Cover Story

Thursday, Jan. 24, 08

ELECTION MANIA

An Idiot’s Guide to the

Primary Elections

There’s a lot more going on Jan. 29 than just nominating the president

By Erik Bojnansky, Rachael Lee Coleman, Angie Hargot, Victor Thompson and Ben Torter

Don’t let the cafecitos at Versailles or national political party snubbings fool you –– there’s much more at stake on Jan. 29 than who wins the popularity contest in the Democratic and Republican primaries. So Indies, Greenies, No-Partiers and everyone else: Read up on the issues and don’t forget to take your driver’s license with you to the voting booth.

Aside from choosing your favorite presidential candidate, you’ll get to decide other matters involving property tax reform, slot machines, voting machines, a Citizens’ Bill of Rights, hospital districts, trial boards, bond issues and electing city commissioners.

For quick insights on these issues and candidates, read on. You may learn some really cool things or discover an election in your community that you didn’t even know about.

Presidential Primaries

Well, after all of the drama surrounding the boycott of Florida’s primary elections, it boils down to this: The Democratic Party doesn’t plan to send any of Florida’s 210 delegates to the Democratic National Convention Aug. 25–28, and the Republican Party only plans to send half of the state’s 114 delegates to the Republican National Convention Sept. 1–4 — all because the Florida Legislature decided to move up its primaries to Jan. 29. That doesn’t mean your vote doesn’t matter. The results of these primaries will be broadcast all over the country and likely will influence voters in Super Tuesday states on Feb. 5 as well as delegates. To be successful in the November general election, both parties really need to listen to Florida voters, since we are, well, the most finicky state in the country and we do carry a whopping 27 electoral votes, the fourth-largest in the nation. Perhaps both parties will get it together by then.

Democrats

Hillary Clinton

Dominant in recent debates and leading in delegates and the popular Democratic vote in the early primaries, Clinton is the candidate most prepared to assume the presidency. As First Lady to President Bill Clinton and later a senator from New York, she has been praised for her in-depth understanding of the issues, her deal-making ability and her stances on such issues as nationalized healthcare, foreign policy and national security. Among Democrats, she is seen as a centrist and is often criticized for having voted for giving President George W. Bush authority to launch the Iraq War.

Barack Obama

The senator from Illinois has converted his appeal and popularity into one win so far, in Iowa. His message of unity appeals to independents and liberals within his party, and he raised $90 million for his candidacy without taking money from special interest groups or political action committees. Unlike the candidacies of Shirley Chisholm in the 1970s, the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1988, the Rev. Al Sharpton and former Sen. Carole Moseley Braun in 2004, Obama is the first black candidate with a real chance of winning the Democratic nomination and the presidency. His opposition to the Iraq War and his history of anti-poverty work in Chicago are his strongest qualities, but many believe the political newcomer is inexperienced regarding foreign policy and national security issues.

John Edwards

Edwards is credited with highlighting the woes of middle and low-income families, but has not translated this into wins. The former senator from North Carolina emerged in 2004 as a potential presidential front-runner and later a vice presidential running mate to John Kerry. He is strong on domestic employment issues and healthcare and supports pulling out of Iraq, but is weaker on foreign policy.

Mike Gravel

The former senator from Alaska is best known for grilling other candidates about their stances on everything during several televised debates last year. Other than that, he has not been a serious contender.

Dennis Kucinich

The congressman from Ohio and former mayor of Cleveland is on the right side of every issue from the Democratic Party’s perspective: He opposes and voted against the Iraq War, favors renewable energy sources, shuns fossil fuel use, supports universal healthcare, favors gun control and opposes the death penalty. He is also known as the candidate with the hottest wife. However, he has trailed in every election so far.

Bill Richardson, Christopher Dodd and Joe Biden

These three candidates have ended their campaigns, though their names will be on the ballot. They are credited with challenging the front-runners on their foreign policy stances with their considerable experience.

Republicans

Mitt Romney

The former Massachusetts governor is the Republican Party’s leading candidate in terms of delegates, and its most controversial. Born in Detroit and raised in a political family (father George Romney was governor of Michigan in the 1960s), in college Romney became a Mormon, a Christian religion viewed with suspicion by evangelical voters in his party. His career in a Boston-based private equity firm helped him amass a personal fortune of nearly $250 million. He is credited with saving the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and he has raised more money than any other Republican candidate in this race. After losing a U.S. Senate bid against Sen. Ted Kennedy in 1994, he switched his abortion rights position from pro-choice to pro-life. He is known as a flip-flopper.

