1Garbage Pickup Have you had a problem with your garbage pickup? What about local property taxes?Whos Responsible? All these day-to-day, quality-of-life issues are the responsibility of your local government: the mayor and the city council members of our towns, villages, and cities. Yet, the vast majority of registered voters never exercise their right to choose their local elected officials.

Its Unfortunate Its unfortunate that voters dont show the same interest in local contests as in presidential elections, even though local governments have a more direct impact on our daily lives. It seems that unless there is some big problem in the city, eligible municipal voters tend to leave it to a few to elect their local leaders.Past Voter Participation In Palm Beach Countys municipal elections:

In 2011 12.3 percent of registered voters In 2012 11.6 percent In 2013 10.9 percent. In 2014 Even more disgraceful?

Lets Go Scott Free in 2014 Municipal Election Issue #3 of 3

Why Local Elections Matter

March 8, 2014 SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH EVERYONE No. 14-5E

Senator McConnellWhere Are The Jobs?

Speaker BoehnerWhere Are The Jobs?

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Why Local Elections Matterby Susan Bucher

Supervisor of Elections, Palm Beach County

[Note: Susan Bucher is a non-partisan state official. She spends much of her time trying to get citizens to register to vote and to encourage them to get to the pollsno matter their political persuasion. ed.]

Potholes Have you ever grumbled about a pothole on your way home that hasnt been repaired and you just never have taken the time to find out who to call?

Emergencies Have you had to call 911 for an emergency, and the fire or police department showed up in minutes to save the day? Public Transit Do you have the need to use public transportation?Playgrounds Do you take your kids to the neighborhood playground? Drinking Water Have you ever wondered about the quality of your drinking water.

Low voter turnout generally favors

Republicans.

Do You Know If Your City Has A Municipal Election On March 11th?

See page 2

2[Continued on page 7, Municipal Election]

Do You Know If Your City Has A Municipal Election On March 11th?

Mail Ballots Were Mailed on Friday, Feb. 21. Did You Get Yours Yet?

CITY OF ATLANTIS Seat 1: Fred Furtado (Inc) - R Daniel Larkin - R Seats 3 and 5 are unopposed

CITY OF BELLE GLADE No election in 2014

CITY OF BOCA RATON Mayor: Susan Haynie - R Anthony Majhess NP Seat B: Mohamed Abdalla - I Michael Mullaugh - R Craig F Ehrnst - R Eric Gooden - D Seat D: Rosetta V Bailey - R Robert S Weinroth D Yaniv Alcalay - R

CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH Dist 2: Mack McCray - R Paula Melley - R Dist 4: Joe Casello - D Carmela R Nanton - NP

TOWN OF BRINY BREEZES Usually no election. When someone steps down, someone else steps up.

TOWN OF CLOUD LAKE No election in 2014

CITY OF DELRAY BEACH Seat 2: Richard Burgess - NP Chris Davey - NP Al Jacquet (Inc) - D Seat 4: Pamela Brinson - D Angeleta E. Gray - D Jordana Jarjura - R Victor Kirson - D

TOWN OF GLEN RIDGE No election in 2014

VILLAGE OF GOLF No election in 2014

CITY OF GREENACRES Council Dist III: Rochelle Gaenger (Inc) - D Judith Dugo - R

TOWN OF GULF STREAM 6 at-large candidates competing for 5 seats Robert Ganger - R Scott Morgan - R

Martin E OBoyle - R Joan Orthwein - R Tom Stanley - R Donna White - R

TOWN OF HAVERHILL No election in 2014

TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH Commission: Dennis Sheridan (Inc) - R Rhoda Zelniker - D **Ballot question: see below for wording and explanation.

