From Progressive America at Daily Kos comes this diary based on a Miami Herald article:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/13/105055/065
The Democrats need to find and support good state and local candidates in 2008, but we also have to build our image as a party. I hope all of us are working with our DECs to make that happen.
Showing posts with label Democrats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democrats. Show all posts
Monday, August 13, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Majority of the Majority
Progressives have been mightily unhappy with the performance of the newly elected Democratic Congress. While there have been some successes such as the minimum wage increase, ethics reform and the expansion of SCHIP, the children's health care program, there have been some notable failures and setbacks.
The failure to change course in Iraq and the miserable kneel down to Bush on warrantless wiretapping are two of the biggest failures. And yet these things happened with majorities of Democrats voting against them.
When Dennis Hastert was Speaker of the House, he had a rule. He called it the Majority of the Majority. What was this rule and how could it help the Democrats legislate as Democrats? Follow me below the fold...
In a little noticed speech in 2003 Hastert said:
Something broader than the majority of the majority? How about the Constitution of the United States? 77% of Democrats opposed the so called Protect America Act giving the Bush administration more warrantless wiretapping powers. Under the majority of the majority rule, this bill would not have even come up for a vote.
Democrats have it within their power to make change in America. They were elected to the majority in 2006 to make change in America. If they would use the majority of the majority rule, we would have change in America.
The failure to change course in Iraq and the miserable kneel down to Bush on warrantless wiretapping are two of the biggest failures. And yet these things happened with majorities of Democrats voting against them.
When Dennis Hastert was Speaker of the House, he had a rule. He called it the Majority of the Majority. What was this rule and how could it help the Democrats legislate as Democrats? Follow me below the fold...
In a little noticed speech in 2003 Hastert said:
The job of speaker is not to expedite legislation that runs counter to the wishes of the majority of his majority.What is the significance of this rule? How did Hastert use it? The rule first gained wide spread notice in late 2004. That is when the House scuttled a vote on a Conference Report on the Intelligence Reform Bill. Here is what the Washington Post had to say:
Hastert elected to keep it from reaching a vote, even though his aides said it could have passed with a minority of GOP members and strong support from the chamber's 206 Democrats.Hastert was, of course, roundly criticized by House Democrats back then. Then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi:
(Republicans) like to talk about bipartisanship. But when the opportunity came to pass a truly bipartisan bill -- one that would have passed both the House and Senate overwhelmingly and would have made the American people safer -- they failed to do it.Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has apparently not changed her opinion of the Majority of the Majority rule. After the Iraq supplemental funding bill was passed without withdrawal time lines in May, despite 61 percent of House Democrats voting against it, Pelosi said:
I’m the Speaker of the House. I have to take into consideration something broader than the majority of the majority.Something broader than the majority of the majority? Suppose the Democrats enforced the majority of the majority rule back in May? No supplemental Iraq funding bill without time lines would have been brought to the House floor for a vote. This would have necessitated a decrease in troop levels or a complete withdrawal, something 66 % of Americans support.
Something broader than the majority of the majority? How about the Constitution of the United States? 77% of Democrats opposed the so called Protect America Act giving the Bush administration more warrantless wiretapping powers. Under the majority of the majority rule, this bill would not have even come up for a vote.
Democrats have it within their power to make change in America. They were elected to the majority in 2006 to make change in America. If they would use the majority of the majority rule, we would have change in America.
Friday, June 22, 2007
SD-3: Suzan Franks, In Her Own Words
The special election to be held on Tuesday, June 26, is important to the future of Florida and our district. The choices couldn’t be clearer - an experienced leader with a record of real accomplishments for the voters, versus a special interest candidate fueled by outrageous amounts of money. The 3rd district deserves a Senator who brings a fresh perspective and new ideas for solving Florida’s growing problems. I am that candidate, with extensive experience in the areas of economic development, education, the environment, and agriculture.
My name is Suzan Franks, and I live in Hernando, in Citrus County, with my husband of 27 years, Rick. We have three grown children. I have over 23 years of elected public service in offices ranging from the School Board, to State Representative. As an independent thinker, I’ve had a long history of being able to work with people on both sides of the aisle. The job of a State Senator is, after all to work together for the good of all the citizens of Florida, while at the same time protecting the interests of the district they represent.
