How Polling Places Can Affect Your Vote

Interesting study on the effect that polling place location and type of building (school, church, etc.) can have on your vote, as well as a discussion of early voting...

How Polling Places Can Affect Your Vote | Miller-McCune Online

Local 6 "Flashpoint" discussion on Florida primary election

Interesting roundtable discussion led by WKMG Local 6's Lauren Rowe, debating the Democrat and Republican primary races for Governor and Senate, including last-minute polls, analysis of campaign strategies, discussion of issues important to voters, as well as predictions for Tuesday.

http://www.clickorlando.com/video/24694632/

Governor Huckabee to attend Get Out The Vote Rally for Karen Diebel

Come meet Governor Mike Huckabee tomorrow at a Get Out the Vote Rally for Karen Diebel!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Life Orlando

200 E. Colonial Drive

Orlando, FL 32801

(Link to Google Map)

Any questions, please contact
info@diebelforcongress.com or 321-972-8919.

Paid for by Diebel for Congress

Troubles continue to mount for Matthew Falconer

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Orlando Sentinel | Orange County Mayoral Candidate Falconer owes $64,000 in property taxes

Orange County mayoral candidate Matthew Falconer owes $64,000 in delinquent property taxes to Osceola and Lee counties, records show, but the commercial real-estate investor said Friday he was unaware of any unpaid tax bills...

The properties in question are a Vine Street strip mall in Kissimmee assessed at $1.7 million in 2009, with $42,853 in taxes owed, and vacant land in Fort Myers assessed at $1.1 million, with $21,122 owed in 2009 taxes.

Falconer, who has campaigned on the promise of fiscal conservatism, drew fire from opponent Teresa Jacobs, who asked if he is "really running because he cares about public service or because he needs a job?"

The article also discusses a PAC called "Concerned Citizens of Orange County," which is backing Bill Segal and attacking Teresa Jacobs and Linda Stewart.  This group has been sending out attack mailers, and a robocall which I received today that falsely called Jacobs a lobbyist.  

I strongly disagree with  the statements by Segal's spokesman, Josh Wilson, attempting to defend their false attack on Jacobs.  Wilson justifies calling Jacobs a lobbyist because her employer "touted [her] political skills" on its website, saying, "[i]f a lobbyist is not one who uses political skills, then who does?" 

What a moron.  Josh, words have meaning.  You can't just decide to make up your own definitions.  "Lobbyist" is a specific term with a specific legal meaning.  Teresa Jacobs is not, and has never been, a lobbyist for FDOT (as Falconer has falsely claimed), her current employer (as Segal's backers are now falsely claiming), or anyone else either.  Josh, you apparently think you have political skills, are you a lobbyist? 

Let's be clear.  Teresa Jacobs has never been a lobbyist.  She's also never been a Olympic synchronized swimmer or a ninja or a pomegranate whatever other silly things one could imagine. 

It really says a lot about Teresa Jacobs' opponents that the only way they can attack her is to misrepresent her positions, distort her record, or just make up flat out lies.  Every day this campaign goes on just further cements my opinion that Teresa Jacobs is hands-down the best choice to represent my hometown community as our Orange County Mayor.

Huckabee Responds to Desperate, Personal Attacks by Craig Miller

I'll have some more thoughts on this later, but Craig Miller has sunk to an unbelievable, absolutely despicable low this week, with a mailer he sent out quoting the liberal, anti-growth, controversial Winter Park City Commissioners Margie Bridges and Beth Dillaha engaging in false and nasty attacks against Karen Diebel.  Any Republican who quotes Beth Dillaha as an authority on anything needs to turn in their membership card, and probably needs to have their head examined.   

Here's one of the Huckabee calls he recorded last week for Karen Diebel, who he endorsed in June.  Despite the vicious lies and desperate efforts from Karen's opponents, Huckabee has continued to be a strong supporter of Karen's campaign.

