Showing posts sorted by relevance for query GO Hillsborough. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query GO Hillsborough. Sort by date Show all posts

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Corruption Scandal In Tampa

Beth Leytham
Documents obtained by 10 Investigates detail how a senior political adviser to Mayor Bob Buckhorn and other local leaders is wielding influence behind-the-scenes of City of Tampa and Hillsborough County business, potentially in violation of local and state ethics laws. And the politicians she’s closest to – including several county commissioners - have allowed it.
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"Go Hillsborough, our transportation plan for the future of Hillsborough County, was awarded more than a million dollars (so far) with no-bid contract to Parson Brinckerhoff and Beth Leytham. Beth Leytham who outlined the no bid process to the county administrator has been paid $190,000 for her own part in the deal. Beth Leytham is not paid as a political consultant and registered as a lobbyist as she should be. Instead lucrative taxpayer contracts are steered her way so that taxpayers are footing the bill. In the case of Go Hillsborough it was a no-bid contract. That's just wrong." 

Tampa's shady underword
Bob Buckhorn
 Sandy Murman
Ken Hagan
Are invoved

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Hillsborough County Fuck Fest: "Go Hillsborough" Focus Groups

  • Voters between the ages of 18-29 were automatically eliminated.
  • Taxpayers who did not vote in last year's gubernatorial election didn't get to participate in the focus groups were which conducted last November.
  • Consultants only talked to Republicans without any registered Democrats, but only conservative members of the GOP who always vote in Republican primary elections were included in the Republican group.
  • Those who labelled themselves as moderate or liberal Republicans were not invited to the GOP focus group.
  • Participants in the focus groups were chosen from Carrollwood, Westchase, Town and Country and Brandon which means which means South Tampa, West Tampa, Central Tampa, Temple Terrace, East Tampa, Plant City, South Shore, South County and Sun City were excluded from having their voices heard in the focus groups.
  • The participants were each given $75 to take part in the focus groups and among the major takeaways are , there is no sense of crisis in transportation; rail is not seen as a viable alternative; the bus system has a major image and usage problem. here
"Good luck with that," That’s what one Tribune columnist said about Commissioner Hagan talking about a balanced transportation referendum for more options.

 We spent $1.25 million on this!
Go Hillsborough was all a sham
check this out
Hillsborough County Commissioners don't waste our time. No rail? No new taxes!

Friday, April 8, 2016

Tampa Gets Screwed Again

The GO Hillsborough sham is coming to an end without plans for light rail. 
Mike Merrill unveiled the latest plan at the Hillsborough County Commissioners board meeting.  The city of Tampa would receive $198 million. Focused primarily on roads, the plan is based on the passage of the Go Hillsborough half-percent sales tax. here
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Tampa Screw Hillsborough County, 
with the $198 million buy the CSX tracks through Tampa 
and buy some trains. 
No Rail - No New Taxes!
This was doomed from the start. here

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Sandy Murman's Tea Party Advisors

Murman became a no vote on the Go Hillsborough referendum. She has another idea, well it closely reflects ideas and even language put forth by tea party members and a prominent anti-tax activist from 
Pinellas County. here
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Tea Party activists, who had been imploring county commissioners to shut down Go Hillsborough and forget the sales tax, cheered Murman’s bold move.
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“Sandy, I can’t tell you how proud of I am of your stepping out to lead on the transportation issue. It is fantastic. Thank you for your courage and your dedication to finding the best way for the county." Ken Roberts, Tea Party
Roberts had every reason to be proud. Murman’s plan borrowed heavily from one he had been shopping to commissioners for months.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Brand GOP: Victor Crist and Al Higginbotham

Two years ago hundreds of people demanded that we start the conversation on transportation, the commissioners responded by creating Go Hillsborough to find out what the public wants. 
The number one selection of 16 categories: transit.

Yet, two Commissioners 
Victor Crist and Al Higginbotham 
told the Tampa Tribune they intend to derail the Go Hillsborough public input process before it’s over. What's worse the public proposal isn't line with what citizens have already asked for: there is ZERO transit included.

