When I say shy, I don't mean timid and inhibited. I mean short, as in incomplete. Like, I couldn't go out for dinner, because I was shy the $20 I needed to pay for my meal.
There are three open Commission seats for the December 3, 2013 election, and you can vote for three people. Seven are running, so you can pick your favorite three. Do that. Pick the three you like best. If you pick fewer than the three you're allowed, the phenomenon is called undervoting.
Milton Hunter sent out a letter in which he catalogued the voting pattern in Biscayne Park over the past several years. Milton was talking about Steve Bernard and Steve's influence on a number of things, and Milton noted that since Steve became a Commissioner himself, the percent of undervoting in BP increased dramatically. What Milton seemed to be saying was that Steve encouraged people to vote for fewer than three candidates.
Last year, there was a campaign to move the BP election to the general election, to save money (we will pay less than half of what we've been paying) and increase (double) voter turnout. One of the arguments of the opponents of this idea was that the "stand-alone" BP election, detached from the general election, was somehow more community-oriented, intimate, and friendly. These opponents argued that they liked this quaint, neighborly approach, and they didn't want to lose it.
I don't know that that idea had much real merit (the majority of voters didn't think it did), but if there's something to be said for community friendliness and neighborliness, then we have to look back at Milton's point about Steve and the undervotes. If what Milton implies about Steve is correct, then it appears Steve acts in a way that is antithetical to friendly, neighborly, quaint community spirit, and instead, he turns a unifying community event into a war. Elections Bernard-style are not fun or friendly or quaint or unifying. They're marked by calculation, maneuvering, and manipulation. If he encourages people to identify usses and thems, and he advises adding affront to affirmation (voting against and avoiding, as much as voting for and endorsing), then his posture is disruptive and divisive. It's mean-spirited.
As I said, I don't know that having stand-alone elections is an important mechanism for preserving community spirit (I certainly don't think it's worth losing half the voters and paying much more for the loss), but I do agree that BP community spirit should be one of our defining features.
So don't undervote this year. Find three you like. If you can identify one or two you like, but you can't come up with a full slate, make a comment at the end of this post. Ask about us. Probe. Four of us (Roxy Ross, Harvey Bilt, David Coviello, and I) definitely read this blog, and it's possible Noah Jacobs does, too. Your question or comment will find its way to the person who intrigues or potentially interests you. I'll see to it that it does. You'll get a response. Make sure you leave your name, e- or street address, and feel free to leave a phone number. If you're reluctant to commit to that much exposure, send me your information privately, and I'll see to it that it gets where you want it to go. Write me at vbpblogger@gmail.com or fredjonasmd@gmail.com. Or call me at 305-891-5030. Just figure it out, so you can have all the voting to which you're entitled. You're going to get three Commissioners out of this race, so you might as well have something to say about it.
You can also contact candidates directly. I just gave you my info.
Roxanna Ross can be reached at rox@roxross.com, and by phone at 305-710-0620. David Coviello can be reached at lawdjc@gmail.com or by phone at 786-385-8953. Harvey Bilt can be reached at hbilt@aol.com or 305-610-4300. The others did not respond to my e-mail request for contact information.
"For the Best We Can Be." (See?)
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