Largo/Mid-Pinellas Democratic Club

Change of speaker for August meeting; you won't want to miss this one!

What happened to FairDistricts?

So what happened to the FairDistricts Amendments? Politicians are doing everything they can to stop them from going into effect -- that’s what. Clearly these politicians want to be able to continue drawing districts for their own political advantage – even though voters said overwhelmingly (63%) they want to stop political gerrymandering. I am writing to let you know about the formation of FairDistricts Now and to ask you to be a part of our new effort to compel Tallahassee politicians to fully comply with the redistricting rules YOU established through YOUR hard work, contributions and votes! 

It is clear that the powerful politicians are very unhappy with your vote for Amendments 5 and 6. In the middle of the night on November 3rd – before the last votes were even counted – two Members of Congress went to court to try to get the amendments thrown out!  Then, Speaker Dean Cannon and the Florida House of Representatives decided to use YOUR taxpayer dollars to join in that suit. 

Governor Rick Scott joined the fray by delaying the implementation of the FairDistricts amendments.  As required by federal law, former Governor Crist submitted the amendments to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval.  Within two days of taking office, Governor Scott withdrew that request. 

Clearly these politicians want to be able to continue drawing districts for their own political advantage – even though a supermajority told them to stop this selfish practice.

But supporters of the FairDistricts Amendments are fighting back!

The Florida NAACP, ACLU, Democracia and a number of individual voters stepped up to defend the amendments in the case brought by the politicians.  Then the Florida League of Women Voters and others filed suit against Governor Scott to compel him to stop playing politics with the Florida Constitution and resubmit the amendments to the Justice Department for approval. 

We stand with these dedicated Floridians and will assist their efforts in any way we can. Will you help? 

Yesterday, as Florida’s census data was delivered to the Governor and Legislature, members of our coalition wrote to Governor Scott urging him once again to re-submit the amendments. Click here to see the press release on our new website, www.FairDistrictsNow.org

We will keep you posted as events occur.  We expect the legislature to hold public hearings in the Summer and Fall. We will notify you so you can attend and demand that politicians follow the new constitutional redistricting rules.  

And rest assured, we will keep fighting until Florida’s district maps are drawn fairly – as your vote requires.

Will you join us in continuing the fight for FairDistricts Now? 


Thanks
Jackie

Jackie Lee
Executive Director
FairDistricts Now, Inc. 

The Future of Florida Redistricting

by Rich Piper

 One of the few bright spots in the recent elections in Florida was the passage of Amendments 5 and 6, the “Fair District” amendments, which we in this club strongly supported, from the petition drive to get them on the ballot through the  popular vote to endorse them on November 2.  Now the questions are how they will affect the redistricting of the state legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives that must follow the 2010 census.  

Redistricting in Florida is done by the state legislature. The legislators are expected to pass a joint resolution either during the regular session or a thirty day special session called by the governor. If they fail to adopt an apportionment plan, the Supreme Court is to make one within sixty days, insuring that the standards of Amendments 5 and 6 and other pertinent legal provisions are followed.  If the legislature has passed a joint resolution, the Supreme Court must determine its validity and, with the Court’s approval, it becomes law. If the plan is not approved by the Court, the legislature fixes problems indicated by the Court during a fifteen day session, after which the revised plan goes  to the Supreme Court. If the revised plan is not approved, or if the legislature is not able to reach a new joint resolution within the fifteen days, the Court has sixty days to make its own plan. The governor does not have veto power over the legislative or Supreme Court plan, although he can veto the congressional plan of the legislature.

 Legal challenges to Amendments 5 and 6 have already been filed, and it remains unclear how the courts will handle these (although pre-election challenges were rejected).  

The Republican leaders of the Florida House and Senate have appointed staunch and vocal opponents of Amendments 5 and 6 to head the legislature’s redistricting efforts:  Sen. Don Gaetz (R-Destin) in the Senate and Rep. Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel) in the House of Representatives.  These appointments appear to indicate that the Republicans intend to circumvent the Fair Districting amendments and proceed to gerrymander at will to benefit their own interests and those of their paymasters.  The outcome remains uncertain, but we need to keep our attention focused on redistricting as we move into 2011.   

LARGO DEMS HOST OLD-FASHIONED CAMPAIGN PICNIC

Area Democrats will have an opportunity to meet many candidates and office-holders at the Largo/Mid-Pinellas Democratic Club’s “Old-Fashioned Campaign Picnic” on Oct. 2 at Sand Key Park.

The classic political event will feature meeting and greeting, some rousing stump speeches (promised to be just 3-5 minutes each), live music and good eats, including hot dogs, chili dogs, covered dishes and cold drinks.

Invited candidates include ticket headers Alex Sink, Kendrick Meek, Dan Gelber, Loranne Ausley and Charlie Justice. Pinellas hopefuls include incumbents Bill Heller, Darryl Rouson and Calvin Harris; Nina Hayden, Bob Hackworth, Tom McKone, Shelley Leonard and Mary Russell.

