(© FlaglerLive)
It’s not enough that we have a state legislature looking for every way to make voting more of a hassle than a right. Now the Palm Coast city administration, with the complicit silence of the city council, is reminding us why it bears a big share of the blame for sending election turnouts in Palm Coast tumbling to record lows for the past several cycles. Remember, we have a mayor elected by less than 5 percent of the city’s voting age population, and council members elected by barely less dismal turnouts. For that, we have to thank at least in part Palm Coast’s decision to reduce its precincts from 21 to six in its last two municipal elections. Good thing Palm Coast doesn’t decide how to run more important contests.
But now it’s trying to bully those, too.
Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks had just two early voting locations during the 2012 elections. It clearly wasn’t enough. Some people waited 75 minutes to vote at the public library in Palm Coast. Weeks wants to add a location in 2014 at the Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway, and would like to ensure that she can use the same room for 2014 and 2016.
There are two rooms she could use—the one where the council usually meets twice a month, and another, smaller room in the same building. The council doesn’t want to give up its larger digs for what would amount to three meetings in 2014, and City Manager Jim Landon is offering Weeks the smaller room as an alternative. She’s insisting on using the larger room. Landon is right when he says she’s being unreasonable. There’s room for compromise, especially since the smaller room is actually bigger than the room Weeks uses at the library for early voting. Voters won’t mind. They’re casting a ballot, not luxuriating at Starbucks.
But if Weeks is being unreasonable about the room business, Landon, in tones and attitude befitting his trademark arrogance, is being ridiculous about charging the supervisor for use of the facility for the extra hours city staff would work during early voting. It’s an insult to the supervisor, who’s never had to pay a dime at the library for those extended hours, and it’s an insult to Palm Coast voters, who should not have the convenience of early voting held hostage by a bureaucrat’s dogmatic fee structure. Is he really suggesting that the city even needs to have staff present after hours, when the supervisor is using the space? Is he suggesting that Supervisor of Elections staff can’t be trusted with the custody of a public building that, in the end, belongs to voters—and to the supervisor—as much as it belongs to Palm Coast?
Well, yes. He is. Because the moment the council let Landon drive what ought to have been a council matter—a policy matter, not a bureaucratic matter—the manager doubled down on Weeks’ irksome tendency to saddle the highest horse and turned it into a pissing contest.
Worse: Landon told the council that he has a long list of non-profits with good “causes” that want to use the community center for free, and if the council were to make an exception for one, it should make an exception for all. It is very disturbing, but perhaps not surprising, that Landon is equating the right to vote to a “cause.” No wonder he’s treating early voting as a favor. In a letter to Weeks he subsequently looked like he was backing down a bit, but only by floating yet another absurdity. He sought to barter with Weeks. Don’t charge us what you normally charge us to run our election, he wrote, and we won’t charge you for the room. So was Palm Coast’s version of elections turned into a vulgar deal not worthy of a Casablanca bazaar.
There is no more important civic function than voting. There are no more important activities that could take place at the community center than voting days. That includes recreation programs hosted there, or church socials or any other type of city functions, including city council meetings. Believe me, if the council canceled a couple of meetings a year, we would not be the worse for it. Our manager and council seem to forget that there would be no council, there would be no city, without those voting days.
Yes, Weeks and other supervisors managed well with the smaller room at the community center on Election Day proper in previous elections, and did so even as council meetings were held in the larger room nearby. The city hasn’t had to cancel an election day meeting yet, though it’s barely a teenager. But if it came down to that—or to moving the meeting to City Marketplace offices and only webcasting that meeting instead of telecasting it—no one would be the worse for it. Council members are showing their fustiness, if not their age, by making a Custard stand over “their” big room. Grow up, boys.
Weeks should compromise and take the smaller room. But Landon should be bending over backward to accommodate Weeks and another early voting site, without the chest-puffing, the turf-marking or the insult of a rental fee, especially since the county is subsidizing Palm Coast voters as it is by donating its location for the purpose at the library.
