Guest Column: Charter would empower the people
TOM MANUEL
Ponte Vedra Beach
Publication Date: 10/26/08
To understand why I support charter government it is important the voters understand my core philosophy on how government should work. I believe government starts at your house and my house, goes to our neighborhoods, then to our communities, to our municipalities, to our counties, to our state government and then to our federal government. Unfortunately today the process is exactly the opposite. We are a top-down government, not a people-up government as our founding fathers intended.
It is my core belief that we need to have government as close to your house as possible -- to empower you, the citizen, to make the decisions that shape our county. The only way to accomplish this objective is to have our own county "Constitution," a charter form of government.
Today we are a general law county. We live in "mommy and daddy's house" and "mommy and daddy" make the rules. Our county is a unique and special place. The citizens deserve the right to shape their local government to reflect the values and desires of the citizens. In everybody's life they comes a time when you have to move out of "mommy and daddy's house" and live on your own. Now is the time for us, the citizens, to make the "move" to charter and take control of our "house."
In Florida, as a general law county, we have "Government of the few, by the few and for the few." Florida by state law, a law that applies to general law counties (e.g. St. Johns County) has closed primaries. In most county commission elections in general law counties, a significant portion of residents are "disenfranchised." In St. Johns there are approximately 68,000 registered Republican voters and approximately 61,000 "others." In every closed primary County Commission election almost half of the residents can't vote. No wonder primary turn-out is so low. If you want to be a County Commissioner you have to run as a Republican whether you are a Republican or not. The proof you ask: We have a sitting Commissioner (a Republican) who once ran as a Democrat and lost. We have a Commissioner-elect (a Republican) who once ran as a Democrat and lost. We need to empower all voters. County commissioners worry about fixing pot holes not stem cell research. The School Board is nonpartisan. St. Augustine elections are nonpartisan. The only way the county can have nonpartisan election is through a charter government. By adopting a charter form of government we will truly have government of the people, by the people and for the people.
County commissioners are responsible to maintain the character, nature and uniqueness of our county. By voting for the charter and its coastal building height limit of 35 feet, the voters will guarantee the character, nature and uniqueness of the county for generations to come. Today, as a general law county, two commissioners can make the decision to forever alter the uniqueness of our coastal corridor.
What the charter will not do:
The charter will not impact the constitutional officers.
The charter will not impact the cities of St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach and Hastings.
The charter will not increase taxes.
The charter will not increase the size of government.
The charter requires that voters approve any future charter amendments not county commissioners.
Empower yourself: Vote "yes" on charter.
Tom Manuel was elected the District 4 County Commissioner in 2006. He was elected last year as chairman of the board. He was suspended from office Oct. 17 by Gov. Charlie Crist after an federal grand jury indictment on two charges of accepting bribes. He wrote this commentary earlier this month before his suspension.
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