County Commissioners, We join others in asking you do three things:
1) Keep your promise and listen to the public: they want a balance including transit
2) Work with other leaders to come up with a transportation proposal for all citizens 
& for future generations
3) Stop trying to derail the process by making proposals before it is over

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Tampa Wants Robust Urban Transit

“My proposal is we wait and do it later, we don’t want to kill it, we want to modify it,” Bill Carlson echoing the criticism among Tampa liberals that there is far too little rail in the plan. He insisted, adding that the only people who will gain from the proposal is the Tea Party and the consultants who will work on the campaign. “We should have robust urban transit, Go Hillsborough doesn’t do that.” Ed Turanchik here
We are about to take it deep!
The history of GO Hillsborough

Friday, April 29, 2016

GOP Hillsborough County Commissioners: "A Profile In Cowardice"

Tea Party rules around here!
The county commission voted 4-3 on Wednesday night to reject the proposed 30-year, half-cent sales tax, refusing to put it on the November ballot and letting voters decide.
here
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"Sadly tonight a majority of the County Commission has refused to give the citizens of Hillsborough County an opportunity to decide for themselves whether their future includes a better transportation system. Rather than a profile in courage this vote was a profile in cowardice.Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn
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"I am very disappointed that after years of work this board was not able to build consensus, I do look forward to the continued dialogue at our upcoming meeting and I'm hopeful that we might still be able to come to a consensus on such an important community issue as transportation." Kevin Beckner
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Matthew Durshimer was all for the 30-year sales tax. He said it was the only way Hillsborough would attract corporate relocations and a younger workforce. Only the 30-year tax, he argued, would allow the county to build a real transit system. "And if the answer is no, then expect all the problems of today to get worse tomorrow," Durshimer said, "and expect all the young professionals like myself to leave this commununity.
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Sandy Murman wants the board to hold yet another transportation workshop in the near future. It passed unanimously. GO Hillsborough was meant to fail from the begining. It was all a sham. here

We can start with Murman! here
Please note, it was smart what they did. It would not have passed. 
To much for roads and not enough for rail.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Pat Kemp: The Perfect Candidate At The Right Time

Will we be Denver or Los Angeles? It's a choice we are making right now by default with each day we don't plan for our transportation future.
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Like many of you, I'm frustrated, disappointed and disheartened by the cloud that is now hanging over the Go Hillsborough, the county transportation plan.  It should have moved forward with transparency, openness and expertise, building a comprehensive plan for our future instead of an unconnected meagre of projects.
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It's time for a plan. I'm excited that we now have an opportunity to buy CSX tracks in Hillsborough County. The tracks run from USF to downtown and across north Hillsborough County by Tampa International Airport and to Pinellas.  They go all the way through Lutz to Brooksville.  With CSX tracks, we'd have a right-of-way and we wouldn't have to wait decades to build a rail system.
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In Orlando and Miami, CSX tracks have already been converted for commuter rail use. Converting the tracks will cost far less than a building a new light rail system and less than the cost of the current I-275 road expansion at $120 million a mile.
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Beth Alden, the Director of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, calls it a "real opportunity as our opportunities get narrower and narrower." Alden says that "DOT has thrown down the gauntlet on this . . . DOT is willing to work with us but they need us to be partners at the table." 
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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Did GOP Hillsborough County Commissioners Sabotage GO Hillsborough?

The odds of the county even producing a ballot measure for Hillsborough County seem to dwindle, in part because of the reluctance of commissioners such as Murman and Higginbotham to stand by the process. Commissioners, who always seemed intimidated by the Tea Party activists from the get-go on this effort, have certainly created enough doubt for the most ardent pro-transportation tax advocate to feel skeptical right now, to say the least. 
Mitch Perry
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Tea Bagger Sharon Calvert attended every meeting.
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This was meant to fail from the beginning!
Read what this blog has been posting about this sham here

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Letter to Hillsborough County school Board Member Jessica Vaughn

 Yesterday, the Hillsborough County School Board had an intense and robust conversation about our award winning equity policy. We’ve been notified by the state that we needed to review our policy, as they are concerned parts of it might be out of compliance with the new “anti-woke” legislation - specifically our purpose statement that talks about “institutional racism”. And even though we repeatedly asked for more clarity regarding how our policy might conflict with the law, we haven’t been provided with any more clarity from the state regarding any specific violations. I urge you all to watch the workshop for yourselves, when you have time.