Mike Huckabee

This presidential long-shot has captured the evangelical heart of the Republican Party. After a surprising win in Iowa and placing within the top three candidates in every contest after that, Huckabee has emerged as the genuine religious conservative in the race. The former Arkansas governor and ordained Baptist minister opposes abortion, supports the death penalty and is often criticized for his belief in creationism, which states that God created the universe and shuns such scientific theories on the subject as Darwin’s theory of evolution. His Arkansas record includes supporting civil rights and expanding the state’s health insurance to cover low-income families and children without raising taxes. 

John McCain

The oldest candidate in either race also brings the strongest record on foreign policy, national security and political deal-making among Republicans. As a longtime Arizona senator, McCain led bipartisan efforts in campaign finance reform, immigration reform and, in 1994, to end the trade embargo with Vietnam, a country in which he had been tortured for more than five years as a POW during the Vietnam War. His consistent support for the Iraq War, despite the Bush Administration’s record, has affected his once-broad appeal, but has proven important to some of his wins in early voting states. His age and health — he is one of three candidates in remission from cancer — have also been concerns.

Rudolph Giuliani

Launched into the national spotlight for revitalizing New York City in the 1990s and managing the city’s recovery after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Giuliani has long been considered the front-runner for the Republican nomination. Unlike other candidates, he has rare cross-party appeal — he was tough on crime as a mayor and federal prosecutor, but he also supports an assault weapons ban — though he hasn’t cracked the top three spots in any of the primaries and caucuses to date. Analysts view his strategy of pursuing big wins in large states such as Florida as risky. His pro-choice stance and his personal life — he’s been married four times and has appeared in drag on national TV — has weakened his position among the party’s influential evangelical wing.

Ron Paul

The no-nonsense congressional representative from Texas broke campaign fund raising records last year by raising more money in 24 hours than any candidate for elected office — ever. Despite a rabid fan base, his maverick style and opposition to such cornerstone Republican issues such as the embargo against Cuba, the USA Patriot Act and the war on drugs has left him on the margins in early voting states so far.

Alan Keyes

Keyes is a conservative commentator from Maryland, former Reagan appointee and perennial presidential candidate since 1996. The Republican Party drafted him in 2004 to challenge then-Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate bid. (Obama won.) Keyes is one of the nation’s most prominent black Republicans, but he has been a non-factor in the race for the Republican nomination.

Fred Thompson, Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo

These three candidates have dropped out of the race, though their names will appear on the ballot.

State of Florida

Property Tax Amendment

The gargled cries of Floridians drowning in skyrocketing property taxes echoed through the hallowed halls of government buildings last year, and desperate politicians threw out a buoy that resulted in scant savings for homesteaded property owners.

Now Florida property owners must decide if they want more relief.

However, it seems a lot of people don’t know what they’re voting on, and the 500-plus words of lawyerly drivel used to describe it on the ballot aren’t likely to help. Since we want you to stay awake to read the rest of the SunPost’s fascinating and informative articles, we’ve printed only the first paragraph of the property tax question as it will appear in the voting booth.

Property Tax Exemptions; Limitations on Property Tax Assessments: This revision proposes changes to the State Constitution relating to property taxation. With respect to homestead property, this revision: (1) increases the homestead exemption except for school district taxes and (2) allows homestead property owners to transfer up to $500,000 of the Save-Our-Homes benefits to their next homestead. With respect to nonhomestead property, this revision (3) provides a $25,000 exemption for tangible personal property and (4) limits assessment increases for specified nonhomestead real property except for school district taxes.

So what does a yes vote mean?

First of all, Save Our Homes — which since 1994 has capped property tax increases on homestead property at 3 percent per year — will not be eliminated if you vote yes. There have been a lot of rumors that this ballot question is a veiled effort to screw homeowners by eliminating Save Our Homes. It is not, and anyone who says differently doesn’t know what they’re talking about. An earlier plan did erase Save Our Homes, but it failed. What does change is that the homestead exemption will increase from $25,000 to $50,000 of assessed property value, as long as your place is worth more than $75,000.

