CHARTER REVIEW-ONE LAST TIME!

ATTENTION PATRIOTS!

We conservatives are making a difference with a good turnout both for the City of Gainesville town hall meetings about the budget and the Alachua County fire assessment meeting. It has been a long time since our elected officials have taken fiscal responsibility seriously and they are now “feeling our pain”! 
We must continue our efforts by attending the final Charter Review Commission meeting tonight regarding the amendment for single member county commission seats. There is still a chance that this amendment will be placed on the ballot in November and its fate will be decided tonight.

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND! Let the commissioners hear that the voters should be allowed to VOTE on this issue!

The meeting will be held tonight, June 23, @ 5:30, Alachua County Administration Building, in the Jack Durrance Auditorium on the second floor.

Reminder: County Commission & CRC Meetings

Reminder of 2 more meetings this week.  We need you to attend to voice your opinions!!

**Please attend the County meeting tonight rather than the City Budget meeting…so we appear with one strong voice.

County Commission Meeting

When: Tuesday, June 22nd at 5:30pm

Where: County Administration Building, 12 SE 1st Street downtown Gainesville in the Jack Durrance Auditorium, Room 209, 2nd floor

Why:  Commission is receiving citizen’s comments on the Fire Assessment Tax

Charter Review Committee Meeting

When: Wednesday, June 23rd at 5:30pm

Where: County Administration Building, 12 SE 1st Street downtown Gainesville in the Jack Durrance Auditorium, Room 209, 2nd floor

Why: Committee will cast final vote on Single Member Districts.

URGENT: Fight for your rights!

Attention Patriots!

The final Alachua County Charter Review Commission public meeting is tonight at 5:30. We have all been working very hard to get the amendments  for single member districts and non-partisan county commission elections placed on the November ballot. There are many citizens and some Commissioners that  feel that voters are not qualified to decide about their governance including a large group of UF student College Democrats that will be attending the meeting to speak out out against single member districts.  Below is a recent excerpt from the College Democrat’s web site.

“The County’s Charter Review Commission has been inundated of late
with tea baggers wanting a seat on the County Commission and at
any cost. The current proposal would limit accountability for each
citizen from 5 commissioners down to just one. The problem is by
dividing the Commission, so too divided is the accountability and
consideration of each commissioner. We cannot let this happen,
just so someone with an “-R” next to their name can sit on the
board. Come, spend an hour, let your voice be heard and help drown
out the crazy tea-baggery that’s so rampant in the previous
meetings of this board.”

That shows how ignorant the College Democrats are. First, the “Tea Baggers”
didn’t start the idea of single member districts, though people from the Tea
Party have been instrumental in getting the amendment to this point.  The idea started with rural citizens because rural concerns have been largely ignored by the county commission. More than half the population of the county lives outside of the city of Gainesville, and yet 3 of the five commissioners are former mayors of Gainesville. In other words, we aren’t asking them to stack the deck in our favor. The deck is currently stacked in their favor, and we are seeking to have some rural representation.

Second, it actually makes each commissioner more accountable to the
voters in his or her district. It requires them to better understand what the
issues and concerns are of his or her own neighbors.
Third, it makes county commission races less expensive, which opens
them to more competition. The more people that we have to choose from,
the better the chance that the county will get good quality commissioners.

Fourth, because it lowers the cost of races, it has the potential to lower
the influence of special interest money.

We need YOU to attend the meeting tonight to address the Commisssion
and let them know how important it is for these amendments to be placed on
the ballot. We need one conservative to speak for every liberal that will talk against the amendments. 

The Charter Review Commisssion will meet tonight, June 9, at 5:30 at the
County Administration Building, in the Jack Durrance Auditorium on the
second floor.

Success at Charter Review Commission

Congratulations to everyone that participated in the Charter Review Commission amendment process. Last night the amendment addressing single member district commission seats  was moved forward towards the ballot in November after having been previously voted down. Citizens BECAME INVOLVED and the Commission listened! Your efforts made the difference! 

The final vote is on June 9. We expect a large opposition turnout so WE NEED YOU THERE! We are not done yet!

Charter Review Commission Meeting 05/12/10

Upcoming Alachua County Charter Review Commission Meeting- 05/12/10

For more information click here to go to the CRC site.

The current Alachua County Charter is up for modification this year. The Charter Review Commission is a committee of fifteen individuals that has the responsibility of evaluating each submission to determine whether the change is an appropriate Charter proposal. The proposal is then  placed on the ballot so that each citizen can vote on the issue. Several meetings are still planned to discuss each amendment that has been moved forward at the conclusion of each meeting. Moving a proposal forward is important so that each amendment may ultimately be placed on the ballot on November 2 for voter approval.

Unfortunately, one amendment was NOT moved forward at the last meeting on April 19, the amendment proposing single member voting districts. This is an important amendment as it is a mechanism by which the conservative voter may have more influence over local issues;
consequently it is causing much interest and controversy. Because of the vital nature of this amendment it is imperative that it progress to the
ballot on November 2.

PLEASE try to attend the next Commission meeting on 5/12/10, at 5:30, in the Jack Durrance Auditorium, in the County Administration building in downtown Gainesville to let the Commission know that you want this amendment on the ballot!

