Greed And Waste In Boca Raton
It’s quite the nest the City Council of idyllic Boca Raton, Florida has feathered for itself. The Mayor, Scott Singer, and two City Council members, Monica Mayotte and Yvette Drucker, voted to have a term limit extension placed on a special March ballot for a charter amendment vote.
Currently, the mayor and council members, once elected, serve three-year terms. Yet, for these three Democrats three years in office isn’t long enough.
Having just been elected in November, the trio wasted no time sharpening their diversion skills to fleece the residents of Boca Raton. Yvette Drucker proposed the amendment to extend the term from three years to four in the November session. Then in December, by a vote of 3-2, the City Council voted to have it placed on a ballot to be voted on March 14th.
Now, if that same council doesn’t cancel the March vote, the residents will be on the hook for the cost of the election – which is a whopping $255,000.
Keep in mind that this is the only amendment that will be voted on. In fact, nothing else is on the ballot at all. It’s hard to imagine a more self-serving thing to do than to cost your constituents over a quarter of a million dollars just to extend your term by one year.
Incoming City Council member Marc Wigder opposes the amendment, but coincidently he won’t be sworn in until March 14th. Even his opponent, until she decided to drop out of the race, Christen Ritchey, is against the amendment. As are new city council member Fran Nachlas, not to mention Deputy Mayor Andrea Levine O’Rourke, who voted against putting the amendment on the ballot.
When Singer and Drucker were asked if they believed that the March election should be cancelled, Drucker was the only one to respond, if you really consider her answer a true response:
“I am on the record supporting the voters’ right to make a decision on the matter.”
That may be so, but the residents didn’t ask for this vote or the financial burden it carries, so why subject them to something that is nothing more than a narcissistic power grab for another year in office.
Naturally, the politicians involved are doing their best to disguise the true purpose of the vote, by making it appear to benefit society as a whole.
In a December text push-poll that was sent to local residents, here are examples of some of the questions:
A proposal has been brought forward to create 4-year terms for the Boca Raton City Council, with City Council members continuing to be subject to term limits. Do you support this?
This is an obviously misleading question, that is setting the residents up for the next question that is an obvious and outright lie.
Many say 4-year terms for the City Council could reduce partisan politics in local elections. Knowing this, would you be more or less likely to support a change to 4-year terms with term limits?
Many say?
No, nobody says that; it is a ludicrous statement. This is a subversive attempt to manipulate voters into believing that by not voting for an additional year they are doing something wrong.
These politicians clearly care about only themselves. It’s a sad display of greed.