YouTube | Gov. Mike Huckabee Responds to Desperate, Personal Attacks by Liberal Craig Miller

Questions continue to pile up about Matt Falconer's finances

Looks like I'm not the only one asking questions about Matt Falconer's financial status.  One of Falconer's main reasons he cites for why voters should select him as our next Orange County Mayor is his success as a businessman and developer.  However, a recent WFTV-9 report throws some serious doubt on Falconer's so-called success story:

WFTV.com | Mayoral Candidate Falconer's Finances in Question

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Public records raise serious questions about one of the leading candidates for Orange County mayor and whether he's being honest with voters.

All candidates file financial disclosure forms. On Matthew Falconer's form, he stated his net worth was $12.1 million, but public records show serious discrepancies that suggest he may actually be millions of dollars in debt.

Matthew Falconer, a candidate for Orange County Mayor, said the Windermere house he calls home was worth $775,000 to him on this financial disclosure form filed in June where he reported a net worth of more than $12 million.

But records from the Orange County comptroller show Falconer deeded the house entirely to his wife in March of last year, putting the actual value to Falconer at zero.

 

...after WFTV reviewed loan documents for 18 other commercial properties owned by Falconer, it was discovered the businessman, who stresses his experience as a successful developer, might be underwater, or "in the red," by hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars.  

 

Falconer says the Kirkman Commons strip mall is worth more than $1.1 million to him, but WFTV found his outstanding debt on the property was about $4 million in 2007.  

 

Falconer won't show WFTV the documents to prove how much he's paid off since then, but based on current values provided by the property appraiser he could be as much as $2 million in the red.  

 

In fact, mortgage documents and records from several property appraisers show similar discrepancies on all of Falconer's properties.

...despite repeated requests for financial records to back up his claims, Falconer said he didn't have time to show them to WFTV...Falconer told WFTV he has appraisals for each of his properties. WFTV gave him more than a week to provide them, but he refused.  He insists he's actually understated his net worth.

You can see the unedited video interview with WFTV's Eric Rasmussen and Matthew Falconer here.

Orange County Citizens speak out in support of Teresa Jacobs

YouTube | Teresa For Mayor

Complaint to be filed against Matthew Falconer

I'll add some more comments and thoughts on this later...but today I'm filing a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission against Matthew Falconer.  It's a large file with multiple attachments, and I don't want to slow down this site too much, so if you want to view the documents, please go to my Scribd site here, or just directly to the attachment explaining the alleged violations here.

Short story is that Falconer has viciously and maliciously lied about Teresa Jacobs and her record, and repeatedly failed to comply with even the most basic election law and campaign finance regulations.  I honestly got tired of searching for violations because there were just so darn many.  At some point in my search, I decided I had killed enough trees and had already racked up a high enough postage bill for the documents I had found so far.  Just to illustrate how extensive Falconer's disregard for the elections laws seems to be, I have yet to find a single example of Falconer sending out a campaign fundraising invite where he included the correct disclaimers and other statutorily required language.

Some of this may sound like small potatoes but, in my opinion, the sheer number of the violations shows Falconer's complete and utter disregard for the law.  If you want to run for office, it is your responsibility to learn the election laws and regulations and comply with them.  Matthew Falconer is not special - he has to follow the same rules as everyone else.  

Falconer has already shown his arrogant disregard for other people's property rights and willingness to misrepresent facts and figures in his desperate quest for elected office.  In my complaint, I describe just a small sample of his dishonesty and disregard for our election laws.       

And finally, I am not working for Teresa Jacobs or her campaign and they have not paid me for filing this complaint.   Pointing out Matt Falconer's many misrepresentations and contradictions is just a fun little hobby of mine.  As I've told Falconer and his supporters many, many times, I don't like liars, and I really don't like liars who hang on to their lies and refuse to apologize or correct the record.  I am filing this complaint for the very simple reason that I think Matt Falconer has no business anywhere near elected office and as a life-long Floridian and native Orange County resident, I want the only the best for our elected representatives.  

If you don't like Matt Falconer's lies and ugly campaign tactics, why not give some money to Teresa Jacobs?  Today is the last day for donations before the primary - you have until midnight tonight.  And don't forget to vote!  Early voting goes through Saturday and the election is August 24th.

Matt Falconer can't even remember who owns his house

Here's something peculiar...

