselves, and so we've been left with the chronic and growing problems of overcrowded and underperforming schools, crumbling roads, a lack of community open space, and an environment increasingly in danger.

However, there is a chance to become more involved in the growth management debate in our community. There will be several community visioning sessions over some large growth/development-related issues over the next several months. They will be held at the Growth Management building (right next to the libarary on Silver Springs Boulevard.) Here's the schedule thus far:

March 27: Growth Strategies, population and growth forecasts. Land use strategies for accommodating future growth.

April 24: Economic Development, priorities and strategies for economic development opportunities and employment centers

May 22: Agriculture and open space: High Density and Mixed use; preservation of open space, environmentally sensitive lands and agriculture lands, strategies to address areas and standards for mixed use and high density commercial & residential development & incentives for mixed use development.

June 26: Funding infrastructure, urban service boundary and changes to the comprehensive plan. Facilities and services needed to accommodate growth. Financial feasibility of providing services. Designation of an urban service boundary. Proposed future land use map and specific changes to comprehensive plan.

August: Planning commission community vision public workshop, planning commission transmittal public hearing

September: County commission transmittal public hearing.

Thanks to Bill and Susan Woods in addition to Gale Sylvester for letting me (and you) know about these important upcoming events.

This is cross-posted from the Florida Progressive Coalition blog. This is just a small sampling of the absolute craziness happening in Tallahassee as I type.

I don't have too much time to blog today, so I wanted to point you to two quick and significant stories about the budget battles happening in Tallahassee.

As you might expect, Republicans in the legislature are using the shortfall in the state budget (which could have been averted by restoring the intangibles tax, reworking the corporate income tax, and/or closing unncessary tax loopholes) to destroy successful programs they have been unable to dismantle over the years. First and foremost: public financing of elections. Capital Report on Florida Public Radio reported on this last night (its the second story.) The clear ignorance and hypocrisy of Rep. Alan Hays, the Republican behind the dismantling of public financing, is on full display. You can look at the twin disasters that are Rep. Hays campaign finance bills here: HJR 281, HB 277.

Republicans in the legislature have also demonstrated their clear desire to keep the budget shortfall a shortfall, by ignoring all of the solutions I briefly discussed above. Exhibit A was when Democratic Rep. Dan Gelber tried to close a loophole that allowed multi-state corporations to avoid paying corporate income taxes (HB 1237). Here's what happened:

First, the corporate loophole bill. Presently in Florida, multi-state companies – the biggest in the world – who do business in Florida are able to essentially export their Florida profits to other states and avoid being taxed and paying their fair share of income earned in Florida. Florida-only companies are at a disadvantage because they have to pay their fair share, and Florida residents are denied the revenue that would otherwise flow from these mega companies. 21 states have closed this loophole and if Florida did it would raise $365 million dollars. My bill would have given $100 million to higher education, and the remainder to lowering property taxes. The bill failed – on a party line vote – with the Republicans arguing it would destroy business in Florida. Of course, none of the states that have closed the loophole, including New York, California and Texas, have had that problem and there is not a scintilla of proof that this would happen. In fact the top 6 locales for fortune 500 companies are the states that have closed this loophole. I found it absolutely amazing that Republicans who just last session voted to increase sales taxes nearly 3 cents have the audacity to argue that closing an unfair tax loophole for big business is somehow wrong. Relativism is alive and well in Tallahassee.

Its ironic that Rep. Gelber's responsible measure would have put $365 million back into the budget while Rep. Hays' destructive measure, destroying our public financing system, would only put around $15-20 million back. The first savings would force corporations to pay the people of Florida what they're owed, while the latter "savings" would eliminate much of the counterbalance to corporate and special interest money in Florida politics. Just peachy.

Every Floridian should know that this is how elected Republicans in Florida have governed, are governing, and will govern: use hard economic times to push through their right wing agenda, destroy government no matter the cost, and ignore any sensible solution that would help everyday Floridians in their time of need. Shame on them.

Wilma Stewart was the Club Coordinator for the Marion County Democratic Party for nearly a decade. Wilma started many of our clubs that continue to exist and operate today throughout our county. In addition, Wilma's energetic personality was contagious, inspiring many Democrats not only to start clubs and groups, but to lead them, grow them, and make them successful.

