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March 31, 2005
 

 Time to end sabotage by write-in: © Ft. Myers News-Press

Sen. Dave Aronberg's fight to preserve a voter-approved election reform has picked up some momentum. Now's the time to let our legislative leaders know we want this reform salvaged.

The Palm Beach County Democrat, whose district includes parts of Lee and Charlotte counties, has partnered with Rep. Trudi Williams, R-Fort Myers, in re-introducing a bill that would prevent thousands of voters from being disenfranchised by write-in candidates.

An identical bill was filed by Sen. Jim Sebesta, R.-St. Petersburg, chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, which approved the measures this week. This is already better than the legislation fared last year. In 1998, voters approved a constitutional amendment that allows all voters, regardless of party affiliation, to vote in a party primary when the winner of that primary faces no general election opponent; in other words, when the winner of the party primary wins the election.

It's good idea given the increasing tendency for one major party or the other to dominate local elections, and the referendum passed easily. But a problem emerged, which Aronberg has been trying to fix. Because of an unfortunate ruling by state election officials, if a write-in candidate files for the office, necessitating a general election, the primary reverts to a closed party vote, limited to Republicans or Democrats only.

Write-in candidates acting on their own or at the secret behest of candidates, have closed down 30 legislative primaries since 2000, disenfranchising thousands of voters from the other party and independents who were supposed to get a vote under the 1998 reform. In 2004, the sheriff's race and a county commission race were closed to Democrats and independents by write-ins, leading 4,000 to switch registration to Republican for the vote.

Typically, such candidates do not campaign and get few votes. This legislation, S0286 and H0159, would not prevent write-ins from running, just from playing the spoiler.

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March 29, 2005

 Write-in Bill Advances in Committee: © Ft. Myers News-Press

TALLAHASSEE Florida lawmakers advanced a range of election changes Monday that call for eliminating closed primaries and stripping voter-registration authority from county election supervisors.

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee passed the series of election-related bills, including one to eliminate Florida's run-off election and another aimed at preventing write-in candidates from closing primaries where only one political party has candidates running. Florida citizens in 1998 overwhelmingly voted to let all primary voters cast ballots regardless of their political affiliation when the primary winner would face no general election opponent. State elections officials have ruled that write-in candidates close primaries to registered party members only.

Of 457 legislative races since 2000, 30 have had closed primaries because of write-in candidates, according a Senate staff analysis."More voters in Florida have been disenfranchised by the write-in candidate than butterfly ballots and felon voter lists combined," said the sponsor, Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, whose district includes parts of Lee County.

Aronberg cited Lee County's experience in 2004, where the sheriff's race was closed to Democrats and some 4,000 voters switched their party affiliation to vote, elections officials said.

Aronberg admitted the tactic, wildly popular with political parties, would be hard to eliminate, and called the measure's chances in the House "slim. "Rep. Trudi Williams, a Fort Myers Republican carrying the resolution in the House, said she'd been assured her bill would get a hearing, but added "The people who really use it don't want to see it go away."

Another bill the committee approved would do away with Florida's second primary election. Florida hasn't held a runoff election since 2000 after suspending the practice for the 2002 and 2004 election cycles. It would return in 2006 without legislative action.

Many of the changes come in a bill proposed by Secretary of State Glenda Hood's office aimed at tightening voter-registration rules to prevent fraud. One controversial piece, giving Hood's office power to issue binding directives to county supervisors, drew criticism from county elections officers last month.

But county supervisors said Monday that the provision had been changed enough to pacify them. The change allows Hood to delegate voter registration duties and the maintaining of records to the local election officials. The bill allows Hood's office to construct a uniform voter database in order to comply with Congress's 2002 Help America Vote Act.

Florida's Department of State has tried three times to create a felon purge database to alert county election officials about potential felon voters. But each list was shown to have flaws, and Leon County Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho told lawmakers Monday that the department's track record merited closer scrutiny as the Legislature moves to broaden its powers over elections.

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March 28, 2005

 Freshmen senators forced to cram: © Ft. Myers News-Press

TALLAHASSEE Michael Grant is no attorney, but this year he could help redraw Florida constitutional law.

Along with the 15 other freshmen Republicans in the Florida House, the Port Charlotte ambulance service owner is spanking new to Tallahassee's political process. Yet GOP dominance and constitutional term limits mean he is likely to hold greater sway than freshmen lawmakers of past classes.

Career politicians are becoming a relic in statehouses around the country. But voter-approved term limits remain a sore subject. Ushering political neophytes into office has either meant an infusion of fresh ideas or diluted statesmanship, depending upon whom one asks. Florida's legislative leaders take the latter view and advocate a measure that would ask voters to extend term limits from eight to 12 years. They argue their motive is the same as a company trying to retain high-skilled workers.