The immediate problems facing Floridians are skyrocketing insurance costs, a convoluted property tax structure, slipping education rankings, and our environment. The root cause of many of these problems is the State Legislature itself. For the last few years they have taken it upon themselves to pass an increasing number of unfunded mandates down to our counties and cities. An example of this is school funding. Here’s how it works.
They passed legislation requiring the counties to increase education funding by over seven percent. But they didn’t bother to send the funding for this increased spending. The counties, now required by law to increase education funding, have to find funds. They have a choice. They can cut needed services such as police or firemen. Or they can stop repairing roads and close parks. Or they can find new revenue, such as raising sales taxes or property taxes. This puts the counties in a quandary and eventually your taxes go up. There’s a major problem with this approach - it’s illegal. Article VII, section 18 of the Florida Constitution says they’re not allowed to do this.
This gives the legislature, of which my opponent is a part of, the opportunity to crow about how they increased education funding, and at the same time chastise the counties for not living within their means. They don’t tell you that they just raised your taxes. It’s sort of like a relative on a spending spree with your credit card, and you don’t know about it until you get the bill. After I’m elected, the first piece of legislation that I introduce will call for and end to this practice, and refund the monies spent by the counties to be repaid.
Tourism plays a major part in our economy, and it’s mostly related to our diverse ecology. Our beaches, wetlands, and wildlife are all part of the economic engine that is Florida. We have to protect these resources and our finite water supply for the good of all Floridians by encouraging sensible development, and making sure environmental regulations are enforced.
With my experience in education, I will lead the fight to restore excellence to Florida’s public schools. Our children are our investment in our future. College tuition rates are too high, and we’re denying a lot of our children the chance to make a good living and saddling them with an enormous debt on graduation day.
The difference between the two campaigns is like night and day. I’ve been traveling around the district, geographically Florida’s largest, meeting people and talking with them about their concerns. The Republicans sit in Tallahassee and send out mailers. The message that I get, is that people in Tallahassee are out of touch with their constituents. Recently, the Republican Party sent out a mailer to some residents telling them that their drinking water was unsafe, and that they had shoddy roads. The residents knew this wasn’t true, and it even angered the Republicans in the area. The same day the mailer was sent, my opponent was at a fundraiser and pocketed $60,000 from his real “constituents”. If they’ll lie to you about something like this, what else will they lie to you about?
So, now they’re relying on the same tired old tactic, yelling “She’s a liberal”! I seem to remember Mel Martinez calling Bill McCollum a liberal in 2004. You couldn’t believe them then. You shouldn’t believe them now.
My name is Suzan Franks, and I live in Hernando, in Citrus County, with my husband of 27 years, Rick. We have three grown children. I have over 23 years of elected public service in offices ranging from the School Board, to State Representative. As an independent thinker, I’ve had a long history of being able to work with people on both sides of the aisle. The job of a State Senator is, after all to work together for the good of all the citizens of Florida, while at the same time protecting the interests of the district they represent.
The immediate problems facing Floridians are skyrocketing insurance costs, a convoluted property tax structure, slipping education rankings, and our environment. The root cause of many of these problems is the State Legislature itself. For the last few years they have taken it upon themselves to pass an increasing number of unfunded mandates down to our counties and cities. An example of this is school funding. Here’s how it works.
They passed legislation requiring the counties to increase education funding by over seven percent. But they didn’t bother to send the funding for this increased spending. The counties, now required by law to increase education funding, have to find funds. They have a choice. They can cut needed services such as police or firemen. Or they can stop repairing roads and close parks. Or they can find new revenue, such as raising sales taxes or property taxes. This puts the counties in a quandary and eventually your taxes go up. There’s a major problem with this approach - it’s illegal. Article VII, section 18 of the Florida Constitution says they’re not allowed to do this.
This gives the legislature, of which my opponent is a part of, the opportunity to crow about how they increased education funding, and at the same time chastise the counties for not living within their means. They don’t tell you that they just raised your taxes. It’s sort of like a relative on a spending spree with your credit card, and you don’t know about it until you get the bill. After I’m elected, the first piece of legislation that I introduce will call for and end to this practice, and refund the monies spent by the counties to be repaid.
