Endorsements
Bill Mick recommends Steve Burdett for Property Appraiser
Telling You How and Why I Vote.And Why I Tell You
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Part one of who Bill's voting for in the upcoming elections
I'm not sure exactly when it was, but it was early in my talk radio days. I don't think the show had been on for more than a year. I decided to lay it out there for everyone to see. Here it is. Here is how I am voting in the election. And today, I will tell you why I am telling you and anyone that cares to know how I vote.
Voting is, by necessity, a private thing. It is part of securing a government of, by and for the people. If no one knows how you are voting there is no retribution for how you vote. But in a business where staying employed and on top depends on being popular with the audience, instead of playing it safe, I inject my opinion and philosophy openly. That could be counterproductive. It does not consider keeping popularity at the forefront. I am going to tick off every candidate that I am not (or would not be) voting for and letting everyone that listens to the show or subscribes to this INSIDER know all about it. Some feisty, emotional supporters will be upset and try to discredit what I do and the show because of it and yet, I persist. Why? It's about honesty. It's about being me and letting you and everyone else see it. It is what I do. I do this in spite of one candidate in the past (here in Brevard) soliciting a background investigation on yours truly after my choosing to vote for his opponent. That candidate will tell you that my choices impact about 6% of the vote in Brevard (that's a lot in a close election). I am not so sure, but if he wants to throw the credit my way.I'll take it, albeit with a grain of salt.
I was again cautioned against this practice about two years ago. I was relatively new to Modesto and Stanislaus County, California. I was working on bringing back local talk radio to a station that had lost its local talk franchise a year and half earlier. I'd been on the air since January and we had a very contentious June election. I had both sides hammering me on and off air in a Sheriff's race with some very clear distinctions between two active Sheriff's Department Lieutenants (one was holding the honorary rank of Chief Deputy and was acting as the Sheriff). These groups hated each other. Every bit of mud that could be found was out there. I was getting phone calls from both sides every day on statements I made in discussing the race. If I referred to the Acting Sheriff as just that, someone called to remind me he was never "officially" appointed as the "Acting Sheriff" and I was giving him an unfair advantage. Truth was he was the acting Sheriff because he was the Chief Deputy when the Sheriff resigned to go work for the Governator. The duties of Sheriff fell to him. The opposition did not like it. The phone rang off the hook and even friends of mine were taking me to task for this egregious error that was giving the bad guy the advantage.
I told my boss that I was doing what I had done since early in my career and telling the audience how I was voting. He was nervous. The show was still new. The audience was still getting to know me. I was risking alienating them and running some of them off. I did not care. Sure, I wanted to grow the audience, but I could not ever do that if I were to be anything other than honest with them. I went ahead. But before I made the call I was able to get more information.
I hosted a Town Hall Meeting/debate between these candidates and got more out of them there than we ever did on the radio-and those interviews had been doozies! I finally selected the other Lieutenant as the candidate getting my vote. He is the Sheriff in Stanislaus County today. It was a good choice. Adam Christianson is an excellent Sheriff. Did I swing the vote by announcing my selection? I doubt it. But that audience knew who I was and what I believed because if my choice in making the vote public. Some liked it, some didn't, but it did not matter. They knew me and that was the goal. They knew that like it or not, I had been honest with them and that was the key.
That's a big part of what I do. I let you get to know me-the real me. Let's get back to when this practice of telling you how I vote started. It was election season and I had several people asking me how I was planning on voting that year. At first, I was a bit uncomfortable. It is not my place to tell anyone how they should vote. Yet, here they were asking me essentially that very thing. I would never presume to tell someone how they should vote (unless they were elected to represent me and needed some guidance.a certain County Commission comes to mind). It is my job to get the candidates in front of you and let you make the call based on the information that is provided. But somehow that was just not enough. In spite of bringing the candidates in and extracting all the information we could from them, some folks wanted more. There was no more interview time. The campaign was drawing to a close. What more was there to give? All I had was myself.
I needed a way to give folks the advice they wanted without saying, "Here is how you should vote." It finally came to me. My audience never has to agree with me or anything I say. They will certainly not all agree if I say they should vote a certain way. But if I tell them honestly how I am choosing to vote and let them know why I vote that way, they can disagree all they want or they can agree with the conclusion and choose to do the same. It is entirely their call. So, in giving them what they want we all gain. They get the information they seek. I have the benefit of showing you a bit more of me than you will get from many and you get to choose if you like it, hate it or will ever give me any credibility again. Let's get to it.