And perhaps it’s time for the council’s five tiresomely timid men to lead their manager once in a while, on behalf of people who cast ballots, rather than let the unelected Landon dictate how democracy works in the city.
Pierre Tristam is FlaglerLive’s editor. Reach him by email here.
Sherry Epley says
My thoughts exactly. . . thanks Pierre!
Florida Native says
Great article and spot on! Landon needs to go and Netts as well.
Robert says
Very good hard hitting article.
This article reinforces my constant call for a strong mayor form of government, and not a town manager style of government, a person who only answers to the town council.
One way to look at this is like this. The mayor has repeatedly said the town manager does exactly what the town council directs him to do. So they are playing the good cop bad cop game. Let the town manager take the heat for doing the town council’s bidding.
The analogy don’t blame the player blame the game is appropriate. If I was the town manager I would also grab as large a salary and benefit package as I could. It is the town council who is to blame for this idiocy. Heck they can’t even close down, modify, sell etc a tennis court (that was to be an Enterprise operation) that loses over $100,000 per year. They sit with their collective thumbs in their behinds looking up at the ceiling with their wait until next year approach.
One would think that the city would have no operational issues with a man whose yearly compensation is close to a quarter mil per year. Better still, he should be dancing to the councils tune and without question and not the council dancing to his.
On the other hand with a town full of nonvoting, whining, clones for citizens there may not be a need for a large room to conduct voting. And if the majority of voting Americans had the same attitude towards voting as people who live in this city do, there would be no need for states to pass voter suppression laws.
Shocked, I tell you... says
Memo to Jim Landon: WRONG battle to pick. This should be decided at the next council meeting, NOT by an unelected bureaucrat who makes more than the Governor of this state.
Isn’t he ALSO the man who borrowed some $8 million from our water fund for a developer here, I believe, and then jacked up our water rates?
WHY are we spending all this money on an unelected official?
Anonymous says
It seems lately that city administration and city council members do not care for citizens of Palm Coast and their opinions on a lot of city matters. We’ll see next election if they are still voted back into office . Then these citizens should not complain about their bad choices.
Stand Up! says
Weeks should never comprise when it comes to voting! Weeks has conducted enough elections to know what our needs are.
Random Citizen says
This is Jim Landon’s fiefdom. He’s a legend in his own mind. If anyone thinks he answers to Jason DeLorenzo or any of the other wimps that call themselves council members, it’s the other way around. He has Netts and all of them wrapped around his little finger even issuing him awards for doing all their dirty work for them.
Gangsta!
Dennis McDonald says
The recent attempt of Netts/Landon not allowing our elected Supervisor of Elections access to the Community Center building for early Voting is such a Wrong Headed move it defies logic. Read the Landon letter, this unelected Bureaucrat is trying to manipulate our Constitutional Officer. What Weeks is requesting of the City is for use of the big room with it’s double door access and wider hallways to accommodate the Voters for four weeks [10 days Aug primary and 10 days Nov ] out of 52 weeks in 2014, with ONE years notice. The City Manager of the Year has never voted here but I have in every election and I will say that we have many elderly and access challenged Voters that need more time and room. We need to continue to provide that extra consideration so that Voting is not compromised for any Voter…OR is that Landon’s purpose, limit Our Voting. Let us remember Landon works for ONLY five people in PC. and We are not one of them. Did I mention that the seats that Lewis and Ferguson will be on the 2014 ballot and ARE being challenged next November. Why would Landon want to make Voting easier ? Where is Mayor ‘Blather” who is never at a loss for words, probably checking wind direction and reviewing New RLC locations ?
This building was built by ITT/CDC in 1977 and opened as an amenity for the buyers of the new Palm Coast planned residential development in 1978. In 1982 it was transferred to the Palm Coast Service District where the County Commissioners acted as the Board members. It operated like this for 18 years till November 2000 when the newly incorporated city of PC asked for it to be transferred to their care.