Tourism plays a major part in our economy, and it’s mostly related to our diverse ecology. Our beaches, wetlands, and wildlife are all part of the economic engine that is Florida. We have to protect these resources and our finite water supply for the good of all Floridians by encouraging sensible development, and making sure environmental regulations are enforced.
With my experience in education, I will lead the fight to restore excellence to Florida’s public schools. Our children are our investment in our future. College tuition rates are too high, and we’re denying a lot of our children the chance to make a good living and saddling them with an enormous debt on graduation day.
The difference between the two campaigns is like night and day. I’ve been traveling around the district, geographically Florida’s largest, meeting people and talking with them about their concerns. The Republicans sit in Tallahassee and send out mailers. The message that I get, is that people in Tallahassee are out of touch with their constituents. Recently, the Republican Party sent out a mailer to some residents telling them that their drinking water was unsafe, and that they had shoddy roads. The residents knew this wasn’t true, and it even angered the Republicans in the area. The same day the mailer was sent, my opponent was at a fundraiser and pocketed $60,000 from his real “constituents”. If they’ll lie to you about something like this, what else will they lie to you about?
So, now they’re relying on the same tired old tactic, yelling “She’s a liberal”! I seem to remember Mel Martinez calling Bill McCollum a liberal in 2004. You couldn’t believe them then. You shouldn’t believe them now.
Monday, June 18, 2007
SD-3: "What else are they going to lie to them about?"
"Well, they're lying to the folks in Dixie County about their water and their roads. What else are they going to lie to them about?"These words were written by Beverley Wiskow of Inverness. The target of her ire? The Republican Party of Florida. According to the Gainesville Sun :
Dixie County officials said they were upset and confused about the motives of the Republican Party of Florida this week when it sent out oversized postcards urging residents to vote for Charles Dean for state Senate District 3.Seems the RPOF mailed fliers into Dixie County stating that:
Even local Republican officials were unsure what the mailing was supposed to accomplish.
Cross City has water "unfit to drink" and so some people are being "forced to buy bottled water."The fliers went on to say:
that "good, functional roads are a basic need that is just not being addressed in Dixie County."
The problem with these fliers? They are untrue!
So Beverly Winskow wrote to the Gainesville Sun and started her letter with these words:
One voter observed, "Well, they're lying to the folks in Dixie County about their water and their roads. What else are they going to lie to them about?"Folks, this is a great way to blast back at the Republican smear machine. Cross City City Manager Mike Cassidy said the mailing was inaccurate. Again, per the Gainesville Sun:
(Cross) City and Florida Department of Environmental Protection records show that the city's water is drinkable....Cassidy said, "but our residents deserve the truth in all matters and this has led people to believe the water was undrinkable and that is not true. And no one is being forced to drink bottled water. "
So the RPOF is lying to Dixie County residents about their water. What else are they going to lie to them about? Here is the principle for Democratic candidates. Once you catch the Republicans in a lie, keep hammering it home. If they lied to you about this, what else are they going to lie to you about?
But the Republican Party of Florida was not content to lie about the water in Cross City. They had to go and lie about the roads in Dixie County too. The following was also reported by the Gainesville Sun:
(Dixie) County Manager Arthur Bellot said county officials and the Florida Department of Transportation have absolutely addressed road issues in the county by including money in their 2007-2008 fiscal year budgets for improvements on all of the roads listed in the Republican mailing.Democratic candidates should make this their mantra
If they lied to you about this, what else are they going to lie to you about?
Saturday, May 26, 2007
He shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed
The title of this diary is a clause from Article. II, Section. 3 of the Constitution for the United States of America. This is a particularly apropos time to take a close look at the meaning of this clause. What are the real duties of the President of the United States? What are the real duties and responsibilities of the Congress of the United States? Why does this matter now more than ever?
The answers (?) to these and other questions are below the fold...