n response to yesterday’s workshop, here is an email that I received this morning. I honestly can’t tell if this is genuine or satire.
(Possible trigger warning)
Subject: Major racism issue Hillsborough County Public Schools ignores
“Hello Hillsborough County Public Schools Board of Education members,
With all the accusations in Hillsborough County Public Schools of systemic racism against minorities (not supported by the facts) and an emphasis on “institutional racism”, there's a growing movement to have a Thank You White People Day
· White people created the very high standard of living all races in the USA enjoy
· They allowed non-Whites from all over the world to immigrate to the USA
· By 2044 Whites will no longer be the majority (Census Bureau) in the highly advanced country they created, extremely generous of them
· Many immigrants don't want to assimilate (destroys the cohesiveness and harmony of a country)
The USA was almost 90 percent White until the deceptive Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (proponents claimed it would not change demographics) flooded the country (chain migration big factor) with non-White immigrants (the USA became an economic superpower by about 1890).
White people created the government, the corporations, industries, technology, healthcare system, the banking system, the universities, made the US dollar the international currency etc.
The ubiquitous word “diversity” in the media, education and politics supports discrimination in hiring in companies, organizations, government agencies and education (especially management positions) against heterosexual White males and in many cases White females.
The ubiquitous phrase “people of color” intentionally divides society and marginalizes White people, Caucasians in one group and everybody else in another group. White is a color, White has 52 shades.
These days, there is more racism among the minority groups than from Whites to any minority group. For example, go to a Black neighborhood and tell them the Mexicans and the Vietnamese are moving in and see what happens.
Canada, Australia and many European countries, such as Sweden, Germany, Great Britain and France, are also generously allowing a vast number of non-White people to immigrate to their countries (huge amount of problems including financial and violence), perhaps they should also have a Thank You White People Day.
Are any non-White countries with an above average standard of living such as South Korea, Japan or Uruguay opening their countries to poor people of all races from all over the world? No, just White countries, yet White people are called racists, it’s absurd.
White people have sent billions of dollars to Africa and a vast amount of food and medicine and other vital items.
They also created the Affirmative Action program in the 1960’s so companies could hire Blacks based on their skin color and colleges could enroll Blacks based on their skin color.
Due to all the inaccurate information about White people (the most generous race in the world), perhaps Hillsborough County Public Schools can create a Thank You White People Day to show appreciation for their enormous generosity; they allowed millions of poor non-White immigrants (expensive) from all over the world to immigrate to their country and enjoy a high standard of living even though they're going to become a minority in the United States.
Best, Brian

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Beat the Drum Spread the Word The RAYBOR scam isn't over

As anyone who has been seriously following the Tampa Bay Rays franchise's efforts to move their baseball team to Hillsborough County knows, the intricacies of the negotiations between the Rays and both St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County have been very complex, confusing and uncertain. One thing that is clear though is that these negotiations are far from over. 

I'll start with a video containing excerpts from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) January 9 meeting, which makes it obvious that our County Commission has postured itself to continue negotiations with the Rays to entice them to move the team to Hillsborough County. To avoid claims of  my taking comments of the commissioners out of context, the video of the complete meeting can be found HERE (The motion and discussion begins at 3:28:24).
I'd like to give a shout out to Noah Pransky of WTSP for his relentless pursuit of the truth behind the secret negotiations being held between Ken Hagan and the Tampa Bay Rays, negotiations so secret even fellow commissioners were left in the dark. Thanks to Mr. Pransky, the Ybor activists were able to organize and react to Hagan's attempts to close a deal using $500 million of public funds to build the Rays stadium in the heart of Ybor City. We must stay on our guard though because Hagan, who secretly revealed the Ybor location to influential friends of his before it was made public, has openly stated that negotiations WILL continue under the umbrella of the Tampa Sports Authority (TSA), of which he is a board member and whose activities are even further outside the light of the Sunshine Laws.

So what can happen now? The Tampa Bay Rays, who have a contract with St. Petersburg which terminates in 2027 will most likely go back to the St. Petersburg City Council and present an ultimatum, threatening to sell the Rays team to another owner, as they did in 2010 to begin these negotiations in the first place, the intent being to coerce them into extending their time for negotiations with Hillsborough County. It seems more than a coincidence that the lawyer, Irwin Raij, originally retained by Hillsborough County and now retained by the TSA, is also a consultant for a group in Portland, Oregon who is looking to bring baseball to Portland. There are also those who were given inside information who have most likely invested heavily in properties in Ybor City on the promise of a Rays stadium there. They are not going to be too anxious to give up on the deal.