As a candidate for Orange County Mayor, Matthew Falconer was required to file a document disclosing his financial status, assets and liabilities.  Here is the "Form 6" that Falconer filed on June 17, 2010:

Even Fred Brummer endorses Teresa Jacobs

From the Sentinel blogs today:

Stunner! Brummer: Jacobs "most qualified" for Orange Mayor | Central Florida Political Pulse | Orlando Sentinel

Orange County Commissioner Fred Brummer had plenty of run-ins with fellow Republican Teresa Jacobs when the two served on the same board for a couple years, even once issuing a terse memo that asked her to stop chatting on her cell phone while she sat next to him.

Now Brummer says Jacobs is the best candidate in the county mayor’s race.  Why such a stunner? This is the same man who muttered two years ago, “Thank God,” when Jacobs pointed out that she was about to leave office.

“It’s a real oil and water situation, and I don’t know how you put that aside,” Brummer said of his own “personal issues” with Jacobs. “But you have to face facts: she’s the most qualified candidate in the race.”

It’s no surprise the Apopka Republican would not side with his Democratic colleagues: Linda Stewart and Bill Segal. But the other Republican in the race, Matthew Falconer, makes “wild promises he can never keep” Brummer said, such as  delivering a toll increase repeal, or suggesting sports and arts venues paid for with tourist taxes means less teachers, when currently, those hotel taxes can’t be legally spent on schools.

A stunner indeed.  Fred and Teresa have never been BFFs, so Matty must have really ticked him off.  Falconer should have done some better research on what people in the Apopka area actually thought about the Wekiva Parkway before calling it a "Road to Nowhere."  Oh wait, silly me, Matt Falconer never checks his facts before shooting his mouth off, why would he do that for Apopka?

RPOF: Florida Republicans Hammer Crist for Returning Money to Indicted Greer

From an RPOF Press Release on Monday:

Republican Party of Florida - News - Florida Republicans Hammer Crist for Returning Money to Indicted Greer

...Florida Republicans are still fuming over Senate candidate Charlie Crist's decision to deny GOP donors' requests for his campaign to return their money after Crist bolted the party to run as an independent. That anger reached new heights today when news broke that Crist had returned nearly $10,000 to indicted former state party chairman, Jim Greer.

"Reports that Charlie Crist immediately processed a refund for his hand-picked chairman and close friend in order to help Mr. Greer pay legal bills associated with multiple felony counts of grand theft from the very organization Charlie Crist charged him with leading are astonishing," said Ronnie Whitaker, the Executive Director of the Florida Republican Party.

"Charlie Crist's blatant self-serving hypocrisy is insulting," said Amber Marchand, spokeswoman for the NRSC, the GOP arm responsible for electing Republicans to the US Senate."Crist once again demonstrated his complete lack of character and principle."

..."It should surprise no one that despite refusing to return a single penny to Floridians who gave to him in good faith, Charlie Crist wasted no time in refunding money to his indicted political confidante," Alex Burgos, Rubio's communications director said to Fox News.

What do you think?  Personally, I find it pretty hypocritical that Crist managed to refund Greer's money so quickly while he has continued to refuse to give any refunds to the many Republican donors who contributed to his campaign in good faith, only to be betrayed when Crist not only abandoned the party to run as an independent, but almost immediately began courting Democrat donors and voters.  Worse is the common belief that, if elected, Crist would caucus with the Democrats.  Call me crazy, but I would guess that most Republican donors to a Republican U.S. Senate candidate don't expect their money to be used to give the Senate Democrats an extra vote.

Why Marco Rubio is the most important Republican this fall

Interesting article from Mike Thomas today about Marco Rubio:

Marco Rubio is most important Republican this fall: here's why | OrlandoSentinel.com

...He still talks so fast that a notepad is practically useless. One minute he is looking at me, then at something behind me, then at the flat-screen TV behind him.

He fidgets like a gifted third-grader with attention deficit disorder. So many things to think about, so little time.

The focus of his energy remains what he believes is President Barack Obama's nation-destroying agenda.

He has a blueprint for undoing the damage. He leaps from one policy initiative to the next, his internal iPod set on shuffle. One minute it is his plan to sunset government programs, the next his plan to reform education.

Saying no to Obama isn't enough, he says. Republicans need alternatives.

