In primary elections shaped by newly drawn districts, Florida voters Tuesday appeared to send three incumbent House members packing, rejuvenated the political careers of a few old names — and likely elected the state’s first openly gay lawmaker.
Elections 2024
Ayn Rand vs. Paul Ryan
Modern conservatives, Paul Ryan included, ignore the fundamental principles that animated Ayn Rand: personal as well as economic freedom, argues Jennifer Burns, while Maureen Dowd calls Randism “a state of arrested adolescence.”
The Winners: Fleming, Manfre, Holland, Conklin, Dickinson, Wadsworth, Larizza, Corbett, Ericksen, Meeker and the School Tax
Flagler County election results posted live and fresh as soon as they’re tabulated, with rolling analyses of the races.
Your Only Job Today: Vote
Polls opened at 7 this morning. They will close at 7 this evening. You have one, brief job today–by far a more important job than sitting at your desk or punching a clock: find your precinct and go vote.
In Two Key Flagler County Races, Candidates Swell Their Coffers With Their Own Money
As the primary campaign culminates with Tuesday’s vote, the races for Flagler County Court Judge and Flagler County Sheriff have overwhelmed all others in money raised and spent, but with notable exceptions, candidates’ own money talked loudest.
Paul Ryan’s Budget: The CBO Analysis
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office produced a 17-page analysis of the budget Congressman Paul Ryan submitted in 2012. The full analysis is presented.
Election Homework: The Goods on Paul Ryan
Everything you always wanted to know about Paul Ryan but were afraid was true: profiles, backgrounders, an FAQ on his plans for Medicare, and some of the best reporting on Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick.
Two White Men Who Like to Cut Things: On Romney’s Nomination of Paul Ryan
Mitt Romney’s pick of Paul Ryan, the seven-term Wisconsin congressman, born during the first Nixon administration, is a puzzling choice, more calculated than inspiring, more cautious than bold, and in some respects, just as strategically faulty as John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin.
Commission Candidates Support a Jail Sales Tax, But Not the Way the County Went About It
Four of the five candidates for the Flagler County Commission agree with renewing the county’s portion of a half-cent sales tax, on the books for 20 years, but they’re very critical of the way the commission opted out of a voter referendum on the issue.
In Flagler Commission Race, Ronald Reagan Club Targets Fellow-Republican Meeker
A complaint alleges that Frank Meeker, the Palm Coast council member running for county commission, is violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits employees of any agency receiving federal dollars from running for office. Meeker works for the St. Johns River Water Management District, which gets 0.4 percent of its revenue from the federal government.
Smart-Phone Canvassing: Is Your Neighbor A Democrat? Obama Has an App for That.
![For each targeted address, the app displays the first name, age and gender of the voter or voters who live there: "Lori C., 58 F, Democrat." All this is public information, which campaigns have long given to volunteers. But you no longer have to schedule a visit to a field office and wait for a staffer to hand you a clipboard and a printed-out list of addresses. With the Obama app, getting a glimpse of your neighbor's political affiliation can take seconds. While The New York Times dubbed the app "the science-fiction dream of political operatives," some of the voters who appear in the app are less enthusiastic about it. "I do think it's something useful for them, but it's also creepy," said Lori Carena, 58, a long-time Brooklyn resident, when she was shown the app. "My neighbors across the street can know that I'm a Democrat. I'm not sure I like that." It's unclear if the app displays all registered Democrats who live in a certain area, or only a subset of voters President Obama's campaign is trying to reach. Asked about the privacy aspects of the new app, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign wrote that "anyone familiar with the political process in America knows this information about registered voters is available and easily accessible to the public." The information included in the app has "traditionally been available to anyone who walks into a campaign field office," said the spokesperson, who declined to be named. While the app makes voter information instantly available, it displays only a small cluster of addresses at a time. It has built-in mechanisms to detect when people are misusing the data, "such as people submitting way too many voter contacts in a short period of time," the spokesman said. "The campaign is strongly committed to ensuring the safety and privacy of the public and follows up with appropriate action, including alerting appropriate authorities if necessary, in any case of abuse or inappropriate behavior," said the spokesperson. "Any voter who requests not to be contacted