Published On: Fri, Mar 9th, 2012

The Emporer Has No Clothes….At Least Not In This Boca Raton Election Cycle….

By Al Zucaro

In the past, I have written articles singing the praises of Boca Raton as a ‘great’ community with ‘great’ people and a ‘great’ future….Well the last few weeks has been anything but ‘great‘.   Politics’ ugly face has surfaced and the local political claws are nothing short of incredible.

From as high up as the Mayor, the ultimate ’Black Hand’ of politics is manipulating the message, distorting the record and attacking personal integrity without any real debate on the issues that will make this community continue to be ‘great’.

For me, the luster has come off.

Why?….

It appears that the establishment is so threatened by the incumbent, Councilman Anthony Majhess, that it has recruited a candidate, Frank H. Chapman to run this race for the incumbent’s council seat.

So involved are they, the establishment, that one need not look to hard to see them all over town conspiring ways to unseat this pesky incumbent. The mayor, along with the other council members, has sent out an email endorsing the challenger and condemning the incumbent.

The cocktail circuit, where the mayor and council members travel, is abuzz with a ‘story line’ on the incumbent that when challenged just does not ring true.  All to support the challenger while vilifying the incumbent.

Well let’s take a closer look!

The incumbent is charged with being an obstructionist.  That he opposes everything and stifles progress.  A review of his record of over 500 votes indicates that he has voted ‘no’ on only 13 occasions prior to this week’s vote on the Archstone project, a project well deserving of his no vote according to  many citizens in the Golden Triangle area of the city.

 

The incumbent is charged with being fired from the city’s fire department for being a drug user, a charge that is not supported by any document and flies in the face of his being hired by Palm Beach County’s fire department.  Further, while in the employ of the city, he received accolades and was even cited for bravery for preformance on the job.

The incumbent is charged with voting to raise taxes when his vote was a necessary vote that did not result in a greater tax impact to the citizens but was necessary in light of the lower property values to keep city services at the level expected by the citizens.  A vote that a majority of the sitting city council members affirmed as well.

 

And finally, the incumbent is charged with being a puppet to the fire and police unions when in fact he is responsible for bringing these bargaining units to the table to voluntarily reopen their contracts and ‘give back’ over one point seven million dollars in benefits during the life of their current contracts.

On the cocktail party circuit and in the development/business community, the incumbent is charged with being a ‘no growth’ person who rejects all projects brought forward for council vote.

That is almost laughable.  Why?

Because, in Boca Raton under the manager-council form of government, the true power to negotiate with the developer resides with the city manager and not the council.  The council merely acts on the information that the city manager allows to be provided.  The council has no access to staff or to the negotiations until they are brought forward for vote.

So, not to miss my point, the proper time to ask questions is at the public meeting where the developer is required to bring the project forward and the public is able to see the project and evaluate its impact on their quality of life.  In a representative government, like we have here in Boca Raton, this is the most appropriate time to ask the questions.

Oh, the poor developer and the poor staff!

It must be difficult to have to stand up and answer the questions in public rather than in the back rooms of city hall where deals and concessions are cut and the script is actually pieced together so that the public is presented with a sanitized version of the deal.

This incumbent must not have been invited to that party and, even if he was, asking the hard questions so the public is informed is what we elect council people to do.

I make no comment, pro or con, about the challenger as he is not tested and has no public voting track record.  We only have his printed materials to tell us how he would vote.  He states that he would not raise taxes under any circumstance, a promise that predisposes outcomes in some instances; he would end the acrimony that apparently paralizes the city council now; he would cut waste in a city that has cut waste every year for the last five in this down economy; and, he would end corruption in city hall without citing any instance of corruption that needs to be rooted out.  We the citizens can only take him at his word for what that may be or not be worth.

The incumbent on the other hand has a track record to run on.  He has championed the position of neighborhood interests exampled by the recent vote on the latest ‘back room’ proposition that has been homogenized for a public hearing and pushed through the process with lighting speed…Archstone

Amazing!

To me the true problem is not with the incumbent or with the challenger.  Regardless of their positions, it takes a minimum of three votes to get an affirmative action or reject an action at the city council level.  So there is a check and balance within the council when they vote on the material that is presented to the public.  To me the problem is with the governmental structure, the council-manager form of government.  This allow the city manager to answer to no one.

Yes, I said no one!

Arguably the city manager works at the pleasure of the council but the council only has access to the city manager and cannot reach below him to identify facts and circumstances relevant to any vote the council is charged with taking.

Firing the city manager here in Boca Raton appears near impossible.   He, apparently, is there for life!

The city manager is untouchable because he never has to face the electorate to be voted out of office if the public is dissatisfied with the city’s direction or policy.  In short, he is a dicator that dictates the actions of the council and dictates loyalties from and to those that bow to his throne and kiss his ring.

But, to those like me that are willing to say the Emperor has no cloth, watch out.  God forbid I should need something from the city.  I would just go ask the council and see what power they actually do not have.

So, I prefer an incumbent that will question this process; that will challenge the establishment and that will withstand the pressures and public scorn from a challenger that has aready demonstrated a disrespect for the city and its citizens…

Yes, I said disrespect!

Just ride down Palmetto Park Road and count the 56 campaign signs in the public right of way between 5th Avenue and Federal Highway.

Disgraceful!

But he does have the favor of the mayor, the three other council members, the city manager and the developer community who recruited him to be their rubber stamp for now and into the future.

People get the government they deserve!

I leave it up to you, the voter, to decide who you prefer,the incumbent, Councilman Anthony Majhess or the challenger, Frank H. Chapman.

Which of these two has the capacity and desire to continue the hard work in this city’s quest to actually be ‘great’?

 

AZ

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