It is the gospel of Jeb Bush, his mentor, delivered at warp factor 5.

...There certainly is passion. The difference between Rubio and other Republicans is that he was willing to take his beliefs on a suicide mission.

It began in early 2009 when the Republican Party, both the state and national branches, did not want him in this race. Gov. Charlie Crist was a shoo-in for the Senate, and the Republicans wanted the decks cleared so they could win back their majority.

Rubio would have been given the attorney general's race as compensation. That would have set him up for his first statewide victory before age 40.

...But he would have none of it, not with Obama implementing socialism and Crist heading to Washington to aid and abet him.

Rubio was willing to lose everything for his cause. Crist would change his cause to whatever it took to win.

Well said, Mike.  That's a pretty good summary of why I enthusiastically endorsed Marco over a year ago.  We need more Republicans with specific ideas and the passion and backbone to fight for them.  

More information about Marco Rubio:

Marco Rubio campaign website

@marcorubio on Twitter

Marco Rubio on Facebook

Marco Rubio on YouTube

Craig Miller...yep, he's pro-amnesty.

There's flip-flopping on an issue, and then there's being a liar-liar-pants-on-fire.

 

At this rate, Craig Miller's campaign is going to have to hire someone to follow him around with a fire extinguisher aimed at his tuchus all day long.  

Miller has spent the past few claiming that he's really, really, tough on immigration, really, he promises, just please ignore all the lobbying work he did for the restaurant industry, oh and don't read that op-ed he wrote in 2006, and please forget how he joked about hiring illegal workers at an OCREC meeting just a few months ago, why don't you just look at his Facebook page and take his word for it?  Oh wait.  That didn't work either.

Now, even more information is popping up about Miller's long history of being pro-amnesty.  From Karen Diebel's campaign today:

La Raza President Praised Miller's Immigration Reform Efforts

 Says Issue a "Win-Win" for La Raza and Miller's Organization

 Craig Miller is pictured above with Janet Murguia, President of La Raza, one of the most radical pro-immigration groups in the country. The organization rejects the notion that "chicanos" should assimilate into the American melting pot. "La Raza" is Spanish or "The Race" and their motto is "For the race, everything. Outside the race, nothing." 

New questions arise about exactly how forthcoming Craig Miller has been about his position on illegal immigration.

For years, he was a DC insider lobbying against the Secure Fence Act, Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism & Illegal Immigration Control Act, and for a liberal guest worker program which granted amnesty. We also knew about his 2006 editorial, where he strongly defended his pro-amnesty record.

Now, as Miller wants us to believe he is a secure borders candidate, we find that he was openly working with one of the most radical groups in the country. Addressing the National Restaurant Association when Miller was Chairman, Janet Murguia, the President of La Raza, praised Miller for working with her on "immigration reform."

What will we find out about Miller next?

Much of this would have been put to rest had Miller announced at the beginning of his campaign a sincere change of heart on the immigration issue.

Instead, Miller waited until Karen Diebel was endorsed by Team America PAC and Congressman Tom Tancredo. The day after his record was revealed, Miller and his team scrambled and added the immigration issue to their website. Make no mistake - Miller's newly developed position is just pure politics from a long-time pro-amnesty insider.

Fun With Google

Here's something fun from Michelle Malkin's blog:

Helpful tips for Obamaniacs: Turn Off Google's "Autocomplete Feature" Before Searching for Info About Your Hero

...it’s time once again for “Fun with Google’s ‘auto-complete’ feature.”

If you’re a fan of the president, you might want to just turn it off:

That really happens. Go try it yourself...

 Google lets Joe Biden off a little lighter, but not much:

Why Ladan is the best choice for Seminole County Court Judge

If you've read this blog for awhile, you probably know that I am supporting Amir Ladan for Seminole County Court Judge.  What you may not know is why.  In my opinion, he is absolutely the hands-down best choice for this position.  

As I wrote a few days ago in my endorsement of Judge Rand Wallis:

...there are two key factors a good judicial candidate should have: (1) solid legal experience that is relevant to the type of cases that particular judicial position would handle, and (2) a high standard of personal ethics and honesty.  

