Tonight I had the esteemed pleasure to listen to Polk County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson and John Lindsey Jr. discuss running for Congressional District 12 seat being vacated by Adam Putnam.  Dennis Ross was notably absent from the event.  His assistant provided an excuse stating that he was making the rounds in Osceola County, which has a small sliver of District 12.

The candidates speeches were mediocre Randy Wilkinson did have a prop to help him start off.  He held up a princess tiara and said that he had brought it for Dennis because Dennis feels that he has been coroneted by the Republican Party.  Dennis has been absent from 3 events that both other candidates have been participating in.

Shortly after the speeches the question and answer period began.  John Lindsey really knocked it out of the park on this.   His views resonated with the general consensus of the group.  Both candidates took several questions, however I feel that Randy beat around the bush to get to the answer.  John was very clear and concise in his answers.

Both candidates said they would like to fix the 14^th amendment that allows for the offspring of illegal aliens to be automatic citizens.  This is in contrast to the voting record of the current sitting Congressman Adam Putnam, who has voted in FAVOR of amnesty for illegal aliens.

The primary for the District 12 seat will be one to watch, especially if you’re a liberty-loving individual such as myself.

Dennis Ross

Lakeland, FL – Dennis Ross, Republican Candidate for Congress in District 12, today called on Lori Edwards to publicly disavow or explain her connection to a push poll being conducted across district 12, by notorious push pollster, Sun Surveys.  Beyond engaging in deceptive questioning, the poll conducted a head to head ballot test of Lori Edwards v. Dennis Ross.  Either someone is conducting a poll for Lori Edwards or the Edwards campaign is.  Dennis Ross released the following statement after hearing of this push poll:

“This is the kind of thing voters are tired of.  If they are not outright lying about someone they are failing to do their homework.  In this case, it is both.  Lori Edwards should publicly disavow any knowledge of this poll or explain her connection to it and why she is conducting it.  Instead of asking the voters outrageous questions, Lori Edwards should answer questions about health care, cap and tax, card check, deficit spending, bailouts, and other statist legislation her leadership is proposing in Congress.”

After receiving information about the push poll, Polk County Republican Executive Committee Chairman, Gene Roberts, personally issued the following statement,

“As chairman of the Polk Republican Executive Committee, I was disappointed to learn that the Democrats, and especially U.S. House of Representatives candidate Lori Edwards, are engaging in inaccurate and incorrect accusations against Dennis Ross, Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives.  I have always believed that as a candidate you should run on your own merits such as character, integrity, previous record and stand on issues.  Once you start attacking your opponent by using negative and deceptive ‘push polling’ it shows that the candidate is desperate and afraid of losing the election.”

The “push” question, corroborated by several voters who received the call, asserted that Dennis Ross accepted a trip to Bermuda, paid for by a lobbyist.  This assertion is demonstrably false.

In 2006, then Representative Dennis Ross was invited to speak to a Reinsurance conference in Bermuda.  The trip was not paid for by a lobbyist, as asserted falsely by the push pollster, but was paid for by Dennis Ross himself.  Dennis paid for his own travel and expenses to attend the conference.  The only item not paid for by Dennis Ross was a conference dinner after the panel.  Dennis, however, made sure to check with the House of Representative General Counsel to make sure that it was within the ethics rules to participate in the dinner with other attendees and speakers at the conference. (Letter attached)  In addition, the people putting on the conference were not lobbyists, nor registered to lobby in the State of Florida.

The purpose of then Rep. Ross making the trip was to warn the industry that if they did not lower their rates, the State of Florida would get involved in their industry.  Unfortunately, they did not listen to Dennis and the State of Florida is now in the Reinsurance business and the taxpayers are on the hook for the over $4 billion of debt in the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.  If that was not bad enough, taxpayers are also responsible for the billions of dollars in debt of the government owned Citizens Property Insurance Company.  In other words, Dennis warned against Florida’s “public option” years before Congress tried it nationally.