A yes vote also will remove the shackles chaining homesteaded property owners by allowing them to transfer up to $500,000 in savings to a new homestead property. As the system stands now, someone who sells a home and buys a new one would lose all their homestead tax savings. A yes vote will allow homeowners to transfer up to $500,000 of homestead savings to the new home, as long as it is worth more than the original home. If not, the savings would be proportional. So, if 50 percent of your home’s value was protected from taxes, 50 percent of the new value also would be exempt.

A no vote will keep more of what everyone’s been criticizing.

Sixty percent of voters must approve the measure for it to pass.

Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade County is asking its residents to decide three matters: when candidates should run for office, who should assess property taxes and whether slot machines should be allowed in pari-mutuel facilities.

County Question No. 1

Shall the charter be amended to move the candidate qualifying period for certain Miami-Dade County elected offices three weeks earlier, in accordance with state law?

Ever since the narrow 2000 presidential election, Florida has struggled with how to collect votes. In 2002, Miami-Dade County and 14 others dumped antiquated punch-card ballots and replaced them with touch-screen devices. Miami-Dade signed a $24.5 million contract with Omaha-based Election Systems and Software to provide iVotronic touch-screen machines. Besides having old software (the machines failed to turn on properly during the 2002 gubernatorial primary), many criticized the machines because they did not provide a written record of the votes cast. Then, following the lead of Gov. Charlie Crist, the Florida Legislature decreed that by August 2008 all counties must use optical scanners.

The county quickly drafted a new contract with the same company for the optical scanners, although it still owes Election Systems and Software $15 million for the iVotronics that it will phase out.

Voting yes means you are ratifying an administrative change that will smooth out the Miami-Dade Elections Department’s transition from touch-screen ballot machines to computer-scanned paper ballots. Specifically, it means that you support changing the qualifying period for the upcoming August 26 election — when the county mayor’s post, six county commission seats and several other elected positions will be up for grabs. Currently, candidates must declare their intention to run for office between June 24 and July 8. If the charter amendment passes, the qualifying period will be from June 3 to June 17.

Voting no means you may be dooming the county to spend as much as $2 million in overtime as the elections department struggles to accommodate the demands of the new system.

County Question No. 2

Shall the charter be amended to provide for the transfer of the duties of the county property appraiser from a person appointed and supervised by the mayor to a person elected and subject to recall by the voters?

Voting yes means that you feel the man or woman in charge of figuring out property values throughout Miami-Dade County should be elected — as in all other Florida counties — instead of appointed by the mayor.

Voting no means you support keeping things the way they are and are not too crazy about the idea of having a politician in charge of appraising property.

When it was drafted in 1957, the county’s home rule charter intended to separate politics from property appraising. Back then, the county manager hired and fired the director of the property appraiser’s office.

That changed in January 2007, when voters approved a strong mayor charter amendment that put the mayor in charge of hiring and firing department directors. Some county commissioners felt that the property appraiser, police director, elections supervisor and tax collector should be elected, and referred the matter to the Miami-Dade Charter Review Committee, which decided that voters should decide — at least regarding the property appraiser.

Some say that appointed property appraisers assess real estate at their highest and best values — which means property owners pay higher taxes. Elected property appraisers, on the other hand, would be held accountable to the voters. Critics, though, fear that politicizing the property appraiser would mean that the most politically savvy, instead of the most qualified, will be elected to the post.

(By the way, the current director of the property appraiser’s department is Marcus Saiz de la Mora. Although he has been with the department since 1984, he was only named interim director in January 2007 and director in September 2007.)

County Question No. 3

Shall slot machine gaming be permissible at existing horse and dog tracks and jai alai frontons in Miami-Dade County as authorized by, and subject to the restrictions of, state law and subject to state taxes on all slot machine revenues that must be used to supplement public education funding statewide?

This is the second time slot machines have come before Miami-Dade County voters in three years. In March 2005, 52 percent of Miami-Dade voters voted against slot machines. Ironically, 56 percent of voters in Broward approved the measure.

Voting yes means you are in favor of Las Vegas-style slot machines being placed at three of Miami-Dade’s pari-mutuels: Calder Race Course, Miami Jai-Alai and Flagler Dog Track. Slot machine advocates — including the political action committee Vote Yes for a Greater Miami-Dade — say a yes vote will draw $210 million for the state’s school system, $689 million in “additional business revenues,” 6,000 new jobs and $26 million for Miami-Dade County, the city of Miami and the city of Miami Gardens in the form of surtax agreements — all in the first year alone.