County Resolution 2000-96 was enacted “to provide government services for the citizens of Palm Coast ” No other use is stated in the Resolution. This newly discovered requirement of transfer should end all discussion on the SOE request. The building is the SOE’s to use to provide us the most important and basic government service that we enjoy as Americans, VOTING !
Now here is the Netts/Landon Deception, these guys have been negotiating with Mike Chuimento as the representative of the PC Bridge Club to add on to the existing Community Center by providing a Use Agreement with the City for their Club House. Sunshine Law Violation ? The terms of Resolution 2000-96 Do Not allow for this irresponsible abuse of the Citizen’s Community Center.
What’s wrong with this picture ? The SOE has to fight with caretakers of OUR asset to use the building so we can VOTE. Then Netts/Landon are scheming to add on to OUR building for a private entity, the Bridge Club. All of this done with the profiteer involved in the Hospital/Sheriffs building and the New “REMOTE’ City Hall. Seems that the best place to make a profit in PC real estate is playing the Taxpayers by using elected officials to sign off on sweet deals that benefit someone OTHER than the Taxpayers. This is why changing the length of term for officials to 4 years was a disaster. Had the rules not changed We could be voting Netts OUT this November sending City Manager of the Year packing.
Washington D.C has nothing on these “players” Let’s all tell Netts/Landon on September 3rd @ 6PM at OUR Community Center.. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore ”
Opinions from the New Palm Coast.
Dennis McDonald
Proud to be an American says
It is a shame Kimberle Weeks has obstacles as this in her way when she trying to provide good service to us by doing what she knows to be the right thing to do.. She is doing this for us, not for herself! We should really appreciate this Supervisor and be proud of the fact she stands alone and truly represents us, the Voters.
Kendall says
When is the council going to wise up and get rid of this guy? He’s poison.
Jack Howell says
Pierre,
The problem is that none of our elected city council members have the balls to stand up to Landon! Until that happens, Landon will continue to run the city.
Shocked, I tell you... says
Mr. Howell: Jim Landon is being paid a quarter of a million dollars. Let that sink in. Why on God’s earth should ANY city be paying someone that amount of money?
We need to get rid of this man and quickly. If anyone here thinks he’s looking out for our best interests with that money, they are crazy.
Carolann says
Bridge Club? Private negotiations? That community center doesn’t belong to the city council! Is that why they don’t want Ms. Weeks there?
Thank you Pierre and Dennis McDonald. Something is (actually, lots of things) wrong here.
I read in the minutes of a recent city workshop that our wonderful city council and mayor are still talking about a new city hall. They plan to refinance, jack up the debt, and use the money they save on interest to build so they can go around the voters again.
Shocked, I tell you... says
@Carolann: There is that little matter of getting back that $8 million from the water fund that was lent to a developer. We should have had the right to vote on that one as well. It was our money he spent.
Where I come from, that would be called “embezzlement”.
I/M/O says
Put a strong Mayoral type of government in place and I move out of Palm Coast.
Mayors, especially democrat Mayors raise taxes.
From the cheap seats says
And if the bridge club were to buy the existing community center, then the City is free of the building and can build City Hall in the shadow of Chiumento’s edifice. Great reporting.
Me-Myself &. I says
Wouldn’t the voters have to approve such insanity?
Rick says
From the article;
“One would think that the city would have no operational issues with a man whose yearly compensation is close to a quarter mil per year.”
Holy shit! You gotta be kidding me. Does this dictator happen to do anything else besides piss off people & screw Palm Coast citizens for this kind of money? Unbelievable.
confidential says
Looks like a done deal? Dennis findings by clicking on the left ; July President’s address; http://palmcoastbridge.org/
Shocked, I tell you... says
@confidential – Thanks for the site link. This is what I found on the bridge club site:
“Our quest to establish a permanent home for the Bridge Club is closer than ever and now appears to be well within our grasp.
This is to be accomplished in two ways:
Continuing to grow our Building Fund through the generosity of our Members.