Especially in tough economic times, our court system is overburdened, and we do not have the luxury to give our judges the time to "wing it" and learn the law as they go.  A judge needs to hit the ground running from the first day on the bench.  

Amir Ladan has the most relevant experience for county court, has been in the courtroom almost every day of his legal career, and is the only candidate in the race who has been both a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney.  He's very well-respected in the local legal community as well.  You can make all the lawyer jokes you want, but the reality is that the vast majority of lawyers are good, honest people, and more importantly, we know who the "bad eggs" are.  Amir has lots of endorsements from both prosecutors and the criminal defense bar...and you don't get both of those groups to support you unless you are known for truly being fair, honest, and ethical.  

Here is some more information about why you should vote for Ladan for Judge, in the candidate's own words (from the Orlando Sentinel's Voter Guide):

World Net Daily dumps Florida Tea Party as a sponsor

Love this...

WND's Miami conference dumps Florida Tea Party

World Net Daily is sponsoring a "Taking America Back National Conference" in Miami next month, and the Florida Tea Party Fake Tea Party had originally been listed as a sponsor of the event.  However, after WND's investigation led them to conclude that the group "was misrepresenting itself" FTP's sponsorship was rejected:

"We are returning the money this group paid for sponsoring the conference and rejecting its participation," said Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND. "This event and the tea-party movement are not about making money. They are about changing the direction of our country. It's clear to me that the Florida Tea Party...has an agenda all its own."

Two thumbs up to World Net Daily for seeing the light about the Florida Tea Party. 

As expected, Doug Guetzloe and Peg Dunmire are screaming bloody murder about this, but too darn bad.  WND is a private organization and it has the right to refuse FTP's money and reject their sponsorship for any reason they chose.  It does not matter that the many lawsuits facing Guetzloe and FTP are not yet concluded; WND has the right to reject what their leadership views as a controversial group in order to avoid distractions from the purposes and goals of the event.  

I find it highly entertaining when Guetzloe & Gang cry that their First Amendment rights are being trampled when someone doesn't want to hear from them or doesn't want to invite them to something.  News flash: the First Amendment means you have a right to speak, it doesn't mean we have to listen...and it definitely doesn't mean we have to use our speech (or our time, energy, money, or resources) to promote your speech.  

Karen Diebel takes aim...

Congressional candidate (FL-24) Karen Diebel posted some pictures on her Twitter account (@KarenDiebel) this morning from a trip to the New Smyrna Conservation & Hunt Club, including one with a great humorous caption:

 Taking out clay pigeons now, getting ready to
take on Suzanne Kosmas in November!
#fl24 #nra http://tweetphoto.com/38906570

Matthew Falconer: is he stupid or does he think the voters are, PART II

Here's an update to my post earlier this week, "Matthew Falconer, is he stupid or does he think the voters are," which looked at Falconer's unconstitutional, illegal, and impossible proposals for changing Orange County government.  I'm not the only one who has analyzed Falconer's ideas and found them sorely lacking in truth, feasibility, and common sense.

Rick Geller is a local attorney who currently serves on the Orange County Planning & Zoning Board.  He has a blog at www.RickGeller.com, where he writes about "law, the community, and local government."

In a recent post, "Overstating SunRail's Cost to Orange County," Geller analyzes in detail Falconer's claims regarding SunRail.

I encourage you to read the entire article, there's a lot of great detail and Geller has clearly done his research.

Regarding the overall cost of the SunRail project:

Mayoral candidate Matthew Falconer sent a mailer accusing his opponents of voting for a "$1.6 billion rail system."  His opponents did, in fact, support SunRail, but they did not vote for anything close to a $1.6 billion Orange County budget obligation.  The SunRail Interlocal Agreement, excerpted below, shows Orange County's actual share of SunRail expenditures will amount to just over $40 million over seven years...

$40 million is a lot of money--and Orange County needs to monitor to make sure it's spent wisely--but the cost is in line with expenditures for typical road widening projects.  For example, the Planning and Zoning Board voted two months ago on a $75 million road widening project for Southeast Orange County--covering only four miles.  (SunRail will ultimately span 61 miles)...

