A lot of us are very concerned about the presidential election, as we should be, but there should be some concern directed towards other important decisions. Eighty-eight percent of Congress is open for new members, 34 in the Senate and 435 in the House. Going even further, here in our area, we have numerous elections on the local and state level, and odds are these ones will affect you more directly. I went to political forums, read the Lake City Reporter, and researched their platforms to help you out with getting to know the candidates. If any of these candidates suit you, you can request an early ballot if you call the election ballot or wait until primary day, August 20th. For more information, you can contact the Election Office at 386-758-1026, physically go to 17579 SW State Road 47, or just visit the website. Federal House of Representatives- Florida’s District 5 The only Republican running for this position is Glo Smith. In her speech at the Richardson Community Center, she used the time to describe her family and her 30 years of public service. She’s probably best known for the defacement controversy of June 2014, where her sign was vandalized to appear to have a white face. This was part of a series of incidents against black Republicans in the overwhelmingly Democratic district. On her website, she promotes business, praises the Constitution and limiting government, suggests either a flat tax or fair tax, commends our military, opposes Obamacare, and shames the federal government and their explosive spending. She is running against the Democratic incumbent, Corrine Brown, who you might’ve heard about, considering the fact she is currently being indicted for corruption. She’s not the only Democrat running, though. For example, LJ Holloway, who says she never met a reform she didn’t like. She wants to self impose a term limit on herself (six two-year long terms), fight big interests, abridge the Constitution, and reach across the aisle to address healthcare problems, education, criminal justice, economic inequality, and climate change. Another is candidate is Al Lawson, former Florida Senator and lobbyist. He has similar positions to Elizabeth Warren when it comes to the economy and college tuition, and says that he supports veterans, seniors, and students. Florida House of Representatives, District 10Frederick “Rick” Schutte IV is one of the Democratic candidates for this position. In his Richardson speech, he had brought a small bag full of various hats, giving his presentation in a “show and tell” format. He explained that he was an Florida State graduate, that he worked in law enforcement, and that he is a disabled veteran. As a lawyer, it makes sense that his campaign is emphasizing his knowledge of our current laws and the Constitution. Jerry Lawrence Bullard is the other Democrat running. He’s really pushing the down-to-earth approach, saying that work ethic was ingrained into him as the son of a farmer, which is probably why he promotes water quality and quantity. His wife is a teacher, and he opposes Common Core and supports teacher input. As a member of law enforcement for 26 years, he wants to support officers as well as push community-based policing. On his Facebook, he asks for “ideas on how to create good paying jobs and get our economy moving.” Next is incumbent Elizabeth Porter, who I’m pretty comfortable saying will win the Republican primary. Sorry Carol, maybe you should bring up that 0% from the NRA. She’s been endorsed by Florida Right to Life (she’s 100% pro-life), the NRA (she has a 100% rating), the Unified Sportsmen of Florida, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. She has experience inside the government, and has sponsored numerous bills that protect our gun rights, businesses, and water. Lake City Council District 12The current holder of the position is Zack Paulk, who focused on being “proactive, not reactive,” looking for problems in his community and fixing them. His handouts look like a receipt, showing that he’s spent $579,489 in street improvements, $375,484 in recreation improvements, and $2,167,387 in utility improvements. That’s $3,122,360 in total. In 2012, he did an interview on North Florida Today which he addressed fixing infrastructure, attracting businesses, and tackling drainage problems. Paulk also works for Walmart. Jake Hill is running against Zack, who is actually his successor. He challenged Paulk’s effectiveness, specifically over the trash collection. He wants to be “your voice” on the council. He opposes the move of City Hall to the Blanche Hotel and the unavailability of the Lake City Police Chief. Lake City MayorMost people who live in this town don’t even know the mayor’s name. That’s a shame, people. His name is Stephen Witt, and he’s a lawyer. He boasts about his law schooling and his accounting degree, which he says has been beneficial in his 11 years as mayor. His accomplishments include the Blanche renovation, the Kicklighter Water Reclamation expansion, and the development of our local economy. On Constitution Day, he visited CHS and gave a short presentation on what it is and why it’s important. Audre’ J. Washington hopes to unseat Witt, but says she has no issues with him per se. Instead, she wants to give the citizens “another voice,” with “a new vision, new