The push poll, according to representations made by the callers, was conducted by Sun Surveys, a notorious push pollster.  Sun Surveys is based in Miami, Fla., and has an “F” rating from the Southeast Florida Better Business Bureau. An “F” rating means, “We strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known for its fraudulent business practices.” (http://www.seflorida.bbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=11011932)

After receiving calls about the poll, Ross Campaign Manager, Fred Piccolo said, “While it is unfortunate that Lori Edwards and her controllers in Washington feel they have to falsely attack someone to boost their poll numbers, the Ross campaign will continue to present a forward looking, positive agenda.  This agenda will include balancing our federal budget, paying down our debt, introducing real market reforms in health care, the economy, and education to put American citizens back to work, securing our borders, and empowering families to make the best choices for themselves.  But if Dennis is falsely accused of anything, rest assured, we will respond vigorously.”

Dennis Ross

The Following was a blog entry on Dennis Ross’ Campaign Site http://www.electdennisross.com ———-

Audit the Federal Reserve?  A recent Rasmussen Reports poll found that 75% of Americans favor auditing the Federal Reserve.  Opponents fear politicizing the actions of a Central Bank.  Both sides have very real and very legitimate concerns, but I believe transparency outweighs potential politicization.

In theory, the “Fed” as it is called, has noble goals.  Stabilizing the money supply, ensuring banks are stable, and engaging foreign monetary and banking institutions for the good of the global economy.  In short, the Fed controls the money supply.  But with such power, the Fed has also been given unbelievable authority while maintaining virtual anonymity.  In and of itself, unchecked authority and lack of transparency are a recipe for disaster.

The great Milton Friedman once said, “The Federal Reserve definitely caused the Great Depression by contracting the amount of money in circulation by one-third from 1929 to 1933.”  A fantastic interview he gave can be read here.  That, in a nutshell, is what the Fed does; expand and contract the money supply.  Recently, however, the Fed has intervened to “bail out” firms such as AIG and Bear Stearns.  (For a good article on why the current crisis is not a liquidity crisis and is more a perception crisis, see Newsweek here)  The decisions of the Fed affect all Americans as we have seen in our current recession.  Surely, you may ask, something with that much power is open to the taxpayer.  Unfortunately, the answer is no and that is why more than 282 Members of Congress have signed on to HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, and, if I am elected, why I will sign on as well.

Now, many argue that such an audit is unneeded.  They argue that the Fed is already audited by the GAO, although their open market committee is not.  This is to prevent politicizing monetary policy.  However, in such times as these, when trillions of dollars of debt are being added to our children and grandchildren, accountability and not a blank checkbook is needed.  Taxpayers deserve to know not only WHAT is going in and out of the Fed, but more importantly, WHY.  Provide the nation the reasons behind their actions.  Who knows, a majority of Americans might agree that these steps were needed, but they may not.

In the end, auditing an entity with the power to punish our children with mountains of debt, is a moral obligation of this generation.  While the Fed deserves its audit, so does Congress.  Spending, both under the current administration and the former administration, and under the current Congress and the former Congress, remains a disgrace.  Market manipulation through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, social engineering of the housing market by Barney Frank, and now, talk of socialized health care, are just more examples of a city and a group of people disconnected from reality.

Today, when Congress wants to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of private jets, we, the taxpayers have to ask ourselves how much more can we take?  In 2010, let us not forget.  I have not forgotten, nor will I ever.  It is time to take our Country back.

Lakeland, FL – Today, Polk County Commissioners Ed Smith, Bob English, and Commission Chairman, Sam Johnson, endorsed Dennis Ross for Congress, District 12. After receiving the endorsements, Dennis Ross said,

“To have the support of leaders like Sam Johnson, Ed Smith, and Bob English is both gratifying and humbling. Gratifying because they represent the very best of Polk County and know her citizens well. Humbling because Commissioners Johnson, Smith, and English are such capable conservatives, Republicans, and community leaders that I can only hope to serve in Congress with as much honor and distinction. I want to thank them for their trust and support. I look forward to working with them in Congress to build a better Polk County and a more prosperous 12^th District.”

Chairman Johnson and Commissioners Smith and English join many of their fellow elected officials and community leaders in endorsing Dennis Ross for Congress. They join:

Former Governor Jeb Bush

House Republican Whip, Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Va)

Florida Congressman Gus Bilirakis

Florida Congressman Connie Mack

Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan

Florida Congressman Tom Rooney

Florida Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite

Florida Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Florida Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart

Florida Congressman Jeff Miller

Florida State Senator Paula Dockery

Former Florida Congressman Andy Ireland

Linda Ivell, President, Florida Federation of Republican Women

Rev. Lynne Breidenbach

Jean Burt, Former Polk County GOP Chair

H. Paul Senft, GOP National Committeeman

To find out more about Dennis visit his website : http://www.electdennisross.com

Randy Wilkinson

Bartow, Fl – Randy Wilkinson announced today that he will be running for Congressional District 12.  Currently Dennis Ross (Lakeland), and Thomas Snyder (Winter Haven) have declared candidacy as Republicans. Lori Edwards and Doug Tudor are expected to be the Democrats in the race. Randy Wilkinson who is currently a County Commissioner for District 2 is term limited in his current office.  His term expires in 2010.

