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.
elections 2012
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.
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.
Two Flagler School Board Races Will be Decided Aug. 14: The Live Interviews
Three-term incumbents Sue Dickinson and Colleen Conklin are being challenged by Bill Corkran and Debbie Laury in two contests for the Flagler County School Board that will be decided Aug. 14. All registered voters may vote regardless of party affiliation or address.
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.
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.
Elian Gonzalez Affair Returns to Haunt Don Appignani, Flagler County Judge Candidate
The Florida Bar publicly reprimanded Don Appignani in 2002 over a conflict of interest charge when he was a labor attorney for INS employees, following his role representing INS employees involved in the Elian Gonzalez affair. Appignani disputes most of the findings to this day.
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.
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.
Editor’s Note: When Comments Are Swift Boats’ Docking Hooks
I’ve been asked why certain comments in the John Pollinger-Anne-Marie Shaffer case were approved, considering their lavish innuendoes and borderline slanders. The decision bears explaining in light of this year’s distinctly foul election season.
Conservatives Press Attack as Florida’s Liberal Justices Are Cleared of Campaign Wrongdoing
An investigation into the filing of qualifying papers for Florida Supreme Court Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince has been closed, but the controversy about the trio’s place on this fall’s ballot is likely to continue.
U.S. Economy Adds Just 80,000 Jobs In June as Unemployment Stagnates at 8.2%
The national economy added percent for the third most 80,000 jobs in June, keeping the unemployment rate stuck at 8.2 percent for the third month in a row.
Jeb Bush’s Republican Identity Crisis and the Limits of Tolerance
Even as Jeb Bush calls for a more tolerant Republican Party where ideas compete, his description of Obama’s reign in the White House as “One Ideology, One Party, and One Man” is more Orwellian than anything else, and misses the nature of Americans’ passionate beliefs, argues Steven Kurlander.
Flagler’s Sheriff and Judge Candidates Rub Elbows Raw at Long NAACP Forum
The revealing moments were less in what the candidates said than in how they said it, or in how they waited to say something. The crowd of 200 was relaxed and riveted. Many of the candidates were stiff, fidgety and tense.
Replacing Meeker: Palm Coast Council Will Appoint Successor Rather than Hold Election
Frank Meeker’s decision to serve until November as he runs for the county commission means the Palm Coast City Council cannot hold an election to fill out the two years of his term, but will instead appoint a replacement in November.
Romney, in Orlando, Plays Catch-up On Immigration By Promising More Green Cards
Speaking to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Orlando, Romney spent most of his time talking about making it easier for legal immigrants to come to America.
Invoking Conspiracies and ‘Party Purity,’ Pollinger’s Opponents Proceed With Suit
Court documents show that Sheriff’s candidate Ray Stevens and county commission candidate Dennis McDonald were involved in efforts to battle John Pollinger’s qualifications as a Republican candidate for sheriff as the case against Pollinger proceeds.
Judge Rules Flagler Sheriff Candidate John Pollinger Can Run as a Republican
Flagler County Circuit Judge Dennis Craig ruled today that John Pollinger, the candidate for Flagler County Sheriff, has been legally a member of the Republican Party in Flagler County since August 2009, and therefore can remain on the Aug. 14 primary ballot as a Republican.
ACLU Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s Voter Purge
Two naturalized citizens and a Hispanic advocacy group filed suit in federal court Friday to block elections officials from purging the state voting rolls of individuals suspected of being non-citizens.
Gov. Scott Walker and the Pyrrhic Victories of Union-Bashing
Inspired by Ronald Reagan’s union-busting, the latest round in the war on labor is a self-inflicted wound on the American economy, where workers-union and non-union alike–have been losing ground for 30 years.
Statewide, Democrats Fail to Run Candidates in 47 of 120 House Districts
Republicans failed to field a candidate in 23 House races, leaving either Democrats or no party or third party candidates to win those seats. But Democrats didn’t field a candidate in 47 of the 120 House districts.
No Ruling on John Pollinger Case Friday
Flagler County Circuit Judge Dennis Craig’s ruling on whether sheriff candidate John Pollinger can remain on the Aug. 14 primary ballot as a Republican will be handed down on Monday at the earliest.
Florida’s Voter Purge: There Is a Better Way to Ensure Accurate Rolls
Voter rolls to be as accurate as possible, but shouldn’t this be initiated through the 67 locally elected supervisors of election, who are constitutional officers? And shouldn’t this be done in a non-election year and in a non-redistricting year?
Pollingergate: In Motor Voter Registrations, An Applicant’s Former State Is Barely Relevant
When John Pollinger, the embattled Republican candidate for Flagler County Sheriff, first registered as a Florida voter in 2008 through motor voter, his previous registration status in New Jersey would not have come up, according to the motor voter process.
Write-In Sham: How an Obscure GOP Group Is Disenfranchising 40,000 Voters in Local Races
Democrats and Independents would normally be allowed to vote in primaries featuring only Republican candidates. By fielding write-ins who have no chance or intention of winning, the Ronald Reagan group is locking out those Democrats and Independents by creating the artifice of a contested general election.
As Justice Department Warns Florida Of Illegal Voter Purge, Election Supervisors Urge Pause
Florida appears willing to defy federal warnings that the ongoing voter purge may be illegal, although the state is leaving it up to local elections supervisors to make the call. Election officials said earlier this year as many as 180,000 names may be erroneously included on state voter rolls.
Mark Dwyer, Again Running for Judge in Flagler, Finds Himself on the Defensive. Again.
Attorney Mark Dwyer two years ago was admonished by the Florida Bar for a minor trust account issue. He’s now being reprimanded for a more serious issue, but Dwyer wants it explained at length. He takes the stand in his defense.
Meeker Resigning Palm Coast Council to Run for Holland’s County Seat as Jockeying Begins
A regular partisan election in line with the coming primary and general will be held for Milissa Holland’s now-open seat on the Flagler County Commission, with two candidates already vying for it. The Palm Coast City Council may appoint a replacement for Meeker come November, depending on a legal reading of the city charter.
Upset That Trey Corbett Had Cut Him Off at the Gym, 65-Year-Old Defaces His Campaign Sign
Steven Paskewich was apparently upset that Trey Corbett, a candidate for Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, allegedly cut him off at the weight machine at Thriv, the Palm Coast fitness center–a machine Corbett says he doesn’t use. So Paskewich defaced three Corbett signs with mild obscenities–and was arrested.