Regarding Falconer's lawsuit against Orange County:

Matthew filed a lawsuit calling SunRail "unconstitutional" on the grounds that operations and maintenance after seven years would require expenditures of property taxes without a popular vote.  Matthew faces an uphill legal battle.  He will need to demonstrate that the Interlocal Agreement removes local government funding flexibility.  The Interlocal Agreement does no such thing and, further, each local government's share of debt service must come from "non-ad volorem sources," that is, not from property taxes.  

Regarding Falconer's claim that the voters rejected SunRail:

Matthew claims the voters rejected SunRail.  They didn't.  Seven years ago when Mobility 20/20 appeared on the ballot, voters rejected a different system, on a different route (not on the CSX line), intermixed with I-4 toll lanes (derided as "Lexus lanes"), and an acceleration of the County's voluminous roadbuilding schedule...

Don't forget that Falconer himself didn't even bother to vote on Mobility 20/20, even though the ballot was mailed to his house. 

Don't say I didn't warn you...

I have had several people tell me that they enjoy reading the blog, love the snarky humor, but also said, "I hope I never end up on your bad side!"  Well, fear not.  Nixon had an extensive "enemies list," but it's really easy to stay off my "list," two simple rules:

Rule #1: Don't lie.  If you do say something that's not true, then admit it, say you're sorry, and correct the mistake. 

Rule #2: Don't be a jerk.  Criticizing political opponents based on their voting record, the feasibility of their campaign promises, and their statements and actions is legitimate, and a valid way to illustrate differences between candidates.  Misrepresenting an opponent's record so you can call them a "liberal" or issuing personal attacks, not cool.    

So there you go.  Two simple rules.  Follow them, and you can sleep well at night without worrying I'm going to "target" you.  

Craig Miller got my attention after he misrepresented Karen Diebel's record on taxes and spending, and attempted to distort his own record on immigration.  Matthew Falconer gets attacked frequently here because it seems like every word out of his mouth is either a false attack on someone or a misrepresentation about local government.  As for Doug Guetzloe...wow, where to even begin with him and his Fake Tea Party?  Here's one example: at the recent Central Florida Tiger Bay Club debate between the Orange County Mayoral candidates, one of the few issues upon which all four candidates agreed was that they all publicly denounced Guetzloe and denied that they were working with him or would work with him.        

About two months ago, I wrote a post about Seminole County Commissioner Mike McLean's purchase of about $9,000 of new furniture for his office right after running a campaign claiming he was a "fiscal conservative."  Shortly after the post went up, I got a call from McLean's campaign manager, worried that I was planning a series of "hit pieces" on McLean.  I said, no, I didn't have any major issue with McLean, I actually had never even met him.

I also explained that I had known John Horan since I had a summer internship with his law firm back in 2002, and knew him to be a dedicated Republican and all-around good guy.  I had written the article about the furniture issue because I just thought it was kind of funny and there was a news article that easily verified the facts and details for me.  Doing a detailed "hit piece" on a county commissioner regarding specific votes, statements at county commission meetings, and policy positions requires a lot of time and energy to properly research, and I lacked the time or interest to scour over McLean's record like that.

I have continued to get messages from McLean staffers and supporters, worried about my involvement in the race, trying to argue with me about the minutiae of Seminole County Commission budget issues and McLean's voting history.  I don't know how many more times I can say this without turning blue in the face, but I am not working for the Horan campaign.  I've knocked on some doors once or twice, but that's it. 

It never ceases to amaze me how a certain mythology has risen up regarding me, this blog, and my political activities.  People have accused me of working for candidates I've never even met.  If I was working on even half of the campaigns I've been accused of working for, I'd be a millionaire.  Remember, campaign finance reports are public record.  If I'm working for a candidate, you'll see it eventually.  My work shows up on the reports as either my name or "Caffeinated Campaigns" or "Caffeinated Campaigns & Consulting, LLC." 

Since writing that article, I have met McLean at a recent HobNob event, and he certainly seemed like a friendly and affable fellow, exactly as I have heard him described.  Unfortunately, this nice and friendly-seeming guy has also made some extremely questionable and disappointing decisions regarding his campaign messaging.

The McLean campaign sent out a mailer comparing John Horan with Barack Obama and attempting to paint Horan as an amnesty-loving liberal.  Scott Maxwell doesn't always get his stories straight, but I think he has this one pegged pretty well:

Just by looking at [the McLean mail piece], one obviously assumes Mr. Horan is some sort of liberal, amnesty-loving Democrat who wants to take his open-border, Obama-loving ways to Washington, D.C.

Except he’s not.

Horan is a Republican. And the office he’s seeking isn’t federal. It’s for Seminole County commissioner — one that has virtually nothing to do with immigration.

But who cares? Immigration is the scare tactic and wedge issue of the day. So Seminole County Commissioner Mike McLean (who’s apparently a little nervous about his ability to retain his seat) decided to opt for scare tactics … whether they are relevant or not.

I don’t know John Horan. But I know McLean. He’s an affable enough guy — but also one who has a series of enough bone-headed (and sometimes ethically questionable) moves from his past that he’s right to be nervous.

But I don’t think he’s right to play these silly scare games. County commissioners have about 1,000 things more relevant to their jobs than immigration.  

Want proof? How about the fact that McLean’s been on the board for four years and hasn’t done a single thing regarding immigration. (He said he once tried, but the county attorney said his effort his proposal was unnecessary.)

That means that, if voters in Seminole elect a guy who does absolutely nothing with regards to immigration, they will have selected a guy who’s done precisely what McLean has accomplished when it comes to immigration: nothing.

I asked McLean about his mailer, and he said: “I stand by it and feel it is important for voters in the upcoming Republican Primary to be informed on my opponents views on key Republican issues.”

It’d probably be more important for them to be informed of you and your opponents’ views on Seminole County issues.

...Perhaps McLean’s nervous about the embarrassing headlines he’s made during this past term — including the time he reimbursed himself with almost as much taxpayer money for local mileage as the entire rest of the county commission combined.

There was also the time when — fresh off campaigning as a fiscal conservative — he spent more than $8,000 in taxpayer money redecorating his office … including $1,200 for a high-back chair. (McLean said he felt an obligation to make the office look nice, because it really belongs to the taxpayers.)

And then there was the time McLean  used county records to get the addresses of county employees, so he could solicit them for his insurance business. (His excuse? Just “trying to make a living.”)

Maybe you can see better now why McLean wants to distract voters. The question is: Will they fall for it?

Mike McLean should be ashamed of himself.  This despicable mailer is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to distract from his own record.  The Orlando Sentinel was right to endorse John Horan: 

Mr. McLean's early tenure on the commission was marred by episodes of poor judgment. He ordered more than $8,800 worth of new furniture for his county office. He obtained a list of hundreds of county employees to solicit as customers for his insurance business. He billed the county almost as much for travel in his first year as the other four commissioners combined.

These episodes would be easier to overlook now if Mr. McLean were more contrite. Instead, he dismisses them as having occurred during "different times," when public money wasn't so tight — as if it's OK to gouge a healthy budget.

And Mr. McLean has chosen to go after Mr. Horan for a 2008 guest column in the Sentinel that called on Congress to secure the nation's borders and permit "a market-driven flow of legal immigrants needed for the American economy."

Pretty reasonable stuff. And yet, Mr. McLean's campaign has likened him to President Obama. This is silly, and it's irrelevant in a county commission race.

We endorse John Horan.

So there you go.  Don't lie, and don't be a jerk, and you won't have a problem with me.  If Mike McLean or his campaign has a response to this, please email me or post a comment.  I would hope that the response would come with an apology, but I won't hold my breath.  

Matthew Falconer: is he stupid or does he think the voters are?

My lack of enthusiasm for Matthew Falconer is no secret.  I am disgusted by his nasty, ugly, false attacks on his opponents, especially Teresa Jacobs.  During just this past week,  he sent out a robocall and mailer all boldly lying that Teresa was pro-abortion.  Absolutely, positively not true.  Teresa is a proud mother of four children and a Catholic...and definitely pro-life.  I have spoken to both her and her husband Bruce about it.  I am personally very strongly pro-life, and find it despicable that Falconer is trying to lie about this very important issue.

