Legislative Update with Pat Rooney
Peter Feaman on the dangers we face in the world
RNC member and county committeeman Peter Feaman, speaking at the RCNPB March meeting, provided a sobering assessment of the challenges we face in the world.
“The winds of war are blowing” he said, – in the middle east, in Africa, Eastern Europe, Pakistan, South America, and Asia – beginning anew the struggle for freedom for people from those who would deny them. History repeats – the Crusaders were the first freedom fighters, seeking to liberate the holy lands from Muslim domination.
America is a special nation to face this challenge, he said, – our Declaration of Independence was the first assertion that our basic rights come from God – not from a monarch. He defined for us the “American Trinity”, three principles that define us: 1. “In God we Trust” – stated on our money and the touchstone for our government, 2. “e pluribus unum” – the assertion that regardless of ethnic or racial origin, we are all Americans, and 3. Liberty, not equality – we all start out with equal rights and opportunities and have the liberty to pursue them.
Sadly, all of these principles are now under attack from our own government.
In Peter’s view, the contemporary leader who is the best spokesman for liberty, the Churchill of our day if you will, is Bibi Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister has no problem is laying out that Iran and ISIS both plan world domination – they only differ on who should rule. As Israel is our only natural ally in the middle east, a country that shares our values, we should have a litmus test for our presidential candidates, asking what they will do for Israel.
We are fortunate to have someone with this world view representing us on the RNC.
Peter Feaman on March 24
Club Hears County Government Update from Commissioner Hal Valeche
At its first meeting of 2015, Commissioner Hal Valeche swore in this year’s officers and gave us an update on some topics of interest at the county level.
Elected to the commission in 2012, a Republican success in an otherwise dismal election cycle, Hal has enjoyed his time on the commission, the “best job” he’s had short of his days as a fighter pilot. Representing north county district one as one of only 2 Republicans on the seven member commission (Steve Abrams of district 4 in south county is the other), Hal does not always prevail. He was the only commissioner to oppose the 1 cent hike in the bed tax for example, which recently passed.
Addressing the county budget, he acknowledged that the half a billion Sheriff’s portion is not totally under the control of the commission, and is crowding out other necessary spending such as on roads and bridges. The Sheriff is an elected constitutional officer, and although the overall spending level must be set by the commission, they have no purvey over the line item detail, and the Sheriff’s popularity in his service area limits the commission’s ability to challenge him. (Only Commissioner Paulette Burdick challenged the Sheriff’s budget in the last cycle).
An upcoming duty that Hal is not looking forward to is the selection of the next County Administrator. With high praise for the current administrator Bob Weisman, who he said can never be ‘replaced’, he discussed the search committee that has been formed to choose among a couple of in-house choices and others drawn from nation-wide recruiting, and how difficult it will be to decide on the candidates in full public view. (Sunshine laws prohibit private interviews or non-public discussion).
Touching briefly on the upcoming decision concerning development in the Agricultural Reserve (West of the turnpike from Lantana south to Clint Moore), he explained the tradeoff between the rules established when the reserve was formed with a taxpayer approved bond issue and the wants and needs of current property owners who would like to sell their farms to developers. Another tough decision for the commissioners.
And finally he touched on the baseball stadium, which he has been involved with since it was first proposed in Palm Beach Gardens. The county has approved $135M from bed tax revenue to pay for the construction and maintenance of a facility – currently proposed within West Palm Beach south of 45th street. A current sticky point has been that the county must acquire the land from the city of West Palm Beach, which takes it out of the city’s taxing jurisdiction. The city proposes a land swap for a small county parcel downtown, near the TriRail station. Although this swap has been opposed by county staff, Hal indicated that it is very close to a resolution.
Taking a few questions from the audience, Hal explained further the relationship between the commission and the Sheriff (it’s complicated), the county’s role in the All Aboard Florida project (very little), and how and why the original $90M baseball proposal grew to $135M.
Following Hal’s remarks, he swore in the new officers (shown below). They are Ron Nelson, Jane Pike, Linda Stoch and President Marilyn Parmet.
County Commission Update with Hal Valeche
Invites you to a county update with
District 1 Commissioner Hal Valeche.
Hal will speak about the top issues facing the commission over the next several months.
With the taxpayer-funded baseball stadium now more likely, All Aboard Florida and its impact on the northern communities, development of the Ag. Reserve and Minto West, not to mention the burgeoning county budget, there will be lots to talk about. Hear Hal’s take on these issues and much more.
5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club
Grande Corniche PBG, FL 33410
Please RSVP to Marilyn Parmet
561.427.8578
marmaid12@aol.com
RCNPB Holiday Party
Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera at Frenchman’s Reserve
Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches
and the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches
Invite you to a Rally
Featuring
Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera
Please join us on Tuesday October 28 at 5:00pm at Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club.
He was born in Madrid, Spain.
Lopez- Cantera graduated from Miami-Dade College and continued his studies at the University of Miami, where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration.