Finalizing our partnership with the City of Palm Coast and building our Club financed through a joint committment of the City and our Membership.”
Please take a moment to learn how you may get involved by clicking below:
Click here to learn about investing in our Building Project
Click here to learn about the Building Fund and consider making a donation
QUESTION: Why are our tax dollars being spent on this? I think it’s time for a recall of our council. What do you think, Ladies and Gentlemen?
m&m says
Just like the county with Coffey.. Both councils are a bunch of spineless people who don’t have the guts to stand up to these guys and say enough is enough.. Both the city and county are broke because of these two clowns.. BUT BELIEVE ME THEIR POCKETS ARE WELL LINED..
confidential says
Now we are going to the meeting this coming Tuesday 3rd at 6 PM and I saw on the city website on line that the voters item, requested by Constitutional Office SOE Kimberle Weeks for the early voting in that Community Center, “was left out of the Agenda”. Why…? This item has to be included in the agenda today before 5 PM to make it for Tuesday, as was requested on our behalf with plenty of time to Council, Mayor and Manager. Council and Mayor need to hear the voters/taxpayers clamor and put this item for us in the Agenda today.
Seminole Pride says
It’ a shame in this day of technology that we have to go to a polling booth and vote. With all this tech, I should be able to use my cell phone, lap top, or kindle. No wonder such a poor turnout. This is worse then paying a bill by a check.
Gator Pride says
With as much hacking and scamming why vote by an method that isn’t secure. The wise don’t do what everyone else is doing, because what everyone else is doing may not be right. Technology isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
Seminole Pride says
I guess you were not here during the famous “hanging chad”. What a mess that was with your old fashion punch card system.
Flaglerresident says
This right here epitomizes Jim Landon… And it was Panera Bread Co. who has all the issues??? Every single thing he does comes with issues and drama. Fired is what he should be. Fired. Can I repeat this again? Fired.
Every single little minute thing Jim Landon does is filled with drama and issues. This is our City, not his. This is the most obscure argument I think I have ever seen in the news, yet I am not surprised. Look back over the years this guy has been involved with business actions in this City and he is riddled with arrogant decision making. I still go back to a meeting held at the middle school and the smug face and the laughter he had in “our” problem that did not involve him.
I would raise my taxes 5% to cover his salary and fire him. There is no doubt the cost could easily be made up in the tax revenue from potential businesses willing to come to this City within the first year of his departure.
I got an idea Weeks should present. Use the fire stations that are open 24 hours a day as early voting precincts. They are staff for 24 hours and will not cost the City an extra dime to staff, plus there are 5 in the City with enough room to set up the voting polls. This is not far fetched as other areas of the United States use these all the time for this very reason.
I think the law requires notice to the voters in advance of the change, so this would have to be done prior to, but nonetheless, it could be a plan for the future.
Just darn right ridiculous! Even worse, is Flagler College in St. Augustine allows this guy to teach public administration classes! Horrible people influencing brilliant minds in the classroom. Hope his teaching gig is going well.
Attention: City Council, your inability to act in controlling this derelict employee will surely come back to haunt you all in these next two election cycles.
Flaglerresident says
Dennis, I don’t think you are the only one fed up. The majority of the citizens I know are fed up, as you can see from all the posts anytime an issue is brought up with these two. Dennis McDonald for Mayor!
They are better than all of us so we cannot talk to them.
I can assure you when I get elected to City Council or Mayor the Real Estate business/shady deals gone well for friends/family will be shut down, surplus property being sold (the sad reality is pennies on the dollars will be recovered as no one will pay 6 times market value as the City already paid), the red light cameras can go back to Arizona, and the code enforcement division will be renamed to Community Vitalization & Development (with all of the current Palm Coast Police officers being fired)! The city manager, if Jim Landon, will be fired, and his job description will be revised to remove this ridiculous amount of authority (if can be done), and no golden parachutes contracts will ever again be signed for this position.
