FF 2

Really, 2 words come to mind, Special Interest. Take a look at the politicians who take money. The law that opens up Florida to building without regard for infrastructure has already paid off for Gov Crist. So whether it is IG's special interest, wants to see change or the realtors backing Pridgens special interest, it is all up for sale. At least IG is realistic enough that it may bite their group in the backside but that could happen with any PAC.

SHELLY

Then you'll have no qualms of sharing the "non-sinister" job description for the position of the candidates you're wanting to vet?

.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

Interested Girl

Of course not. It is the same job description that is specified in Fla statutes. We just want our candidate to be guided by it.
Posted via Mobile Device

SWGB

You mean to represent the constituents of the county and not hold to the wishes of a small group?

I'm completely lost at where your going with this.

P.S. Does this little group of yours have dues similar to the WCTA?

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Miss Kitty

I am surprised you have not found y'alls candidate in the mirror each morning! Why are you not Interested, Interested Girl? I think you need look no further!

Make sure possible candidates know they will be vetted and not asked to look after sick animals.

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The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

Smiling JOe

I would run, but I fear some judge would be asking to confiscate my computer to look for some email which wrobert supposedly sent to my spam box, and while looking, they would uncover a photo of Shelly, revealing his identity.

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seagrovegirl

Another good reason not to run!!!!

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"The only thing worse than being stood up is dating." NoHall

"If you are going to be stupid, you better be tough".
Sunspotbaby

ShallowsNole

I can nominate my father-in-law, if he's not too busy with my adopted sister-in-law. I think District 2 is their neck of the woods.

Whoever does get it, though, needs to replace the bridge across Sandy Creek and open Padgett Road all the way through again. PIA to have to go back out to 183-B and around to 1883.

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Interested Girl

have him pm me
Posted via Mobile Device

ShallowsNole

It is evident that you don't know my family. As far as paw-in-law knows, pm is what you call the time of day between noon and midnight.

But thank you for asking, because now I can prove that SWGB's theory is incorrect.

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Interested Girl

Thanks to everyone.

florida girl

I agree Kenneth Pridgen (R), District 2 Commissioner should let someone else have his seat, but I fail to see how soliticing on SoWal will produce someone to fill that seat. What does the beach have to do with District 2? I think if you really want to make a change, and you are apparently pasionate about it, why don't you run yourself?

Interested Girl

Are you trying to pull my leg. I am 73 years old taking Aricept. I do not live in District 2, and do not have any plans to move there. I do believe that we deserve better representation than we currently have in that individual.

We have a candidate now.
Posted via Mobile Device

FF 2

Looking forward to hearing about the candidate, hopefully Iwill be able to support.

SWGB

Don't hold your breath, your coworkers will have to revive you.

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FF 2

Maybe, you never know, but I did not vote for Pridgen before hopefully whoever it is they are better than the current, IMO.

Smiling JOe

I long for the days when each District elects its own representative.

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Andy A.

God forbid! Stop and think a minute. This way you have some say, though admittedly it may be minimal, in who is elected from other districts. With only one representative from District 5 and us supplying a great portion of the tax dollars, we would be walked on if we went back to the old ways. For us in South Walton the present system renders us much more clout than we would ever have as one district.

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Congress only does two things well...Nothing at all and overreacting.

seagrovegirl

Oh, please tell so we can let the fur fly!!!

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"The only thing worse than being stood up is dating." NoHall

"If you are going to be stupid, you better be tough".
Sunspotbaby

SWGB

I've got news for you, you're being walked all over right now with county wide voting. I would also bet the bank that the districts will not be redrawn after the census.

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ShallowsNole

Possibly, but 3 1/2 commissioners from north of the bay vs. 1 1/2 from south of the bay...who would be getting outvoted?

We did go to single-district voting for one, possibly two, elections back in the early '90s (I think - it may have been the '80s). This was when SoWal had only one commissioner, and that commissioner also served Freeport. Sure, we got to pick who it was. However, we had no input as to who else got elected - worse yet, the other 4 members of the BCC didn't have to answer to anyone from down here. We don't have anything now even resembling the good-ol-boy days of that era.

Even if SoWal as a whole can't yet swing an election - and I think last time proved that it can - do we really want commissioners who don't have to account for their actions to all the voters of a county?

