The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
This is for those posts that we wish to feature here at Deep Sand. It implies that these are a bit extra special.
This one is an easy one. I have no reason to think that Cepeda’s candidacy is anything more than an attempt to grab attention and advance some MAGA Christian Nationalist agenda, which Commissioner Smith has demonstrated her understanding of the issues important for a county commission to address, and can build a coalition to get things done. Keep Hillsborough County safe from an unhinged MAGA agenda, and vote for Mariella Smith.
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I had one of the most interesting candidate conversations I think I have ever had around this race. I had a long conversation with Scott D. Levinson, the Republican running for the seat. This is where it got interesting. He seems to be very socially progressive, to the point I eventually said, “Scott, you need not be telling people this. You may get kicked out of the Republican party. But the thing is, Harry gave me an appointment when he was a member of the City Council and heard me out on some contractor behavior issues we were having in the neighborhood.
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During the Primary Election, no one got a majority for this seat, so this contest is between Melissa Black and Eilam “Mike” Isaak. I spoke with Mrs. Black/Cordon during the primary. Mr. Isaak didn’t return the call then. He subsequently did, but I’m still recommending Melissa Black.
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Republican Jay Collins is running against incumbent Democrat Janet Cruz in this contest. This is a pretty easy one, but I gave Mr. Collins a chance. Vote for Janet Cruz for State Senate.
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As you know, I have a personal policy of speaking with candidates for local office before considering them for my vote. I got set back a week from being out of town at a conference, but I am now back on the trail and reaching out. First up is the race for State Representative, District 65.
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I’ve communicated directly with many folks, but I thought I would briefly summarize our Experience with Ian. This one was no fun (not that any of them are), and we avoided a major catastrophe here in the Tampa Bay area, but at the expense of Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Sanibel, and points south of us. This is kind of my summary of our experience with Ian.
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I keep saying how there are too many things in the Florida Constitution that should be handled by the legislature, but since they won’t, and Florida voters keep electing people based on whom they hate rather than who will work for them, this is how voters get what they want. So here we go. I’m voting “No” to all three.
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So, this is my first post in a very long time. A lot has happened since that last post in October of 2020. That one was about local candidates and my recommendations. The intervening years was just too turbulent for me, and I know my posts would be mostly rants and filled with gloom and doom. We still face a lot of the problems coming out of the past couple of years, and I’m sure I’ll be ranting a lot, but it is time to get back into the game.
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So there are six amendments for the Florida Constitution on this year’s ballot. I’m going to run through those pretty quickly. A couple of them are valid…a few are a waste of time or a political stunt.
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This has Republican Sandy Murman seeking to unseat Democratic incumbent Pat Kemp. This is a tough one for me. Sandy Murman panders, moves from office to office as she’s termed out, and serves only developers. On the other hand, Kemp, who I contributed to, has refused to return calls and messages, so I won’t be voting for either candidate.
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This is a county-wide seat and the only school board race I vote in this round. Lynn Gray, the incumbent, is being opposed by Sally Harris who previously served on the board and was voted out. Harris served in 2017 and 2018 as Chair of the Board of Education, but her entire tenure was pretty lack-lustier. Given the challenges that will be faced by the district in 2021 and into next year, that’s just not going to cut it. I talked to Lynn Gray this time and in her previous election. She has over 40 years of classroom and school administrative experience and is involved in the schools as more than just a member of the board. She shares my concerns about the loss of funding to for-profit charter companies. So, for all those reasons, I’m going with Lynn Gray for Hillsborough School Board District 7.
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