Update

Wilson: Last week I wrote about the Scripps newspaper endorsements. Larry Reisman contacted me over the weekend and took exception to my conclusions.

On Sunday Scripps ran a story reviewing their endorsements and in all fairness there was one race, Commission District three in St. Lucie County that I missed. In that race the News Tribune endorsed the Republican instead of the incumbent Democrat. When I make a mistake I appreciate having it pointed out and unlike others who blog I want to correct it. My apologies to Mr. Reisman and the Press Journal for the error.

So here is a revised review of last week.

My premise was that in truly contested races, Scripps has a substantial bias towards Democrats and incumbents and that they were Bipolar like when they use the term experience a lot when it suites them but experience doesn't count for say Republican Bill Posey. They use honesty and integrity but it doesn't count with say Democrat Chris, arrested for theft, Dzadovsky or Democrat Joe, wedding paid by public funds, Smith, or possibly Democrat Pat, arrested for assaulting a police officer, Murphy.

My conclusion was that I would more rely on the information I get from party affiliation than from a newspaper where bias is so evident.

The key point was COMPETITIVE, LOCAL races. Yes the Press Journal endorsed Carole Jean Jordan but that is not a competitive race any more than Rosanne Barr on the Presidential ballot makes it competitive between Obama, Romney and Barr. Same with Joe Negron.

I also did not count state Senate races that are largely out of the community or non partisan races where party is not a factor for the general public. Sure if you add in all these races it looks better for Scripps but that's not the point. The point is when push comes to shove in local races that are truly races Scripps local editorial board leans Anti- Republican and Pro-incumbent.

Here are the results. See for yourself.

Incumbents in all races including City Councils: 10 of 14. Exceptions, Nelson Ft. Pierce City Council, Lewis St. Lucie Commission, Bowen PSL City Council, Posey Congress, West unannounced.

Democrat Incumbents in competitive races endorsed 3 of 4: Dzadovsky, Smith, Walker, exception Swanson.

Republican Incumbents in competitive races endorsed 0 of 2: against Posey, West undecided.

Open Seats: Republicans endorsed 1 of 3: Republican Hopkins other Donadio, Lee.

No Party Aff. endorsed: 2 of 2: Donadio,Gilmore (Jordan and Scott not competitive.)

Score:

Editorial Support For Republicans: 2 of 9

Editorial Support of Democrats or NPA: 6 of 7

Editorial Support of NPA against Republicans: 2 of 2

Editorial Support of Incumbents: 10 of 14 one unannounced.

In fairness in the Senate races that include parts of the Treasure Coast Negron, Grimsley, and Altman are all Republicans but that is a different editorial board then we have for local races. That larger Board is also why we have so many judges from Stuart.

The editorials have not been published for West, Nelson and Obama so are not included. It would seem that the local Scripps heavily support all three Democrats but they will not make the final decision alone in these races so It would not surprise me to see a surprise Republican endorsement for at least one Republican. If included the total would be 9 of 10 Democrats received endorsements. If you include out of area Senate it would be 9 of 13. So it is either 70% as Press Journal sees it or 90% as I see it endorsement if you are a Democrat and 71% if you are an incumbent.

Bias. Absolutely!

Wheeler and Wilson will have an additional post for Friday including predictions and a discussion of widespread election misdeeds at the polls. It is a new day for voter intimidation. Where has the press been?

Party Politics

Wilson: Party politics played an important role in this election cycle. Some have questioned party and cast a negative light on party affiliation. The Vero Press Journal has been especially hostile to the idea that Party’s matter.

I couldn’t disagree more. Go to a Republican meeting and a Democrat meeting and you will see that there are major differences. Differences that matter.

Party affiliation tells you something about a person and it should tell you a lot about candidates. The problem is when candidates pretend to be something they are not. In this local election there have been two major cases of pretending. Jay Kramer pretending to be for the Sale of Vero Election and Tony Donadio pretending to be a Republican.

On October 7, 2012 my good friend Larry Reisman published an editorial about the Press Journal’s editorial process. Larry contends the he and his fellow “newspaperites” are the only ones with enough insight to advise voters what they should do. Since Larry and my other good friend Russ Lemmon have no party loyalty of their own, do not attend Party events or volunteer their time and money they have no way of knowing how important we feel our efforts on behalf of our party are to our Country and our Community.

I decided to look at the Press Journal’s editorial history.

To most of us we read the PJ editorials and are struck with their schizophrenic thought process. I think of them as the Sybil News with both Bipolar and multi personality disorder. For one candidate they endorse based on their integrity. The next day they endorse candidates with arrest records.

In this cycle the Press Journal endorsements had these interesting tidbits.