Voting no means you don’t want Las Vegas-style slot machines (or any other kind) in the county’s three pari-mutuels, and you would rather see them stick to gambling based on racing or jai-alai, high-stakes poker or dominos. Critics of slot machines — including the political action committee Truth for Our Community — say the tax benefit to Miami-Dade public schools will be minimal since the $210 million in revenue will be divided up among all of Florida’s school districts, the poorest citizens will be generating most of the tax revenue, most of the jobs will be low-paying gigs for unskilled workers and most of the business impact will flow to the casinos. Oh yes, opponents also say that there are already too many slots in South Florida, not to mention that slots are the worst form of gambling because they create zombies who throw away their money into machines that rarely pay out.

Various public figures and organizations are taking sides in the slot machine debate.

Supporters include state Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami; state Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami; state Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami; state Rep. Luis Garcia, D-Miami Beach; former Congresswoman Carrie Meek (hired as a pro-slots consultant); lobbyist Ron Book (also hired by the pro-slots side); Miami-Dade County Commissioners Sally Heyman and Dennis Moss; Miami Commissioner Tomas Regalado; Miami Mayor Manny Diaz; and North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns.

Opponents include former Gov. Jeb Bush, former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, state House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami; Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina (not related to the previously mentioned Julio Robaina); the Miami-Dade Humane Society and various Christian organizations.

Not stating any position on the issue: Gov. Charlie Crist, who has been trying to protect his agreement with the Seminole Tribe that will allow the state to tax its gambling institutions in exchange for Las Vegas-style slot machines (the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has a different form of slot machines), blackjack, craps and baccarat. Rubio filed a suit contesting the agreement. The Miccosukee Tribe delayed a similar agreement until the Florida Supreme Court hears Rubio’s suit.

City of Miami

Charter Amendment

Shall the Miami Charter be amended to establish a Citizens’ Bill of Rights to guarantee rights related to religion and conscience, speech, assembly and press, unreasonable searches and seizures, nondiscrimination, environmental protection, natural resources and scenic beauty and providing for remedies and construction?

Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who proposed the referendum aimed at homophobes and wanton tree murders, said the charter amendment reaffirms rights already granted to residents under the U.S. Constitution — with a few additions.

“The idea of this referendum is to allow the passage of an ordinance that allows no discrimination based on sexual orientation,” Sarnoff said.

Voting yes means the city will be able to build on the charter amendment and pass city codes forbidding discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender individuals, and providing the same protections that legally married couples now have to couples with civil unions.

“This will put us on a par with Miami Beach,” Sarnoff said, adding that Miami Beach has had codes for several years forbidding discrimination and granting city employees civil union benefits.

But the referendum does not just have humans in mind. It also will enable elected officials to pass legislation preventing property owners, the Florida Department of Transportation or anyone else from uprooting trees — a hot topic within Sarnoff’s district, particularly in Coconut Grove and the Upper Eastside. “Anytime you have it in your charter,” Sarnoff said, “you can build an ordinance from there.”

Miami Beach

Hospital District Charter Amendment

Shall the Charter be amended to provide that when a “Hospital District” is rezoned, such property shall be rezoned to a district or combination of districts with a floor area ratio no greater than the abutting land (sharing lot line), except that “Hospital District” property exceeding 15 acres may exceed this limitation if adequate buffers are provided to protect abutting uses?

The referendum rose from the politically charged quandary of what type and size of development should be able to replace the Miami Heart Institute, located at 4701 N. Meridian Ave., if it is sold by Mount Sinai Medical Center for nonhospital use.

The issue became central to the mayoral race between former Commissioners Simon Cruz and Matti Herrera Bower. Bower won, partly because she proposed this referendum, which defeated Cruz’s now-infamous $95 million bond debacle.

Voting yes means that if a hospital district is rezoned, the new construction must be compatible in size to the surrounding neighborhood. It also means voters would have to approve, by referendum, future hospital district zoning changes.

Besides the Miami Heart Institute, the amendment would affect the defunct South Shore Hospital at 630 Alton Road and Oceanside Extended Care Center at 550 Ninth St. Mount Sinai Medical Center’s main campus at 4300 Alton Road is exempt because it is greater than 15 acres.