again is immediately removed from any provided to volunteers." This isn't the first time campaigns have released digital tools that make voter information freely available. Both the Obama and Romney campaigns currently have online calling tools that give anyone who registers for their websites the names and phone numbers of voters to contact. In 2008, the Obama campaign's "Neighbor to Neighbor" program allowed volunteers to use their home computers to print out lists of names and addresses to contact. Two years later, the Democratic group Organizing for America, formed to keep mobilizing the president's supporters after Obama was elected, released a mobile app that was in some ways a prototype of Obama's new app. Volunteers in the 2010 midterm elections could use their mobile phones to map voters in their immediate vicinity and then send in responses from the voters they had contacted, which eliminated the need for clipboards and printed lists. Natalie Foster, who was the new media director of Organizing for America, said the tools used in 2010 had built-in privacy limits, "where you are only given a certain number of voters that you could conceivably canvass. If somebody goes above that limit, or is just obviously clicking a button over or over, we'll just shut it down." Privacy "was definitely a consideration and something that was focused on, to make sure people aren't just going in and downloading a lot of data," said Joshua Hendler, the former director of technology for Organizing for America. Foster, who is now the CEO of the economic advocacy group Rebuild the Dream, and Hendler, who now works for PR firm Hill and Knowlton Strategies, said that making voter information more open makes the political process more democratic, because it lowers the barrier for people to get involved in political campaigns. Shaun Dakin, a voter privacy advocate and longtime critic of political robocalling, flagged the Obama app last week as a "total privacy fail." Dakin, who criticized the Obama campaign's 2008 Neighbor to Neighbor program on similar grounds, said voters should have the right to opt out of being contacted by political campaigns. He also questioned why the Obama app included the ages of nearby voters, another piece of information that people might not want to have made public. Lori Carena, the Brooklyn voter, said she doesn't object to having canvassers knock on her door. In fact, she said she wishes it happened more often in New York, a state that's such a Democratic stronghold she feels the campaign isn't interested in hearing her concerns. Asked what she feels is the difference between the traditional way of canvassing — with voter names and addresses on a printed-out list — and the new mobile app, she said, "Well, I just don't get all this new stuff with computers and apps. That's probably more creepy to me." Even low-tech tools used to distribute voter data can upset some voters. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this June that a liberal group in Wisconsin was sending fliers to voters which included a list of their neighbors and whether they had voted in 2008 and 2010. The fliers encouraged recipients to help get out the vote for the recall election of Gov. Scott Walker. Some voters were angry that their names and addresses were being distributed publicly. "I think this is invasion of my privacy and every other woman's privacy. It's like — 'Here, this is where all the women are,'" one woman told the Journal Sentinel. Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard law professor and the co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said the Obama app represented a significant shift. While voter data has been "technically public," it is usually accessed only by political campaigns and companies that sell consumer data. He said it was "heartening" that the app makes data available to citizens who want to talk to their neighbors about their political choices. "The purpose of this app may be Democrats visiting Democrats. I can see apps where you ask Republicans to visit Democrats and Democrats to visit Republicans." "If we're comfortable enough to have [this information] go into the maw of big data processors, both political and otherwise, it seems consistent for neighbors to talk to neighbors over it," he said. "Much of our feelings around privacy are driven by what you might call status-quo-ism," he said, so many people may feel that the app is creepy simply because it represents something new. Interested to learn more about how political groups are using your personal information? See our reporting on tailored campaign emails and the new wave of targeted online ads.](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/obama-app.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Obama for America app, “the science-fiction dream of political operatives,” is turning canvassing on its head as public information long available no longer has to scheduled through a visit to a field office and waits for staffers to hand volunteers clipboards and a printed-out lists of addresses.