Today, I received an email from Rev. Dale Stewart, Wilma's husband, who is also a great human being and a true light for our community:

Our dear Wilma passed peacefully to her heavenly home this morning at 7:45. I thank you all for your encouragement and support through her time of travail. Her memorial service: "A Witness to the Resurrection", will be held at Dunnellon Presbyterian Church (corner of Chestnut and Ohio in the historic district) on Sunday, March 30 at 4:00. A reception will follow.

Instead of flowers, contributions in her honor may be made to the Fairfield Presbyterian Church, PO Box 834, Fairfield, FL 32634, or a charity of your choice. These gifts will be used to enhance the music program of this country church where I serve as co-pastor.

I regret that I have not been able to answer your cards, letters and e-mails individually. I�ve put them in a book, and as I pour over them I am flooded with fond memories of friends and associates whose lives have been touched by Wilma. Thank you, dear friends.

Here is Wilma's obituary - she truly was a fascinating woman:

Wilma Larkey Stewart, 76, Dunnellon, FL passed away March 20 at Legacy Hospice House, Ocala.

Beloved wife of Rev. A. Dale Stewart, mother of: Timothy “Stu”, Douglas “Doogie” and Rich (husband of De); Grandmother of John Stewart, all of Dunnellon; Grandmother of Amber (Mrs. Lanny) Prentice, Great Grandmother of Abby and Cassie, of Tuscola, TX; Sister-in-law of Donna Stewart Silverman of Traverse City, MI.

Born and raised in Dearborn, MI, Wilma served as a legal secretary to the Office of General Council at Ford Motor Company before moving to Pittsburgh, PA where she was Secretary in the Board of Education of the United Presbyterian Church. Her organizational and entrepreneurial skills were put to good use as she would have parties for household products, toys and cookware thus supplementing the family income.
Always an advocate for the least, the lost and the lonely, Wilma was instrumental in forming one of the first Family Mental Health Institutes in Michigan. As an educator she organized a church pre-school program which was implemented by churches throughout the State.

As a Social Worker, she served in a home for unwed mothers; an alcohol rehab unit; and a 700 bed hospital in Cincinnati, OH. She was holistic in her approach and was especially effective in the coordination of services between individuals and agencies that had conflicting aims. As a Counselor and Therapist she showed a special concern for families, especially those with members in prison, or with drug and alcohol related problems. Always growing intellectually, she chose to do her master’s work at Atlanta University to better her understanding and appreciation of the African American perspective.

A trained musician, Wilma has frequently served as Church Organist or pianist; often sang solos and enjoyed participating in choir.
Upon retirement she wanted to learn more about government, so she participated in the Close-Up Foundations intensive training program in Washington. She returned to Dunnellon and helped form the Democratic Club, serving as its secretary. Within a few months she became State Committee Woman from Marion County and received their lifetime achievement award for her work in the formation and support of clubs county-wide.

Among her favorite activities (in addition to music) were cooking, flower arrangement, traveling, especially cruises, and dancing. She held a “black belt” in shopping.

She will be especially remembered for her warm and affectionate smile and her caring for others.
Her husband, Rev. Dale Stewart, attributes his success to Wilma, whose support and encouragement ranged from care of the household and family, financial support through seminary and the early lean years of ministry; and helpful suggestions for the improvement of preaching and pastoral care. This team has been together through 6 years of courting and 54 years of marriage.

Her peaceful passing from this life to her heavenly home will be celebrated at Dunnellon Presbyterian Church on Sun., Mar. 30, at 4 p.m. A reception will follow. Memorial gifts may be made to the Fairfield Presbyterian Church, PO Box 834, Fairfield, FL 32634, or a charity of your choice.

Please keep Rev. Dale and the Stewart family in your thoughts and prayers.

The Drum Major Institute, a leading and innovative progressive think tank has released its Middleclass.org 2007 scorecard. The Republicans who represent ~80% of Marion County failed to make the grade (awesome widget courtesy of themiddleclass.org):

You can download and read the full report here (pdf.)

SurveyUSA, the best pollster out there, does state-by-state general election matchups between Hillary Clinton and John McCain in addition to Barack Obama and John McCain. Both Clinton and Obama beat McCain, and blow away the old red/blue state paradigm that defined the 2000 and 2004 elections. Here are the results (with maps!)