perspectives, new strategies, and new directives.” She portrays herself as the people’s candidate, pushing “community first” politics. She approved of the Blanche renovation, and recognizes its historic relevance. Her top ten priorities are addressing gender equality, aiding our veterans, tackling homelessness, helping the elderly, producing entrepreneurship, generating employment, updating infrastructure, promoting economic growth, assisting our youth, and improving public safety. How does she plan to do that? Initiate city-run mentoring programs and putting more of the budget in the community. That’s gonna cost money. Does she want to raise taxes? No, instead she wants the city to hire a grant writer to research and apply for state and federal money. Columbia County Commisioner District 1Ron Williams, who’s running for re-election, electrified the room with his speech at the Richardson Center. He was loud, he worked the room, and he interacted with the audience. His main points are bringing jobs to the county, and wanting his constituents to get a “fair share” of funding. Ron has held the position for 30 years, and says that his accomplishments “speaks for itself.” He brags that he’s paved over 150 dirt roads, developed four community centers, three parks, and three fire departments. Mr. Williams wants to attract higher paying industry jobs, and says after we recover from the Recession, we can start thinking about limiting incentives. Oni Brown Allen, who has criticized Ron’s frivolous spending and the use of “year-end cash” on campaigns, focuses more on policy and substance rather than relatability. She wants new park equipment, better fields, more street lights, and updated infrastructure. Oni has also voiced support for zero based budgeting and improving education. She wants to bring in idustry job, mostly by better training our population for such labor and showing off our ideal location. Not a lot of people are aware of Toby Register's campaign. This is most likely because he has only spent $23 on the entire endeavor and hasn't connected at all with the public. He says he wants the local government to stop spending so much money, instead save it for "rainy days." He supports business incentives, especially for industry jobs, which we currently have a lack of. Toby has also received an endorsement from Kyle Green, who is running for District 5. Columbia County Commisioner District 5Tim Murphy is a down to earth small businessman who wants the government to stop borrowing so much money, be more transparent, and protect our kids more. He shouted out his math teacher and shamed the county’s spending at forums, and pushes for better government-people relations. He has owned Murphy Fabrication, Inc for 22 years, and says that makes him aware of what businesses need. Scarlet Parnell Frisina has had the position for 7 ½ years, and says she has proven to be a smart, cooperative, and fiscally-responsible leader. She said that whether she’s at the grocery store or at a ball game, she’s happy to talk to you about the issues that matter to you. On her handout, she said that she has removed $7,000,000 from the budget, giving more ease on the taxpayer. She has recently received some criticism due to last minute changes in plans for a park, changing it from a normal children's park to one designed specifically for those with special needs. Befaithful Coker is trying to spark a progressive movement here in Columbia County. She has voiced support for Black Lives Matter, has criticized the Clintons, and hinted at possible support for Bernie Sanders on her Facebook. She supports transparency and sunshine laws, providing employment programs for teenagers, and fighting for diversity. Coker would also push for the creation of a Budget Workshop to analyze and review the budget. She said something along the lines of, “God gave us one rule to live a moral life. Be faithful. So when you go to the polls remember to Befaithful.” Kyle Green is another candidate for district five. Even though I haven't heard much about this candidate, watching his Facebook Live streams and scrolling though his timeline pretty much sums him up. He's a normal guy. He claims that his family helped found the county, and wants to bring jobs and businesses back to the county so no one has to travel elsewhere. He supports term limits on the local level, and wants to address the slow road construction we've been experiencing. He wants to provide after school programs that teach kids the skills they need to live, and help our veterans out. Kyle wants you to do the proper research before you vote, and doesn't want you to complain about stuff going on if you don't try to fix it. Superintendent of Columbia County SchoolsI have already interviewed the superintendent candidates here, but they have developed their ideas and have added more to their platform. Incumbent Terry Huddleston has been in education for 37 years, in a variety of positions. He’s an expert with the budget, going from 3.5 million dollars in the red to 2.7 million in the black. He wants to encourage student and parent involvement in school board decisions, and emphasizes graduation to the extreme. Huddleston supports raising teacher pay by pushing financial stability and competition. Terry would like to continue the robotics program, even “go K-3 with Lego robotics.” When it comes to school security, he would like to place more cameras in prime entrances of the schools and create a school ID system, having students scan them when they get on and off the bus. Huddleston opposes the President's request to let transgender people use the facilities of their choice. After further questioning, Huddleston said he's not very concerned about the bathrooms (due to the fact most are single stall), but rather things like changing or locker rooms. Lex Carswell, who has 31 years in education, has three main priorities. The first one is raising the teacher pay, accomplished by freezing administration pay and overall hiring. Second is increasing the number of kids in dual enrollment. Third, directing more money into the classroom. Lex seems like he would push for a reform of Common Core, and would consider a nonvoting student member on the school board. Carswell’s security policy is make all schools single-entry. He also wants to implement a First Jobs Program, where freshmen can learn work maturity and mingle with community members to learn more about having a job. He also wants to emphasize our tech education, CNAs, and culinary arts. Lex believes that people should go to the bathroom that correlines with their biological sex. LC Bradley is another candidate, and has worked in a large variety of education positions for 40 years. His wife has also been in education for 34 years. He also supports raising teacher pay, but he’d convince state legislators to redistribute more funds to the county to pay teachers more. He would promote global marketability, creating apprentice programs with vocational schools and an International Baccalaureate Program (which is a more rigorous version of the AP Program). LC says he will implement an Emergency Action Plan, which will instruct teachers and students how to deal with emergency situations through drills. School Board District 4Mike Jenkins has a degree in building construction, and has been in construction for years. Apparently he’s gotten so much money from that, since he’s saying that he’ll give his paycheck back. He recognizes college is a choice, and that you can be successful without a degree. He supports the closing of Richardson Middle and Melrose Elementary, and maybe Pathways Learning Academy. Mike reassures you that none of the teachers will lose their jobs, though, and that closing down these schools will actually increase their pay. Jenkins also supports bringing agriculture and vocational programs down to the elementary level, but opposes Obama’s request to allow transgender individuals to use the bathroom and locker room of their choice. Jenkins wants to bring back School Resource Officers, which he says the School Board abolished. The current holder of the position is Keith Hudson, who was first elected to the school board in 1976 (he’s actually the longest serving school board member in Florida). He owns two businesses, Keith Hudson Fiberglass and Hudson Discount Marine. Keith also says he “supports many youth activities in Columbia County” and “believes that the school system should always meet the individual needs of each student, whether it is academic, vocational or special.” Mr. Hudson also supports raising the teacher pay, through the means of redistributing our current funds. When it comes to safety, Keith wants to fence every campus, make all schools single-entry, and install more security cameras. Circuit Judge 3rd Judicial Circuit, Group 1It's obvious that this is the most interesting and spiciest election this year.
T. Bradley McRae emphasizes judicial blindness and being a Floridian (he’s licensed to practice in Georgia as well). He’s been practicing law for almost 20 years, and is a graduate of Mercer Law School. McRae wants to “listen to the people, not just hear them,” and strongly supports the police. Bradley was recently involved in a car crash, but has no serious injuries. Controversy shrouds his campaign, due to the group called Citizens for Honest Judges. This group has been targeting Bradley’s opponent, and he said there was no ties between with him and the group. However, after further investigation, it was discovered that his former employee Christy Weaver leads the organization and that it received a $500 dollar donation from Big Island Construction Co. of Monticello, which has McRae’s brother as an agent. McRae still denies any involvement with the attacks. Paul Bryan is emphaszing his experience on the campaign trail. Bryan says he has handled every sort of case, was a prosecutor for 14 years, and taught law enforcement for 20 years. He graduated from University of Florida Law with honors and has served in this position for 23 years (this will be his final term). Paul is currently being targetted by the group Citizens for Honest Judges, which claims he's being sued by his former business partners, that he filed for bankruptcy in 2012, and has been under investigation for ethics violations, all with links to back them up. Bryan says that they do not tell the entire story, and that we should ignore them. His website is here.
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12/3/2016 11:52:49 am
Your site is truly cool and this is an extraordinary moving article.
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