The fox guarding the hen-house...

[FD Bro']

Williams In Florida House District 55

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 19, 2008

A special election will be held on Tuesday, March 25, to replace state Rep. Frank Peterman Jr., who resigned last month to become head of Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice.

House District 55 serves a largely minority district that was redrawn to wind through most of south St. Petersburg as well as portions of Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties. Because of Peterman's resignation, the district has not been represented this legislative session and would have been better served had an interim director been appointed for the juvenile-justice job until Peterman could finish his term.

The election will cost an estimated $500,000. Further complicating things, a write-in candidate has emerged, and if she doesn't withdraw after the March 25 election, another election will be held on April 15. Either way, the winning candidate will be lucky to spend two weeks in the Legislature this session.

Of the three Democratic candidates in next Tuesday's election, Earnest Williams is our choice.

Williams, an insurance agent, served two terms on the St. Petersburg City Council in addition to several boards, committees and task forces. He is experienced and knows the ups and downs of budgets as well as the limits of what government can do for this district.

Also running are educator Charles McKenzie and attorney Darryl Rouson, former president of the St. Petersburg branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who recently switched political parties.

Williams offers pragmatic solutions for the state's insurance crisis, including eliminating the 2 percent tax Florida policyholders pay to finance police and firefighter pensions. He feels that insurance in Florida is too regulated and that Citizens Insurance should be replaced with a hurricane fund.

All three candidates have a history of community involvement within the district, but Williams will bring a skill set to Tallahassee that can best serve residents.

In House District 55 the Tribune endorses Earnest Williams.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/19 ... editorials



What a shock! Another insurance man running for the state house.

Reminiscent of the way the Florida legislature missed the mark on insurance reform last year, another shadowy suspect shows-up in the doorway looking to manage money he's intimately tied to.


FD Bro'

Charles McKenzie does not have the big money of the other two but he cares about the district.

When CONA made a big fuss over adding to authorized strength (but not hiring) three new officers, Earnest Williams made excuses for not even making this token committment. He told council that the mayor was not responsible for the city not having enough officers. CONA was pretty weak in their request but Williams gave even this token gesture a hard time.

He was right to point out that Rouson used bankruptcy to bail out of $400,000 in debts. Those who trusted him and loaned him money lost out. Now he wants us to trust him. His campaign report shows a lot of donations from SPPD top brass using 1300 First Avenue North as their address. A vote for him is a vote for business as usual.

Something fishy is going on with this special election. You point out that the district will loose out on representation this session. 25,000 voters will also loose the chance to vote in the election because the Republican jumped into the Democratic primary. The other candidate became a write in when the Republican party refused to name a candidate on the ballot. I suspect collusion between Gov. Crist, Rouson and the Pinellas Republican Party Chair.

Charles McKenzie pastors a church on 9th Av south and MLK, right in the heart of the hood. They want to be in a safe neighborhood and support law enforcement. He is the only candidate to have a real job and know what it means to earn an honest living. He teaches school.

[FD Bro']

Volunteers Needed!!

VOTE "Charles McKenzie" District 55

If you can help call: Contact, Linda E. Lucas, Ph.D. -------- Tel: (727) 866 - 7335


Scheduled Events:

This section has been removed from view by "FD Bro'." If you wish to help get out the vote for Charles McKenzie, call the number above and you will be apprised of the itinerary. there is work for you.

--END


St. Petersburg Association of Fire Fighters - IAFF Local 747 has already got boots on the ground.

We are actively campaigning for Charles McKenzie.

Some time ago, we decided that we will no longer be a door mat for those who turn a blind eye to the problems that public safety professionals who work for the City of St. Petersburg are forced to endure.

Call Dr. Linda Lucas and offer to lend a hand. Decide for yourselves if there will be a place for you at the table.



FD Bro'

52+ hours a week I work for the citizens of St. Petersburg. Not only do I NOT work for those who work against me - I am one of a large group of individuals who spends all of their waking hours working to unseat those politicians who cheapen the work of this city's Fire Fighters, Fire Fighter Paramedics and Law Enforcement Officers.

[Tom]

I know all three candidates and Charles McKenzie is my choice for Dist. 55.

