Updated Nov. 5 - All our recommended candidates, even Mike Yost, were elected EXCEPT for two of the watchdog candidates for the North Lake Hospital Tax District, Richard Riker and Walt Dobruck. And, stupid voters didn't understand Amendments 5&6 and how they will give the liberal courts power over deciding gerrymandering of political boundaries, and Amendment 8 failed. AND, all the judges were retained, but maybe they got the message. Well, maybe next time! vj
Revised and expanded - Wednesday, Oct. 27 - (added more info on FL 5th District Judges, School Board races and Lake County Water Authority races). As we get additional details, we will add them to this document. This document will remain at the top of the blog until after Nov. 2 elections, but scroll down to look for other issues posted after this page was written. vj
Here are our recommendations for your votes for the Nov. 2nd ballot, whether you mail it in, vote early, or wait and vote at a precinct polling location on Nov. 2.
I recommend you use your sample ballot and fill it in while reading this.
You can find your Lake County voting precinct HERE.
We do not have any recommendations for CITY elections or issues here.
Our focus is on fiscally conservative County, State & Federal candidates, and we also include recommendations on JUDGES (not all should be retained) AND Florida State Amendments. Most of our recommendations are
You need to know that the Orlando Sentinel is primarily liberal and we do not agree with many of their recommendations, especially for any Democrat. They are owned by the same company that owns the LIBERAL Los Angeles Times (where I used to live). In some races, like the non-partisan races, the Democrat is not saying they are a Democrat, so beware.
The Daily Commercial does not endorse candidates, and has not written much at all about the political races and has avoided discussion about the North Lake County Hospital District oversight & taxing issues. So, WE are your primary source for fiscal conservative candidates and issue information.
Send this website page link by email or Facebook to ANY friend who you think would like advice on the elections.
Federal Candidates:
- US Senate: Marco Rubio - replaces retiring George LeMieux (NOT Meek or Crist ) Charlie Crist pushed through the legislation that added 10% ethanol to our gas supplies, damaging many older boat, car and lawnmower engines. To this car buff, that is enough reason not to vote for him.
- Congress 8th District: Daniel Webster (NOT Democrat Alan "My Congressman is Nuts" Disgrayson)
- Congress 6th District: Re-elect Cliff Stearns
- Congress 3rd District - DUMP Dem Corrine Brown - VOTE for Mike Yost
- Congress 5th District: Incumbent Brown-Waite did not run for re-election. Vote for Republican Rich Nugent
State Candidates:
Governor: Rick Scott is the Republican - don't vote for the Dem. Alex Sink - the winner controls re-drawing the voting districts, appointing Judges, Commissions, etc. and you don't want a Dem. doing that, no matter how much you might be worried about Scott. Remember what happened when people did not vote for Rick Keller, and we got Alan Grayson.
Florida CFO: Jeff Atwater (R)
Agricultural Commissioner: Adam Putnam (R)
Attorney General: Pam Bondi (R)
State Senate Dist 8: John Thrasher (R)
State Senate Dist 20 - Alan Hayes (R) - Hayes has been the FL Rep Dist 25 for 8 (?) years, and is expected to take this election.
State House 25th - Larry Metz (currently on the Lake County School Board, and I recommend him highly as a fiscal conservative and very competent). He is also supported actively by Tea party members.
FLORIDA Judges: We defer to the recommendations from the North Lake Tea Party which are HERE. Be sure to say "NO - not retained" to two Florida Supreme Judges Labarge and Perry who need to be voted OUT, and then ALSO print and use the recommendations when voting on Judges in the 1st Dist. Appeals Court .