From 2004 through 2012, Carlos served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives. He served as Majority Whip from 2009 through 2010 and as the Majority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives during the final two years of his term from 2010 through 2012.
In August 2012, the citizens of Miami-Dade County elected Carlos Lopez-Cantera as the Property Appraiser of Miami-Dade County.
Carlos Lopez-Cantera was appointed as Lieutenant Governor on January 14, 2014, and officially began serving on February 3, 2014. He is the first Hispanic to hold this position in Florida.
Carlos is married and has two young daughters.
5:00 PM
Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club
3370 Grande Corniche,
Palm Beach Gardens.
Please RSVP to:
CFO Jeff Atwater at Co-Sponsored Event
Co-sponsored by the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches and the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, Florida CFO and Palm Beach County favorite son Jeff Atwater joined us for lunch at Bear Lakes.
CFO Jeff Atwater at September Lunch
Join us on Friday, September 26, at Bear Lakes for Florida CFO and local favorite Jeff Atwater. Running for his second term, Jeff will update us on his campaign and what’s happening in Tallahassee these days.
This event is co-sponsored with the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches.
A fifth generation Floridian, Jeff Atwater was born in 1958 and lives in North Palm Beach. He has a BS in Finance and an MBA from the University of Florida and prior to starting a political career, has worked as a community banker for more than 25 years. He served on many local boards, including the NPB Chamber, United Way, the Boy Scouts and Roger Dean Stadium.
Elected to the North Palm Beach City Council in 1993, he served as Vice Mayor, then was elected to the Florida House in 2000, and the Senate in 2002, becoming Senate President from 2008-2010.
In 2010, in his first statewide race for Chief Financial Officer, he defeated Democrat Loranne Ausley with 57% of the vote.
As CFO he has opened the state’s books to the public through a comprehensive website, including audits and vendor contracts in addition to detailed budget information. In other initiatives, he has pushed for insurance reform and prosecution of insurance fraud, particularly associated with PIP (Personal Injury Protection) claims for staged accidents.
$20/Members $25/Guests
Pay at the door (RSVP “No Shows” will be invoiced.)
Make sure you submit your RSVP in advance by clicking on our link below:
PO Box 2585
West Palm Beach, FL 33402
(561) 855-0749
Adam Putnam Describes the Stakes in the November Election
By Meg Shannon, Republican Club of the Palm Beaches
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam was the featured speaker at a joint meeting of the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches and the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, He told the audience that Florida is the last bastion of large states that are not blue in color, and if the Governorship is lost, Florida will look more like Michigan, New York, Ohio and California.
Florida needs to stay conservative by keeping Republicans as the Governor, the Attorney General, the Chief Financial Officer and, the Agriculture Commissioner, and as the majority party in the Florida House and Senate. Pointing out that Republicans are the ones with solutions in the country, he noted that in Florida Republicans have created an environment for businesses to succeed and families to thrive. Palm Beach County is the perfect example of the American Dream. Noting that the current culture of problem solving is fragile, he reminded the audience that just a few years ago Time Magazine had a cover story calling Florida the “Sunset State”, claiming that tourism, real estate, the manufacturing base and diversity in the economy were all dead. At the same time the Wall Street Journal had front page stories claiming that Florida had a 15 to 20 year glut of condos.
Today, 5 years later, with a Republican Governor, Florida leads the nation in job creation, crime is at a 43 year low, and it has a balanced budget after paying off $5 Billion in debt and putting $3 Billion into a savings account in case of hurricanes. Florida and Texas are succeeding, with our chief competitors being states in the southeast like the Carolinas and Tennessee which, like Florida, have low taxes and low regulatory burdens. Florida can set its own destiny, with things in Washington broken for the foreseeable future.
Hilary Clinton, wants a Democratic Governor in Tallahassee to help bolster her presidential run. The potential opponent to Governor Scott is likely to be Charlie Crist who has changed his mind on every single issue of conscience. He has no compass. People can respect leaders who hold beliefs, but someone like Crist undermines public confidence. We need to be energized to keep him from being re-elected as he has morphed from a Republican to an Independent and now to a Democrat. While Crist left the state with many problems when he left the Governorship, we want to make Florida better by improving tourism, engaging in the shale gas revolution, bringing back Pratt Whitney, developing biotech, and creating more medical cities. Florida is not just a prize to be enjoyed later in life, it can be the American Dream now for many people. That’s why our leadership is so important.
Why is having a Republican Governor so important? The Florida Constitution requires that we re-write it every 20 years, so the next Governor will have the right to name half of the committee which will do this. Clubs like ours are in the front line of grass roots activism to keep Republicans in control of our state. In 2010 Republicans were passionate and committed, and this is what is needed this year. Nothing is more persuasive than our supporters talking to their neighbors one-on-one. It is much more important than any advertising done during a campaign. The other side has put legalizing medical marijuana on the ballot to energize their base and increase turnout. We all need to pull together for the good of the state by continuing the pro-business, pro-family environment we have created in Florida.