TOWN OF HYPOLUXO 3 open seats and 4 people filed Linda Boone Allen - D Bradley Ross Boyle Michael C. Brown (Inc) - R Christine Nagy - I

TOWN OF JUNO BEACH Seat 1: Jason Haselkorn - NP Joseph Rooney - R

TOWN OF JUPITER Dist 1: Joe Charles Todd Wodraska - R

TOWN OF JUPITER INLET COLONY No election in 2014

TOWN OF LAKE CLARKE SHORES No election in 2014

TOWN OF LAKE PARK Mayor: James DuBois (Inc) - D Steve Hockman - NP

CITY OF LAKE WORTH No election in 2014

TOWN OF LANTANA No election in 2014

TOWN OF LOXAHATCHEE GROVES No election in 2014

** Shall the town of Highland Beach amend its charter to authorize the appointment of the Supervisor of Elections, Palm Beach County; the Town Clerk; and a Commissioner appointed by the Town Commission as the towns Canvassing Board?Background: The current Canvassing Board consists of the members of the Town Commission. In other words, if there is a contested vote, the ballots are reviewed by the current Town Commission (which gives the appearance of the fox guarding the henhouse). Highland Beach is the only municipality in Palm Beach County that populates its Canvassing Board with all of the sitting Commission Members and follows this procedure. The ballot measure mends this appearance of possible impropriety.

3[Municipal Election, continued from page 6]

TOWN OF MANALAPAN Seat 2: John J. Murphy (inc) R Clark Appleby

TOWN OF MANGONIA PARK Seat 3: Clarence R. McConnel (Inc) - NP Edward Earl Smith - D Seat 4: Ariyan Alipanah Kelisha Buchanan-Webb D Addie L. Green (Inc) - D

VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH No election in 2014

TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE 3 candidates for 2 open commission seats; no incumbents. James Bonfiglio - D Rich Lucibella - NP Roberta Wehr - R

CITY OF PAHOKEE No election in 2014

TOWN OF PALM BEACH Next election in 2015

CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS Group 3: Eric Jablin (Inc) - D Michael J Peragine - R Group 5: Marcie Tinsley (Inc) D Robin Deaton - R

TOWN OF PALM BEACH SHORES Mayor: Tom Mills - R John Workman (Inc) - R Commissioners Vote for two John Maffett - R Tom Sullivan - D Lisa Tropepe (Inc) - R

VILLAGE OF PALM SPRINGS No election in 2014

VILLAGE OF ROYAL PALM BEACH Mayor: Laurel Bennett - R Matty Mattipli (Inc) Felicia Matula - NP Martha Webster - D

CITY OF SOUTH BAY Seat 1: Esther E Berry (Inc) - R Kina Green-Phillips D Seat 5: R. L. Thomas Jr. NP Virginia K Walker - D John Wilson - D Charter question moved to Aug 26th ballot.

TOWN OF SOUTH PALM BEACH No election in 2014

VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA No election in 2014

VILLAGE OF WELLINGTON Seat 2: Anne Gerwig (Inc) - R Sharon Lascola - D Seat 3: Howard Coates (Inc) - R Matt Kurit - D

We Are The 99%We are the 99% is a political slogan widely used by the Occupy movement. The phrase directly refers to the concentration of income and wealth among the top earning 1%, and reflects an opinion that the 99% are paying the price for the mistakes of a tiny minority within the upper class.

According to IRS reports, as of 2009 all individuals with incomes less than $343,927 belong to the lower 99% of the United States income distribution.

4[Continued on page 5, Tea Party]

Bad officials are elected by good people who dont vote.

Im voting from home!

Are you?

Why Vote By Mail? No Waiting In Line Vote from the

convience of your own home.

Save Gas No driving, traffic, or headaches finding a parking spot at the polls.

Save Time No rushing to the polls (at 7 in the morning!)

Be Fully Prepared Use your computer to research candidates and issues.

Never Miss An Election Just mail in your ballot.

You Can Even Track Your Ballot Online at www.pbcelections.org

Make YOUR Vote Count (And verify that it was counted!)

You Can Change Your Mind You can wait and still vote Early or on Election Day.

No Questions Asked About address, name, signature . . . fight voter suppression!

Campaign Phone Calls and Mailers STOP since you have already voted!

Dont Stand In LineVOTE IN YOUR PAJAMAS

Request a Mail BallotYou can request a mail ballot until March 5th !