Ray Stevens, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Ray Stevens is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
John Pollinger, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
John Pollinger, a Republican, is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
Jim Manfre, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Jim Manfre is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
Don Fleming, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Don Fleming is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
Karl Tozzi, Flagler County Sheriff Candidate: The Live Interview
Karl Tozzi is one of five candidates for Flagler County Sheriff in the Aug. 14 primary–three Republicans, two Democrats. The winners of the two primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election. Here’s the Live Interview.
Rick Scott Tapped as Speaker at Republican Convention in Tampa, But Role May Be Minor
Rick Scott is not as strong a public speaker as a number of other GOP leaders, and his message – that the Florida economy is looking up is at odds with the national message of presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
In the Race for State Attorney for the 7th Circuit, the Aug. 14 Election Will Decide It All
Incumbent R.J. Larizza is challenged by long-time Volusia County Judge Stasia Warren in the race for State Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit, which covers Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam. All registered voters in all four counties are eligible to cast a vote on Aug. 14 regardless of party affiliation.
Stasia Warren, State Attorney Candidate: The Live Interview
Stasia Warren is running against R.J. Larizza in the the Aug. 14 election for State Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties. Warren Answers 15 questions in the Live Interview.
R.J. Larizza, State Attorney Candidate: The Live Interview
R.J. Larizza is running against Stasia Warren in the the Aug. 14 election for State Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties. Larizza Answers 15 questions in the Live Interview.
When Good Lawyers Defend Bad Men
Melissa Moore Stens, a candidate for Flagler County judge, has been unfairly criticized for defending Paul Miller, the Flagler Beach man who shot and killed his neighbor over barking dogs. But Paul Miller should be on trial, not his lawyers–or the Sixth Amendment.
Early Voting Is On for the Primary. Go Vote.
Early voting for the Aug. 14 primary is on at the Flagler County Public Library on belle Terre and at the elections office at the Government Services Building, through Aug. 11. A full schedule, sample ballot and more.
Seven Candidates Vying for that Flagler County Judge Seat: The Live Interviews
FlaglerLive interviewed the seven candidates for Flagler County judge: Don Appignani, Craig Atack, Josh Davis, Marc Dwyer, Sharon Feliciano, Melissa Moore-Stens and W. Scott Westbrook. The full interviews are presented.
Flagler Tea Party Straw Poll Winners: Stevens, Westbrook, Warren, Meeker, But Not Schools
The Flagler County Tea Party’s straw poll included 14 races on the Aug. 14 ballot, plus the school board’s half-penny sales tax referendum, which drew 67 percent against, a worrisome sign for the school board.
Obama Crosses 50% Favorability Over Romney in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania
No one has won the White House in the past half century without winning at least two of the three states. The latest results are the strongest yet for Obama, and a worrisome sign for Mitt Romney down the stretch.
7 Republican Mirrors Racing for Congressional District Seat that Includes Flagler
The contest to become the Republican nominee for the new and open congressional District 6 seat is cluttered with seven Republicans who largely agree on staple issues from taxes, to guns to Obamacare.
Josh Davis, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Josh Davis is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Bill Corkran, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Bill Corkran is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Sue Dickinson, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Sue Dickinson is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Colleen Conklin, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Colleen Conklin is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Deborah Laury, Flagler County School Board Candidate: The Live Interview
Deborah Laury is one of four candidates in two races for Flagler County School Board in the Aug. 14 primary election, which will decide the winners: all Flagler voters, regardless of party affiliation and address, may cast a ballot in these races.
Early Voting Starts in 5 Counties, But Flagler And 61 Others Must Wait Until Saturday
Legislators changed the election law in 2011 and reduced the number of early voting days from 15 to 10. At least two legal challenges have been filed to the early voting dates, though neither is likely to be decided before the primary election, Aug. 14.