This clause bears repeating right at the outset
Section. 8. deals with the powers of Congress. Among these are the power
So what is this diary really all about? Why is any of this at all important right now? Over at RockRidge Nation, George Lakoff and Glenn W. Smith have posted an important piece titled The Framers Got It Right: Congress is the Decider. In this piece Lakoff and Smith posit
Read the Rockridge piece. They give some good ways where we can help to make that happen.
The answers (?) to these and other questions are below the fold...
This clause bears repeating right at the outset
he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executedArticle. II of the Constitution deals with
The executive Powerwhich
shall be vested in a President of the United StatesIt contains only four sections. This is in contrast to Article. I. dealing with
legislative Powers herein grantedwhich has ten sections.
Section. 8. deals with the powers of Congress. Among these are the power
To raise and support Armies, ...
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
So what is this diary really all about? Why is any of this at all important right now? Over at RockRidge Nation, George Lakoff and Glenn W. Smith have posted an important piece titled The Framers Got It Right: Congress is the Decider. In this piece Lakoff and Smith posit
Congress would find it easier to act courageously if the public understood the constitutional stakes. And that public understanding requires correct and persistent framing by Congress itself. What needs to have been framed — indeed what still needs to be framed — is Congress's constitutional responsibility and power to set the course on military missions like Iraq. (emphasis added)To prove this point they quote David J. Barron of the Harvard Law School
Congress possesses substantial constitutional authority to regulate ongoing military operations and even to bring them to an end.They also quote Louis Fisher, Constitutional Specialist, Library of Congress
The legislative judgment to take the country to war carries with it a duty throughout the conflict to decide that military force remains in the national interest...In the midst of war, there are no grounds for believing that the President's authority is superior to the collective judgment of its elected representatives. Congress has both the constitutional authority and the responsibility to retain control and recalibrate national policy whenever necessary.Lakoff and Smith go on to argue
Congressional leaders have neglected to remind the nation what the Constitution says. They have allowed the president to reframe the Constitution, usurping their power for himself. The Framers framed it right. The Congress irresponsibly let the president reframe the Constitution.... Opponents of the president's Iraq policies should have framed the issue immediately when Democratic leaders took control in January 2007. The message should have been: Congress defines the strategic mission; the president's job is to carry it out. He is refusing to carry out his mission.Lakoff and Smith point out the frames successfully used by the Bush administration that have made the Congress afraid to execute their powers. They also point out the framing traps that proponents of bringing the Iraq Occupation to an end should avoid. They also provide useful frames to help the public understand the true nature of the situation, including this
Progressives must point out that it is the president, with an enabling Congress, who commenced a foolhardy adventure with no clear exit strategy or way to "win." That same president has refused to properly prepare or adequately equip soldiers — and now he is blaming Congress. When Congress passed a supplemental spending bill with reasonable timetables attached, he refused it. The betrayer is the president. Say it over and over: The president has betrayed our troops and the nation.This reminds me of something my good friend alonewolf has been saying. I am going to paraphrase what alonewolf says Congress and Democratic candidates should be saying about authorizing this misadventure in Iraq
We gave him the keys to the car. We didn't tell him to drive it into a ditch.Like any parent whose child drives their car into a ditch, Congress should, no must, take away the keys to the car.
Read the Rockridge piece. They give some good ways where we can help to make that happen.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Suzan Franks Announces for Senate District 3
Press Release-For Immediate Release.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Contact: Rick Chapman 727-505-6543
Citrus Hills resident, Suzan Franks is proud to announce her candidacy for the Florida State Senate, District 3 seat being vacated by Nancy Argenziano. Suzan brings over 23 years of accomplished public service to the race. In her native New Hampshire, Suzan served in an elected capacity on the Nashua Board of Education, Alderman at large, and from 1992-2000 in the New Hampshire State Legislature.
As a school board member, she specialized in budgets, school construction, and maintenance. As Chairman of the Facilities Committee she was responsible for long-term planning for the safety and health of the districts school buildings.
As a legislator and locally elected official she raised over one million dollars to reduce property taxes and fund public education. As Vice-chairman of the Human Affairs Committee, she adressed issues concerning affordable housing and elderly affairs. She was Clerk of the Finance Committee, which authorized all city contracts, and authorized the payment of all city bills. She was the Liaison for the Nashua Board of Health, and a member of the Special Joint School Building Committee.
