government

or, The Other Amendments 

Possible amendments to the Clay County Home Rule Charter, our local constitution, get discussed frequently here at MCS. No one, though, has brought up two proposed amendments making the petition-signing rounds, even though the petitions were initiated by Citizens for the Protection of Voters' Rights, a political action committee whose formation was announced on this website.

One of CPVR's proposals affects the formula used to determine County Commissioners' salaries, establishing equal pay for all Commissioners, including the new four-year chairman, assuming there is one after the election.

Every now and then I read something new about government that just disappoints me, and reinforces my belief that government isn't what we're taught it is, isn't what we keep hearing it is, and isn't even close to what it could be.

The most current source of disappointment came from yesterday's editorial on tcpalm.com about the recent drive to revoke signatures that had been acquired to support the Hometown Democracy Amendment's inclusion on November's ballot.  Regardless of one's feelings about the proposed state amendment, the editorial pointed out, the revocation process and how it was created is just another example of the way things work in government.

Rob Bradley must feel like he's at, or pretty darn close to, the very center of the Clay County political universe.  Over the past couple of years, every single major local political issue has orbited around him.

Rob's been the attorney for both Keystone Heights' and Orange Park's municipal governments, and the nephew of local judge, so he was already a local political astronaut.  What took him toward the center of the universe and started everything spinning around him was his appointment to the most recent Charter Review Commission.

The most controversial proposal that came from the CRC was one that called for the addition of two new members to the five-member County Commission, including a four-year chairman elected by voters instead of rotating the chairmanship yearly among the Commission members.  Voters agreed, so let's skip that controversy for the moment and just accept the fact for now that, in the local political universe orbiting Bradley, it's a good idea.

I went to the meeting of Citizens for Term Limits and Accountability Committee at the Fleming Island Library Wednesday night, hoping to meet in person some of the bloggers who've been complaining that the political action committee doesn't hold open meetings.

The conspiracy theorists had contended that CTLAC should, despite no legal basis, hold its meetings in the open because the PAC is proposing amendments to the County Charter.  Open the discussion to the public, like the recent official government Charter Review Commission that is required by law to hold open meetings.  That way, the theorists said, people would be able to see that CTLAC for what it really is - a small group of disgruntled people with questionable motives.

A few thoughts for the weekend ...

The discussion about the Outer Beltway here on the blogs is the most intelligent, easy to understand and informative than anything I've read, heard or seen among the many, many public presentations on the always-changing project. The blog contributors should be thanked, of course, but let's not forget My Clay Sun for providing this awesome community forum for the exchange of ideas and information. ...

Bill Garrison, familiar to MCS bloggers as Baxley and a member of the most recent Clay County Charter Review Commission, is stepping into the lion's den Monday night. He's going to be at the Fleming Island Library to talk about Charter Amendments relating to the composition of the County Commission with Citizens for Term Limits and Accountability. Since the topic is likely to come up for a vote in November's election, it would be a good time for folks to hear some reasonable discussion on the issue. ...

Adam Babington might not be a name most people'd recognize, but if you're a member of the Chamber of Commerce around Florida, you probably got an e-mail from him today.

Ol' Adam's the Director of Initiatives and Coalitions for the Florida Chamber and his e-mail warns members of that prestigious organization about an evil situation they may encounter as they exercise their American right to vote the Presidential Primary Election. An attempt to "perpetrate widespread fraud," he called it. A "last-ditch effort to fool Florida voters."

What is this statewide voter fraud scheme planned for tomorrow that has Adam sending out e-mails about the sky falling?

Funny thing happened during Tuesday's meeting of the Clay County Commission. Not funny ha, ha. Not funny, as in amusing of any kind. It was more the embarrassing kind of funny.

Happened during a discussion about Code Enforcement, and how Clay County levies fines, then reduces them, and the whole process of trying to get local folks to keep their property up to code.

It was funny how that discussion included and quickly discounted the County Attorney's input. Funny how it did completely ignore the apparently-stunned professional being paid to run Code Enforcement. Funny how the discussion managed to include Commissioners getting a close-up and personal look at a photograph of yard that needed mowing.

Qualifying opened today for Orange Park Town Council. 
So far, only mayor Bob Standifer has filed paperwork and announced that he will run for another term.
Meanwhile, Travis Cummings' seat remains open. Cummings plans to run for Clay County Commission.
City hall officials said three men have picked up application forms but none have returned completed forms.
Qualifying ends Feb. 11 and the election is March 11.

This morning's Florida Times-Union contains an editorial about a survey. If you want to know more about the survey itself, check that out. But the findings, well, they were fairly interesting ...

- Quality of life is declining, say 43 percent of those surveyed, a 7 percent increase over those who responded that way last year. Also, 37 percent of those surveyed expect Florida to become a worse place to live in the next year compared to 24 percent who think it will get better.

I'm with the 43 percent, and think there's a probable decline ahead. Some of that decline, however, can be mitigated by some common sense (instead of developer-, special interest- and lobbyist-driven manipulations) in managing growth. It is a statewide problem, not just Clay County's, but Clay County is where we can force our government to change its approach.