Florida Man Amendments

 

UPDATED on October 19, 2020 - Usually, I keep this blog focused solely on North Bay Village but I am reliably informed by my license plate that we also live in a state called "Florida", a Spanish word meaning "Coño, why are there so many bugs?" Florida of course is still famous for holding elections a lot and then not figuring out how to count the votes.  

One of the many amusing aspects of "Florida" elections is that each time around, some of the voters get to decide constitutional changes in a section of the ballot called "What The Hell Does This Mean."  

Most voters simply check yes and move along.  

Well since this is 2020 and I have also heard there is an election maybe coming up in November, I thought I might weigh in on this year's crop because it's 2020.  

Here's the summary.   

Vote Yes on 2 & 3 Then Walk Away.  

Before you go any further, read them at this link.   BallotPedia.  

I'll cut and paste here:

Amendment 1 - States in the state Constitution that only U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or older can vote in federal, state, local, or school elections.

My Analysis:  This is some gaslighting bullshit.  The Constitution currently states that "every US citizen who is 18 years old or older can vote" and this changes Every to Only.   It's here as a racist propaganda piece tagline to create the impression that non-citizens are allowed to vote currently which is not true.  Dead citizens can vote and live citizens are prevented from voting but non-citizens cannot.  

Chance it will pass:  100%  It's racist, insulting and xenophobic or as we call it in "Florida", a crowd pleaser.  

Amendment 2 - Raises the minimum wage in Florida to $15 over 6 years. 

My Analysis:  Who the hell can live on less that $15 per hour?  Of course we should do what our state leggers have not had the courage to do.   

Chance it will pass:  51% and even it does, the legislature will find ways to derail it like they did High Speed Rail and restoring voting rights for people who completed their sentences.   

Amendment 3 - Establishes a top-two open primary system for state office primary elections. 

My Analysis:  I dislike government involvement in party primaries.  If you are a Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Libertarian or other, it should not be the government's responsibility to take charge of your nominating process.  

Still this reform would open the primaries to independents, who are paying for the primary, and put the top two vote getters, regardless of party, on the ballot.   It's the case in California and it's working pretty well  It's also nearly true in the "non-partisan" Miami Dade elections and we always seem to wind up with a good candidate and Esteban Bovo, so we should do it.  

Chances it will pass:  100%  Chances that the Governor will prevent its implementation:  100%

Amendment 4 - Requires voter-approved constitutional amendments to be approved by voters at a second general election.

My Analysis:  Florida Power and Light, and several other large snowflake companies feel victimized by the amendment process, and want to take the current system which requires a 60% majority and force all amendments to be voted on again so if their interests are not protected, they can figure out new ways to subvert the process.  

Chances it will pass:  40%  But since it is confusing as hell, and voters are not that bright, maybe 90%

Amendment 5 - Increases the period during which a person may transfer "Save Our Homes" benefits to a new homestead property from two years to three years

My Analysis - Our legislature has one damn job - pass the budget and fund the state.  They do this through taxes.  It's their job and they can easily do a little bit of work and come up with changes to the tax code.  If we have to do their job for them, we should all get $15 per hour.  

Chances it will pass:  100% because it's taxes.  

Amendment 6 - Allows a homestead property tax discount to be transferred to the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran

My Analysis:  Please!  Do we have to do everything ourselves around here?  What do our state electeds even do?

Of course the additional disabled veterans surviving spouse should get the additional Homestead benefit.  I'm not a monster.  But our legislators are and have not taken action on this because they are a Republican led legislature so they hate veterans.  

Chances it will pass:  Depends entirely on the Republican turnout in this election.  It Republican turnout is high, it will fail like everything else they do.   

Next Up:  Rest of the Ballot

Ballot Question or Candidate	My Reasoning
Miami Dade Clerk of the Courts	Harvey Ruvin - He’s been there since 1992 and is a  former North Bay Village Mayor,  His experience and steadiness show very well and he keeps things nonpartisan and professional   The Adult in the Room.
School Board	Russ Rywell and Lucia Baez-Geller.  I honestly don’t have a strong recommendation.  I find both of them competent, engaging and strong.   I do like  Rywell for his knowledge of the community relationship with TIES and I do like Baez-Geller for her knowledge of student needs.
Supreme Court Retention Carlos Muñiz	NO - he’s a complete toady.  Appointed by Pam Bondi, he’s a reliable obstructionist who has tried to block medical marijuana, supported voting restrictions, voted to fund religious schools and he’s weird looking.
Court of Appeals Monica Gordo	NO DeSantis appointee who somehow manages to miss that the Everglades should not be drained.
Court of Appeal Eric William Hendon	YES  Scott appointee who is a reliable vote on housing issues for mixed use economic developments
Court of Appeals FLEUR JEANNINE LOBREE	NO DeSantis appointee who consistently votes against holding police accountable.
Court of Appeals Thomas Logue	NO Scott appointee.  He is not bad but he is too process oriented for my taste.
Court of Appeals Bronwyn Catherine Miller	NO Another Scott appointee who served as part of the State Attorney’s office and showed a remarkable hesitancy to prosecute corruprtion  (In fairness to her, Kathy Fernandez Rundle, the State Attorney, never actively prosecutes corruption, so she was just following orders, I guess.  And her name is cool)

All Three County Amendment

YES - they are simple clarifications of existing language in the Charter

  

Kevin Vericker

October 7, 2020 

North Bay Village Community Policing

 

There's a lot in the news nationally about "Defunding The Police."  

Like so much in these contentious times, the slogan misses the mark.  The actual discussion to have is are the police focused on the right programs and actions in addition to enforcement.  Do the police improve the community relations?  Are they going beyond enforcement and actively engaging in prevention?  Does the community trust them?  

In North Bay Village, we've seen both sides of that coin and come out on the better side.  

History Time

In the last decade, the North Bay Village police were warned not to engage with the residents and had significant consequences for them if they did.  Crime went up, residents lost information they needed to keep themselves safe, and it was a major contribution to the decline of North Bay Village.  

In 2017, when our new chief Carlos Noriega came on, he moved the needle on that.  He got the officers back on the street, supported Crime Watch, got our kids in PAL at Miami Beach and consistently seeks out opportunities to improve the relations in the community.  Hell, I joined him in a Critical Mass ride through the Village!  

It Pays Off

Last week there was an issue with stolen bicycles, not a major crime in its own right but important to the owners of the bikes and to the atmosphere of our Village.   

The police decided to get active on the issue.   They contacted the building, met with the management of the building, were handing out fliers to the residents with the Be On The Lookout shown here on the right, and were assessing the vulnerabilities in the building with an eye towards making it safer.  

All great things.   

Then this happened.  The suspect in the thefts decided to return to the site.  And our cops were right there.  And he got arrested.  

Now all of this might seem like small potatoes and dumb luck and maybe the second part is true - it was dumb to return to where you were jacking bikes - but it's not.  

It shows a police force that is consistent and involved in the life of the Village.  This is not an occupying enforcement agency.   It is a true public safety force.   

It's no secret that the bulk of our budget goes to the police and that can and should be questioned and justified.   We ask a lot of our police, they deliver and that costs real money but our police force is one of the best reasons to live here.  They are part of us.  

Kevin Vericker

October 1, 2020