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SWGB

Lets use a hypothetical.

We elect a commissioner in the south who wants to spear head a recreational/arts complex (see other thread), but after a few calls from the north complaining about extravagances for the south they back down so as to get re-elected.

How does that scenario benefit South Walton or Walton as a whole?

We don't have statewide voting for our State Representatives.

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Miss Kitty

Enough said.

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The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

Andy A.

I'll just say this. I totally disagree. But then, you attend BCC meetings and should know.

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Congress only does two things well...Nothing at all and overreacting.

Smiling JOe

AndyA, I hear what you are saying, but politely disagree. IMO, we currently don't have any commissioners representing the interests solely of South Walton. District 1 and 5 are split between north and south walton, and even though one commissioner may reside in south walton, she wasn't elected by south walton voters. You can look at the voting records to see that. South Walton should have two Commissioners, designated solely in South Walton, and they should be elected solely by the people in their own districts.

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wrobert

Look at her typical months travel form. Spends just as much time in the north, if not more, that the south.

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FF 2

Whoa, you are not saying that a politician that is representing us is not representing us, are you? Robert, even though she may spend as much time up North, she suppose to represent the interest of Walton County.

ShallowsNole

This ain't the state. And there is not a division in the State the way there is in Walton County.

With single-member districts, I am afraid there would be nothing to keep the commissioners elected by the other districts from publicly laughing their butts off at some of the things that we think to be important - surely you know that is what the citizenry of the rest of the county does.

I just remember when everyone wanted the single-member voting, and after it happened, the cry to change it back (by many of the same people who originally wanted it) was deafening.

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Miss Kitty

SN...can you tell us why? How about single-member voting commissioners and a commisioner or two at large?

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The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

Smiling JOe

Were most of the people wanting it, residing in North Walton?

Maybe South Walton needs two district commissioners and one At-Large Commissioner, to balance out the north Walton districts (3). It is true that Walton County Commissioners represent all of Walton County, but each should also represent his or her own District. The District lines for 1 and 5 are ridiculous. Black Creek area, located north of the Bay is completely different than the area around Rosemary and Alys Beach, and the people living in each of those areas, need to be represented. Their needs are unique. Same for Bay Loop Rd (north of the Bay) compared to Miramar Beach, which are represented (supposedly) by one Commissioner. A better District division would be putting the areas north of the Bay in District 1 and 5, into one District, while having two Commissioners' Districts being solely in South Walton.

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idlewind

One thing to remember is that districts must be equal in population. I have a feeling that is a very hard task.

ShallowsNole

Nope. South Walton. And there is an entirely different dynamic at work when you share a district with Freeport. I'd explain further but my lunch break isn't that long. Maybe later.

At-large might be an idea.

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idlewind

It seems to me that many would like to acheive through single districts and creative boundaries what they have been unable to do at the ballot box.

Andy A.

If this is true, and I agree it is, then we don't have any commissioner's representing solely Disticts 2,3 and 4 either.

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Congress only does two things well...Nothing at all and overreacting.

wrobert

There are rules to the division that have to be applied. The census is going to cause this to change. I would imagine you will see District 5 shrink considerably to match the population density and District 1 cover even more of south walton and less of north walton. I bet District 2 ends up being huge, geographic wise after the lines are redrawn. Probably going from Paxton all the way down to Red Bay. They may have to double that commissioners travel allowance.

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idlewind

This may be a dumb question, but when were the lines last alterred? Who is responsible? Does the School Board and BCC have to agree?

Sorry, three dumb questions.

FF 2

Its been awhile, I think it would possibly go back to Herman Walker, Lane Rees, and Tim Pauls.

North Lake

Good questions all, IW. The BCC last redistricted in 2001 to draw the current lines after the 2000 Census. Yes, Commissioners Walker, Rees, and Pauls were in office then.

The School Board draws their own boundaries under the law, which were slightly different in 2001 from the BCC boundaries. The School Board and BCC appointed a joint Redistricting Committee in 2005 that resulted in the lines matching...using the BCC 2001 lines that are in effect today.