When an outstanding public servant like Charles McKenzie comes forward I am proud to support him. He has raised the level of debate and avoided the negative campaigning of the others.

You have covered many of the issues so I'll just add a few comments.
FD Bro', you do excellent research and keep us well informed.

I had heard councilman Williams talk about cutting the 2% tax on insurance but missed the part about taking this funding away from police and fire pensions. Thanks for clearing that up.

The public should take a close look at this "free gift" because there will be costs. I did not hear any proposal to replace these funds with another tax or revenue source. The legislature is talking about shifting property taxes to sales taxes but this cost could easily shift back to property taxes. If the goal is to not replace this money and force pensions down we need to consider the consequences. A good pension is the least we can do for public servants who put their lives on the line to protect us. What happens if we allow our city to fail to keep its commitment to public servants? I could see problems recruiting and keeping the best people and soon the quality of service will suffer. If our homes are not as well protected from fire and theft how long will it take insurance companies to raise rates to compensate for the increased risk? Will we end up paying more money and suffering more crime?

I don't know the answers but I don't trust the legislature to figure it out before jumping into another bad idea.


As President of the Bartlett Park Neighborhood Association I can say that all three candidates have been helpful to our residents. Our association can not take sides or endorse so I am just speaking for myself.


Tom Tito

[FD Bro']

Hi Tom and thanks goes to 'you' for 'your' service.

We're all members of a special interest group of one sort or another. Like many of my Brothers and Sisters on the job, I work feverishly on all of my days off to strive for parity in the workplace in what would appear to be one of the most politically inbred cities in the Tampa Bay area. We often joke about the fact that on any given day in this most densely populated county - seeing Police cars, Fire engines and Rescue trucks criss-crossing all over God's creation is an all too-common occurrence and most often taken for granted.

Too few Police officers and too few Fire Fighter Paramedics adds up to a disaster waiting to happen. In out latest round of contract negotiations with the city, several of our fire chiefs along with Human relations types sat across the table from us with the look of incredulity as we suggested what they might do to mitigate the rapid loss and virtual lack of replacement of medics on our department. Unlike the situation over on the PD side, the city's administration doesn't 'deny' that we've lost medics, rather they tend to work around the situation by throwing unlimited overtime monies (not all hours paid at time & a half) at the problem.

What's troubling about that?

The city doesn't hire Paramedics back to do the overtime. Instead the city hires Fire Fighter EMT's back to work with a Fire Fighter Paramedic partner. You can ask any medic on the job and he or she will tell you that they'd rather have a partner with advanced lifesaving skills on a regular-ongoing-basis, rather than what they're being forced to become accustomed to.

This is but one example of the way this city cheats you out of what was originally designed to be a system that would spare no expense to protect you and your loved ones.

Maybe we should re designate the title "strong-mayor" to "strong-arm mayor."


I'll see you with a McKenzie sign in your hand, Brother.



Fraternally,


FD Bro'

Anything fishy with this "special" election? Lost representation this session, $1/2 million wasted, 25,000 voters not allowed to vote in the primary because the Republican jumped into the Democratic race. Collusion between Rouson and Republicans?

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/l ... .ece#rants

The Times has not asked Darryl Rouson any tough questions.
Did the Times ask why the Republican Party failed to run a candidate when their guy switched parties?
Did they look at phone calls between Crist, Rouson and the Pinellas Republican chair in the days before his party switch and the call for this "special election"?
Why did the Republican party force their new candidate to run as a write in candidate?
Who funded Rouson?
Will the winner miss all or most of the legislative session?
They asks "Why is this special election necessary?" and give a very incomplete answer. Why did Crist rush this instead of waiting for the session to end?
They credit Rouson with membership in the state's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. What did he do for us there? This group is for cutting revenue to local government and squeezing public salaries and benefits.
What does Rouson mean with his pledge for "safer neighborhoods". Did you know that the church he attends has open drug sales in their parking lots and he has done nothing about it?
Who are "All Children Matter" and why is this "charity" sending out junk mail for Rouson?
Does Rouson pay income taxes?
How did he build a mansion in a gated community while ripping of his creditors for $400,000?
Rouson's temper tantrum before the cities elite at the Tiger Bay Club was imposible to ignore but the Times blamed Earnest Williams for being "negative".


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