State Ethics Investigation Into Sandy Murman, Ken Hagan And Bob Buckhorn

The Florida Commission on Ethics is interviewing the three local officials alleged to have steered a $1.35 million Go Hillsborough contract to the client of a politically connected public relations consultant.

Investigators interviewed Hillsborough County commissioners Ken Hagan and Sandy Murman last week in Tallahassee. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn will meet with the ethics commission while in the state capital Monday and Tuesday. here 
And here

Tampa's Culture Of Corruption

More than a year after the Florida Commission on Ethics agreed to investigate several complaints filed against  County commissioners Sandy Murman and Ken Hagan and Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, the cases remain unresolved. here

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 They are accused of steering a $1.3 million Go Hillsborough contract to the client of a politically connected public relations consultant.

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.

Tampa City Council Stop Wasting Our Money On Consultants

We will give you this advice for free. Head on down to the Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Library and check out their display of what I4 and I275 did to Tampa.  The county spent all that money on consultants for 
GO Hillsborough and what did that get us? The start of the solution is simple. Buy the CSX tracks and some trains. Is someone on the council also in bed with 
Beth Leytham? here
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City Council remember you work for us, not FDOT. The state tried taking away the power of cities with Fracking and they lost. You want to keep your jobs or move up? Check this out!
Huntersville NC. Mayor Jill Swain and two town commissioners were booted from office because of residents’ anger about the state’s plans to widen Interstate 77 with toll lanes. here

If FDOT wants to go to war with Tampa, bring it on!

The Liberals In Tampa Demand

Tampa Liberals

Mitch Perry

GO Hillsborough - Our demands

BUY CSX tracks immediately

And some trains.

Here is a locomotive Reduced to $90,000

No new roads, 

fix the ones we have

Pedestrian friendly with bike trails

Turanchik Bay Ferry

And give the rest to HART

And Stop TBX

Tampa Vote No on Go Hillsborough

Hillsborough commissioners approve transportation plan. here

No Rail, No New Taxes! 

Why do you keep wasting our time!
Check out the crap they are trying to sell us.

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

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

Upgrade Ken Hagan, Sandra Murman and Bob Buckhorn

GO Hillsborough 
Smoking Gun

Failure of Sheriff’s investigators to get deleted text messages.

After seeing the pattern of communication specifically around the PB selection timeframe, Investigators attempted to obtain any deleted text messages from the cell phones of Ms. Leytham, Commissioners Ken Hagan and Sandra Murman, and Mayor Bob Buckhorn. Investigators asked each person if they still possessed the cellphone they used during the 2014 time period. All four advised they had upgraded their cell phones and no longer possessed them. here

sanctions for Commissioner Sandy Murman

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and State Attorney Mark Ober found no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing in how county staff, commissioners, and private consultant Beth Leytham acted in the months leading up to the selection of Leytham's client, Parsons Brinckerhoff, for the lucrative "Go Hillsborough" project. But the report corroborates 10Investigates findings that Leytham made a habit of influencing decision-makers behind the scenes. 
And Ober suggested sanctions for Commissioner Sandy Murman - and training for other commissioners - over non-criminal public records violations. here

Tea Party Bloggers In Their Underwear In Ruskin

Our great County Commissioner Kevin Beckner has a new plan for our future.

Lets put 47 percent of the money raised to transit, bike and pedestrian projects.

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Mayor Bob thinks Beckner's plan "threw the cities under the bus" and negates 2½ years of effort, including nearly 100 public meetings that led to the drafting of the sham that is Go Hillsborough, the one under investigation. He is willing to take that risk and not back down in the face of three tea party bloggers sitting in their underwear in their basements in Ruskin. here

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"This is more than opposition from the tea party. I got opposition coming from my own Democratic Party, saying, 'We don't like this plan. It doesn't invest enough in transit."

 Kevin Beckner

There's basements in Ruskin?

Ed Turanchik: Commissioner Choo-Choo

In the 90's, the small minds around these parts nicknamed

 Ed Turanchik "Commissioner Choo-Choo"

 for his vision of our future.

Today we are being attacked 
by the Florida DOT, 

Our answer to  transportation 
"GO Hillsborough" is a sham.

CSX offered tracks remain trainless.
We have elected people that vote against our wishes and city. 

We are fortunate that Mr. Turanchik's commitment to transportation has continued. With the help of another local visionary Rick Kriseman, we now have ferry service between Tampa and St. Pete. Maybe it's time Mr. Turanchik start wearing that moniker with pride.
Protect Tampa at all cost!

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

More Lies About GO Hillsborough

Joe Brown Guest Columnist @ The Tampa Tribune here

• "Based on telephone responses and town hall meetings this year, most Hillsborough County residents want to fix the roads and bridges in existence."
• ( Note chat above, this is not true. Rail IS our top priority.)
•  Telephone responses here
• 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.
• Read more about this sham here

Local Hero Guido Maniscalco

They came by the dozens activists and just regular residents from Seminole and Tampa Heights all imploring the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Organization not to include the controversial Tampa Bay Express project in the MPO’s Transit Improvement Project.

Speaking for the project? 
8people, most of whom wore suits (or in the case of the representative for Jeff Vinik‘s group, a dress). none of whom are believed to live in the district, and several of them representing
 major business organizations.

Just like GO Hillsborough they let us think we had a say in the matter. In the end they don't give a shit what we think. After three hours of discussion, the MPO voted 13-1 to support the project. The only dissenter was Tampa City Councilman 
Guido Maniscalco. here
Who is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
here

Mr. Beckner, Ms. Montelione and Mr. Miller, Shame on you!

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!

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!

Fire Mike Merrill

All he does is spread lies.

“We spent all this time and the community has said doing roads, bridges and intersections are a top priority."

Check chart above, this is not true.

Now he wants to tie the ferry sevice to the tax.

here

Mass Transit wasn't even on the survey.

here and here

No Rail, No New Taxes!

More Bullshit In Hillsborough County

The county paid a million dollars on focus groups, surveys and polls to tell them that more people would vote yes to a half cent sales tax hike than a full cent. 

And their research showed residents want to see more of that money spent building and repairing roads than improving public transportation.

here

See chart above. This is a lie.
we want rail.

Rail wasn't even on the survey form. They told us to write it in. Check out our post on April 29, 2015 of the last meeting. here, It was all a sham.

At that meeting in Temple Terrace we were told that light rail, opponent and local Tea Bagger Sharon Calvert attends every meeting, 
where were you?

Hillsborough County Commissioners don't waste our time
NO RAIL? NO NEW TAXES!

GO Hillsborough Meeting Today In Temple Terrace

One of our last chances

"Good luck with that," That’s what one Tribune columnist said about Commissioner Hagan talking about a balanced transportation referendum for more options.

It’s a dare. Some think we won’t stand up to make sure we have options. 

We need to make it loud an clear to every doubter, naysayer, and tea party insider that it’s time to work together to create new transportation options for everyone. This is one of our last chances to be heard. Come out tonight for just 15 minutes:
Don't let these corporatist Republicans ruin our future.
If you Dems would of voted Pat Kemp would be in office and we would not be dealing with Higginbotham. No one even ran against Hagan.

Omar K Lightfoot Community Center
10901 N 56th St
Temple Terrace

http://connecttb.com/april28

Rid Hillsborough County of it's Right Wing infestation