Affirmative Action for Voters
Monday July 10, 2023
Good morning Democrats!
I must admit, I am feeling pretty good about the new and improved Florida Democratic Party. Phil and I spent this past weekend in Miami for our annual Leadership Blue event. As you know, we have a new chair – Nikki Fried. She has been working tirelessly to bring onboard the talent we need to be able to support the county DEC’s (Democratic Executive Committees).
At our next DEC meeting we will be sharing the things we learned in an all-day session on Saturday as the FDP brought us up to speed on what they have been doing to get ready for the next election cycle.
We also got to spend time with old friends and favorite politicians from across the state. There was lots of hugging!
Here are some things YOU can do now to prepare for a new and improved state of Florida!
The FDP has a new website dedicated to helping candidates prepare for a run for office. If that is you, click here: https://www.floridadems.org/run-for-office/
Since our elected officials have decided to engage in a culture war rather than address the issues that affect you and me, we resort to petition drives to force the government to change. These issues will then appear on the ballot and the voters will decide.
We are currently working on 3 petitions. You can download them, sign them, and mail them in. You must be a registered voter in Florida for the 2 statewide issues and Monroe County for the local issues.
The 2 statewide petitions that will result in changes to our state constitution if passed are:
#1. Amendment to the state Constitution that will prohibit the state legislature from interfering with a woman’s right to choose. https://floridiansprotectingfreedom.com/
#2. Amendment to the state Constitution to hold accountable those who pollute, even government agencies, forcing them to protect this essential resource. The Right to Clean Water Amendment website is here: https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/
Please act now on these 2 petitions.
The last petition is for Monroe County Voters only and is to change the way we vote for our County Commissioners. We currently vote “at-large” for all 5 commissioners. At large voting is a hold-over from Jim Crow designed to dilute the vote of constituents. Single Member District Voting means the candidate can only be voted on by those voters in the specific district, where they should be more familiar with the candidate. Again, this will put the issue on the ballot and the voters in Monroe County will decide if this is what they want. To get the petition, click here: https://www.keysrep.com/download-and-sign-a-petition
Please act and don’t be afraid to print several copies of all the petitions and get your friends and neighbors to sign as well.
Remember – DEMOCRACY IF NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT!
It’s time to pick a side and do something! Start by attending a meeting and learning how your government works and what your elected officials are doing.
Local Govt. Meetings this week
Monday, July 10
The Monroe County Historic Preservation Commission will meet at the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, 2nd floor, from 2:00 to 5:00PM. This is a webinar on zoom using the following link: https://mcbocc.zoom.us/j/87210424730
Tuesday, July 11
City of Key West Tree Commission will meet at City Hall, 1300 White St. at 5:00PM to review 7 requests for tree removals and a request to use city tree fund money to purchase trees to be planted in City right of way planters. For agenda: file:///C:/Users/HBIC%20Bert/Downloads/Agenda%20(43).pdf
The City of Marathon City Council will meet at 5:30 PM in City hall, 9805 Overseas Hwy, Marathon For details see: https://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/citycouncil/page/city-council-meeting-74
The Monroe County Contractor’s Examining Board will meet in the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Hwy. from 9:30AM to 4:30PM. For more details click on link and then agenda: https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=9609&month=7&year=2023&day=11&calType=0.
The Monroe County School Board will meet at 5pm in the Marathon High School Media Center, 350 Sombrero Rd., Marathon. See details at: https://monroe-k12.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=1
The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority will meet at 3:30PM in their headquarters, 1100 Kennedy Dr., Key West See details: https://www.fkaa.com/agendacenter
Wednesday, July 12
There will be a Key Colony Beach Department of Administrative Hearing from 9:30AM to 12:30PM to discuss code violations. To join via zoom - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87683666177?pwd=VTFnTlhNMkt1L0RXTk52MVpxUW9hQT09
The Key West Bight Management District Board will meet in City Hall, 1300 White St. at 4PM. There will be a presentation by Elisa Levy about the city’s recycling program, and there will be discussions on many issues. For more details see: http://keywest.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
The Utility Board of the City of Key West will have their regular meeting in the Keys Energy Services board room, 1001 James St. at 5:00PM. See details at: https://www.keysenergy.com/utility-board
Thursday, July 13
(Note: the 3 Key West Meetings listed below will follow each other in the order listed)
The Key West City Commission will meet in City Hall at 9:00 AM to discuss a full agenda. There is also a meeting at 5pm. This is the new schedule and I suggest you read the whole agenda. Click here: file:///C:/Users/HBIC%20Bert/Downloads/Agenda%20(46).pdf
The Key West Board of Adjustment will also meet in City Hall at 5:00PM to discuss variances on 1244 14th St and 1500 Reynolds St. (the new bleachers for the stadium and new elevators at the Casa Marina) file:///C:/Users/HBIC%20Bert/Downloads/Agenda%20(48).pdf
The Caroline Street Corridor and Bahama Village Community Redevelopment Agency will meet in City Hall at 5:00PM to discuss a list of lease extension amendments for the Key West bight ferry terminal. Following the meeting listed above.
The City of Key Colony Beach Utility Board will have a special & a regular meeting in the Key Colony Inn banquet room at 9:30 to 11:30AM
Activist meetings this week
Tuesday July 11
The Keys Dems will meet at 5:30pm in the back room of the VFW Post 3911, 2200 N Roosevelt Blvd. We will be reporting on the State Democratic Party Meeting held July 7-8 in Miami. Bring a friend!
I hope you are paying attention enough to know that our country/state and county are in an existential crisis. We, activist citizens, are the ones who can make a difference. We are the ones who must stand up for each other and protect the rights of all!
Let’s get to it!
Bert Sise/Chair
KeysDems
Website – www.keysdems.com
Facebook – Florida Keys Democrats
Instagram - @keysdems
Twitter - @DemsKeys
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin