Next Tuesday, October 3, is an important election day in Martin County

with runoff elections for the District 1 (North County) Martin County

Commission seat, which fills out the commission, as well as one of

Martin County’s Representatives (District 82) in the State House of

Representatives. All of Martin County is voting in the District 1

Commission race and central and southern Martin County in the District

82 State Rep. race.

The County Commission District 1 race is important for all of Martin

County. There is significant "catching up" to do in the provision of

government service due to the one-dimensional focus over the last 4

years, in which we saw this divisive Commission increase the County

budget by approximately 100%. And what did the taxpayers get for this

huge increase? Only deteriorating government services. Bickering has not

given us the transportation improvements, parks and rational budget

processes which are sorely needed. We need a Commission which can work

together in harmony, giving good representation to all of Martin County.

This election is even more important to the citizens of District 1

(northern Martin County. Their quality of life has suffered for the past

8 years, with unfulfilled promises of new parks, sidewalks, and storm

water management. Additionally, they have endured a lack of rational

transportation planning.

We hope that the voters will choose a commissioner who:

1. Understands that quality of life is in a large part based on the

quality of our communities, the best of which are comprised of many

different components and points of view;

2.Truly supports lean and efficient government;

3. Works harmoniously with citizens, neighboring county and city

governments and agencies as well as the county staff and fellow

Commissioners.

The runoff for The House of Representatives District 82 seat is an

important one; to a large part, the effectiveness of our legislative

delegation determines the level of funding sources which can help our

local projects. Again, we hope that the voters choose a representative

who can accomplish this effectively.

* * *

Sadly, the last commission meeting, one of the final of the departing

commission majority, was soiled by the distribution of political plums

to individuals and municipalities for their unquestioned support. All of

these are at the expense of the taxpayer. With approximately 1 month

left in office, the majority commissioners are busy appointing their

cronies to seats on various advisory boards, even after requests to

leave these seats to be filled by the new commission. Additionally, they

have awarded a $90,000.00 golden parachute to the County Attorney

without allowing the public to comment on this emergency item. The

majority also voted to not object to the Town of Jupiter Island’s

Comprehensive Plan Amendment which extends a reserve annexation area

westerly from Jupiter Island’s borders all the way to I-95 an area of

undetermined size. This amendment proposes to give Jupiter Island veto

power over landuse decisions in this unincorporated area, thereby

hamstringing Martin County’s ability to plan. The county was unaware of

the amendment until a copy was sent to them last week by the Regional

Planning Council. We believe that joint planning and cooperation between

governments is necessary and desirable; however, this amendment leaves

too many questions unanswered. Exactly how large is this area. How will

this affect the ability of the citizens of Hobe Sound to plan for their

future? Why wasn’t the county informed prior to the enactment of this

amendment? Another appalling trend which was played out again was the

emergency item budget transfer/amendment, which appears to have

transferred $200,000 from a Reserve for Contingency to Fire Rescue. In

the recent past transfers have been required for litigation, emergency

services and others. These repeated transfer activities indicate a lack

of fiscal planing.

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This nation was founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness by our forefathers, who understood the value of

citizen input and participation. It is imperative, under this democracy,

that citizens share in the formation and implementation of their

government by voting, by being elected to office, and by volunteering as

lay advisors and by serving as "watchdogs" for others. Please join our

"watchdog" efforts by volunteering . During this, our fiftieth year of

existence, we are mounting a membership drive to enlist new members and

ensure that existing membership dues are current. Please join us in our

efforts for better government. All taxpayers benefit from the diligence

of our volunteers.