1.       Endorsed 100% of Democrat Incumbents

2.       Endorsed no Republican Incumbents except two who had only token opposition.

3.       Endorsed three challengers against Republican Incumbents

4.       Endorsed no challengers against Democrat incumbents.

5.       Endorsed three Democrats with criminal or ethics charges past or pending.

6.       If you were Black you were endorsed 50% of the time, unless you were also Republican

7.       The Press Journal endorsed more No Party Affiliation candidates than contested Republicans

8.       In competitive open seats the Press Journal endorsed Democrats and NPA candidates two to one over Republicans.

9.       In City Elections, endorsed incumbents in all but two cases. (Sessions in Ft. Pierce and very telling Turner in Vero)

10.   Recommended against all Republican sponsored Constitutional Amendments.

Personally, I think I will stick with my Republican Party affiliation.  Interestingly, a majority of endorsements made by the Press Journal were for people the P.J. had previously rejected. They were against them before they were for them. In other words, many of the incumbents endorsed by the PJ would never have been incumbents if people followed the Press Journals recommendations.

So if you are thinking about running for office and you want the Press Journals endorsement do this:

1.       Above all be a Democrat. Even if you have or are in the process of being convicted of a crime be a Democrat and you will be supported by the Press Journal.  Race and gender do not matter as long as you are a Democrat. If you can’t be a Democrat incumbent be anyone against a Republican. Your chances? In 2012 in all races in Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties only one Republican in a competitive race was endorsed. (Hopkins)

2.       If you must be a Republican, make sure you have no or only token opposition. Even then you only have a 50-50 chance. (Posey/Zorc)

3.       If you are an incumbent make sure you have not accomplished anything. If you have, forget about it. (Pilar Turner).

4.       Make sure you agree with the PJ’s issue of the day, Growth, Charter Government, Referendum (Kramer, Heady etc.)

Summary. To my good friend Larry Reisman. I appreciate your efforts in vetting political issues but until your perspective, is more even handed, more consistent and you stop getting awards from Media Matters and George Sorus I will keep trusting my party affiliation over your newspaper.

By the way. The Press Journals success rate in truly contested races…less than 50%.

Wilson: County Sues Its Own

County Commissioners are in a sticky situation. They had to sue a candidate for their own commission.

Tony Donadio, architect of the County Administration building could be on the hook for millions in repairs. The question is "How does this work?". Does Tony Donadio get to sit in on closed strategy meetings to decide what to do with the case?. Does he get to vote on settling? Does the County Attorney now represent him as a Commissioner and the rest of the Commission at the same time?

It is interesting to note that the agenda item and back-up were all scrubbed to eliminate any mention of Mr. Donadio's name even though the suit names him personally as well as his architectural firm. Why? Even when asked it was obvious that the County Attorney was trying his best to avoid releasing his name as the architect. Why was County staff so anxious to protect Donadio?

Wait there is more. Mr. Donadio is named in an ongoing suit with an Island Condo Association for more millions.

More? Donadio is the architect on the new Impact Fee burning project for the sheriffs evidence locker. He recommended a 50 million dollar plan which included moving a lake and then moving it back plus covered parking.

More? A coincidence I am sure. The building purchase less than a year ago at an inflated price to get rid of Impact Fee Refunds was purchased from the same roofing company who is now out of business that we are suing for the Administration roof.

Really, we paid them almost a million so that we can now sue them as a bankrupt company for a million? Really?.

Rumor

New rumor in the whisper campaign against Mr. Zorc. Firefighters are being told that Zorc wants to return to an all volunteer ambulance service. Not true says Zorc.

Zorc and his family did serve many years for no pay at the volunteer ambulance service. They gave many hours and saved many lives but the day for all volunteer ambulance service in Indian River County is long gone says Zorc.

City Election

With just over two weeks to go it's getting hot. Most experts see Turner leading with Fletcher in a strong position to be returned to the Vero Council. So much of the speculation surrounds who will take the third seat.

It's tight between pro sale candidate Dan Stump, Former Councilman Brian Heady and vocal kill the sale advocate Jay Kramer.

The Stump Kramer matchup got more heated with the distribution of the following flyer.

Events

Tea Party Saturday

25 days left

Gary Wheeler:

Information presented at the Republican Executive Committee should convince all Republicans that they may be victims of a scam. I have been a solid Republican throughout my 22 years in elected office but party has not been the only factor when it comes to supporting someone. Integrity and Character are more important to me than party.

I have been acquainted with Tony Donadio for many years and like many others find him to be very personable. However, recent campaign tactics used in the Donadio campaign force me to question whether Mr. Donadio is being completely honest with the voters.