Click Here for Full Poll Results

Click Here for Full Poll Results

As a side note, both candidates are doing considerably better in their Florida standings. Both Clinton and Obama have been losing badly to McCain in other polls done by Quinnipiac and others. However, Clinton beats McCain in Florida by 9 points and Obama only loses to McCain by 2 points (something which can easily be made up over the next few months should Obama be the nominee.) This is actually very encouraging considering neither campaign has really spent much time here in the Sunshine State.

In any case, victory in November is impossible without your help. Volunteer or contribute to our local party today.

Update: You'll find great analysis of these polls from Daily Kos and Open Left.

Today the Marion County Democratic Party HQ was the caucus site for the 6th Congressional District delegate selection. Democrats from Lake, Marion, Alachua, Duval, and everyone in between came! It looks like a couple hundred or so folks voted - great job Democrats!

Today's caucus decides who will be Hillary Clinton's male and female delegate, Barack Obama's male and female delegate, and John Edwards' single delegate.

I'll post the results here soon. We'll also try and get some pictures up as soon as we can.

Update (6:00pm): And I have the results!

Hillary Clinton Delegates
Staci Fox
Jimmy Johnson
Alternate: Horation Sierra

Barack Obama Delegates
Susan Bottcher
Richard Perry

John Edwards Delegate
Debbie Boyd

A particular bit of congratulations to Richard Perry, a Marion County Democrat who will not only represent Barack Obama at the national convention, but essentially Marion County as well. Great job Rick!

The health of our environment is a big issue in Marion County. We have the largest artesian spring formation in the world: Silver Springs. Marion County is also blessed with the Ocala National Forest, the biggest expanse of natural scrub in the state of Florida and the country.

We're worried about their future. Silver Springs' nitrate levels continue to rise (mostly due to fertilizers and such), threatening it's vitality. Not too long ago, the Bush administration was thinking about selling off portions of national forests to private interests to help pay for rural education - a deal certainly made with the devil.

Many citizens here know the importance of these places. Outdoorsmen, hunters, campers, and hikers know that what identifies Marion county, and what makes it such a great place to live, are places like these.

So it would make logical sense that our congressmen and women would be strong supporters of the environment - right? Well, you'd be unfortunately and tragically wrong.

The League of Conservation Voters released its latest national scorecard, and the majority of the people who represent us in Congress clearly flunked:

Ric Keller 15% F
Cliff Stearns 15% F
Ginny Brown-Waite 20% F

Our lone Democratic congresswoman, who represents only a small shaving of northeast Marion County, is the only one who passed:

Corrine Brown 85% B

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson received a 100% A+ rating, while Republican Senator Mel Martinez received an embarrassingly ridiculous 13% F.

You can read about all the bills that these ratings were based off of by looking at LCV's full report (about 48 pages) by clicking here (pdf).

And here's one more neat picture from the Ocala National Forest:

The CFCC Patriot Press recently reported on our efforts to help start getting a Young Democrats chapter started in Marion County.

You can read it by downloading the latest issue of the Patriot Press here.

You'll find the story on "The Year of the Young Voter" on page 12.

Interested in helping organize the Marion County Young Democrats? To be a member you need to be under the age of 40, and a registered Democrat in Marion County. Email us by going to our contact page and select "Young Democrats."

Last night, the state of Virginia and Maryland, in addition to Washington DC held their primaries, aka the "Potomac Primaries." Democrats once again kicked butt in turnout. Virginia, which is supposed to be a red state, saw Democrats beating Republicans big time in turnout:

Look at the vote totals in Virginia with 84% reporting. McCain had 174K and Huckabee 143K. But Obama had 423K and Clinton 241K.

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton cleaned house last night in Virginia. This is good news, but there is still a whole lot of work to be done, volunteer right now by clicking here.

Thanks to all of the new folks who've stepped up in the last week or so to volunteer and work for the change we want rather than just talk about it. Your help is tremendously appreciated!

Update: Here are the latest delegate totals from OpenLeft:

We've gotten a few calls over here at Dem HQ today from folks who are confused about the whole delegate setup. I found a really good video from the blog Talking Points Memo that helps explain most of this. Check it out:

You'll need Adobe Flash Player to play this video. Don't have it? That's OK, you can download it here.

Enjoy!