Call Governor Crist today! by gimleteye

The recent session of the Florida legislature passed a terrible bill that awaits signature by Governor Crist. If enough citizens hear from the Governor, he may veto it.

SB 900 imposes huge obstacles on the collection of signatures for petitions to change the Florida constitution by ballot referendum.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce and special interests promoted the measure to ensure the failure of Florida Hometown Democracy, a grass roots movement that would require popular vote in municipalities and counties before elected officials consider changes to local comprehensive land use plans mandated by the state of Florida.

In Miami Dade County, the implications are clear: applications to move the Urban Development Boundary would be defeated by voters by enormous margins-- according to public opinion polls, 70 or 80 percent of voters reject moving the UDB.

Then, it is likely that the local legislators would pass those same measures by 90 percent because they owe their elections to the same builders and developers who want to move the UDB.

No incumbent wants to be set up to incur the wrath of voters: that's why the Chamber of Commerce wants to protect incumbents.

Short-circuiting civic participation is hostile to democracy. Period.

Call Governor Crist and ask him to veto SB 900: 850-488-7146 or 850-488-4441.

On a related matter, the Miami Sun Post has opined on the lawsuit brought by Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer against Miami Dade County, for its passage of local laws that make it much harder for citizens to petition county government. We called Mayor Dermer a stand-up guy for doing it.

New laws approved by the county commission, led by Natacha Seijas, will lead to more of the fear and intimidation that marked the campaign to recall her.

The Sun Post did an excellent job summarizing the issue, which you can read, below...

Editorial 05-31-07
Free Speech Means Never Having to Fear Fine or Imprisonment

It shouldn’t be surprising that Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer filed a suit challenging recent county laws that govern how future petition initiatives are circulated.

Prior to being elected commissioner in 1997, Dermer was recruited by residents interested in challenging the city’s eagerness to appease developers — namely Thomas Kramer, a commodities broker who wanted a massive zoning increase for a waterfront piece of land next to South Pointe Park known as the Alaska Parcel. Those residents would form Save Miami Beach and circulate a petition to place on the ballot a proposed charter amendment requiring voter approval for zoning increases along the waterfront. That petition would be certified and, in spite of Kramer funneling at least $1 million to defeat the measure, that charter amendment would become law — encouraging future legislation in Miami Beach to control development in the densest built-out city in Florida.

With the meager budget Save Miami Beach had at its disposal, that petition would have never been certified if county ordinances approved in 2006 were in place back in November 1996. This is particularly true of Ordinance 06-167, which makes it illegal for anyone to “lie” when circulating petitions for a referendum on a proposed charter amendment or recalling a public official.

What’s wrong with a lying prohibition? Well, what’s a lie? Suppose a petition gatherer told someone that the Save Miami Beach charter amendment would help stop high-rise development. Technically that would be more a statement of opinion of what the charter amendment could lead to. However, someone wanting to stop the petition drive could argue that the petition gatherer lied, call the police and subject the petition gatherer to a $500 fine or 60 days’ imprisonment in the county jail.

Used in conjunction with other laws enacted by the County Commission, including a code that allows petition signers to recant their signature, the lying prohibition ordinance can be used to stop citizen petitions through intimidation. Simply put: Petition circulators can be threatened with jail for statements they may or may not have made while gathering signatures. And petition campaigns for recalling an official or a referendum can be stopped before they even reach the Elections Department for certification with a few vague charges that some signatures were obtained by lying. The end result will be that no special election will be possible without the approval of an elected body.

In the opinion of the SunPost, the intent of many county commissioners was not to stop lying but to provide them a means of preventing laws from being enacted that they did not agree with. At the time Ordinance 06-167 was first proposed, county voters were about to decide on a referendum that would grant the county mayor the power to hire and fire department heads and relegate the county manager as his assistant. The move was fiercely opposed by all 13 members of the County Commission. There was also an initiative to recall Commissioner Natacha Seijas from office. In both cases, county commissioners insisted that petition signers were lied to. Now, under the new ordinance, county commissioners can call the police and haul their political opponents to jail. That power also rests with political leaders in Miami-Dade’s cities, including Miami and Miami Beach.

But in preventing so-called lies, the County Commission violated the United States Constitution’s First, Fifth and 14th Amendments because the ordinance’s definition of a “false statement” is vague. The lawsuit states: “The term ‘false statement’ which guides enforcement of the ordinance has neither a legal standard, nor a specific definition. Rather than incorporating an objective test into its regulatory language, the ordinance depends only upon subjective interpretation of the term ‘false statement’; the decision of whether a person has violated the ordinance and should be arrested rests entirely on the discretion of each individual Miami-Dade police officers [sic].”

Moreover, the suit argues that the county ordinance infringes on the right of free speech, stating: “The free expression of views on any affair may not be conditioned upon the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners’ agreement with what a speaker may intend to say.”

Right now Dermer is asking the courts to eliminate an undemocratic law. But must it come to that? There is nothing wrong with elected officials admitting they made a mistake. County commissioners should repeal Ordinance 06-167 before the government is dragged into court. It’s just the right thing to do.

Comments? E-mail letters@miamisunpost.com.