This city will be customer service oriented (like a larger version of Mayberry if can imagine) with all the employees either accepting this much needed change or moving on with Mr. Landon, as his leadership mentality does not work here.
Flaglerresident says
M&M, the first time I heard Jim Landon speak to the public (approximately 350 citizens of the “L” section) over a change in the zoning for a land sale to put in low income apartments in the “L” section he was more concerned with fixing the vacant lot next to his home and voiced this to the crowd. The most selfish comments I have ever heard from someone, especially when he was there for our problem.
The utter shock on my face and the other 349 people could not be expressed in this forum. If these people had tomatos available he would’ve had been covered in tomato paste. Everything wrong that could have come out of his mouth did at all the wrong times. From that moment, I wanted to know the person who hired this guy.
You ever see the movie Ted? When the stuffed bear (Teddy) goes for a job at the supermarket and makes some very off based comments about the manager’s wife. Yeah, I can see Jim Landon’s employment interview going the same way, and then hiring board saying “this guy has upper management written all over him.” This is a total joke, but this is the only way I can see him ever getting a job of this magnitude.
Florida Native says
I’m not too sure Weeks doesn’t need to go too. The toxic factor is starting to come out with her also. Hopefully they will follow Valentine’s lead and just go. Unfortunately they probably don’t have all the retirement points accumulated to go on their own. Valentine rode the gravy train until the wheels almost came off….Elections can’t come soon enough.
Robert says
To clarify my comment regarding the Town Manager’s compensation.
Total compensation is approximately $218,0000 per year.
https://flaglerlive.com/9093/jim-landon-salary-package/
While it is not 1/4 mil it is not far from it and that is why I used the phrase close to.
Shocked, I tell you... says
@ Robert: His salary is higher than most state governors, ours included. There is no way you can justify that.
James says
There is no more important civic function than voting. There are no more important activities that could take place at the community center than voting days. I agree too! Just bring a valid ID!
L.D. Ablo says
It looks like Landon has us by the Netts.
A.S.F. says
@L.D. Ablo says–Now, THAT’S funny (in a sad kind of way!)
Shocked, I tell you... says
There has been an update on this. If you go to the Bridge Club site and read their July Newsletter, it appears they have arranged some sort of sale of the Community Center to the Palm Coast Bridge Club.
http://www.bridgewebs.com/palmcoast/July%20Presidents%20Address.pdf
According to a couple of members, none other than Michael Chiumento has been working with the City on this. When were they going to tell the people of Palm Coast, to whom that Center belongs?
I think we’d better all plan on attending Tuesday night’s Council meeting at 6:30 at the Community Center to find out how/why they are able to sell what was an amenity to the people of Palm Coast to a private organization without telling us.
Common Sense says
1. We have to get rid of Landon
2. We have to get rid of Landon
3. We have to get rid of landon
Common Sense says
We are subsidizing the deficits for both the tennis and golf clubs with taxpayer money and now Landon is going to build a building for the Bridge club? This is insanity.
Shocked, I tell you... says
Can someone tell me why exactly it is that Chiumento’s name is attached to all these deals? I really don’t understand this.
Bill says
It is time for the city to get rid of the City Manager. It has always been my view that that is why we have a council, to make decisions.. Why should we pay for a manager who has cost this city more money than I would like to think about. And he isn’t very smart on top of that. C’mon City, we can handle this on our own.
Genie says
Bunnell is hiring a City Manager for $80,000. That salary level is about right. Why are we paying over $200,000? Seems we’re paying too much for just about everything this local government touches, with all of it benefiting developers, one in particular right now, and leaving us holding the bag.
Where does a City Manager get off telling a Supervisor of Elections what she can use for voting?
I think we have all seen the need for some changes to our City government. The citizens are left out of too many important decisions here. Why is this the first time we are hearing about these Bridge Club arrangements? Shouldn’t we have been asked? Do these people know what the Sunshine Law is?