By the efforts of a good investigative reporter and the dedication of the Ybor activists who faced the BOCC and whose "shot across the bow" made it clear that we would not allow our county to appropriate a half billion dollars of public funds without the word being spread to the citizens of what was being done, we managed to throw a rather big wrench into efforts to scam an unwitting public.

Lastly, for those who really love Ybor City, I want to bring something to your attention. Part of the plan to build the new Rays stadium in Ybor City would most likely rely on revenues from  4 million square feet of new development in the area of the stadium. Using an online mapping tool, I measured the area of land that would be the most obvious location for this new development, bounded between 6th Ave. to Adamo Dr. and Nuccio Pkwy to 22nd St., and found it to be almost exactly 4 million square feet. As Ken Hagan admitted in his interview with Sports Talk Florida, this new development, modeled after the Atlanta Braves deal, which was also conducted secretly, would consist of new restaurants, bars, retail spaces, and high-rise hotels and apartment buildings. It is completely absurd to pretend that this new development would not drastically change, perhaps destroy, the culture and historical value of Ybor City.

In conclusion, I find it mind boggling that so many people, including at least one candidate for Mayor of Tampa, choose to believe the word of those who have the most financial interests at stake when they claim that the "Rays deal is finished" rather than clearly documented evidence that this is far from the truth, It isn't over.

AND WE MUST STAY VIGILANT!

Monday, May 25, 2020

Nestor Ortiz: The Case for Sky U. White in 6 Acts

Act 1: “Sky has NEVER held political office.
”Although this is true, I believe that’s a great thing for the constituents of District 3 and the County as a whole. Sky not having previously served in public office means she’s not “stuck” to the way politics used to work in Hillsborough County and will come with a fresh perspective and new ideas. Never having held political office before also means she will not be constrained by or beholden to the old-guard politics of the past but instead will be driven by the many substantive possibilities 
moving forward.
Growing up in and around the communities found in District 3 her entire life and utilizing the resources made available to all its residents means she has first-hand knowledge on what’s working and what’s not for District 3. That kind of familiarity with the average resident will bode well for a commission that can be seen as far removed from the average (county)
 Jane and Joe.
Act 2: “She’s TOO young.”
I know our first inclination is to pick someone older (because we’ve been taught to equate older with wiser) and who may have done it before, but we are in unprecedented times. We are tackling issues that none of us have ever faced and that requires a new look at things. From increasing transit woes to the speedy gentrification of our county (most especially in District 3) and from community resilience to an unstable economy in the time of a pandemic. In the face of such challenges, someone with youthful creativity and exuberance should be seen as a benefit to the County not a detriment. With a healthy understanding of intergenerational cooperation, Sky will work tirelessly to bridge the concerns of our younger families and newer residents with the significant contributions made by the families that have left a legacy in our thriving County.
Bringing in someone younger can also help add some age balance to a significantly older county commission that may not currently reflect or understand the concerns of younger folks from a personal perspective. She would be the youngest commissioner on the Board that represents an ever-increasing landscape of younger residents growing in and moving to Hillsborough County.
Act 3: “I’ve never heard of her.”
Yeah, you probably haven’t but she has been fighting for a seat at the table since 2017 in her County-Wide race against Kimberly Overman where she did significantly better than anyone would have expected for a first time candidate with no name recognition. And when her campaign ended in second place in the five-person democratic primary, she actively championed for Commissioner Overman and helped her get into that seat.

If you've never had the chance to actually meet Sky, she is accessible, genuine, and down to earth and doesn’t exude that slick “politiciany” feeling that other candidates do. She is a nurse, the proud mom of a teenager and an active member of the community. She’s not afraid to be vocal and push back on what she sees as important to the communities she serves. There’s so much to say about Sky but the best place to check her out is on her website at skyuwhite.com.
Act 4: “Does she really represent the communities of District 3?”
So this is where it gets a little more nuanced but the immediate answer is “YES”! District 3 is broken out into several smaller communities, about 12 give or take. Each of those communities represent a certain majority demographic in terms of age, race, gender, household income, and so on. A younger-ish, educated, woman of color that is not rich and is raising a child as a single parent is very much representative of the communities found in District 3. From East Tampa to Progress Village to parts of West Tampa, North Hillsborough, University Area, Tampa Heights, Thonotosassa and all of the other communities look very much like that. She knows what it’s like to be young in this time, to be a person of color in this time, to be a woman in this time, to be a single parent in this time, to have to worry about money and bills in this time. And in this time, representation matters more 
now than ever.
It’s also important to note that Sky doesn’t see things in black and white but can effectively work with others (in the grey) to get things done that benefit the larger community. She does so every day as she sits on the non-partisan Tampa Tiger Bay Club Board as well as through her work on the Hillsborough County MPO Citizen Advisory Board (an appointment made by her once political rival, Commissioner Overman). White is also a member of the Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus, the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Tampa Bay and the NAACP.
Act 5: “She can’t raise enough 
money to win.”
She could if people took her candidacy seriously and didn’t underestimate her. So many people have ruled her out for all the reasons mentioned throughout this article. I don’t think anyone would deny that Sky is not as politically connected as some of the other candidates. She doesn’t know all the players or have access to major campaign donors but she’s a smart and tenacious fighter. I wish local politics wasn’t about who can raise the most money especially in a district that has historically represented lower income residents, instead I wish it was about who will listen and work for every constituent in their district. I believe Sky is that person.