(Updated 10/27) As for the 5th District Court of Appeals (I am in it, which is Tavares and some nearby areas, but they are based in Daytona Beach - see THIS website ), AND, you can read the biographies of the judges listed on your ballot HERE by clicking their links. One REC member told me they were all appointed by Republicans. But, if their biographies are not enough, or you think they have been there too long (and we can't find info on their values or track record), the golden rule is that if they will not make it easy to find out their values, performance or background, VOTE THEM ALL OUT. But, if you do, and Alex Sink wins the governor race, she could appoint the replacement. I like to remind people that in Lake County, local judges (different than the Supreme Court of 5th District Appeals Judges) refuse to discuss implementing night court, unlike other areas, thus we have to build a $50-million judicial center to add several new courtrooms, rather than use the existing facilities for a "night shift" or night court, which is common in other States. The day of spending millions for marble lined halls for Judges needs to end.
Florida State Constitutional Amendments:
We pretty much agree with the local North Lake County Tea Party - their recommendations are HERE. We only list the Amendments that made it to the ballot (some were removed due to legal issues):
1. Taxpayer funding for political campaigns - Vote YES on Amendment 2 to REPEAL the existing funding system if you do not feel candidates should get taxpayer funds for campaigns.
2. This Amendment 2 would add a $25,000 Property Tax Homestead Exemption for military homeowners who are "deployed". VOTE NO if you do not feel that military members should get a tax break when they voluntarily joined the military and knew the risks. The wording "deployed" is vague, which means it would have to be tested in courts. I am a Vietnam Vet, but don't think a constitutional vote should mandate exempting any group, even Vets, from property taxes. Thus I recommend you VOTE NO on Amendment 2. Instead of creating a vaguely defined tax exemption, let the supporters of Vets contribute to the many Veteran support groups that exist.
4. Amendment 4 is the most controversial Amendment. VOTE NO on Amendment 4. It requires public votes for any change to local County Comprehensive Plans - most fiscal conservatives say to vote NO to prevent the creation of a major bureacracy and lots of lawsuits. However, I do not agree with a lot of the "facts" cited about which land use changes would require public votes. I think there is hype on both sides. Proponents are environmentalists and Democrats who want to implement STATE control over local land use issues. Fiscal Conservatives like ME say to leave the process alone. If locals do not like land use changes initiated by large land developers, they can currently vote out the responsible politicians (which did happen in Lake County 4 years ago). Amendment 4 would require huge ballots with local voters having to vote on "many" (a point of argument) land use changes each year. Do you want to read that ballot? I just don't think a Florida consitutional amendment should take priority over local control. Florida Tax Watch agrees with us, and you can read their analysis HERE (thanks to Jimmy Conner for finding this) Or, if you want to read an opposing viewpoint from Lake's Orlando Sentinel's Lauren Ritchie, READ IT HERE. Vote NO on Amendment 4.
5 & 6: VOTE NO on BOTH Amendments 5 & 6. These are similar Amendments which are favored by Democrats - They define new procedures favored by Democrats, unions and George Soros for RE-drawing State (5) and Federal (6) voting district boundaries. However, Republicans are currently in charge (if you elect Rick Scott & others) and will be re-drawing the district boundaries soon. Additionally, THIS article in US News agrees with us, saying the Amendments would allow Democrats to file lawsuits for any boundary changes and force the decision into the court system, which is what Dems like to do when they can't win popular votes. And, HERE is an editorial from the Tampa Tribune slamming the two liberal created Amendments. Vote NO on both 5 & 6, and retain the current system.
8. VOTE YES on Amendment 8 - it allows positive process changes in an existing, poorly written Amendment regarding how School Districts manage new class size rules. The current system that became effective THIS year requires schools to move students several times in classes depending on class sizes, and is a regulatory nightmare. The revisions are common sense changes to reduce constant revisions of planned classes and student assignments. If even ONE new student arrives at the school and causes their class to exceed a defined class size limit (such as 18 students), the school must open a NEW class, with another teacher and maybe buy a portable classroom. This school year, the Lake County School District had to hire 76 MORE teachers just to meet the new, but POORLY written class size regulations. Some school districts are NOT allowing any new students to enroll in order to prevent the problems caused by existing class size laws. Both the Lake County School Board, and the Lake County Board support a "yes" vote, and FiscalRangers agrees with them. VOTE YES on Amendment 8.
