
Welcome to The Dean's List -- an Ed Dean-style look at who Florida's political achievers were (and weren't) in the last seven days. What you see here is strictly my opinion, not necessarily the editor's or the rest of the staff at Sunshine State News.
THOSE WHO MADE THE LIST
Pasco County School Superintendent Kurt Browning. The school district is expected to receive $20 million in new revenue with much of that coming from increased property values. Some county school board officials take the added revenue as a green light to spend more money. Not so fast, says Browning. The superintendent warned that he did not want the school district to become “bloated” by spending money just because it’s there. Nice to see fiscal conservatism in action.
Port St. Lucie Mayor Greg Oravec. Port St. Lucie spends more money than it takes in. In fact, last year it spent over $3.5 million more than was allocated. That simply doesn’t work. Earlier this month, the City Council voted for an 18 percent tax increase with Oravec as the sole dissenting vote. Oravec wants to have a citizens budget advisory board so the city can get the local community’s input before any taxes are raised. So far, the board has not been formed.
Winn Dixie. Kudos to this grocery chain for sending profits generated during the busy Independence Day holiday sales to the Wounded Warrior Project's Independence Program. The Independence Program is intended to help war veterans who need to rely on their families and loved ones for support due to physical and psychological injuries
THOSE WHO DIDN’T MAKE THE LIST.
Tampa Bay Sierra Club. This environmental group backs raising a proposed local gas tax increase of 5 cents per gallon to fix road maintenance, claiming it will raise $25 million a year. But Brian Willis, the founder of Connect Tampa Bay, insists the gas tax proposal would do little to solve the county’s transportation problems. Opponents of the proposed gas tax increase say a better way would be to adopt a half-penny sales tax, which would raise $117 million. The Sierra Club has traditionally supported higher taxes on gas, arguing it will decrease vehicle emissions.
The Broward County Commission. Uber says Broward County’s over-the-top regulations will make the company end business there. The commission wants to run background checks and driver fingerprinting even though Uber already does that. Governments usually set the cab fares, which Uber is pushing back against. The county countered with wanting to force Uber to obtain chauffeurs’ licenses for its drivers and require vehicle permits. This is going to get uglier and there’s no hint of a quick resolution.
Melbourne City Councilwoman Teresa Lopez. Every year, Honor America organizes Melbourne’s annual Independence Day parade. The nonprofit group also operates the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum, the Melbourne Military Memorial Park, Veterans Day parades and ceremonies for Memorial Day and Flag Day. But at this year’s parade, Lopez spotted a Confederate flag and grew offended. The Confederate Sons Association and the Sons of Confederate Veterans were part of that parade and had the flag. Honor America's Executive Director John Tice, a city councilman in West Melbourne, pushed back, insisting Lopez is grandstanding and taking the issue out of context.
Ed Dean, a senior editor with SSN whose talk-show can be heard on radio stations across Florida, can be reached at ed@sunshinestatenews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @eddeanradio.