In the legislature, she served on the Economic Development Committee, the Education Committee, and the Environment and Agriculture Committee.
Suzan has also served in many other elected and appointed positions, and as a community activist, spearheaded the drive to establish Kindergarten in New Hampshire. She has received and been nominated for many public service awards.
Most recently, she served as Deputy Campaign Manager, and Press Secretary for the John Russell for Congress campaign.
The issues of most concern for Floridians are property tax rates and homeowners insurance. She shares the district residents concerns over water quality, protecting the environment, and quality of life. On the issue of property tax increases, she traces the problem back to the Florida Legislature itself. In her research, she found that contrary to the Florida Constitution, the legislature is passing down the cost of unfunded mandates to the cities and counties. This process creates a surplus in Tallahasse, and a scramble to find revenues at the county and local level.
Suzan has a long history of working in a bipartisan manner to pass legislation that benefits all citizens, and looks forward to serving all the citizens of Florida. She has been married to her husband Richard for 27 years and they have three adult Children.
Rick Chapman,
Press Secretary
Suzan L. R. Franks
652 E. Dakota Ct.
Hernando, Fl 34442
Telephone: (352) 527-4123
E-Mail: slrfranks@aol.com
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
01/2006 – 11/2006 – Region 3 Manager/Press Secretary - John Russell
For Congress Campaign
01/1998 - 12/2001 Elected Nashua Board of Aldermen – Alderman-At-Large
03/2001 – 4/2002 Chairman, Stello’s Stadium Fundraising Committee
· Initiated the creation of the Stello’s Stadium Fundraising Committee, called all meetings, taped minutes.
· Designed and coordinated production of the fundraising brochures
· Created and implemented all fundraising activities and recognition events, including, but not limited to, all press releases, press conferences
· Created “Tournament of Champions” basketball event and hosted silent auction fundraiser
· Developed multi-pronged sponsorship program including “Wall of Thanks Plaque”
· Collaborated with stadium architects in the design and implementation of various aspects of the stadium’s features
· Raised to date over $761,500
01/1998 - 12/2001 Vice-Chairman, Human Affairs Committee
· Reviewed grant applications for Community Development Block Grant funds
· Determined priorities and made awards to applicants for CDBG funding
· Addressed issues dealing with affordable housing, and elderly affairs, etc.
01/1998 - 12/2001 Clerk, Finance Committee
· Prepared minutes of all finance meetings
· Authorized all city contracts
· Authorized warrants to pay all city bills.
01/1998 - 12/2001 Liaison, Nashua Board of Health
· Attended to matters and duties relating to community public health
01/2001 - 12/2001 Liaison, Ethnic Awareness Committee
· Attended to matters relating to community ethnic awareness and diversity
01/2001 – 12/2001 Liason, Television Cable Advisory Board
01/1998 - 12/2001 Member, Joint Special School Building Committee
· Reviewed construction plans for multiple school construction/renovation projects totaling approx. $191M
· Authorized change orders and payment of accounts
· Made site visits to determine progress regarding timelines
·
1986 to 1994 Elected Nashua Board of Education
Independent School District with over 13,000 students, 1,200 employees, and an annual budget in excess of $61 million
01/1990 -12/1994 Member, City of Nashua Joint Special School Building
01/1986-11/1987 Committee
· Directed and finalized approvals for all school building projects
01/1992 - 12/1994 Chairman, Elementary School Coordinating Committee
· Oversight of Birch Hill and Main Dunstable School Building/Renovations
01/1992 - 12/1994 Chairman, Facilities Committee
· Formulated district capital improvement budget proposals
· Initiated Long-term planning, insured the health and safety of the 17 school district buildings
· Instituted Nashua district system-wide school annual
equipment safety check program
0/1990 - 12/1992 Vice Chairman, Joint Special School Building Committee
· Oversight of 13 school building projects totaling $33.3M
01/1992 – 12/2000 Elected NH State Legislature
Sponsored/advocated and adopted major legislation:
· Public Kindergarten Classroom Construction Aid – 1994
· Safe School Zones- 1995
· Public Kindergarten Program Maintenance Aid – 1996
· U.S. First Competition Expansion – 1996
· Powerball Game inclusion in the NH State Lottery – 1996
· Veteran’s License Plate Renewal – 1999
· Establishing the Definition of Bio Solids for NH - 2000