The red, white and blue festivities will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Gulf Boulevard beach park’s picnic pavilion. Tickets are just $5 and are on sale now from club members or by contacting President Rich Piper at 727-588-0891. Visit the club’s website at www.largodemcrats.com for more information.
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From the President’s Desk - July 2010

By Rich Piper

As we look toward the mid-term elections of 2010, the air waves and print media are littered with predictions of major Republican gains, perhaps even Republican control of both houses of Congress in 2011-12. However, I can think of few, if any, times in history when a political party has been so deserving of defeat as the Republican Party of 2010. It is not too late to reverse current trends and give the Republicans the thrashing that they deserve, both nationally and here in Florida.

In Washington, the Republicans who voted like automatons to support the Bush Administration’s tax giveaways to the rich, its kowtowing to Wall Street and insurance companies and oil behemoths, and its reckless plunge into the Iraq War, now tell us about how concerned they are to reduce the deficits which they did so much to create. The Senate Republicans have just once again employed the filibuster (already used by them more often than EVER in history) to block extension of unemployment insurance to those whom they drove into unemployment with their unfair, unjust, unwise economic policies. The Republicans claim to favor balancing the budget, and use that as the excuse for their latest filibuster. However, their record shows that their budget-balancing pose is phony; and almost all economists agree that attempting to balance the budget now, just when recovery is getting under way, would be disastrous for the economy. In the wake of the catastrophic Gulf oil spill, let’s also remember that the Republicans in Washington turned the Minerals Management Service into a tool of BP and the other big oil companies and cried “drill, baby, drill” in the run-up to the current disaster. Illustrative of the Republicans’ misplaced priorities and distorted values, Joe Barton, the ranking Republican on the House Energy Committee, actually apologized to BP for President Obama’s alleged “shakedown” of their company to pay for the damage that they have done. This man will become chair of the Energy Committee if the Republicans win in November!

June 21 meeting adds speaker on Fair Districts amendments

In addition to the conference call with Rep. Kendrick Meek and Bob Hackworth, Marti Folwell, President of the North Pinellas League of Women Voters will discuss Amendments 5 and 6 at the June 21 club meeting.

The amendments, which got onto the ballot via a petition drive conducted by the bipartisan group Fair Districts Florida, would force lawmakers to follow strict redistricting standards instead of the current practice of redrawing districts to favor either incumbents or the party in power. If they pass – which requires 60 percent of the vote - district boundaries would follow existing geographic and political boundaries wherever possible.

GOP lawmakers, scrambling to hold onto their current absolute control of the redistricting process, put Amendment 7 onto the ballot in an attempt to confuse voters and defeat Amendments 5 and 6. The Republicans claim their "poison pill" is actually to protect minority districts and merely "clarifies" the other two amendments.

However, the language of Amendment 7 clearly abolishes the competing proposals by stating that its passage would place it "without subordination to any other provision." Folks, that means that if all three pass, only Amendment 7 will count.

Last month, the Florida League of Women Voters, the Florida NAACP and Democracia Ahora filed suit to have Amendment 7 removed because of its misleading language. They called it "a brazen attempt by those in power to continue their absolute control of the redistricting process."

Should be an interesting discussion. 

Anti-Incumbent Pattern in 2010 Primaries Exaggerated by Most Mass Media

As mass media commentators have looked for a common pattern in the primary elections of 2010, many have settled on the notion of an anti-incumbent wave in which an angry electorate sweeps members of the U.S. House and Senate from office.  When Senator Lincoln of Arkansas won re-nomination despite most media predictions, the New York Times described her as overcoming “the anti-incumbent wave that has defined the midterm election year.”  Reuters news service echoed this account by concluding that Lincoln “defied a U.S. anti-incumbent wave.” The defeats of incumbents Arlen Specter and Robert Bennett have provided some limited factual basis for this story line, as have the House defeats of Parker Griffith and Alan Mollohan and the forcing of Bob Inglis into a runoff.  However, the overall results of primaries to date, especially for the U.S. House of Representatives, indicate the continuing power of incumbency far more than they suggest an anti-incumbent wave. 

Let’s consider the Senate races first, since the anti-incumbent theme is strongest here.  Even in the Senate contests, however, 9 of 11 incumbents seeking re-nomination have won so far in 2010; while only 2 have been defeated.  When one examines the defeats closely, special factors played a large role in each of them.   Republican Robert Bennett of Utah was defeated for re-nomination at a party convention, packed with tea-party activists, rather than in a primary, under a nominating system peculiar to Utah.  Democrat Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania recently switched parties, after 45 years as a Republican, and is 80 years old.  Party-switchers and octogenarians have usually been more vulnerable to defeat than others. 

Bob Hackworth to Speak at June 21st Largo/Mid-Pinellas Democratic Club Meeting

Bob Hackworth will be speaking to us at our June 21^st meeting. Many of you remember Bob from his distinguished service as Mayor of Dunedin and from his campaign for Congress against Bill Young in 2008. A registered Republican for years because of his family heritage, but long oriented in a progressive direction, Bob served very capably as a nonpartisan official in local government. His record on such issues as equal rights has been impeccable. He switched his registration to the Democratic Party and actively supported the Obama campaign for President . 