561-656-6200

After March 5th you may pick up a mail ballot at your Supervisor of Elections office, right up

to Election Day. For office locations, Google: Supervisor of Elections, your county

name, and state

Believe nothing that you read or hear until you check it out. Trash on TV is common. 80% of political

advertisingon TV, newspaper, or via U.S. Mailis intentionally

dishonest or downright lies.

Sleepwalking Toward PlutocracyMarshall C. Whitfield (1935-2012)

for Buzzflash At Truthout

Chapter 4How The Hell Did This Happen?

[Continued from Issue 14-4]

Think Tanks In the period following WWII, while corporations and wealthy individuals were still making business-as-usual donations to Republican politicians, a new elementpolicy institutesbecame a factor in the game. These "think tanks" offered the Plutocrats an opportunity to influence conservative ideology at its very source.

Rewards Naturally, the think tanks which best advocated small government and lower taxes were rewarded with the most donations. Over time, the think tanks became dependent on a lavish flow of dollars, and the Plutocrats attained effective control over Republican ideology.

President Reagan One of the more zealous true believers in this ideology was Ronald Reagan. In 1981, Reagan became President promising lower taxes and proclaiming that "government is not the solution to our problems; government IS the problem." That was the pivotal capitulation. At that point, the Republican party quietly and willingly became a de facto subsidiary of the Plutocrats.

Bribe In Unison It's worth noting that, in this process, no conspiracy or collusion was necessary between the various Plutocrats. They were and are united by sharing a common enemy: government regulations and taxes. They all bribe in pitch-perfect unison without even needing to talk to one another.

Tea Party Enforcers for the right-thinking think tanks, the loyal candidates, and the can-do

5[Tea Party, continued from page 4]Local Elections Are Like Professional Baseball

Often, voters feel that local Municipal elections are not important. But consider this: professional baseball is divided into two groups: the major leagues (the majors) and the minor leagues (the minors). The baseball clubs in the majors need a place where young players can develop their skills and older players can work on shoring up their weaknesses. A young player will usually spend some time in the minors before being recruited by a major league team. Without the minor leagues, major league baseball scouts would not know which players should be considered as candidates to be brought up to the majors.

The same is true in politics. Local politicians (county commissioners, mayors, school board members) develop their skills and abilities in the offices they have been elected to. Their communities can assess their skills and abilities (in the minor leagues) and scout them for higher office. If you, the voter, dont scout your minor league players, you are very apt to end up with political players, going to the majors, whose ideas are totally contrary to yours.

Sometimes players go up to the majors without playing in the minors. However, they are not unproven. They have performed in other venues of the game, such as high school or college. Can you think of any major league team which selects a completely unknown? In the 2010 elections many unproven players with no political history were selected by voters, not by their proven record, but purely by the emotion provided in false advertising of the moment. If someone who has performed as a school board member wishes to run for the Florida legislature, their actions as a school board member will tell you if they support your pothole-filling philosophy.

The Republicans have been building their minor league bench for years. This has put them in an excellent position to move up to other elected positions.

We need to set Democrats up for victory, not this year or next, but in 10 yearswhich is how long it will take to fill the pipeline. Only then will we garner enough candidates to be competitive and take back control of various offices.

Remember, when you vote in local elections, you are scouting players who may eventually run for the majors. Know your candidates histories...and vote for them! d.i.

Beltway lobbyists has always been their carrot, but the Plutocrats now have a stick. Tea Party candidates have become the Plutocrats' enforcers. As we all saw in the 2010 mid-term elections, if any Republican isn't prepared to drink the Plutocratic Kool-Aid, they can count on being opposed by a massively-financed Tea Party candidate in their next primary.

Moderates Eliminated Thus the Plutocrats control over the Republican party has closed like a vise. Respected moderates like Mike Castle were eliminated in the 2010 GOP primaries by Tea Party candidates. Remaining moderates like Olympia Snow are an endangered species. There is little hope that even a universally-admired Republican like Colin Powell could rise up to wrest control from the Plutocrats.

. . . little hope, but two remaining, puzzling questions: Many of the surviving Congressional Republicans are people of principle; how were they seduced into adopting the Plutocrats agenda? Next, how did these hijacked Republican standard-bearers then persuade millions of lower-income Americans to vote for the Plutocratss agenda and against their own interests?