Grant's three weeks on the job typify the learning curve. Grant, 55 and a Quincy, Mass., native, hasn't brought a bill before committee yet. But on the House Judiciary Committee, he is voting on legislation affecting tort law and insurance regulations.

The committee also is looking at ways to make it harder for petition drives to place constitutional amendments on the ballot "so that we don't have one special interest group that can take it over and impose their will on the people."

One-fourth of the 120 House members are lawyers, so Grant said he isn't uneasy voting this year on tort reform measures that could have complex legal repercussions. "We have some inequalities in the system that are making our capitalist and entrepreneurial system unfair," Grant said. "You really don't need to be a lawyer to do that, and sometimes it's better not to be a lawyer because you don't have those prejudices."

Still, Grant has been cramming on state laws and bills. In the first three weeks of session, a seamless stream of lobbyists and constituents has flooded his office. Then there's the Tallahassee night life, where lobbyists throw an endless barrage of private parties to ply their trade with lawmakers. Wednesday night alone, Grant was booked to go from a Florida Space Day event on the top floor of the Capitol, to a West Charlotte County Republican Club social, and a Junior Achievement reception with House Speaker Allan Bense at the members-only Governor's Club.

Rep. Trudi Williams, a freshman Republican from Fort Myers, has been similarly overwhelmed by the social schedule. On Wednesday night, dealing with a bout of the flu, she opted to buy the movie "The Incredibles" and skip the parties.

"I'm not a big night person anyways," says the 51-year-old engineering firm owner. Yet, she said, she's obligated to drop in on two or three events a night during the session. "If you don't show your face, people think you're a snob. "Grant has already decided eight years isn't enough time to learn the job. "I don't think we have enough time to know a good bill from a bad bill let alone the courtesies and subtleties before we're termed out," he said last week. Because time for achievements is limited, lawmakers handle substantive legislation earlier. Grant met earlier this month with Gov. Jeb Bush to discuss a bill he's sponsoring to keep taxes from going up on hurricane-damaged homes that are rebuilt.

Grant's own home was severely damaged by Hurricane Charley, and he hasn't started making repairs. He, his wife, and youngest son have been renting a house in Port Charlotte since August. Freshman Republican Paige Kreegel, a Punta Gorda physician, is pushing legislation to allow doctors to decide for themselves when to settle medical malpractice lawsuits instead of leaving that to insurance companies.

In decades past, freshmen lawmakers were given "take-home" bills to gain experience on minor issues. Now, they jump in to carry substantive legislation often brought to them by lobbyists.

"I don't think the general public outside three blocks of the Capitol can understand the inside baseball politics going on," said Rep. Baxter Troutman, a Winter Haven Republican first elected in 2002 and sponsor of the House term-limits resolution. "Unless you've been in the process 10 years or longer, it's hard to be plopped into it and hit the ground running."

Resolutions asking voters to extend term-limits for lawmakers and Cabinet members has cleared key House and Senate committees. The measures would let a legislator spend 12 years in both the House and Senate, allowing successful politicians who move up the ladder to eke out a 24-year career in the statehouse.

Current lawmakers would be excluded from the expanded term limits.  

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March 27, 2005

The official word: © Ft. Myers News-Press

Southwest Florida is living with year-round water restrictions. Wells are running dry. Water tables are dropping. Meanwhile, Lee County continues to be one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. If water is a problem, why are we allowing growth to occur?

"It is not a question of whether or not we 'allow' growth to occur. Growth will come. Growth is inevitable and it is better that we plan for it and accommodate it to the best of our abilities instead of sticking our heads in the sand like an ostrich."

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton "We've got plenty of water. I will say this, as we continue to grow, it's not going to be so much an issue of availability of water. It's going to be availability of cheap water."

Rep. Jeff Kottkamp, R-Cape Coral

"Alternative water supply, such as reverse osmosis, reclaimed (reuse) water, and desalination are a must. ... And mandatory water restrictions must be enforced by all municipalities."

Rep. Trudi Williams, R-south Lee County "Rainfall has not diminished. The source is the same. It is storage and recharge that has failed. Water for people can be developed fairly cost effectively, but water for our natural system the tourist/retirement draw needs a better approach."

Bob Janes, Lee County commissioner "The county expects to have a desalinization plant running by 2010. Upgrades and other improvements to existing plants and an agreement with (Bonita Springs utilities) extends on-line capacity."

John Albion, Lee County commissioner

"There are still too many straws in the glass. The problem is not going to be there's not going to be enough; it's going to be at what cost. ... We can't change land-use designations that would reduce density. What we can do is not approve the higher-end range.''

Ray Judah, Lee County commissioner "We got this thing like a shotgun blast; people are building where there's no utilities. Our largest single industry is construction and its employment to people and families and income all depend on that. For a city to even try to come in with a moratorium ... would be difficult.''

Arnold Kempe, Cape Coral mayor

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