Emails expressing your opinion are also appropriate. Below is the list of Commission Members and the appropriate email address.
Let them know that this issue MUST be voted on. It is not their responsibility to decide for the voter; they are only charged with the responsibility of evaluating the amendment on its appropriateness as an amendment to our Charter.

LET THE VOTER DECIDE!

Mr. Robert Ackerman
bobackerman@brasingtons.com

Mr. Robert Brinkman
RobBrinkman@cox.net

Ms. D. J. Ferguson
dferguson1@cox.net

Mr. Mitch E. Glaeser
mitch@GlaeserOnline.com

Mr. Armando R. Grundy-Gomes
vote4armando@gmail.com

Mr. J. K. Irby
JKI@thor.co.alachua.fl.us

Mr. Joseph W. Little
little@law.ufl.edu

Mr. AuBroncee S. Martin
Luci8_kky@yahoo.com

Mr. John Martin
aagratitude@yahoo.com

Mr. Bill Richards
paco25@bellsouth.net

Mr. Jim Stringfellow
jimmysr@aol.com

Mr. B. Rodman Tuttle
rodnjan@cox.net

Ms. Lura W. Williams Martin
lura11220@bellsouth.net

Mr. Ashley Wood
amwood352@windstream.net

Mr. Guy L. York
guy.york@sfcollege.edu

CRC Meeting 4/19/10

County Review Commission

The next CRC meeting will be Monday 4/19/10 at 5:30pm at the County Administration Building- Jack Durrance Auditorium. We need citizens to attend and voice that they want single member districts and non partisan elections to be on the ballot in November. This will allow the voters to choose which items are most important to them. The 15 CRC commissioners DO want the public’s input. See you there.

CRC- March 24 Mtg.

Thanks to Laurie Newsom for keeping us up to date on this…

Because it is our responsibility to hold our government accountable we are always looking for an opportunity to make an impact on our elected officials. The Alachua County Charter Review Committee IS such a vehicle. This committee is composed of dedicated private citizens evaluating proposed changes to our county charter. The amendments approved by this committee will be on the ballot for voter approval in the November election. Two amendments being discussed would pave the way to elect politicians that share our conservative value of fiscally responsible government. The first amendment proposes non-partisan county commission seats. This amendment would allow citizens to vote on values and issues rather than political party. The second amendment being considered calls for single-member voting districts that would increase the accountability of each commissioner. Both amendments would facilitate the return to fiscally responsible government.

THIS IS THE TIME TO BECOME INVOLVED!

Members of the committee welcome the input of private citizens and invite voters to address these issues at their meetings. WE URGE YOU TO ATTEND!

The next meeting will be Wednesday, March 24, 5:30 – 7:30, at the County Administration Building, 12 SE 1st Street downtown Gainesville in the Jack Durrance Auditorium, Room 209, 2nd floor. PLEASE ATTEND and let them know that you want these amendments on the ballot. THE VOTERS DESERVE THE CHANCE TO DECIDE!

Charter Review Commission

The Alachua County Charter Review Commission (CRC) is currently holding meetings to review the county’s home rule charter and propose amendments to go on the 2010 general election ballot.  The CRC meets ONLY every 10 years, so it is extremely important that GTP members become involved in this process and attend the meetings.  Meetings are open to the public and GTP should be present to give our input on the proposed amendments that will affect each of us in Alachua County.

The next meeting is Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Grace Knight Conference Room (12 SE 1st Street, 2nd floor). Please mark your calendars to attend this meeting!

Current CRC ideas up for discussion to go on the 2010 ballot:

1. Elect Constitutional Officers on nonpartisan basis.

2. Elect Supervisor of Elections on nonpartisan basis.

3. Have County Commissioners reassigned as Charter Officers.

4. Commissioners starting salary should be the same as the average income in Alachua County (Average Salary in Alachua $32,000)

5. Commissioners benefits are only valid while in office.

6. Commissioners have to vote on their own salary increases, with a max 3% increase limit and a super majority vote.

7. Commissioners should be limited to 2 terms in office with 4 years in each term.

8.  All tax adjustments go on the general referenda to be held at general elections only.

9. Have mandatory yearly audits of county budgets.

10. Budgets from year to year should be clearly comparable for each line item.

11. Support CRC exploring the use of city charter policies to keep conflicts of interest from county department directors and county commissioners/ charter officers.

12. Support CRC exploring cost saving measures where county and city can combine services to save on costs.

13. County Commissioners must establish occupancy° (°by living in the district for six months before election; similar to city) in the district they are running for office.

14. Have 5 equal voting districts (based on population density). 3 of the 5 districts will be made up of the “Urban Core,” 2 of 5 will be rural districts.

15. Have all registered district voters vote on all district nominees, on a nonpartisan basis, in a district primary. The candidates with the two highest vote totals from the district primary will represent the district candidates on the general election ballot to be voted on by all registered voters.

You may go to the Alachua County Charter Review Commission website for more information and details about what the CRC does and why they are meeting this year.

Here is a link to the CRC calendar of meetings, which are also posted on GTP’s calendar on our website.

Here is a link to the minutes from the CRC November meeting.