This is the last straw for me. I’ll be there tomorrow night.
kmedley says
I have been following this debate, along with the many articles posted on Flaglerlive. The SOE and her mentor, Syd Crosby, have done a masterful job in whipping this debate into a political frenzy and using the emotions of ‘denying the right to vote’ as a rallying cry for using the larger room for a second early voting site in Palm Coast.
The evolution of early voting, which seems to have turned into a revolution by all media accounts, is worth noting while considering the question before the council. The SOE contends that Flagler County has reached the point in the early voting process whereby it is necessary to establish a second site in Palm Coast. The arguments presented include the number of county-wide registered voters residing in Palm Coast, the number of early voters processed by the library during the 2012 General Election, and the size of the Palm Coast Community Center in terms of registered voters assigned to that precinct and its Election Day turnout.
Early voting, in Florida, will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2014. Prior to 2004, the governing statute for Early Voting, F.S. 101.657, was entitled, “Voting Absentee Ballots in Person”, and it allowed for registered voters to pick up and vote an absentee ballot at the SOE’s office, ONLY. This section changed in 2004 and expanded the voting process for absentee ballots to include the designation of city halls and/or public libraries. A 15 day time frame, before Election Day, was also established and the title of the section changed to “Early Voting”. A significant change, which became effective in 2005 and continues to the present, is the beginning of F.S. 101.657, “as a convenience to the voter …” These 5 words are worth considering in the debate before us.
A person’s right to vote is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and many Amendments have been added such that a person may not be denied the right to vote based on gender, sex, or race. Early voting is a convenience. It was a way to address the needs of absentee voters that would not be present on Election Day. Years ago, a voter seeking an absentee ballot, had to provide a reasonable excuse in order to receive an absentee ballot. Today, 32 states offer voting prior to Election Day without any excuse or justification. http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx
According to SOE Weeks’ arguments, a second site in Palm Coast is now a voter generated necessity and absent the designation of this site, safety will become an issue. The adjectives used to describe conditions: congested, cramped, inadequate, long wait, long lines, and stressed, represent convenience issues and none represent a denial of a person’s right to vote. Most of these are alleviated through the use of the absentee ballot. The City has not denied SOE Weeks access to the Community Center as an early voting site as has been reported. They have offered the smaller room, waived the fee, and I suspect will succumb to the costs associated with additional staffing. The smaller room is ADA compliant. It is a requirement of any location used as a polling place. In fact, the SOE has documentation for each polling location to insure compliance with ADA standards. Many SOEs took advantage of HAVA funds and used that money to bring polling locations into compliance with ADA regulations. Each party benefited. The SOE had a polling location that was in compliance, and many community buildings, like churches reaped the rewards of the improvements.
Some have cited the width of the hallways and door entries for the smaller room as reasons for promoting the use of the larger room. The smaller room and its access would have been required to meet ADA compliance; otherwise it would not be eligible as an Election Day polling place. Given the size of the library, which processed 11,624 voters in an 8 day time frame, the smaller room, which is larger than the library room, can easily accommodate the same number over an 11 day period. Quite honestly, I do not believe that number will be realized with a second site. Additional numbers to consider are the precinct totals from the 2012 General Election and July 2013 voter registration totals. A side by side comparison of the 2012 Book Closing Totals and the July 2013 Voter Registration Count shows a decline in every precinct. Total voter registration as of the 2012 General Election was 69,591. According to SOE Weeks, that number is now 67,553. Early Voting use numbers may be on the rise statewide; but, if overall registration numbers decrease, this will effect Early Voting totals, too. The population of the Community Center, in terms of registered voters, increased as a result of the closing of many polling locations and folding those populations into the Community Center.
Many of you who know me realize that in my view, there is nothing more important than insuring an educated electorate and increasing voter turnout. Prior to Florida’s implementation of Early Voting, I, along with many, exercised my right to vote by making a choice to either get to the polls early, before work; or, expect to go to the polls after work. Many times there were days when the lines were long, the weather was less than perfect, and at times many questioned staying in line. Before that, generations of American voters, walked, rode, and used any method of transportation to get to the polls to vote.
