Tuesday, July 27, 2010

St. Augustine Record: Former County Commissioner Ben Rich re: KAREN STERN, BEN ADAMS and JAMES BRYANT

Rich: Warns against electing previous officeholders

By BEN RICH

They are counting on you not nailing their coffins shut. They are counting on you letting them creep from their political gravesites and come back into your lives.

They are corpses from a bygone era of political influence peddling, corruption, greed and good-ol'-boy control. One rides sidesaddle on a dark horse she got from the St. Johns County Equestrian Center, our monument to Waste, Fraud and Abuse. The last one rides a jackass that he got for free from a friend who knows a friend who used to be a best friend to his friend's friend at his hunting club. That's right, the jackass is laundered.

So, who are these mysterious creatures that seemingly have risen from the dead to haunt you and I once more? Are they Larry, Moe and Curley? Close, but I didn't say that they were amusing.

Their history? Each has failed your trust as executives or legislators. They have engaged in legendary behavior, both publicly and privately, that has brought disgrace to both themselves and their public offices. They have proven to be fiscally irresponsible, having placed your county on the edge of a financial cliff by engaging in the most dangerous of public practices, long term borrowing of money (bonding) to pay for their fluff. They didn't have the courage to tax you. They created a serious financial problem that will take generations to work off and now claim to be the solution to the problem they created (this is a learned behavior from our representatives in Tallahassee and Washington). They are the developers' lap dogs and are directly responsible for our grid- locked roads and strained infrastructure. They will say anything to gain your trust then sneak up behind you, sink their fangs deeply into your wallet and suck out every nickel you have. They have left us a ghoulish legacy.

That's right. It's Karen Stern, Jim Bryant and Ben Adams.

These three people have surfaced from the swamp gas to try to take you on a Mr. Toad's ride down memory lane. Don't be fooled by the quick turns and direction reversals in their lightning quick attempt to rewrite history concerning their collusion to destroy your quality of life and indenture your children to a future of crushing debt.

This is my opinion: These people are of poor character, will not sacrifice anything in their elected offices and are morally bankrupt. If you leave the door open for them, and they are counting on that happening, they will once again rob your county blind.

Everyone can vote in the primary election. You have others running who are good people, not controlled by special interests or motivated by greed. If any of these three make it back to the public feeding trough for your lack of voting, you and I will both pay dearly.

I vote, no early Halloween. These three have no treats, only tricks.

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