Sharon Feliciano, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Sharon Feliciano is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Don Appignani, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Don Appignani is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Marc Dwyer, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Marc Dwyer is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Craig Atack, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Craig Atack is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
Melissa Moore Stens, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Melissa Moore Stens is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
W. Scott Westbrook, Flagler County Judge Candidate: The Live Interview
Scott Westbrook is one of seven candidates for Flagler County Judge in the Aug. 14 primary election, vying to replace Sharon Atack. Here’s the Live Interview.
When Even Sheriff Fleming Is a Bystander to Rumors’ Wreckage
A verbal altercation involving Sheriff Don Fleming’s step-daughter and another woman at European Village began a series of events that caused the firing of the woman and her boyfriend, both waiters at Mazzaluna. Charges that Fleming had retaliated are unsubstantiated.
Voter ID Laws: Your Election-Year Guide to Disenfranchisement and Fraud
Voter IDs laws in Florida and 29 other states are a political flashpoint in another close election year, pitting claims of fraud against claims of disenfranchisement. A step back to look at the facts behind the laws and issues at the heart of the debate.
Florida House Candidate Bardley Maxwell Wants Government Employees’ Salaries Kept Secret
Florida House candidate Bradley Maxwell wants to state workers’ salaries and benefits kept secret. He also wants personnel files kept sealed from public view. Maxwell is challenging two-term incumbent state Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee.
The Bigotry of Expediency: Michelle Bachmann and Her Local Disciples
Michelle Bachmann’s bigoted smear of Huma Abedin, the Hillary Clinton aide who happens to be a Muslim, about Abedin’s alleged Muslim Brotherhood connections, is a reflection of a pronounced reactionary-Republican rejection of evidence for ideological expediency.
Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio as Romney’s Vice President: Florida GOP Hopes Fade
Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio were front-runners as Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential picks a few months ago. No longer. Bush doesn’t want it. Rubio is no longer a politically opportune choice as Florida’s Hispanics lean heavily toward Obama.
3 Liberal Florida Justices Battle Conservative Foundation’s Plan to Depose Them
Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince filed a court motion to block the conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation from moving forward with 22 depositions in a merit-retention case. The foundation is targeting the justices for their liberalism.
GoToby’s Don Tobin Joins 8 Others Vying to Replace Frank Meeker on Palm Coast Council
Don Tobin, better known as Toby, is the most recognizable name among those declaring interest in a position four Palm Coast City Council members will fill by their appointment come November. Tobin’s focus is real estate, economic development and city-county relations.
Who Is Sheldon Adelson and Why Are GOP Contenders Accepting His Money?
Sheldon Adelson donated $25 million to the Newt Gingrich campaign and reportedly donated $10 million to a superpac supporting Mitt Romney, but the foreign source of the billionaire’s gambling fortune is raising questions about its financing of GOP contenders.
Ray Stevens Assault on John Pollinger Mutates, This Time Invoking 9/11 Decisions
Fresh from losing a suit attempting to boot John Pollinger from the Republican ballot for sheriff on Aug. 14 (the decision is on appeal), the Ray Stevens camp is criticizing a Pollinger decision to keep officers from going to Ground Zero after 9/11, though the record overwhelmingly supports Pollinger’s decision.
In Florida, Mitt Romney Has a New George W. Bush to Contend With: Gov. Rick Scott
With Rick Scott’s poll numbers continuing to struggle and Florida a critical battleground in the November election, Democrats see the governor as a uniquely powerful albatross against Mitt Romney, who cannot win the election without winning Florida.
John Pollinger Responds to His Critics
John Pollinger, a candidate for Flagler County Sheriff, has been criticized over his last months as Middletown, N.J., police chief and his tenure as post commander of the American Legion in Palm Coast. He tells his side.
Drug War Collusion: Top Cops, Lapdog Press, And the Art of Tax-Funded Campaigning
With State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Flagler Sheriff Don Fleming and Putnam Sheriff Jeff Hardy in starring roles (all three are running for re-election next month), Wednesday was the latest shameless example of local and state police using a minor drug sweep for maximum political effect, at taxpayers’ expense.