Bob is now running for the Pinellas County Commission in District 4 (northern Pinellas County). He has limited his campaign contributions to only $100 each and is campaigning on the theme that he is the “best candidate money can’t buy.” Bob’s Republican opponent will likely be the incumbent Susan Latvala, a darling of the big developers, though Latvala faces several opponents in the Republican primary.  Please come out to hear Bob Hackworth’s message, ask questions, and support his campaign.  

The meeting will start with a conference call with Congressman Kendrick Meek, candidate for US Senate, so don't be late!  Marti Folwell of the North Pinellas League of Women Voters will be speaking on the Fair Districts Florida amendmentsthat will be on November ballot.   The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m., at 301 Crestwood Lane, Largo.

President Obama and VP Biden in Tampa Jan 28th

A delegation from the Largo/Mid-Pinellas Democratic Club attended the Tampa Town Hall on Thursday, Jan 28, to hear Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama deliver the news of a new high-speed rail  to be build between Tampa and Orlando, a project funded by the 2009 Stimulus Package.

The Vice President said "we're determined to restore America to its rightful place at the leading edge of innovation, with bold ideas that will create jobs immediately and serve as the foundation, a new platform -- a new platform to build this economy on that will serve not just our immediate needs but future generations; ideas like wind power, solar energy, a smart grid, broadband and high-speed rail.  And that's why we're here today."

In his remarks before taking questions, President Obama said "it's important to repave our roads; it's important to repair our bridges so that they're safe.  But we want to start looking deep into the 21st century and we want to say to ourselves, there is no reason why other countries can build high-speed rail lines and we can't.  And that's what's about to happen right here in Tampa -- we are going to start building a new high-speed rail line  right here in Tampa, building for the future, putting people to work."

These is a link to more photos on the left and here. (Photos by Heidi Sanchez)

Charlie Justice Addresses Largo Democrats, Pledges to Represent the People of Pinellas County, not the Special Interests

Portraying himself as a candidate with strong local roots, and a consistent commitment to representing the average citizens of Pinellas County, Senator Charlie Justice addressed an enthusiastic overflow crowd of more than fifty cheering participants Monday, January 18 at the Largo/Mid-Pinellas Democratic Club.

Senator Justice urged the audience to support his candidacy for the U. S. Congress in the 2010 elections. He began by describing his lifetime of local experience in the Pinellas County public schools, St. Petersburg College, USF (where he earned his college degree, long served as an academic adviser and currently serves as Assistant Director of Leadership Programs for USF St. Petersburg), and a wide array of local community service projects, beginning with his youthful efforts in the Sertoma Club. Sen. Justice also discussed his public service as a state senator (2007-present) and state representative (2001-07) and emphasized his record of representing children on family services and toy safety concerns, students and their parents on education issues, the public at large on consumer protection matters, and the general public good on campaign finance and ethics showed the kind of commitment to the public interest that he now hoped to take to Washington.

Looking to the future, Justice pledged to work always to serve the people of Pinellas County, not the special interests that so often try to dominate policy-making in Washington. He specifically pledged to work to promote more and better jobs, a clean environment, effective protection of consumers and improved public safety. In answer to a question, he stressed his strong and consistent opposition to oil-drilling off the shores of Florida and explained how he had fought effectively against such drilling during his years in the Florida legislature. After his address, audience members crowded around Senator Justice with further questions, eagerly made donations to his campaign and signed up to gather petitions to help him get on the ballot.

Wanda Schwerer of Belleair Beach echoed the sentiments of most attendees when she emphasized: “Charlie Justice is really the candidate whom we need to represent us in Washington. I’m tired of having a Congress member who gives lip service to the public interest while doing the bidding of special interest groups on the issues that most concern me.” “What especially impresses me about Charlie Justice is his authenticity,” remarked Carlos Leyva, a visitor to the meeting. He and his wife, Debbie, were so enthusiastic that they volunteered to help the campaign free of charge with their Internet expertise.

Rep. Janet Long addresses October meeting

On Oct 19, Rep. Janet Long (FL HD-51) spoke to the Largo/Mid-Pinellas Democratic Club.  In her second term, Rep. Long is the ranking member on the House Military & Local Affairs Policy Committee and  serves on the Economic Development & Community Affairs Policy Council,  General Government Policy Council,   Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs Policy Committee and the Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Committee .

Rep. Long spoke of lessons learned during her campaigns for office, how she has worked with the Pinellas County delegation on legislation and her accomplishments.   She spoke of upcoming legislative battles, including how the initiatives to get off-shore drilling through the legislature are being positioned, efforts to increase use of renewable energy (solar and wind), and the upcoming 2010 elections, where for the first time in decades all of the top elected positions in Florida will have no incumbents running.

She responded to many questions ranging from redistricting efforts,  how we can recruit and elect more Democrats, and her position and votes on school vouchers.   It was quite a lively discussion and we look forward to hearing from Rep. Long again in the coming months.