Coral Gables

Charter Amendment

Shall the Charter of the City of Coral Gables be amended to delete Section 22, which calls for a special trial board to be convened to conduct hearings, investigate and render a decision as to the City Manager’s removal, suspension, layoff or reduction in grade of any officer or employee?

Voting yes for the referendum means you want the city to do away with the trial board, the last means for a city employee to appeal the city manager’s decision to fire, suspend or demote someone. Voting no means you don’t.

The trial board was established under city charter when Coral Gables incorporated in 1925. Yet, as a result of state and federal labor arbitration laws, and negotiations with the city’s three employee unions, the board hasn’t met since 1989.

But it will meet soon. Because city administrators are not union members, the former director of building and zoning, Margaret Pass, plans to appeal her termination to the trial board. Pass, a 23-year city veteran, was suspended in September 2006 and fired in October 2007 following the arrest of her administrative assistant, Jorge Reyes, for drug possession, and hiring what City Manager David Brown described as “ghost employees,” through a temporary agency, who received money (which was shared with Reyes) without doing any work for the city. Reyes’ arrest instigated a wider corruption investigation into the building and zoning department.

Pass, who has not been charged with any crime, will still be able to appear before the trial board, even if voters approve its dissolution, Brown said. But first it will have to be reformed through appointments by the Coral Gables City Commission and the city’s unions.

North Bay Village

Four referendums face North Bay Village residents  — three ask voters to allow the city to secure 30-year general obligation bonds for capital improvements; the other asks for permission to swap some city-owned land.

Although similar bonds were narrowly defeated last year, there’s a new twist in the financing this year. Passing any of the bond items means that the city (and its residents) will go into a certain amount of debt for the improvements. But, according to City Manager Jorge Forte, Commissioner Oscar Alfonso has sponsored an initive whereby the cost of the bonds to taxpayers will be offset by new and future developments. The city will reduce the millage rates for property taxpayers by enough to counter the cost of the bonds, replacing that money with development income.

Proposition 1

Voting yes for Proposition 1 authorizes the city to issue $9.4 million in bonds to “preserve the water quality of Biscayne Bay, protect open space from development and improve parks and recreational oportunities.” The city reasons that the Biscayne Bay waterway will be protected if parks are built on its shores, protecting it from runoff that would occur if the land were developed. The city could ultimately build anything from an exercise park to a dog park. If voters approve the bonds, the city would then hold community meetings to hash out what the city’s residents want built.

Proposition 2

Proposition 2 seeks a $7.9 million bond to “construct a Public Safety/City Hall Complex with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, whereby Miami-Dade County will pay the fire rescue portion.” The joint-use facility would include a new home for the city’s police department and a City Hall building. Citing mold and a deteriorating roof, city officials this month declared the current building, which according to county records was built in 1954, uninhabitable. City Commission meetings have since taken place in the Treasure Island Elementary School cafeteria; the city’s police force is slated to set up shop on the school property soon.

Proposition 3

Proposition 3 allows residents to determine how that new complex would be oriented. It authorizes the city to swap one city-owned lot, where that new City Hall/police/fire station is slated to be built, for another city-owned lot on the same property, putting the future complex on 2,746 square feet on the southeast corner instead of 2,854 square feet on the northern corner. The item presents no cost to residents and exists in concert with Proposition 2.

Proposition 4

Voting yes for Proposition 4 allows the city to take out a $2 million bond for landscaping and aesthetic improvements to the John F. Kennedy Causeway, which is considered a “gateway” to the city. The city plans to beautify the causeway. The money would pay for renovations to medians, landscaping, irrigation, crosswalks, sidewalks and lighting.

The city will hold a bond referenda meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at Treasure Island Elementary School.

Hollywood

Hollywood voters will vote on five of its seven commissioners, including mayor, and answer a referendum question.

On Election Day, residents must vote at their assigned location, but Broward early voters can go to any of the county’s 16 early voting sites. Although convenient, poll workers at the Hollywood Branch Library, the third-busiest early voting location in the county, identified about 20 voters by the wrong precinct, causing them to vote on Cooper City and Hallandale Beach touch-screen ballots. The mix-up could cause challenges to the election results from candidates and voters in all three cities, and may result in an expensive special election.