Consider these items:

The Donadio campaign has sent two identical glossy postcards. One to Republicans with the headline "A CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN FOR COUNTY COMMISSION", and one to Democrats that delete reference to Conservative Republican and insert the headline "AN INDEPENDENT THINKER FOR COUNTY COMMISSION".

This seems deceitful to me. If you are going to be a County Commissioner you need to be straight with voters about who you are. If you are a conservative Republican fine but don't pretend to be a Republican with Republicans and then pretend not to be a Republican when you are with Democrats.

It also bothers me that Mr. Donadio was a guest of the Democrat Party at their monthly "Dining With Democrats" for what was billed as "Meet Tony Donadio night. Vero 32963 reported that when asked why he changed his registration from a lifelong Democrat to Republican to run for office Donadio responded "That's a good question". Democrat leaders were quoted as saying that Donadio had to change registration because "It's hard to get elected as a Democrat in Indian River County." Democrat leaders went on to say that "In his heart we know he is a Democrat". If elected he can change back the next day.

My advice to Tony is that you have core values and not try to be everything to everyone. I think the flyer designed by his campaign handlers was disingenuousness. Which Tony Donadio am I talking with? I suspect that Mr. Donadio didn't think of this ruse himself but at the bottom is says "paid for and APPROVED by Donadio for Commission and that makes it his responsibility.

Charlie Wilson:

As many of you know Mr. Donadio was recruited to run against the real Republican, Tim Zorc by developer Chuck Mechling. Donadio, however, was not Mechling's first choice. Mechling, driven by what appears to be a personal business vendetta, also tried to recruit several others including Vice Mayor Craig Fletcher, Banker Chris Bieber and R.E.C. Vice Chairman Vince Celano. Mechling even tried to persuade Bill McMullen to withdraw from the Sheriffs race to run for Commission against Zorc.

Republicans should be concerned that Donadio supported Democrats in primary elections since 1994 including the 2008 Presidential Preference Primary voting for Mr. Obama or Hillary Clinton.

As Gary Wheeler points out Donadio's campaign should cause concern for Real Republicans but Zorc is not alone. The Democrat party has issued a sample ballot endorsing Democrats, opposing all amendments, supporting all liberal Florida Supreme Court Candidates and endorsing two Republicans, Barry Barnard for Tax Collector against Real Republican Carole Jean Jordan and Janace Broda against Scott Stradley, also a Republican.

Donadio also supported union favorite Dick Gephardt for President with contributions of $500 and $250 for his Congressional Campaign.

I don't know any "Conservative Republican" anywhere that supports Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or Dick Gephardt. Do You?

City Council

City Council candidates are clear in their positions. Turner, Fletcher and Stump are for the sale, Thomas and Kramer will Kill the sale, with Brian Heady as the wildcard.

Karen Kozdra gets a point for courage by participating at the Taxpayers debate.

Referendum

More talk about the referendum and the Press Journal once again proves themselves to be single issue and simplistic about their endorsements. No one has worked harder or accomplished more for the City than Pilar Turner but did not get P.J. approval because if she didn't agree to have a referendum the P.J. wants her out. There is no consistency in the P.J. Because there is no core value in the P.J.

Two items that have not been discussed.

The band of negatives keep asking for a plan. Well what is your plan. I want a plan from the Kill the Sale crowd that outlines how we are going to survive as a City with $3,000,000 a year to make up the pension deficit that past Councils have run up with generous benefits and salaries.

How are they going to make up the $700,000 a year we add to our pension debt every year by pretending we are going to make 7.5% when we make one or two percent.

How are we going to continue to provide service when the City employed 500 people out of a population of less than 15,000. In case your math is rusty that's 1 out of every 30 people work for the City.

What is the City going to do when 60% of the customers who live in the County demand that the public service commission let them out of Vero Electric and costs stay the same leaving City residents paying astronomical prices for power and no way out of an unregulated monopoly.

What is the City going to do when repairs and upgrades are needed to the plant which is 1/2 a CENTURY old. The last time it was needed we had to borrow $50,000,000.

2. What is the true cost of a referendum?

Cost of a referendum has been estimated at about $30,000. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Add the additional cost of higher prices during the delay that a referendum is sure to cause. 6 months x 2 million a month, $12,000,000.

It's like buying a house and the seller says "buyer you met our asking price and all the requirements we asked for. Now we want you to spend the next year making repairs, making additions, spending millions on engineering, attorneys, and planning. Get us out of all our bills and obligations. Once you have done that we will have a family meeting and vote if we really want to go through with the sale or not."

Everything will stop! And that leads to the largest expense of all. The risk of losing this once in a lifetime opportunity to secure the financial future of our beautiful town.

If we need to have a referendum we will. If voters want another referendum there is a way to have one but those who clammer for a referendum without considering the cost in the millions not the thousands as a ruse to kill the sale are acting irresponsibly and are doing the citizens no favors.

