This is just too important, I am posting the whole Herald article about this really offensive letter. By the way, one of the people on the corporation paying for the Thrasher letter, is none other than Al Cardenas, chair of the State's Republican Party. Don't be fooled: Throw out the Thrasher letter (he is a lobbyist for developers)and tell your friends and neighbors to do the same.Posted on Thu, Sep. 20, 2007
Developers urge Fla. voters to renege on petitions
BY MARC CAPUTO
Warning! ''Slick lawyers'' and ''special interests'' are tricking citizens into signing petitions for a development-limiting amendment that actually helps ``big developers.''
The message comes courtesy of John Thrasher, a lawyer and lobbyist for one of the state's biggest developers, St. Joe Co. and Associated Industries of Florida, among others. He's urging people in a letter sent throughout the state to take advantage of a new business-backed law allowing voters to revoke their signature on a petition to get a constitutional amendment before voters.
In this case, the proposed ''Florida Hometown Democracy'' amendment would give voters the right to veto or approve any growth-plan change made in their area. And that has developers, the business lobby and local governments worried.
For starters, the amendment could delay some developments by months, and subject even minor projects, such as the siting of a gas station, to a citizen vote. And that could tie the fate of the smallest, least controversial projects to larger developments.
GROUPS MOBILIZE
The Florida Chamber of Commerce is hitting back with its own group, Floridians for Smarter Growth, and an amendment that seeks to all but cancel the Hometown plan.
The rival petitions, Thrasher's letter, a debate Wednesday in Tallahassee and a Tampa Bay debate last week show that this will be one of the more spirited campaigns.
Thrasher said in a Wednesday debate at Tallahassee's Tiger Bay Club that the ramifications of the Sierra Club-backed amendment are ''very terrifying'': higher taxes, more politics in planning and less accountability from local government commissioners abrogating their duties via plebiscite.
His rival, Ross Burnaman with Florida Hometown Democracy, said Thrasher is misleading people. Burnaman said the amendment would give citizens a final say over how their community grows, and he pointed out that big developers oppose this plan.
Burnaman said his group is only 100,000 signatures shy of the 611,000 needed by Feb. 1 to get the measure before voters in November 2008.
THRASHER'S MESSAGE
Thrasher, a former Florida House speaker, hopes to cancel some of those petitions through his letter, which says people have been ''tricked'' into signing by ''mercenary'' signature gatherers.
Thrasher said he's not affiliated with the chamber's group, which is using paid signature-gatherers.
If the Hometown amendment makes the ballot and passes, citizens could vote on growth changes once a year, twice yearly or more often.
Said Thrasher: ``Democracy's not cheap.''
© 2007 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com
7 comments:
Keep fighting the fight against greedy developers. This guy sounds like a piece of work!
oh this guy IS a piece of work. former speaker of the florida house. lobbyist extraordinaire. Very connected and very crafty.
I received my last week. I tore it up, crammed it and a bunch of other junk mail into the postage paid envelope that came with it, and sent the lot back to them. Whether or not you support FHD, the letter was incredibly insulting.
I always vote against the campaign with the most money. Whatever, the proposal put forward is if it has lots of money pushing it then you know it is not in your best interest.
OrlandoSentinel.com
COMMENTARY
Just who exactly are the special interests here?
Scott Maxwell
September 23, 2007
If you read the letter that former House speaker John Thrasher is sending to Floridians all over the state, you're bound to get mad.
Thrasher, after all, tells us that special interests are out to hijack our state. And, if you're like me, you'd rather not get hijacked.
But we may not have much of a choice. Thrasher says that, in their quest to ruin the state, the special interests are using devious tricks and enlisting the help of so-called "electors."
"Guess who the 'electors' will be," Thrasher's letter continues. "The 'special interests' and their slick lawyers will rig the system to put our future in the hands of their cronies."
Ooh, those rotten special interests. I can't stand 'em -- them or their slick lawyers.
But it sounds like the real culprits in this thing are these no-good "electors."
Wanna fight one back? Wanna just sock one of 'em square in the schnoz?
Well, make a fist and then ram it into your own face.
Because "electors" are nothing more than Floridians who will get the right to vote.
Yes, the amendment that Thrasher's thrashing would simply give you the right to vote on major land and development projects.
It's called Hometown Democracy. And Thrasher -- whose letter never reveals that he's now a lobbyist for big business -- knows all this perfectly well. That's what scares his clients (-snip-)
It should be against the law to knowingly publish campaign fiction.
There are plenty of laws that are routinely ignored by those printing slander and lies in direct mail political attack ads: it happened in the strong mayor referendum and it happened in amendment 3 and it is happening with Florida Hometown Democracy.
We're shedding our kids' blood in Iraq and Afghanistan, to spread our democracy and those examples we have to show for it.
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