Affirmative Action for Voters 2.0
Good morning Democrats!
“A man is running to run the government he tried to overthrow while he was running it, even as he is running to stay ahead of the law.
That sounds loony, except in the topsy-turvy world of Donald Trump, where it has a grotesque logic.
The question now is: Has Trump finally run out of time, thanks to Jack Smith, who runs marathons as an Ironman triathlete? Are those ever-loving walls really closing in this time?
Or is Smith Muellering it?” Maureen Dowd 7/22/23 NYT
It’s the question we all are pondering, right?
We are still a nation of LAWS. No One is above the LAW. The ex-pres. now sounds a lot like a mob boss who wants to have his own KINGDOM.
Meanwhile our meanspirited governor has re-written American History and how we teach it. Slavery as Job Training? He forgot the part about beatings/rapes and killing. Maybe he’s trying to forget his time at Gitmo?
Locally the crazy continues. FEMA is coming to investigate insurance fraud at Key Colony Beach. The BOCC hired Ashbritt even though they have cost us a bunch of money. And The Village of Islands has fired another City manager. The FKAA say they have everything under control but did not divulge what the plan was. Keys Energy and the Fla Keys Electric Co-op say we have plenty of energy, but demand has caused them to do a little local generation.
WAKE UP AMERICA!
I know the bad news on top of “WTF” news is overwhelming, but, it’s time for us to step up and speak up. In Monroe County we are paying attention and calling out the collusion/corruption when we see it. (Nice work KCB activists!) We must continue to do that. Nazi Germany did not happen overnight. Folks thought it did not affect them so they did not speak up. We, the voting citizens, must be the watchdogs, activists and policy shapers of our communities. Let’s get to it.
There is no reason to feel helpless or disconnected. There are ways to be involved that are interesting and important.
There are petitions to be signed to get critical issues on next year’s ballot. Click on these links to download/print/sign and mail to the various groups attempting to get our state and local government to do what we want them to do!
#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/
#3. Change from At-Large Voting for County Commissioners to Single Member Districts. https://www.keysrep.com/download-and-sign-a-petition
Get involved with local activist groups or attend a local govt. meeting.
Most local govt. meetings are also available on ZOOM. If you cannot get there, tune in from home. Although I must admit, I like being in the “room where it happens” just to get a sense of crowd dynamics. Remember - the big money developers ALWAYS show up, with their attorneys.
DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT – especially now.
Activist Meetings This Week
Wednesday July 26
Key West NOW will meet at 5:30pm in the back room at Brady’s Pub, 1900 Flagler Ave. Key West. Join the fight for Women’s Rights!
Thursday July 27
The Keys Dems will meet at 5:30pm in the Marathon Public Library, 3490 Overseas Hwy, Marathon. This will be a hybrid in-person/ZOOM meeting and we have some hot topics to discuss. Two local attorneys, Donald Barrett, and Jason Smith will join us to explain what a change to our court system will mean for us in Monroe County. It feels like another Tallahassee political punishment move to me. Bring a like-minded friend and help us build our team. Here is the ZOOM link - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82805677884
The Keys Dems are conducting our annual collection of School Supplies for the United Teachers of Monroe. We have four collection sites where you can drop off things like pens/pencils/notebooks/binders/crayons and backpacks.
In Key West – 1616 Trinidad Dr. on Thursdays from 3-6pm and Saturdays from 9am-noon.
Sugarloaf Key – drop your donations in the Lobby of the Sugarloaf Lodge, MM17, US#1.
Big Pine Key – donations can be dropped under the house at 29547 Saratoga Ave., Big Pine Key
Marathon/Key Colony Beach – drop under the house at 620 9th St. There will be a large trash can available.
We are still looking for a spot in the Upper Keys who will take these donations.
Our Upper Keys Dems meeting last week was highly informative. Nick Rodriguez gave a Power Point Presentation on the Key Largo Sewage Treatment Plant. We were all impressed! Thanks NICK!
Government Meetings This Week*
Monday July 24
The Key West City Commission will be in Budget workshops Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday, starting at 9am in City Hall, 1300 White St.
The Monroe County Development Review Committee will meet from 1-5pm via ZOOM only. The are four projects looking for major/minor amendments to a conditional use permit from Bay Point to Duck Key. Check it out: https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/
Tuesday July 25
The Marathon City Council will meet at 5:30pm in City Hall, 9805 Overseas Hwy, Marathon with the big item being the Budget. For details: https://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/meetings
The FKAA Board of Directors will meet at 10:30am in their headquarters at 1100 Kennedy Dr, Key West. The Audit Committee and a Presentation on the Budget top the agenda. For all the gory details: https://www.fkaa.com/agendacenter
The Monroe County Planning Commission will meet at 10am in the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Hwy, Marathon. This is a hybrid so you can zoom in as well: https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/
Wednesday July 26
The Utility Board of the City of Key West (Keys Energy) will meet at 5pm in the board room, 1001 James St. Key West. More Budget presentations and some interesting energy consumption graphs – check it out: https://www.keysenergy.com/utility-board
The Monroe County Land Authority has posted a meeting for 9:30am to noon in the Marathon Govt. Center Media Conference Room but no details are available.??
Thursday July 27
City of Key West Development Review Committee will meet at City Hall, 1300 White ST. at 10am. The Big item on this Agenda is the New Development at 3401 Duck Ave in Poinciana Housing. Take a look at this Agenda: http://keywest.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
The City of Key West Parks & Rec Board will meet at 5pm in City Hall. For the Agenda: http://keywest.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
The Islamorada Village Council will meet at 5:30pm in the Founders Park Community Room, 87000 Overseas Hwy, Plantation Key. They have an interesting agenda: https://islamoradafl.portal.civicclerk.com/event/117/files
Monroe County Code Compliance is holding a Special Magistrate’s Hearing at 9am in the Marathon Government, 2798 Overseas Hwy, Marathon. It looks like folks appealing zoning violations. Check it out, it could be comparable to Fox News whining all day! http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/
*(Many of these links require you to copy and paste. You may have to scroll down the page to find a calendar or list of meeting dates and then click on agenda. It seems these websites have found ways to make accessing the data a bit harder than when I first started doing this. They do not know who they are dealing with!)
If you can support the work we do as we prepare for another election cycle, attend a meeting and get involved. Come to a FUNdraiser and meet our team and possibly some candidates!
Become a donor - https://keysdems.com/join/
Support our digital marketing efforts - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/2022digital
Thinking about running for office? Check out this website - https://www.floridadems.org/run-for-office/\
I look forward to seeing you soon!
Stay well and watch out for the Lobster Mobsters!
Bert Sise/Chair
KeysDems
Website – www.keysdems.com
Facebook – Florida Keys Democrats
Instagram - @keysdems
Twitter - @DemsKeys
A little video - https://youtu.be/68PT89Ge-kE