5+2 - A Couple of Counter-points

Baxley, if we keep up the math , we could eventually come up with an FCAT math problem that will stump everyone. I am deeply offended by groups like the CTLA who think that the electorate is so stupid that we blindly connected the line on adding two commissioners and need their infinite wisdom to educate us correctly with fuzzy math or logic or something. We havent even attempted to see if the 5+2 BCC will work or not and already these pompous, arrogant cave dwellers are telling us it wont work and we hosed it up last election. The ultimate "do over" I guess.

The limitations of their intelligence is reflected in their incredibly stupid argument that it is possible that three Commissioners could be neighbors. As you said, so what. I dont know about you but when I go outside and look down the street two houses down, I cant see two neighbors in a row that I would want to form a voting block with in order to take control of Clay County. The possibilities are intriguing though. Lets see, they could call themselves the Three Musketeers, Three Amigos, Three Peas in a Pod the Trinity( a father a son and a dead guy) or even The Three Stooges. I am sorry, it is so pathetic it is funny.

 Groups like CTLAC do nothing but lose cedibility with people who can think rational, intelligent thoughts, and since the demographics of Clay County has shifted over the last several years to include people who can think independently and care about their future, groups like CTLAC will become irrelevent.

From Marsha: I tried asking an Officer, one says ok and then another says "I don't care" and kicks them out anyway. 

This attitude does not surprise me and it also confirms what I have said in the past. After so much exposure to bad people, police officers lose their humanity to a lesser or greater degree. I think the most appalling thing so far was the Tampa deputy who dumped a quadriplegic out of his wheelchair onto the floor while another deputy was filmed laughing at the incident. Both of them should not only be fired but exiled from decent people. (And it's ony February. I expect to see worse in the coming year.) I think the sheriff's department can come up with a better solution to kids awaiting their parents than "I don't care". But that's just naive old me.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

Baxley,

Your points about basing a decision on the issue is appreciated by me.  I make choices based upon some basic principles because often so much of what is presented on both sides is a "best educated guess"  like the long term effects of draining the river.

I don't believe any purpose in served in any mud slinging between organizations, and I hope USMA72's entry does not throw this into another CCAC type of spectacle, have we not had enough of that?  I don't know everyone that was on the CRC or is on the CTLAC and to cast such derogatory remarks towards either doesnt resolve anything, nor is it rational and intelligent by my standards.   

I am in agreement with you.. totally!  The Tampa deputies should not only be fired, but the one who did the actual 'dumping' (dumping causes lots of problems) should have charges filed against her.  I'd like to see them both have to wear signs around their necks, handcuffed and parade in front of the court house for a long period of time.  Strip them of all human dignity as they did the guadriplegic.  This is one of the most outrageous acts committed on a human being.  And one wonders why our law enforcement agencies aren't respected......one rotten apple can put a 'bile' taste in the mouths of all. 

Sorry fellow bloggers. I was not completely awake and paying attention. My misplaced blog above belonged under a different thread heading. Not paying attention, I have put it squarely into the wrong category. I would like to know how to correct it but Jonathan has more than enough to keep him busy.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

Marsha, you are right on target!  I agree with you.  If you cannot say something nice about someone or their organization, keep it to yourself.

Just for the record, I do NOT believe 2 more commissioners will solve anything.  The charter would need to be changed to do that.  It does not matter if you can only vote for 1 or 7 commissioners, the bottom line is MORE OF THE SAME!

Cadet - Do you not see/agree that the Charter Review Commission (CRC) did not give the single-member district BCC (approved by 64% of the voters) a chance to "work or not" before they added the two at-large seats?  Did they not trust the voters or are they trying to save the public with their 'enhancement'?  This is the point.  Though I try to shy away from absolutes, larger government is never better government.  Since where one stands is usually predicated on where one sits ... I have to wonder.

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."  -  Thomas Jefferson

Mr. Machala,

It doesn't matter who the amendment sponsor is (in my opinion). It doesn't matter what group offered the 5/2.

What matters is making a decision about the best form of representation we want for our County. Period. That's where our opinions diverge. There's no harm in that.

Whether you consider it "more" government or not, having only one person to represent me when there are 180,000 of me in the County today, is a little on the chintzy side. That's one representative for every 36,000 people (whether they vote or not).  That's a lot of humanity to be responsible for especially when County government is where the rubber is supposed to meet the road in terms of meeting the needs of it's people and making government available to its people.

Consider this, the University of Florida has a student population of 50,000+ students (larger than a Clay County single district). There is a three member Executive Branch (President, Vice President and Treasurer) and 94 Senators (46 elected in the Fall and 47 elected in the Spring). The UF Board of Trustees is comprised of 13 members for the entire university system.

In light of that comparative model of representation, is having three representatives too many? I don't think so. Especially when two of them are elected at large, as are all of the UF Student Government body.

I'd really like to take this debate out of the realm of who did what, when - because we can't change the past - and focus on the model of representation that best fits Clay County. If we debate on those terms, I think people will have more accurate information upon which they can make an informed decision.

Thank you.

Karen Lake

What was wrong with 5 single district Commissioners and why were we not given the opportunity to see if that worked for the County? Then to say we didn't change anything we just added more. That changed things and the citizens didn't even get the chance to see if it worked or not. People would have had a better position if they would have allowed the process to work without immediately changing things.

It reminds me of going to the store to buy a product and it says "New and Improved". Then we I get home it's the same thing I had before it became new and improved. Just like chips that say bigger bag only to open it and find out I got more air instead of chips. What a rip off!

Alachua County has a population of 230K and 5 Commissioners. Brevard County has over a half million population and 5 Commissioners. Escambia County has over 300K and 5 Commissioners. Marion County has over 300K and 5 Commissioners. I could go on with the list of counties.

Marion County sent a Commissioner up here recently to talk about the MSBU's for getting our dirt roads paved and other services. She was extremely knowledgeable and had been here many years ago to explain the process to the then sitting Commissioners. What's the results, they have their roads and communities fixed. What do we have a bunch of unhappy citizens in the community about their roads.

Commissioner Bradley was quite enamored with the Commissioner. He asked her to come back often. It is not hard to see quality versus quantity when quality is in the room. I agree with Commissioner Bradley. You think we could get her to move up to Clay County? 

That's what I see as the problem people without the moral aptitude to be Commissioners and make good decisions for the county and hire competent people. I could cite several areas such as trash, transportation, and the list goes on. It has nothing to do with the number of Commissioners or how many we have.

Frankly I wouldn't care if we only had 3 quality Commissioners in the county. That would be better than 5 or 7 without the moral aptitude to do their job.

Even the CRC who had 15 members broke up into sub-committees to be more effective and then presented it to the 15 members.

In government less is always better. Given the passing of amendment one this is a great way to start saving money. Bush said as much as 5 million could be cut from the Sheriff's budget in today's article in the TU.

Unless we decide that we can't find 5 quality Commissioners so we add 2 and get 7 in hope that we can get at least 3 who are worth having on the board. Still not enough to be a majority. Otherwise how could so many counties serve so many more citizens with smaller government. After all I've never heard of any of the above counties having a 9 million dollar scandal. Just a quick check of those counties that have increased to 7 members without a candidate to compete for that positon that will be obtained by default. If this was sports you would be disqualified. I guess sports has better rules. Besides they don't let you change the rules of the games in the middle. That may be why we have more people interested in sports than politics.