/1998 - 12/2000 Assistant Clerk, New Hampshire House Environment and ` Agriculture Committee
1993-1998 Member, New Hampshire House Education Committee
1993-1994 Clerk, New Hampshire House Economic Development Committee
Other Elected/Appointed Positions:
2000-2002 Member, State of New Hampshire , Board of Examiners of
Nursing Home Administrators, appted. by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen
· Reviews and grants applications for license renewal of all New Hampshire nursing home administrators
1992-1994 Member, Board of Directors, Nashua Center for the Arts
· Oversight of facility and fundraising activities, appointed by Mayor James Donchess
1986-1988 Member, Mount Hope Board of Education
· Oversight of personnel, budget and programs for the disabled, appointed by Nashua Board of Education
1984 Founder, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition
· Successfully advocated through PR and fundraising activities, public kindergarten program for Nashua Public Schools (implemented in 1988)
1986-1988 Chairman, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition
1984-1986 President, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition elected by membership
1985-1986 Member, Nashua Board of Education, Ad Hoc Committee on
Public Kindergarten appointed by Nashua Board of Education
· Developed implementation plan for public kindergarten for the Nashua School District
1984-1985 Member, Nashua Board of Education, Public Kindergarten Feasibility Study Committee appointed by Nashua Board of Education
· Studied and recommended the establishment of public kindergarten for the Nashua School District
Awards
2002 Presented by City of Nashua , NH “Certificate of Recognition for Distinguished Service Award”
2002 Presented by City of Nashua , NH “Key to the City”
1991 New Hampshire School Boards Association, “Master of Boardsmanship”
1987 Nominated “YWCA Distinguished Women Leader of the Year”
1986 Nashua Board of Education “Public Kindergarten Special Recognition”
Memberships:
Present
Alumni Association of the Marblehead Public Schools
Citrus Hills Home Owners Association
Prior
National Association of Local Boards of Health
National Organization of Women Legislators
Women’s Network of the national Conference of State Legislators
New Hampshire Women’s Lobby
Legislative Caucus for Young Children
Marquis Who’s Who in State Government
New Hampshire Board of Realtors
Nashua Artists Association
Marblehead Association for the Arts
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Contact: Rick Chapman 727-505-6543
Citrus Hills resident, Suzan Franks is proud to announce her candidacy for the Florida State Senate, District 3 seat being vacated by Nancy Argenziano. Suzan brings over 23 years of accomplished public service to the race. In her native New Hampshire, Suzan served in an elected capacity on the Nashua Board of Education, Alderman at large, and from 1992-2000 in the New Hampshire State Legislature.
As a school board member, she specialized in budgets, school construction, and maintenance. As Chairman of the Facilities Committee she was responsible for long-term planning for the safety and health of the districts school buildings.
As a legislator and locally elected official she raised over one million dollars to reduce property taxes and fund public education. As Vice-chairman of the Human Affairs Committee, she adressed issues concerning affordable housing and elderly affairs. She was Clerk of the Finance Committee, which authorized all city contracts, and authorized the payment of all city bills. She was the Liaison for the Nashua Board of Health, and a member of the Special Joint School Building Committee.
In the legislature, she served on the Economic Development Committee, the Education Committee, and the Environment and Agriculture Committee.
Suzan has also served in many other elected and appointed positions, and as a community activist, spearheaded the drive to establish Kindergarten in New Hampshire. She has received and been nominated for many public service awards.
Most recently, she served as Deputy Campaign Manager, and Press Secretary for the John Russell for Congress campaign.
The issues of most concern for Floridians are property tax rates and homeowners insurance. She shares the district residents concerns over water quality, protecting the environment, and quality of life. On the issue of property tax increases, she traces the problem back to the Florida Legislature itself. In her research, she found that contrary to the Florida Constitution, the legislature is passing down the cost of unfunded mandates to the cities and counties. This process creates a surplus in Tallahasse, and a scramble to find revenues at the county and local level.
