In Which I Am Called Out On Hometown Democracy...

Here's a good comment about yesterday's column on Hometown Democracy. I thought I'd re-post it here for everybody to see, along with my reply that follows in the post beneath this one.

Troxler writes: "Let's scare people instead. Let's tell 'em taxes will go up, their kids will hate them, and more hurricanes will hit. "Oh, and let's also tell 'em that an evil, mysterious group known as the "electors" will be running Florida. Surely they won't stand for that."

Which, Howard, is exactly what the pro-HD folks do to get signatures, only they use different bogeymen, different lies. They say evil developers are to blame (the same ones that built their homes when they invaded, but they were OK to move here). They say the state will be paved and there will be gridlock and no water and concrete canyons. Yet you don't seem to mind this hyperbole because it serves your purpose. Do you want to make a fair analysis of this issue, or do you just want to get the readers' blood up? We know, it's the latter.

Not to mention that you and the HD folks conveniently forget that cities and counties do not have the final say on comp plan changes, nor are their decisions simple one-off votes. There are at least two and often many more public hearings and those changes have to run a gantlet up to DCA and back down again and must meet approval at every step. Even after those approvals, citizens can still challenge such changes and can even appeal to the point of an administrative hearing. So it's not as simple as you'd like to make it.

Florida has a long history of bad planning. The GMA [Growth Management Act] was a valiant if underpowered effort to correct that, and even it has been hobbled since. But to say that the process is completely corrupt and only a plebiscite will fix it is just plain wrong. For you not to point out the subtleties is even more wrong because, wonder of hyphosis and ignorance, people believe what you write, rather than figure it out themselves. You have an even greater burden to tell the truth, since your career is founded on the conceit that you right wrongs and afflict the well off. Unless you don't really care and just want the blind adulation of your raving minions. And you clearly do.

Troxler writes:
"As I keep saying, there is an interesting debate to be had on Hometown Democracy.

"But I think that Associated Industries and other opponents don't want one."

You don't want one either, Howard. You don't want a solution, you want a drum to pound.

Finally: So your premise (don't pretend to be neutral) is that corrupt officials are to blame and instead the people must vote. If voters are so smart, why did they elect the bad officials in the first place?

Posted by: nelson | September 18, 2007 at 05:59 PM

Comments

[cynthia bredeson]

howard, i am just ripped. my husband and i both signed the fore said petiton at the library in largo.
we both got big officious envelopes telling us of boogey men..we tore them up and then saw your pieces.
HOWEVER!@#$ i just got a phone call from that office just in case i did not understand what the nasty electors will do to me.
thank you for your articles. you wrote them before i could call the paper. but put this on the front page instead of britenny spears, etc.
thank you for all your work,
c.bredeson