Voting for Long

To the editor:

Why I am voting for Tom Long for Osceola County School Board, district 5.

No. 1: The School Board is dysfunctional. The evidence is clear as there has been no effort to work together and over the last eight years there has only been divisiveness. There has been a culture of making winners and losers out of each important decision. Sneak attacks on each other are the norm. It must seem to the superintendent that he is herding cats because they cannot stay focused on the most important goal and their attention wanders all over the place.

No. 2: The School Board is fiscally irresponsible. Allowing an entire school building to sit empty for years is a huge waste of our tax dollars. After being cautioned that once the building was no longer used for the education of students, it could not return to the building without cost prohibitive retrofit of new code requirements, and if not used for education purposes, the property would revert to the original donor. So, it has some educational meetings there that could just as well be held anywhere. It buys sub-par commercial property from close friends who otherwise would be unable to unload it and pay top dollar or buy landlocked property to build a school and create a problem for others to solve for them.

No. 3: The Osceola County School Board is unresponsive to the public and the public has lost confidence in this board.  Concerned parents are not given the attention they deserve.  When this School Board decided to get into the housing business, there was overwhelming opposition. This did not deter those who, personally, had a lot to gain at the expense of the taxpayers. When the School Board asked the voters to approve a referendum, the answer was “no.” No other Osceola School Board had ever been told “no” by the voters.

No. 4: District 5 voters deserve to be represented by someone who bases his decisions on the facts and will not deliberately mislead the public or lie. The incumbent has tried to rewrite the results of the impact fee lawsuit. The facts are the School Board did it wrong, it knew it was wrong, it were warned it was wrong, it was given the opportunity to make it right, but decided  it needed the money more than the families they were overcharging. Again, wasting your money to defend a lame scheme to extract more taxes than allowed and they could not defend what they tried to do. It's impact fee did not stand the test. It's reaction? It was all those evil people who don’t want schools built who are causing problems and made them spend money.

No. 5: There are many more reasons why we need a change in who represents district 5, but we have a candidate in Tom Long, who is a bulldog in speaking up for the public’s interest. Our children, our finances, our integrity, our priorities are of public interest. Our School Board representatives are the public’s input into our education system. We need someone who knows this.  See you at the polls.

Judy Robertson
St. Cloud

Horner endorsed

To the editor:

I was amazed to hear that at a recent candidate forum, Tea Party candidate for the State House of Representatives, District 79, José Alvarez, came out in support of Poinciana incorporating and becoming a city. The credo of the Tea Party and Alvarez has been that they were going “Rino” hunting and were going to oust from office any Republican elected official that did not support Republican values.

Mr. Alvarez, by coming out and advocating a Poinciana incorporation into a city goes against two of the principals that Republicans value, that of less government and less taxes. Two principals that Mr. Alvarez’s opponent, incumbent Mike Horner proved he supported by not supporting the Poinciana incorporation last year at a joint public hearing and at the Osceola and Polk County State Delegation meetings. Who is the “Rino” now? Or is it that Alvarez is pandering to the small minority of Poinciana residents who supported incorporation last year in order to garner their votes? What principles does Alvarez espouse to? Or is the Tea Party and Alvarez’s candidacy really just a ploy to split the Republican vote so that a Democrat will get elected?

If Poinciana became a city, the residents of the area would have to deal with an extra layer of government and sky-high taxes as the feasibility study projected a 5 percent increase in property valves for the first five years. In reality, property values have dropped this past year 17 percent and all indications are it will drop for at least another two to three years.

Is Alvarez the type of person residents in District 79 want to represent them in Tallahassee? A candidate who is willing to abandon his principles in order to get elected, or do District 79 residents want a principled Republican representing them? An elected official who protected a community that has been the hardest hit community in Florida when it comes to a high foreclosure and unemployment rate, from more government and more taxes. If the latter is what residents want, then that person is Mike Horner.

Jeffery A. Goldmacher
Kissimmee

Smarter than that

To the editor:

On Sept. 30, I noted a full-page ad in the News-Gazette pushing the proposed extra penny sales tax for roads we’ll soon be voting on. I thought that someone must have more money than God to take out such a huge ad to further the cause. However, knowing that the condition of the roads does not change the fact that I simply do not have a cent of extra money, I tossed it aside upon identifying the subject and the vote-yes-bias.

Then, the same ad reappeared in the Oct. 14, edition in half-page form followed a few pages later by a similar ad touting the referendum on property tax exemptions for business. This time I read more carefully, right through the tiny little print at the end of the ad, and was dismayed to learn that apparently the group with all the money for advertising is us – Osceola taxpayers via our county government.  It claims to be providing information to educate us and, even worse, have the nerve to assert that, “it is not intended to advocate a position.”