Oh, and just to give those of you that are not my pick this time out, or don't like the picks I make, a reminder that I am not always right. You may recall the biggest wrong call I have made since my start in radio. In the Republican Sheriff's Primary between Jack Parker and Wayne Torpy, Wayne got my vote. Jack won the Primary and the Election in November and has been an excellent Sheriff. So, take these picks for exactly what they are worth.my opinion (and how I will vote) based on the information available at the time I make the selection. And, by the way, Jack could not have been more gracious in dealing with me during and since that time and has become a friend. Wayne has been in touch a few times and last I heard was working as a Chief of Police in the Southwest. It is nice when we get multiple good choices for these positions. Now to the business at hand.
Property Appraiser- Republican
Helen Voltz: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times and I should have my voter's registration card revoked. Two times on the County Commission with fiscally irresponsible actions in both of them disqualify you in my book from further government service. You acknowledged the bad land fill decision and then returned to approve astonishing purchases of worthless properties at exorbitant prices out of EELS funds. You signed off on the advance tax abatement to Embraer while completely blind to what it was, the kind of jobs it would bring or the location or type of facility it would be. You abdicated your authority to the EDC and the County Manager and allowed them to put a bag over your head and ask you to vote for the unseen/unknown entity in that unprecedented advance tax abatement. It was a bad call, an example of bad judgment and voters should not trust anyone who allowed this to happen on his or her watch. No thanks, not again.
Jim Ford: The incumbent who has thus far dodged indictment or arrest for the apparent illegal goings on in his office won't dodge this bullet. The idea that these kinds of improprieties have taken place and were not thoroughly investigated by him and handled before the authorities (who took their sweet ole time in running this all down) shows a lack of proper management in my mind. If Lance Larsen is guilty and was not working at Ford's direction, Ford should have gotten to the bottom of it internally long before the law enforcement investigation was done. Thanks for the service to this point, but it is time for it to be over. Feeling exonerated is the last thing he should be feeling right now. Relieved might be a better word. The responsibility for the office lies with him, but it shouldn't for long. It is time for a change.
Robert VanVolkenburgh: He is another nice candidate who is well educated and could manage this office. He seems to have an understanding of the functions and is an imminently better choice than Voltz. That does not make him the best choice. He is bit under experienced for me in this one and might consider some service in his chosen field before running to manage an important office like this. I hope he sticks around and finds his niche; I believe he brings talents and ability that could serve us well elsewhere.
Steve Burdett: Steve has the right experience to bring integrity and accountability back to this office. He is clearly the best of the Republican candidates in this field and is my choice in the Primary. When it comes to the General, a Burdett/Sitton race means the County wins in this one. I hope if one of them gets the big job they seriously look at the other for a top administrative role.
I have known Steve Burdett for almost twenty years. He is a sharp CPA who is well versed in financial matters. Mr. Burdett is well respected for his integrity and he has been one of the finest Managers in the Brevard County Clerk's Office for decades. Mr. Burdett has the ability to manage a large organization as well as the mathematical acumen to handle the data in the numbers intensive Property Appraisers Office.
Scott Ellis, Brevard County Clerk
Endorsement received July 28, 2008
The Ronald Reagan Assembly of the Space Coast is pleased to announce the endorsed candidates for the 2008 Primary Elections. these are the result of the candidates responses to a lengthy questionaire concerning the duties of the office, qualifications, and positions on issues. Ronald Reagan Assemblies is a Nationally organized group of Republicans dedicated to basic Republican principles. Our endorsements are:
| Dist. 15 Congressional Seat | Bill Posey |
| Dist. 24 Congressional Seat | Tom Feeney |
| Fl. House 30 | Ritch Workman |
| Fl. Houses31 | Ken Babington |
| Commission Dist. 5 | Andy Anderson |
| Commission Dist. 1 | Roger Shealey |
| Sheriff | Jack Parker |
| Property Appraiser | Steve Burdett |
| Clerk of Courts | Scott Ellis |
| Supervisor of Elections | Beth Allen |
| Tax Collector | Lisa Cullen |
| School Dist. 4 | Karen Henderson |
| School Dist. 5 | Andy Ziegler |
Some races were not evaluated at this time due to either no primary, no preference, or no response. The basis of individual evaluations are available to the candidates themselves for clarification or constructive value.
We want to express our great appreciation for all candidates who have chosen to come forth to devote their time,. expertise, philosophy, and civic involvement in their individual races.
Warm regards,
Dale Young, Vice Chair
Ronald Reagan Republican Assembly of the Space Coast
321-223-5924
www.bethanddale.com
Email: bethanddale@bethanddale.com
