There's more than the Abortion Rights on the 2024 Ballot

Monday, April 8, 2024

Good morning Democrats!

Remember Keys Dems meet in Key West on Tuesday, April 9, at 5:30 PM at the VFW. Phil Ehr, our candidate for Congressional Dist. 28, will be our speaker. See you there!

Bert is off to Vermont to view the solar eclipse today. Here in the Beautiful Florida Keys, the partial eclipse will begin around 1:42 PM, with the maximum eclipse at 2:56 PM, and ending a little past 4 PM.
 
2024 Ballot Initiatives
There are 5 other ballot initiatives on the ballot this year besides Abortion Rights. Two of them, put on the ballot by the Florida State Legislature, which concern Campaign Money and School Board Elections are anti-Democracy. But… there is hope because all ballot initiatives require 60% margin to be adopted. We need to  JUST VOTE!

B.T.W. Please go online and check your voter data at https://www.keys-elections.org/Voters/My-Registration-Status  to make sure you are signed up for Vote-By-Mail and you are an Active voter. Recent laws require a more frequent purging of the voter database and require the SOE to mark you inactive if you fail to return their postcard. As a result, some people who voted in 2022 are now marked as inactive putting their voter registration at risk. So please, go check your voter information. 

— ABORTION: In what could be 2024’s biggest political issue in Florida, voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. The vote will come after Gov. Ron DeSantis and lawmakers approved the most severe abortion restrictions in the country, preventing abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The proposed constitutional amendment, in part, says: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider.” Voting Yes enshrines abortion rights in the state constitution
— CAMPAIGN MONEY: Lawmakers approved placing a measure on the ballot to again try to repeal a program that offers state matching funds to gubernatorial and state Cabinet candidates. Voters approved the matching funds program in 1998, and a repeal attempt failed in 2010. When the program was created, supporters said it could help reduce the influence of big-money contributors in statewide elections. This program helps our school board and the Board of County Commissioners candidates compete in our very long and skinny county. A Yes Vote would do away with this program. A YES vote eliminates a 1998 program that offers state matching funds to gubernatorial and state Cabinet candidates
— FISHING AND HUNTING: Fishing and hunting have been traditions for generations of Floridians. Voters in November will decide whether to enshrine a right to fish and hunt in the state Constitution. With the backing of outdoor groups, lawmakers voted almost unanimously last year to place the measure on the ballot. In part, the proposal says hunting and fishing “shall be preserved forever as a public right and preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife.  A YES vote preserves forever hunting and fishing as a public right and the preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife.
— MARIJUANA: Eight years after voters approved a constitutional amendment that broadly allowed medical marijuana, they will decide this year whether to give the go-ahead to recreational use of marijuana. The political committee Safe & Smart Florida, backed heavily by the Trulieve medical marijuana company, led the drive to put the measure on the ballot. It would allow people ages 21 and older to “possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption.” A YES vote allows the recreational use of marijuana.
— PROPERTY TAXES: Homeowners could receive slightly larger property-tax breaks if voters approve a constitutional amendment that the Legislature put on the ballot. The proposal would lead to adjusting part of the homestead property-tax exemption for inflation. Homeowners receive tax exemptions on the assessed values of their property up to $25,000 and on the values between $50,000 and $75,000. The proposal would require adjusting for inflation the exempt portion currently between $50,000 and $75,000. This initiative is a double-edged sword. While homeowners want to reduce their tax bills, this initiative will probably cause rental prices to go up. The cost of government is fixed. When you reduce the portion paid for by homeowners the balance must be paid for by others. For real estate, that means raising the taxes on income-producing property, i.e. rent for our wait staff and bartenders. A YES vote would adjust part of the homestead property tax exemption for inflation.
— SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS: With supporters seeking to do away with a requirement that candidates run without party labels, voters will decide whether to hold partisan school board elections. Florida historically had partisan school board elections, but voters passed a constitutional amendment in 1998 to make the races non-partisan. Lawmakers, however, placed a measure on this year’s ballot that would return to partisan races starting in 2026. School board races in some areas have become battlegrounds in recent years. If there is any elected position that should be non-partisan, it is the school board. The politicization of School Boards by the Florida GOP over the last several election cycles has created a toxic work environment and detracted from providing our children the best education possible. This ballot initiative seeks to amplify the political divide at our children's expense. A YES vote would repeal a 1998 amendment to make school board races non-partisan

 

Local Government meetings this week.

Tuesday, April 9

• Marathon City Council 9805 Overseas Hwy., Marathon, FL Tuesday, April 9, 2024 5:30 P.M. 

• Harry Harris Park Redesign Meeting   50 East Beach Road, Tavernier, FL 33070 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM: Monroe County will hold two public workshops for feedback on potential redesign efforts for the Harry Harris Park in Tavernier to make it more resilient and improve overall use. This meeting #1. Meeting #2 will be held on Tuesday, April 30, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Murray E. Nelson Building, 102050 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo. Meeting Agenda

• Key Colony Beach Beautification Committee, Tuesday, April 9th, 2024 – 10:00 a.m. Marble Hall, 600 W. Ocean Drive, Key Colony Beach, Florida 

Thursday, April 11

• Key West City Commission     There are 43 items on the agenda beginning at 9:00 AM at Key West City Hall. 

Candidate events/info

Many of the DEMS running for local office held events or showed up for our meetings. (just another reason YOU should attend to meet them). If you would like a currant list of the DEMS running shoot me an email – chair@keysdems.com or visit the Supervisor of Elections website - https://www.keyselections.org/Candidate-Info/Candidates-Finances-Elections-2012-Current.

Phil Dodderidge/ Vicechair
KeysDems
 
Website – www.keysdems.com
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Twitter - @DemsKeys