...let's take a moment, though, and play a game where we pretend Falconer hasn't spent the past year being a nasty lying creep (sorry, I couldn't resist just one more snarky remark).  Let's just look at the straight facts...

In May 2009, Falconer attended a Orange County Young Republicans (OCYR) meeting.  I was there as well.  Falconer came to the meeting with Nick Egoroff, the former spokesman for the Florida Tea Party Fake Tea Party and associate of Doug Guetzloe.  At the meeting, Falconer told us he would be registering to run for Orange County Mayor and that he was not a Republican, but was an independent.  He sounded very proud of being independent, suggesting he was an independent thinker and not influenced by any party.

Shortly thereafter, Falconer changed his registration to Republican and registered to run for Orange County Mayor.  He also joined the Orange County Republican Executive Committee (OCREC).  His message quickly changed from "I'm independent!" to "I'm the only conservative in the race!"

I cannot find any record of Falconer being involved in any Republican party causes or helping any Republican candidates until he decided to run for office.  I had never seen him at OCREC or OCYR, or any of the other local Republican groups I've belonged to since returning to Orlando after graduation from law school.  I can find no record of him donating to any local Republican candidates or volunteering or knocking on doors for anyone.  

Most egregious, though, is Falconer's actual campaign message.  Falconer constantly claims that he (and he alone) can save Orange County and fix its budget problems.  One of the main ways he claims he will be able to save money is through "consolidation" of county and municipal departments.  Sounds good on paper, but this idea falls apart after a very quick analysis.  

Consolidation refers to combining a city government department with the county department (or that of another city) which performs the same function.  Theoretically, yes, this can lead to certain cost savings.  For example, you could move all the employees to the same building, you might be able to eliminate some positions and merge the management structures, etc.  

However, and this is a big however, consolidation of any department would require both the consent of the city government with which Orange County seeks to merge, and constitutional or statutory support for the change.  

When Falconer talks about consolidation of city and county departments, he frequently and specifically refers to our police and fire departments.  Consolidation of these departments is highly unlikely to ever happen.  Our local municipalities are fiercely independent, and have different needs, strengths, and challenges.  What works for the Windermere Police Department would probably not work well for Apopka PD.  Also, each city has separate and different pay scales, benefits, and pension plans, as well as different management structures and advancement procedures.  Go ask an Orlando police officer if they would like to make the same pay as Edgewood.  And if you combine departments, who is in charge?  The city chief or the county chief?  I would expect that the actual police officers and firefighters would strongly protest against consolidation.

...and that's just talking about two departments, police and fire.  Now think about all the many varied functions that local governments handle.  Winter Park contracted with a private company to handle its garbage disposal.  That was an intensely debated and negotiated contract, and the city has saved a lot of money with their system.  However, the private system used in Winter Park might work well in that small geographic area but not work as well or as cost-efficiently in the larger, more rural areas of the county. What about the varying code enforcement regulations, development and land use rules, parks and recreation programs, etc. in our different cities?   

There is no way that consolidation could be effected to the extent needed to support Falconer's proposed savings.  It's just plain impossible.    

At a recent candidate debate at the Central Florida Tiger Bay Club, Falconer claimed he would take the tourist tax funds and use them for education and public safety.  This is impossible without changing state law.  Likewise, Falconer claims he would repeal hte expressway toll increase, another issue beyond the power of one county government official.  There is no way the expressway authority would vote to repeal the toll increase, as it would be a violation of the county's bond agreements.

Many of the proposals Falconer keeps making are either a violation of state law, impossible without an amendment to the Florida Constitution, not under the power of county government, or just plain silly.

As Mike Thomas from the Orlando Sentinel wrote:

[Falconer] is anti-rail and anti-taxes, anti-Magic arena and anti-tolls.  He also is, all too often, anti-reality. He is inclined to making up facts. He claims he will do things he won't be able to do.

Falconer constantly brags about he books he's written and claims to have seriously studied Orange County Government and its budget.  That's odd, because the vast majority of his proposal just don't make sense to anyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of how our local governments actually function.  

So, is Matthew Falconer too stupid to actually understand how government works, or is he hoping the voters will be too stupid to see through his B.S.?

Either way, the citizens of Orange County can do better than Matthew Falconer.

Much better.