And why do we continue to support the shuffling of the same politicians around in new seats? We keep hearing the same names go around and around. They’re certainly not all bad but there is no guarantee that they will be better in one seat versus the one they came from. Personally, I would love to see people with resources also investing in some of the political power and promise of those up-and-coming future leaders that are going to inherit the problems we find ourselves in today.
Act 6: “Can she REALLY win?”
YES! Hillsborough County is growing and changing daily, most especially in the areas of District 3. As such Sky will do everything in her power to protect the intergenerational significance of all the communities in District 3 that are so important to who we are as a county. She sees what’s wrong with the system and will proactively work on making things better for everyone while staying squarely focused on making sure District 3 is represented on the County Commission in a real and meaningful way.

I would like to close with a quote from President Obama’s recent commencement speech:
“First, don’t be afraid. America’s gone through tough times before — slavery, civil war, famine, disease, the Great Depression and 9/11. And each time we came out stronger, usually because a new generation, young people like you, learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.”

HELP HER HERE

Thursday, June 11, 2015

No Rail? No New Tax In Hillsborough County!

Mike Merrill is WRONG!
“Rail, per se, did not poll very well,” 
County Administrator Mike Merrill

When I atended the Go Hillsborough public input meeting in Temple Terrace on April 28th Rail wasn't even an option on my survey form. I was told to write it in on the back. It was all a sham.


As you can see on this chart Rail and 
Bike Lanes are our biggest priorities


Read about their lies here
Read our post on April 29th here
Hillsborough County Commissioners don't waste our time.

NO RAIL? NO NEW TAXES!

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Hillsborough County Commissioner's Same Old Bullshit

The County Commission wants to add a half-cent sales tax to the ballot for 2016 and they only want 25% for transit and a guaranteed 60% for road maintenance and building. It's so much more of the same. Also, despite a $100 million dollar surplus this year, the Commission won't give anything at all to transit. $10 million dollars and we could have a high speed ferry system. $30 million and we could double the budget for HART. It's time for change! 
 Oh yeah - the consultants now have made $1.25 million.
Pat Kemp

"GO Hillsborough" was all a sham!
Check this out!

Hillsborough County we have to 
rid ourselves of our Right Wing Infestation,
Kevin Beckner can not do it alone! 
Where is Pam Iorio? We want her back!

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Jan Platt's Brilliant Idea

A Referendum To Kick Out The

 Hillsborough County Commissioners 

How have they failed us?
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 Corporate Welfare
$6.7 million To Ashley Furniture  in Ybor City
$100,000 To Tim Burton
$75,000 To IT expansion
$6.25 million To Pro Bass
$3.4 million To Citigroup

$2.1 Million to Johnson & Johnson Services

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TBX
Ken Hagan,  Sandra Murman, Stacy White 
and Kevin Beckner vote yes. here
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"Go Hillsborough" 

Focus Groups

This is a funny one

here

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 Hire a fox to guard our hen house
here
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wage theft ordinance
here
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Shifty Florida GOP Ken Hagan 

exploiting term limits loopholes.

here
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Misused almost a million dollars in grants during its "Fight the Blight. 
here
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Neglect of the 

Jan K. Platt 
Environmental Lands Acquisition
a referendum 80 percent of voters in 2008 approved!
HERE

The Hillsborough County Commissioners
On this blog since May 2006 here

So are you in? 
Someone start something!

www.yborcitystogie.com
Ybor City, Florida