Messing up this sale will make the mistakes of the past such as refusing the Marriott, denying the Gloria Estafan benefit concert, and the OUC Vitunac 20 million dollar penalty look like chump change.

The Last 30

Wilson: We are entering into the last thirty days before election commonly known as "Crazy Time". This is where people who have been friends for thirty years no longer are friends. The slightest words become fighting words. Rumor becomes absolute truth and outright falsehoods are not to be questioned. Here are some examples.

1. According to writings by Bea Gardner there is a conspiracy to sell the electric system, no, according to the ever accurate Ms. Gardner, a conspiracy to "steal" the electric system so that a high rise building or Casino may be placed on the waterfront property. So a very clever friend has asked if the big blue building will remove the sign which says "Vero Electric" and replace it with "Charlie Wilson's Good Time Casino".

2. Jay Kramer who is fighting for his political life after two years of trying to stall the Electric Sale said at the last meeting, "I will be happy to go forward with a sale and welcome FP&L". Huh?

3. Mosquito control officials who haven't been heard from in years are now facing tough questions about extravagant travel, overly generous benefits and lax budget constraints. They are now on a full court press for public relations. Appearing through multiple news outlets officials are warning about mosquito diseases. Scott Stradley, a CPA and candidate for the Board says, "If they hadn't wasted so much money in the past maybe they would would have more resources to fight the threat".

4. The Indian River County School Board, fresh from its success getting more money from voters for what it said was needed to "save the arts and music program" spent a large part of the money for more staff in administration. Now they are poised to have their own health clinic. More benefits to employees. As they say "You can't fool all of the people all of the time" but if you are a School system it appears you can "Fool more than 50% of the people most of the time".

Taxpayers Association

One of the few public debates offered Vero City Council Candidates will take place next Wednesday. The taxpayers Association forum at the Elks Club on 26th St. Should be interesting although the dominate issue is quite clear. Watch for the folks who have been trying to derail a sale to pretend that they were for it before they were against it.

Touch and Go: At the last Vero Council meeting I asked a question about the system used by City employees known internally as "Touch and Go". Mr. O'Connor in no uncertain terms set me straight that there was no such policy.

Touch and go refers to a practice by exempt employees that if you check in for 15 minutes then you are counted as being there for an entire day. You can take the rest of the day off without having to use a sick day or a vacation day. Union or blue color workers must fill out a time sheet if they are absent for more than 15 minutes.

Mr. O'Connor may be accurate that there may not be a policy called "Touch and Go" in the employee manual but he is inaccurate if he believes that it is not a common practice.

After the meeting where I was scolded at the podium, several employees stopped me to confirm that it was in fact a common practice. I am no employee expert and I am sure not all employees abuse the system but it appears to be a happening. Check the tee times at Pointe West on Fridays.

What happens is apparently based on a federal law that provides that if an exempt employee is in attendance for a partial day he or she cannot be forced to take a vacation day if he or she leaves early. An exempt employee means that the employee is exempt from federal wage and hour regulations, salaried rather than hourly.

The system, if abused, causes major problems. First it is not fair to the employees who have to stay and do the work while their supervisors are missing in action. That means we have to have more employees than necessary to cover for their less than stellar work ethic. That leaves less money available to reward the actual workers.

Second it is at least partially responsible for the high cost of pensions and huge payouts for departing employees in sick and vacation payouts. An employee abusing the system gets to come in for 15 minutes, take the rest of the day off and bank an extra day of sick and vacation time which they then turn into cash at the rate they earned in their last year not when they were paid $10 per hour. To add insult to injury the City pays higher retirement for 30 years because it is based not just on their $100,000 yearly salary but $100,000 plus a walking bonus of $150,000 so their retirement is based on a final year salary of $250,000.

I am not trying to micro manage here. I only asked the City to look into the problem. We are supposed to be looking for ways to save and this may be one of them. I have not looked at the records since I looked into the Charlie Vitunac payout. Charlie Vitunac was paid for hundreds of hours in sick and vacation time. Mr. Vitunac rarely if ever took a day of vacation or sick time. Why? He didn't have too as long as he spent 15 minutes.

I bet if you looked at the records of exempt employees they would have better attendance on paper than Lou Gerhig. Why? Because there is not accountability. No one has to approve vacation and sick time. The choice of comp time is apparently on the "honor" system. Where's the proof? Just look at the thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of taxpayers dollars in sick and vacation liability.

Changes in policy to use it or lose it will help. Requiring a 40 hour week and supervision might help. I will gladly leave the solution up to the professionals. One thing that won't help is ignoring the problem or pretending that it doesn't exist.