Libertarianism It required a kind of alchemy. If that sounds medieval, its apt. The alchemy in this case is Libertarianism, a somewhat obscure but persistent political philosophy. Like the classic alchemists dream of turning lead into gold, it has never proven workable but has always attracted passionate believers.

6Check Your Voter StatusFor your peace of mind, its always a good idea to check the status of your registration and Vote-By-Mail application. You can quickly do that here: http://registration.elections.myflorida.com/CheckVoterStatus. (See sample below.) If you dont have a computer, phone your supervisor of elections officetheyll be glad to help you.

561-656-6200

Theres a Lot At Stake in 2014There are thousands of key positions up for grabs in Florida in 2014 many of them in your own backyard. Decisions made at the local level have a real impact and progressive candidates running for local office have been on their own for too long.

Local officials can decide whats taught in our schools and set priories for our towns and our state governments, but their campaigns are often waged with very little outside attention. Once you have voted, keep your eyes out for reports on how your elected candidates are doing. If they are doing well, vote for them next time they run. Keep them where they can make life better for workers and students.

Did You Know?Your vote has more of an impact

in a small municipal election than it does in a statewide

election.

7Political advertisement paid for by Robert S. Weinroth for Boca Raton City Council

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Republican Texas Judge Has Had Enough Of Republican Homophobia And Bigotry,

Switches PartiesIt seems that Bexar, Texas County Criminal Court Judge Carlo Key has had enough of the fire-breathing homophobia and racism of the Republican party. In a video posted to YouTube today, Key renounces his Republican affiliation and goes into quite the rant over why he has decided he will run for re-election as a Democrat.

I can no longer be a member of the Republican Party. For too long, the Republican Party has been at war with itself. Rational Republican beliefs have given way to ideological character assassinations. Pragmatism and principal have been overtaken by pettiness and bigotry. Make no mistake: I have not left the Republican Party. It left me. I cannot tolerate a political party that demeans Texans based on their sexual orientation, the color of their skin or their economic status. I will not be a member of a Party in which hate speech elevates candidates for higher office rather than disqualifying them. I cannot place my name on the ballot for a political party that is proud to destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of federal workers over the vain attempt to repeal a law that would provide health care to millions of people throughout our country.

Dan Isaacson, Editor

8Authorized and Paid for by Dan Isaacson, Editor and The Palm Beach County Democratic Party

Does Your Community Have A March Municipal Election in 2014?

Vote By Mail!To get your mail ballot:By Phone: Right now, before you forget,call your Florida Supervisor of Elections at 1-866-308-6739 and request an absentee ballot for all the elections through 2016. It takes two minutes.

NOTE: If you wish your mail ballot to go to an address other than your residence address, you must submit a request in writing.

Your vote is important!

Dan Isaacson, Editor

6055 Verde Trail South, Apt. H219

Boca Raton, FL 33433-4423

561-470-7258

What is a"Democratic Executive

Committee"?The Democratic Executive Committee is the official local county arm of the Florida Democratic Party.Objective of the Democratic Executive Committee The primary objective of the Democratic Executive Committee is to register (to vote) as many Democrats within its county as possible, during campaign seasons to identify vot-ers supportive of Democratic candidates, and to insure the highest possible base Democratic voter turn-out in all elections held within the county

As part of this effort the Democratic Executive Committee shall:

Advance the visibility and viability of the Democratic Party and its candidates within the county.

Insure that Democratic Party values, principles, and initiatives are effectively advanced and promoted within the county.

Engage as much as possible in local county affairs of interest to County Democrats.

The DEC shall seek to recruit Democratic Executive Committee membership in order to fully staff its precinct organization and other personnel needs and to raise sufficient funds to:

Effectively support the election of Democrats, To communicate with the public regarding

electionsand our candidates, as well as national, state, and local Democratic Party positions and initiatives.

Dan Isaacson, Editor

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Assistant Editors: Robin Blanchard, Debra Kanter, Corinne Miller, Nancy Morse, Diana Demarest

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