 

Mayor

Incumbent Mayor Mara Giulianti, 62, is defending the seat that she’s held for 20 years. Giulianti remains under fire for helping development interests and a year of controversy surrounding City Hall corruption — including the felony arrests of six city officials, among them a city commissioner, last year. She vows to improve the city’s beach, bury utility lines and implement a $100 million upgrade to infrastructure in West Hollywood and the business district surrounding U.S. 441.

Challenger and City Commissioner Peter Bober, 35, heralded as the anti-development candidate who vows to end the corruption that occurred under Giulianti’s leadership, promises to reform campaign finance and city lobbying, measures which Giulianti has opposed.

Little has been heard from often-recurring mayoral candidate J.R. Reed.

District 1

Incumbent Cathy Anderson, 73, has been elected eight times, and she has the backing of longtime supporters from her 25 years on the dais. Anderson was a driving force behind the city’s 2007 moratorium on beach development, a measure recently subverted by a new development master plan, which sets design standards and zoning rules for building on the beach.
Challenger Luis Prada, 60, a property manager and retired commercial pilot, says he wants to improve beach life, which includes giving beach residents their own on-street parking.

Realtor Patty Asseff wants to bring more businesses to that same area, while curtailing overdevelopment.

Former city clerk and retired attorney Sara Case, 71, is a citizen activist and former president of the Hollywood Council of Civic Associations who maintains an anti-high-rise platform.

District 2

Quentin “Beam” Furr and trucking company owner Peter Hernandez are duking it out in District 2.

Incumbent Commissioner Furr campaigns on a fierce anti-crime and redevelopment platform, having pushed for several capital improvement projects to revitalize areas of the city at the cost of city taxpayers.

Hernandez campaigns precisely on that sore spot, promising to curtail spending by the downtown Community Redevelopment Agency and to clean up areas of U.S. 1 plagued by drugs and prostitution.

District 3

In the fierce District 3 race, five candidates want to take the reins from retiring Commissioner Sal Oliveri.

Oliveri has endorsed Leonard Pete Brewer, 73, who promises to end an era of development lobbying the commission. One heavily lobbied project is the controversial Sheridan Stationside Village, a 1,000-unit residential project that threatens to exacerbate the heavy traffic around the Tri-Rail parking lot at Sheridan and Interstate 95.

Candidate Joshua Levy is a former president of the traffic-weary Hollywood Hills Civic Association and was outspoken during negotiations with another traffic-hiking development project: Memorial Regional Hospital.

Army captain Heidi O'Sheehan made a name for herself as a neighborhood preservationist when a Jewish synagogue operating in a residential neighborhood sued the city for discrimination for not letting it expand.

Candidate Charles Howell claims his skills as a certified public accountant and auditor can solve some of the city’s budgeting problems, especially in light of impending cuts by the Florida Legislature.

Thirty-year-old Hollywood native Thomas “Michael” Lynch is the youngest candidate in the election, and plans to focus on downtown parking and safety. The attorney campaigns as one of the election’s few Hollywood natives.

District 6

District 6 has two candidates in the running.

Edward “Ed” Holodak, 45, seeks to fill the vacancy left by Bober when he decided to run for mayor. Holodak, an attorney and former Planning and Zoning Board member, promises to focus on the embattled development efforts of the city’s CRA and reduce the millage rate. He also plans to revitalize the blighted western portion of Hollywood.

He is opposed by 65-year-old Linda Sherwood, a retired nurse whose platform includes hastening the state’s expansion of U.S. 441, which many feel will bring economic prosperity to the often-overlooked west side of the city. She criticizes her opponent for not having enough time to devote to the position. She is backed financially by area developers and has the support of the three city employee unions.

Hollywood Referendum Question

Voting yes allows the city to sell four city-owned properties in the future, with any deals subject to City Commission approval. The properties — located at 1911 Polk St., 1810 Taylor St., 330 N. Federal Highway and the eastern half of 421 N. 21st Ave. — include parking lots and a building that houses Hollywood's Chamber of Commerce.

The city has spent $25,000 on a media campaign to convince voters that selling the downtown properties will lure developers to build office buildings in the wake of a collapsing residential market. According to the city, the increasingly desolate area is plagued by empty storefronts, but could become a hotbed of retail and office space.

The city wants to create a 40-acre office district and return tax-exempt property to the tax rolls while attracting more employment and consumer opportunities. Critics fear overdevelopment in the city.

Comments? E-mail letters@miamisunpost.com.