Seriously? Are they kidding? Writing which does not advocate a position gives all sides of an issue (and every issue has two or more).  It uses neutral language. It does not employ such buzz words, slanted phrases and positive promises as “improving,” “opportunity,” “invest,” “cost effective,” “will create jobs and boost local economy,” and that’s just from the introductory paragraph regarding the proposed tax for roads. The item regarding the business tax exemption referendum is similarly full of statements about benefits, which “will” follow its passage. These days I doubt anyone can state as a certainty that a particular result “will” happen. It may. It may not. There are too many factors in play to be making definite promises in an obvious effort to get government's fingers further into our wallets.

I submit that these materials as written belong on the Opinion page in the form of a quest editorial. They are blatantly one-sided and do, indeed, advocate a position. Frankly, I’m rather insulted that our county government thinks it can slip such propaganda past voters by labeling it “public education” and we won’t even notice. Wrong. We’re smarter than that, aren’t we?

L. Jean Olson
Kissimmee

Quality of life

To the editor:

As a recent candidate in the Osceola County School Board district 5 race, I have some new insight into what it really means to be a candidate: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Rather than focus on the bad and the ugly, which seems to be the status du jour, I would rather share with you the good that I have learned. We the people truly have the power to make a difference, however, we don’t know what needs to be done. The biggest issue I faced in my campaign was getting my message out to the people in a quick and efficient manner. It is exorbitantly expensive to run a campaign these days because you must compete with all of the other “messaging” people are receiving constantly throughout their day. In other words, it takes advertising dollars, and they aren’t cheap.

Fundraising for a campaign creates a conundrum. Asking for money from businesses is the most efficient method to run a campaign. The businesses have the most to gain monetarily from having a candidate “in their pocket.” They also have more money to share so they tend to write bigger checks. On the other hand, there is the impression which is often reality, that a candidate is selling their future vote on issues to the businesses that support their campaign. I believe corporate financing of campaigns is one of the biggest failures of our political system. I accepted money for my campaign from businesses that offered, who I knew were supporting me because they want to see improvements in our community. However, I could not bring myself to actively solicit funds from the business community. Please don’t misunderstand my message — I am not anti-business, I just think the scales on this issue are over-tipped in their favor.

The other way to raise money is to ask individuals. This takes more time per dollar raised because individuals simply do not have the excess funds to spend, and therefore write smaller checks than businesses. Another factor that may be even more influential on their behavior is the fact that individuals cannot expect to gain monetarily from supporting a specific candidate. Instead, their expectation is a better quality of life. While most would agree that quality of life is more important than money, it is not tangible, and therefore, not as easy to quantify. As human beings, we like to compare apples to apples. If we give something tangible, we want something tangible back.

So, how do we the people make a difference? The candidates who are truly for the people need you to come out and vote, but they also need your financial support. I am urging you as individuals to send small amounts of money to those candidates who you believe will improve your quality of life. As a recent candidate, I can assure you that what seems like small amounts of $5, $10 or $20 are greatly appreciated. Collectively, it gives the candidate money to spread their message. It also instills a sense of responsibility on the candidate to work harder in their campaign for their supporters. Finally, it promotes a positive energy within the entire campaign. If all of the registered voters in any given precinct gave $1 each, it would well exceed what the businesses in that precinct are willing to give. That is how we can take back our power and have our voices heard. Thank you.

Stacy Anderson McCland
St. Cloud

Out of touch

To the editor:

Reading the news about the property tax increases recently I believe that our county officials have lost touch with the reality of what is happening in our county.

Then, reading the news about the county moving forward on spending millions on an Osceola County Museum and also a library, I have come to the conclusion that our county officials have lost their common sense and could care less about the county residents and the financial struggles that the counties citizens and small business owners are facing.

When county officials are confronted about the millions that are going to be spent on the museum, library or other costly projects they will say that the funds are separate from property tax money. However, these are desperate times and desperate times call for desperate measures and new ideas that could re-allocate where money is spent. There is always a way to save a family from losing their home sweet home and small business owners who have poured their life into their business. Keep the residents and business first, and then build museums and libraries. It does not seem, however, that the county officials are capable to accept this challenge of our time.

What does the property tax increase mean for some of the counties residents? This additional property tax will be the “straw that breaks the back” of many county residents and small business owners. This will result is more foreclosures which in turn will result in more county residents and small business defaulting on their taxes. I would like to know how this makes sense to our county officials.

The continued “knee jerk” reactions of county officials and acting like all residents have six-figure incomes needs to stop before it’s too late.

Leaving Osceola?

Mark Zellers
St. Cloud

Need rail service

To the editor:

Florida needs rail services to combat traffic congestion. Public transportation costs are too high for the average consumer. Roads need maintenance.

Lois Hemm
Orlando