If the next election cycle were a Presidential election, I might very well agree with a third site in Flagler County, not necessarily Palm Coast. The statute requires all early voting sites be geographically equitable for all voters, not just for the majority of the electorate residing in one city. The SOE has the flexibility in designating Early Voting sites with each election cycle. Early voting is a convenience, not a right, and the numbers simply do not support a second site in Palm Coast.
As stated, Weeks’ and Syd Crosby have done a masterful job with painting the City Council as a feckless and inept gaggle of anti-voter geezers who completely rely upon “an un-elected” city manager who is only interested in securing behind closed door deals with Chiumento. She has managed to encourage those who are unhappy with the current council and those who seek their own political presence to conflate the two issues, the plans for the Center itself and the use as an early voting site; thereby fanning the flames into a voting rights issue. Rather than looking at the numbers and making a fiduciary decision based on numbers and efficiency, emotions will serve as an expedient way to allow the ‘just do it’ generation to become the ‘I want it and I want it now’ constituency. Patience and understanding will be swept away for expediency and immediate results.
2012 General Election Book Closing:
http://flaglerelections.com/Portals/Flagler/pdfs/reg-stats/2012-booksclosing.pdf
July 31, 2013 Voter Registration Stats:
http://flaglerelections.com/Portals/Flagler/pdfs/reg-stats/2013-07.pdf
Weeks’ Arguments:
http://flaglerelections.com/Portals/Flagler/pdfs/pc-comm-ctr-booklet.pdf
No brainer says
At last nights Council Meeting at the Community Center the people spoke. Many agree with Weeks that voting should be made as convenient as possible, and asked for Council to allow Weeks to use the large room after she gave a powerful speech. A workshop is scheduled for a later date that has not been announced. I’m looking forward to when this matter comes back up before the people.
It was interesting that Landon kept his head down and his mouth shut last night when this was discussed. He had plenty to say making demands up to this point, and he kept Weeks off the Agenda despite her numerous requests she made. Councilmen McGuire requested that Weeks be placed on the agenda at last nights meeting when the meeting opened, and I’m glad he did. These Councilmen need to recognize that many have given their life for us to have the right to vote.
Hmmmm says
Do I smell self important and uninformed by the post made by kmedley? I think I do.
confidential says
Totally agree with Hmmmm. SOE Kimberle Weeks is battling for the voters in a firm and respectful way. Palm Coast holds 77% of the register voters and is pathetic that they have to wait 75 minutes to cast the early ballot, as happened in 2012 while early voting at the County Library. I do not think kmedley has the faintest idea of the long lines that voters endured in the 2012 elections or that she cares about it, but our SOE Mrs. Weeks does. Further more I believe kmedley is a FB resident out of the 77% majority Palm Coasters registered voters and being a former defeated candidate against Mrs. Weeks in 2012 her current comments above, do not speak in the best interest for Palm Coast voters east side of I95 and the rest of the city as well.
Kmedley as City Councilman Ferguson, mention of voters to be reminded, stressed to vote absentee in order to reduce lines in early voting or in election day, borders a conflict…simply because whether SOE or we, poll workers, are not supposed by law, to tell the electorate “how to vote….” Most of the electorate prefers to vote in person and for very personal reasons, has they have that privilege. I hint that mostly do it for the pride and confidence to send in their marked choice into the ballot box by their own hand whether, early or in election day. We should all appreciate in Palm Coast that our SOE works as well in our behalf in spite of the fact that she is a life long resident of Western Flagler County, exhibiting a good example that all county residents/voters can rest assure to be treated equally during the elections process. Until now practically the 33% county voters had one early voting site located in Rte 100 at the SOE offices. The 77% Palm Coasters (more than double) also had only one early voting location at the County Library in PC Parkway. A little unfair to say the least… kmedley.
Also as a voter, I hope that the larger room is provided for the incoming 2014 early voting and elections in the community center.