We're required to redistrict after each decennial census...either redraw the lines to match population shifts, or affirm that the existing districts remain within 10% equal of each other. It will be interesting to see the 2010 census data as we go into it. And of course, the mapping tools are so much better now than we had in 2001. It's also required by law to be based on population -- not tax base value, number of cars on the road, number of building permits issued, or anything else like that -- purely population.

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Leave early and you won't be stuck in traffic.

Romeosmydog

Maybe I should run? I am an 8th generation Walton County girl that was born and raised in Freeport. Momma lives in Ponc De Leon and Daddy's buried in Red Bay. I live and work in South Walton, and my family has a long history with the Walton County Commission.

My Granddaddy Jack worked for Rabbit Miles, district 2 commissioner, for nearly 20 years. When he was less than 1 year from retiring with the county... Rabbit laid him off. Rabbit was re-elected several times, he saved the county loads of money by screwing people out of their retirement. (Do I have to say IMO there in order to keep myself from being liable?)

Then there is the scandal that cost Uncle Freddie re-election to the commission back in the 80's. He was pulling something off the pilings in the bay--with permission from Eglin and someone else running for office made a stink about it. We never even got to wear out groovy RE-ELECT FREDDIE BISHOP t-shirts.

Uncle Roy Allan worked for the county for over 30 years, he left as road's foreman a few years back when the "special interests" took over. (Something about the bike paths...I couldn't follow him when he was trying to explain how us SoWallers have control of everything)

Momma's house in Freeport is built on what was called "The County Yard" back in the late 70's. Grandma let the county use the land to store signs, tractors and dump trucks. Every day the county employee's would park their personal vehicles and take off in one of the various huge diesels that were scattered across the yard. That's gotta account for something!


Before you even ask...Don't get your panties in a wad...I am kidding about running for office. BJ would make a horrible house husband of South Walton.

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"...and fuzzy navels for all of my friends!" ~Prince Charming, Shrek 3

jdarg

Romeo, I am begging you to run.

wrobert

The 10% keeps getting mentioned but I never could find it in statute. Either the AG or the SCOFL held one county was okay with a disproportionate share much greater than 10% because part of the county was urban and the other part was largely rural/ag. When we did the match up of the district lines between the BCC and the WCSB, that 10% number kept getting mentioned, but I do not recall anything in statute. I was happy we were able to get the numbers/lines to match though. Personally I thought that was a major accomplishment. What I remember as the main reason for nothing really changed in 2005 was that no consensus could be reached on population numbers and at the time while we had seen explosive growth in the south end, numbers were indicating that the north end, especially Mossy Head and Freeport were trailing behind and could be closer in line by the time the 2011 census occurred. Going to be interesting to see how that played out. But I still believe that District Five is going to be highly concentrated in Miramar.

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SWGB

Hmm, I remember when there was a big push on this board to be horribly afraid of the census. I'm just curious if those folks (who live in the North) were pushing that same agenda in the North?

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Smiling JOe

Romeo, your stories are the best! Love them.

I am not afraid of the census, but the only part I will fill out is that which is required by law -- the number of people residing in my house. Everything else is scary.

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Bobby J

Romeo,

I double dog dare you! That would really rock things up a bit. I would make a great house husband.

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www.lifeonshore.com
www.beachpropertiesofflorida.com
www.bobbyjblog.com

jdarg

Power90 at the BCC!

sunspotbaby

I'd vote for ya Romeo. ..Get in there girl!

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Don't confuse having less with being less, having more with being more, or what you have with who you are. Noah benShea

ShallowsNole

Hey Romeo - you might be a little too young to remember this (maybe not) but your Uncle Freddie and my daddy were in the 1976 election together. They painted a shovel red, white and blue and presented it to the third candidate, who was basically full of sheet.
My grandmother voted for Freddie, and his daughter was my best friend.

Those were the days.

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Romeosmydog

'Course i do..he ran against Billy McClean. I was so jealous of Cheri cause she got to wear her "Elect Billy Mclean" shirt to school. Of course I was jealous of her anyway cause she dated Bobby Johnson.

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"...and fuzzy navels for all of my friends!" ~Prince Charming, Shrek 3

northender

Cheri could date anyone she wanted all she had to do was ask but we are talking about dist. 2 north of DeFuniak not Freeport.

idlewind