Bill Posey

If you’re like me you talk to a few different Congressmen in DC or their staff on a regular basis.  Different issues require different key members of the congressman’s staff.  I have noticed that usually after the freshman year of a congressman that he generally changes.  DC is a tough town and I believe it could beat anyone up.

However that’s not the case for Bill Posey (R- Rockledge) Congressman Posey has not sold out his principles or ideals.  He is still an honest man in DC.  Posey has been instrumental in several pieces of legislation that were driven by the grassroots.  When people had issues with Barack Obama and the question of his birth certificate, Posey introduced a bill.  He has gotten a lot of flack for this and been nicknamed a “Birther” because of it.  However I believe he is simply trying to fix this issue for future elections.

When the Tea Party phenomenon caught on and grassroots were calling on Congressional members to accept the same health care coverage Posey Co-Sponsored it.  To close the space gap and help America not fall behind in space exploration Posey suggested extending the Shuttle Missions.  Posey is also very fiscally minded when it comes to our ever expanding National Debt.  He introduced a measure that would allow a Taxpayer to allocate $10 of their income tax return to help pay off the National Debt.  Bill Posey has also introduced HR 689 which requires bills be available 72 hours for the public before voting on them.

Posey is a welcomed face in DC.  We need more congressmen with the grit and tenacity like him.

Looks like Melony has picked up http://www.melonybell.com Currently the site is under construction.  The URL was picked up on 06-09-2009 Melony filed to run for County Commission District 2 as a Republican on the same day as well.  She did use a Florida based company for the development of her site

Heath Whiteaker was the first to file and run for the seat being vacated by term limited Randy Wilkinson.  Whiteaker filed to run as a Republican on 11/26/08 Heath launched his site http://www.heath2010.com on 12/01/08.  His site was developed using a local Polk County company.

Jacki Smith has also filed to run.  Jacki will be running as a Democrat.  She registered to run on 5/29/09 however she registered her URL http://www.jackismith.net on 09/01/08 before she had filed to run.  It is possible that this was the URL she had used previously for her failed attempt against Sam Johnson.  Smith seems to have used a company out of Denver, Colorado for her site development.  One has to wonder why she didn’t choose to go with a Florida or Polk County based web design company.

Longtime Fort Meade Commissioner Melony Bell has announced her candidacy for the District 2 County Commission seat in 2010. She is running as a Republican.

Bell, 47, has served on the Fort Meade City Commission, including three years as mayor, for 13 years.

“What I carry from experience with the city can make a great impact for the county,” she said.

Bell said she will formally kick off her campaign Monday at 4 p.m. with a reception at Fort Meade City Hall. Bell, a Winter Haven, native, has lived in Fort Meade most of her life.

She works as a compliance officer and auditor for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, where she has been employed for 28 years.

She said she plans to retire from her state job and devote herself to the commission job full-time if she is elected.

Bell has a degree in business and professional leadership from Southeastern University in Lakeland, which she received in 2008. She and her husband, Robbie, have two adult daughters.

District 2 covers southern Polk County from Lake Wales to Mulberry. She is the second Republican to enter the race. Heath Whiteaker of Lake Wales announced his candidacy in January.

The race has also drawn Democrat Jacki Smith of Kathleen, who said she is planning to move to the district.

The winner of the election will succeed County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson, who is leaving office because of voter-imposed term limits. County commissioners are elected countywide, but must reside in the district they represent while in office. Commissioners serve four-year terms and are paid $41,328 a year.

[Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. Read more views on county government at http://county.theledger.com.]  ORIGINAL LEDGER POST

It has started again, as it does every few weeks. The questions: “What’s Randy going to run for?” “Hey, do you know what Randy is going to run for?”