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FiscalRangers.com follows Lake County, FL government issues (not cities) closely, so we know all the candidates below and have watched their behavior in candidate forums, etc.
LAKE COUNTY ELECTIONS - All voters in Lake County can vote for both open County Commission positions.
You can visit the Lake County Elections website HERE to see the list of ALL local candidates, including write-ins. Note: The link above goes to an Excel list. There is also a pdf version but it does NOT list the status of the candidates, thus you can't tell the ones who lost in the primaries and are no longer on the ballot.
Lake County Commission District 4: Leslie Campione (R) - she is a very smart fiscal conservative and should be able to improve economic issues in Lake County. IGNORE the Orlando Sentinel's recommendation of a Democrat.
Lake County Commission District 2: Sean Parks (R) - Sean is experienced in land planning and has a Master's degree. We need EDUCATED people to ferret out hidden issues in staff provided recommendations, and he can do it. IGNORE the other non-active candidates.
Lake County School Districts: (Three openings)
(Revised 10/27) The District has three vacancies on the five member non-partisan Board, and one is for a re-election we supported. REVISION: We earlier said all Lake County voters could vote for a candidate in each District, but that is not apparently true. You should see only one School Board candidate on your ballot IF you are in a district with a vacancy. Here are the three Districts that have elections, and our choices for each of them.
- District 1: Jim Miller was elected in the primaries, so he won't be on your ballot.
- District 3: Vote for Tod Howard in the Republican runoff - He was an independent, then changed to Republican. He is a chiropractor and runs his business in Clermont. He has good business aptitude and is needed on the Board since incumbent Larry Metz is leaving the Board. HERE is a link to a Tod Howard commercial on YouTube. His Republican opponent, JoAnn Jones, is a long time Republican, but she is a School Teacher. My recommendation is to never vote for a current or long time employee for any government Board. There are already three government employees or union supporters on the School Board , and we don't need another one.
- District 5: Kyleen Fischer won in the primaries and won't be on your ballot.
Lake County Water District - We don't have information on the candidates, so we suggest you vote Republican unless you have other facts. There is a Republican candidate for District 2 (Kelly Pitcher), and one for District 4 (Larry Everly).
NORTH Lake County Hospital Tax District - Three of six Board member incumbents are not running for re-election, leaving three vacancies. All three candidates below are supported by many Tea Party members, fiscal conservative Republicans and FiscalRangers. All three want increased accountability for approximately $9-million given to two local hospitals without any requirements for spending categories, and no required method to verify spending is acceptable to taxpayers. There are many other reasons which you can read at www.NorthLakeCountyHospitalDistrict.com. They also have a Facebook page - search on "FixLakeTaxes". (Update Nov. 23): On Sunday, Oct. 24, Orlando Sentinel Lake section columnist Lauren Ritchie wrote a column agreeing with activist Marilyn Bainter (and us) and recommended HERE that the following people should get the public's vote:
VOTE for these two candidates for the Northwest Lake County area.
Frances Grossi
Walt DoBruck
VOTE for this candidate for the NorthEAST Lake County area:
Richard Riker
DO NOT VOTE for the hospital supported candidates who all have last names that start with "B". Keep in mind "Don't vote for a BEE or they will sting you in your wallet...". No matter what they say, they want to continue the status quo, keep giving $9+million in taxpayer funds to the hospitals without any guidelines, and not establish tougher accountability standards. The smallest "grant" from any government agency contains many more requirements for accountability than the current Hospital District legislation. Additionally, taxpayers have not been able to vote on this 1 mill property tax in about 20+ years, and residents of the NorthEast area never were allowed to vote on it. So, vote for Grossi, DoBruck and Riker, and skip the "Bees".
You can get more details at their website at www.NorthLakeCountyHospitalDistrict.com .
South Lake County Hospital Tax District - We have focused on the North Lake issues, and South Lake County's Hospital Tax District doesn't have the same issues. However, one way to get their attention if you don't think you should still be taxed for a hospital (57 Counties in Florida do NOT have such a tax), then vote out incumbents (if you can identify them).
************* Happy voting.... *************
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