A setback for Hometown Democracy

In a blow to the Hometown Democracy effort, a Leon County circuit judge today upheld a change in state law allowing people to revoke their signatures on an initiative petition within 150 days.

The suit was brought by Leslie Blackner and other forces behind Hometown Democracy, which aims to slow growth by requiring voter approval for comprehensive-plan changes.

"The revocation provisions do not place any additional requirement or burden on the elector who intends to sign a petition, or to vote on the initiative once it is placed on the ballot," Judge Charles A. Francis wrote. "The revocation provisions do in fact grant the elector more power over his signature and decision to support the placement of an initiative on the ballot."

Homtetown Democracy will appeal. Said Blackner, "The long knives are out to take Florida Hometown Democracy off the ballot.  I have heard from voters who signed the petition who are being bombarded with lies to get them to revoke.  I wonder how anything to help the average person ever gets accomplished in Florida. "

 

Comments

The average person can't ever get anything accomplished with a do-nothing governor that wastes his time making YouTube videos.

Leslie:

Please show us a GoogleEarth photo of your house in Palm Beach and then lecture us a little more about how building more houses on 'fragile ecosystems' is a such a terrible thing. If you don't have a sense of humor, at least have a sense of irony.

Its so much easier and cheaper to get surplus signatures than it is to revoke signatures. Any decent petiton circulating group can overcome an opposition group by collecting a lot more signatures than necssary. Give yourself a big cushion - invalid signatures will be a bigger concern than revoked signatures.

Leslie, this is great news this allows you to demonstrate how popular your movement is by facing the same challenges ever other group hoping to change our constitution has to face. The secret is out the more voters learn about your extreme agenda. The more they oppose it. That’s why voters are moving to revoke there petitions.

[Paulette Darow]

Please rememeber this is America
where freedom rule!

[paulette darow]

we will fight until the end!

[Paulette Darow]

we will fight until the end!

[paulette darow]

We're winners and winners do not
quit! so the battle is on.

[peggy]

Hometown Democracy started in St Pete Beach. It was an extreme breakdown of class. The working class poor neighborhoods want it. The rich jazzed up newer homes did not.

Did it occur to you, The Sembler builders got FREE property from St Pete and then a MILLION DOLLAR LOAN they didnt have to pay back to build Baywalk? What a deal. Wont have to pay it back and used the property to leverage loans so he could invest in other properties.

The Semblers of the Florida landscape, and the "pay to play" for GOP donations smear money on a city or county candidate that will VOTE FOR pro building zoning issues. The reason your taxes go up is the remaining land has a real expensive building on it. Does it make sense you vote AGAINST two or three commissions costing you another $3000 a YEAR in taxes? And then the insurance goes up because the parcels are ALL on waterfront in that area.

So tell me what is wrong with a final check and balance to make sure your newly election Commissioner DOESNT get greased? Hometown Democracy is for me!We cant ALL live in tents, because the working class needs somewhere to live.

[Omega83]

peggy - when a developer wants to build affordable housing units, sometimes a comp plan change is necessary. Under Hometown, that comp plan change would require a yes or no vote by the entire county in which its proposed. If it gets voted down, those affordable housing units don't get built. And when they don't get built, supply doesn't increase while demand does, and guess what that does to the price?

Passing Hometown will do more harm to the availability of affordable homes for the working class you mention than you can imagine. If you truly are concerned about that, you'd be insane to support this awful amendment.

[Nikki]

This is rather funny really. I just came from a Transportation Planning meeting in downtown Orlando, and I was the ONLY normal citizen there. Everyone else was there to make a presentation for the board. But now, you want to pass an amendment to do what? So you can do more of nothing to actually guide the future of Florida? Thankfully, even though the PUBLIC who will be making these votes after hometown didn't even bother to show up, the board approved a plan to put in a light rail between the convention center and the airport. One of the first questions asked by the board was how it was going to reduce traffic congestion and help the citizens AND there was unanimous concern for the environment.

But hey, after hometown passes and everyone votes to put in affordable housing in their neighborhoods for the poor and ethnically diverse population, our problems will be solved, right?

when is the People's Governor going to come out and say anything on the Hometown issue? This guy is polling at 70% still. If he would come out and oppose this thing, it would be over tomorrow.