NOTE: To use Florida's waters as its sewerage system, Big Sugar needs the best science money can buy -- political science.
Political science is obscuring how sugar's domination of the state water management system poisons people, poisons the Everglades, and poisons democracy. Unfortunately for Big Sugar, the massive algae blooms sprouting from Lake Okeechobee are underlining and underscoring the industry's role in the massive pollution of state waters.
To change course requires a new set of elected leaders in Florida. Bullsugar, River Warriors on both Florida coasts, the fishermen, Native Americans, and voters will have to take the lead this election cycle and upset the convenience-store politics that keep a masterful status quo in place.
Political science is obscuring how sugar's domination of the state water management system poisons people, poisons the Everglades, and poisons democracy. Unfortunately for Big Sugar, the massive algae blooms sprouting from Lake Okeechobee are underlining and underscoring the industry's role in the massive pollution of state waters.
To change course requires a new set of elected leaders in Florida. Bullsugar, River Warriors on both Florida coasts, the fishermen, Native Americans, and voters will have to take the lead this election cycle and upset the convenience-store politics that keep a masterful status quo in place.
Read the letter from Bullsugar.org Regarding State Representative Matt Caldwell Bias & Lake Okeechobee Learning Collaborative. It is a great letter.
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| Rep. Matt Caldwell |
The following is a letter from Kenny Hinkle Jr., On Behalf of Bullsugar.org, to Mayor Randy Henderson of Fort Myers, Florida:
21 June 2016
The City of Fort Myers
Mayor Randy Henderson
City Hall
2200 Second St.
Fort Myers, FL 33901
Send Via Email: rhenderson@cityftmyers.com
Re: Representative Caldwell bias & Lake Okeechobee Learning Collaborative
Dear Mayor Henderson,
I write to you on behalf of the 127,000 and growing followers of Bullsugar.org. Bullsugar.org is a non-profit 501(c)4 founded in August 2014 on the belief that stopping the damaging discharges to our coasts and restoring the Everglades is not a science or engineering problem. The science has been known for decades. Our problem is a political problem -- and it requires a political solution.
Tomorrow, 22 June 2016, Florida League of Mayors, Inc., on which you serve as the Board of Directors President, will host Lake Okeechobee Learning Collaborative. Conspicuously missing from the Florida League of Mayors, Inc. website is the event agenda. We have attached a copy of the event page from your website (Exhibit A). If it is the case that you, as the President, have not seen the agenda, we have attached it to this letter as (Exhibit B).
You will find that with agenda item 7 lists Representative Matt Caldwell as "Facilitator" for policy discussion. Bullsugar.org and its followers, who represent VOTERS and TAX PAYERS in each and every member city of Florida League of Mayors, strongly object to the inclusion of Representative Caldwell in your Lake Okeechobee Learning Collaborative. We urge you to find a non-biased facilitator who represents the constituents, not special interests - specifically BIG SUGAR.
Should you have a question regarding the bias of Representative Caldwell, we have done a simple analysis of Representative Caldwell's 2016 campaign election cycle finance reports (Exhibit C) and of Florida Committee for Conservative Leadership (Exhibit D), which lists Representative Caldwell as associated with the ironically named political committee (Exhibit E). Please forgive us if our percentages are off a point or two, career politicians and their financiers do a good job smoke-screening money.
• Caldwell 2016 Campaign
◦ Total money raised through May 2016: $206,733.00
◦ Corporate contributions: 93% of total contributions
◦ Individual contributions: 7% of total contributions
◦ Corporate contributions from Lee County: 4% of total contributions
◦ Individual contributions from Lee County: 1.2% of total contributions
◦ Contributions from individuals in House District 79 (Mr. Caldwell's district):
▪ 1 (one)
▪ $75 (seventy-five dollars)
▪ .03% (three-hundredths of one percent of total contributions)
◦ Dominant industries on Representative Caldwell's finance reports:
▪ Big Sugar and its affiliates including Big Tobacco
▪ Developers
▪ Big Pharma / Big Insurance
▪ Soft Money PAC's, Lawyer and Lobbyists
• Florida Committee for Conservative Leadership
◦ Total contributions: $332,355.52
Noteworthy Contributions: $32,500.00 from United States Sugar Corporation
As the President of Florida League of Mayors, Inc. and the Mayor of the City of Fort Myers, through which polluted water is flushed from Lake Okeechobee, we urge you to remove Representative Caldwell and his special interests from tomorrow's forum. You have an opportunity to show your constituents and voters across the state, the Nation and the Globe that no longer will the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries be the dumping ground for polluted water. You have an opportunity to strengthen the economic viability of many communities and preserve the future for many communities. Show the world that in our water there are grasses, fish, salt and shells – but not special interests.
Best,
Kenny Hinkle Jr.
On Behalf of Bullsugar.org
For more information, please visit: Bullsugar.org
CONTACT: Allie Preston, apreston@bullsugar.org
#End Wide Release
2 comments:
Great message from our friends at Bullsugar. Look at their numbers. Go on Facebook and join Bullsugar.org. It can become the people's strongest lobbying group in Florida. Let's help make them 1,000,000 strong!
Follow the money; Caldwell is a willing puppet of the Corporate Special Interests and his favorite - Big Sugar. Caldwell regularly votes against the best interests of his neighbors and all working people in Alva, Buckingham, Charleston Park, Fort Myers Shores, Lehigh Acres, Lochmoor Waterway Estates, North Fort Myers, Olga, Palmona Park, Suncoast Estates.
We need Florida native John Scott for Florida State House District 79, http://votejohnscott.com/donate
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