There has been much speculation about what Randy would run for. Randy Wilkinson who is currently a County Commissioner for District 2 is term limited in his current office.  His term expires in 2010. His announcement took place at Blunt park with a crowd of about  40 supporters.

Central Florida Politics was there to film this announcement.

Randy Wilkinson

Randy Wilkinson is currently a county commissioner (District 2) in Polk County. Everyone who is involved in politics in Polk County has wondered at one time or another what he was going to do for the 2010 race.  There has even been speculation that he was going to run for the seat being vacated by Adam Putnam for Congressional District 12.  If he chose to do this it would put him in a Republican Primary with Dennis Ross of Lakeland and Thomas Snyder of Winter Haven.  Ross has picked up many endorsements including Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Paula Dockery.

Other rumors for a Randy Wilkinson run would be for Florida State House district 66.  If he entered this race it would put him in a 4-way race.  Currently Leviticus Reed of Winter Haven, Ben Albritton of Wauchula, and Gary Newberry have filed to run for the seat being vacated by Baxter Troutman who is term limited.

What about running for School Board?  Randy previously served on the school board and could go back.  I guess we will have to wait and see.

Randy has planned an announcement on Thursday in Bartow @ 4:30.  The event will be held at Blunt Park, which is across the street from the courthouse.  If it rains the event will be held at 395 Tyler St in an old farmhouse.

County commissioners voted 4-1 todayto commit $1 million to help build a visitor center at Florida Southern College for its collection of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings.

The funding will still depend, however, on developing an agreement between Polk County and the private Lakeland college to ensure the money is spent for a public purpose.

State Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, told commissioners he supports the project, whose plans have been circulated in recent months for support, and he pledged to get marketing money from state tourism funds.

Commission Chairman Sam Johnson, who had to step down from the chair to second the motion, said he had struggled with the request before realizing the historic significance of the Wright buildings and their potential to attract more tourism.

Commissioner Bob English, who moved to approve the money, said the complex will make Polk County more attractive culturally to the faculty that is expected to move to Lakeland in connection with the planned development of the USF Polytechnic campus east of town.

Commissioner Ed Smith, who said he was uncomfortable committing $1 million in tax money when it was still unclear how commissioners are going to deal with the expected $49 million deficit in next year’s county budget, though he says he thinks the visitor center is a worthwhile project.

County Manager Michael Herr has asked county employees to take pay cuts, furloughs and other cost saving measures.  However it seems the county still has money to spend even though they are facing a budget shortfall. If they keep spending like this we are going to have problems similar to California.

County Commissioners just gave the approval on May 20th to buy 200 acres of land to create an Off Road park.  Even though a private off road park was just opened in Lake Wales SEE LINK

Seems as if the county just likes spending tax payers money needlessly.  It is yet another example of ever expanding government.

Portions of this article came from The Ledger

It seems that both sides hotly contest this issue.  However both sides seem to be out for their own personal interests.  Ducks Unlimited thinks that the issue is not allowing them to use the property that was purchased by the county for recreational duck hunting.  Environmentalists groups are opposed to the hunting citing environmental impact and killing of the birds.

I look at this issue this way.  The property was purchased with tax money.  If the county has a problem with people using the property for recreational use maybe it should just get rid of the property.  It seems that this issue has wasted way to much time in agenda meetings.

The county commissioners need to get with it!  If they are not going to allow people to take their dogs for a walk on the trails, allow duck hunting, or nuisance wild boar removal they need to offload the property.  It is not serving the citizens of Polk County if they are not able to use the property for what they want.

I recommend that the county allow a lottery type system with a quota on ducks.  The same way the Avon Park Bombing Range has functioned.  This will allow the county to generate some much-needed revenue and I believe it would allow a compromise

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?”