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Vinik Cabal In Absolute Panic Mode

November 2, 2018 - 6:00am

The Jeff Vinik-inspired Hillsborough County transit tax is in deep trouble. judging by the actions of his band of mercenaries.

Rena Frazier and Christina Barker, members of the failed team that could not sell the regressive tax increase to NAACP members two weeks ago, are begging voters to fill out general election ballots "from the bottom up."Below is a screen shot of Vinik pawn Christina Barker’s laughable post on social media:

The suggestion is inane. With so much passion at the top of the ticket, any voter following her advice needs his melon refitted. You can count the number of voters who might oblige on Jason Pierre-Paul’s right hand.

Vinik’s crew apparently has just stumbled onto the realization that with a cluster of state and local amendments and referenda on the ballot, voters are inclined to vote “no” overwhelmingly on issues they are unfamiliar with.

A reported poll, taken by proponents of the transit boondoggle, shows the tax winning, 48-43 percent.  Remembering the pasting that Moving Hillsborough Forward  received in 2010, the Vinik cabal is sweating bullets. Polls showed Moving Hillsborough Forward winning above 50 percent immediately before the election, but it was beaten down to 42 percent when the actual vote was taken.

In the last three weeks, opposition has coalesced: the NAACP, No Tax for Tracks, Americans for Prosperity, residents in Hillsborough’s unincorporated areas, progressive voters and independent businesses say they would absolutely get shredded by the new tax.

The latest black eye for Vinik came Thursday when the Tampa NAACP was targeted with a hate letter that included death threats -- less than two weeks after it came out against the proposed transit tax. The threats were leveled at all African Americans. Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum was specifically mentioned.

Addressed to NAACP President Yvette Lewis, the handwritten letter, postmarked from St. Petersburg, criticized the chapter for opposing the tax that would burden low-income families and displace a minority community.

Vinik has gotten this far by paying off ethically challenged local media, certain government agencies/officials, out-of-town grunts who collected signatures, and a gaggle of influence peddlers.

Tax opponents are concerned about the voting procedures, equipment, and ballot counting in the office of Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer. Tampa Bay Beat will have more on the conduct of the election tomorrow.

Jim Bleyer, a former reporter at the Orlando Sentinel and Tampa Tribune, writes the Tampa Bay Beat blog.

Comments

Exactly how many hundreds of millions of freely-given , publicly-owned, tax dollars do Vinik and Sternberg want for their respective enterprises? And, why is it that Vinik's handout is on the ballot and Sternberg's isn't???

From Camelot Florida <> REF: Transportation TAX Pass or Fail please share your solutions thanks: Letters to the Tampa Bay NPN Media With recommendations and alternatives for increasing Tampa Bay Regional Mobility while voting for-or-against the Hillsborough County 7% to 8% sales tax increase: 1. Use CIT monies – Community Investment Taxes should be used for Mobility. 2. Use the ad valorem taxes from the Tampa Port Authority. 3. Use Tourism Development taxes [ bed tax ]. 4. Consolidated all regional bus systems into ONE [ 1 ] Regional Bus System Consortium. 5. Use CIT taxes to fund CommUNITY Small Bus/Jitney Circulators. 6. Buy the CSX ROW – first complete the POLK Street MWAY east from N. Jefferson to Nebraska. 7. Freeze spending until we see a total REGIONAL PLAN MOBILITY [ RPM ]. 8. Use USF/CUTR The Center for Urban Transportation Research to create the plan. 9. Build a Regional Transportation Terminal around the St. Petersburg SPORTS and Tampa Bay Events Dome [ TED ]. 10. Implement a Hillsborough County/Florida State Graduated Sales Tax [ SGST ] that would generate the same additional yearly $280 million. 11. Add your recommendations here__________________________. 12. FMI: text Camelot Florida – your think tank at 813-784-4669 C/T

Lest we forget that the Hillsborough Republican Party is opposed as well! The tax deserves to die a quick death

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