Suzan has a long history of working in a bipartisan manner to pass legislation that benefits all citizens, and looks forward to serving all the citizens of Florida. She has been married to her husband Richard for 27 years and they have three adult Children.
Rick Chapman,
Press Secretary
Suzan L. R. Franks
652 E. Dakota Ct.
Hernando, Fl 34442
Telephone: (352) 527-4123
E-Mail: slrfranks@aol.com
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
01/2006 – 11/2006 – Region 3 Manager/Press Secretary - John Russell
For Congress Campaign
01/1998 - 12/2001 Elected Nashua Board of Aldermen – Alderman-At-Large
03/2001 – 4/2002 Chairman, Stello’s Stadium Fundraising Committee
· Initiated the creation of the Stello’s Stadium Fundraising Committee, called all meetings, taped minutes.
· Designed and coordinated production of the fundraising brochures
· Created and implemented all fundraising activities and recognition events, including, but not limited to, all press releases, press conferences
· Created “Tournament of Champions” basketball event and hosted silent auction fundraiser
· Developed multi-pronged sponsorship program including “Wall of Thanks Plaque”
· Collaborated with stadium architects in the design and implementation of various aspects of the stadium’s features
· Raised to date over $761,500
01/1998 - 12/2001 Vice-Chairman, Human Affairs Committee
· Reviewed grant applications for Community Development Block Grant funds
· Determined priorities and made awards to applicants for CDBG funding
· Addressed issues dealing with affordable housing, and elderly affairs, etc.
01/1998 - 12/2001 Clerk, Finance Committee
· Prepared minutes of all finance meetings
· Authorized all city contracts
· Authorized warrants to pay all city bills.
01/1998 - 12/2001 Liaison, Nashua Board of Health
· Attended to matters and duties relating to community public health
01/2001 - 12/2001 Liaison, Ethnic Awareness Committee
· Attended to matters relating to community ethnic awareness and diversity
01/2001 – 12/2001 Liason, Television Cable Advisory Board
01/1998 - 12/2001 Member, Joint Special School Building Committee
· Reviewed construction plans for multiple school construction/renovation projects totaling approx. $191M
· Authorized change orders and payment of accounts
· Made site visits to determine progress regarding timelines
·
1986 to 1994 Elected Nashua Board of Education
Independent School District with over 13,000 students, 1,200 employees, and an annual budget in excess of $61 million
01/1990 -12/1994 Member, City of Nashua Joint Special School Building
01/1986-11/1987 Committee
· Directed and finalized approvals for all school building projects
01/1992 - 12/1994 Chairman, Elementary School Coordinating Committee
· Oversight of Birch Hill and Main Dunstable School Building/Renovations
01/1992 - 12/1994 Chairman, Facilities Committee
· Formulated district capital improvement budget proposals
· Initiated Long-term planning, insured the health and safety of the 17 school district buildings
· Instituted Nashua district system-wide school annual
equipment safety check program
0/1990 - 12/1992 Vice Chairman, Joint Special School Building Committee
· Oversight of 13 school building projects totaling $33.3M
01/1992 – 12/2000 Elected NH State Legislature
Sponsored/advocated and adopted major legislation:
· Public Kindergarten Classroom Construction Aid – 1994
· Safe School Zones- 1995
· Public Kindergarten Program Maintenance Aid – 1996
· U.S. First Competition Expansion – 1996
· Powerball Game inclusion in the NH State Lottery – 1996
· Veteran’s License Plate Renewal – 1999
· Establishing the Definition of Bio Solids for NH - 2000
/1998 - 12/2000 Assistant Clerk, New Hampshire House Environment and ` Agriculture Committee
1993-1998 Member, New Hampshire House Education Committee
1993-1994 Clerk, New Hampshire House Economic Development Committee
Other Elected/Appointed Positions:
2000-2002 Member, State of New Hampshire , Board of Examiners of
Nursing Home Administrators, appted. by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen
· Reviews and grants applications for license renewal of all New Hampshire nursing home administrators
1992-1994 Member, Board of Directors, Nashua Center for the Arts
· Oversight of facility and fundraising activities, appointed by Mayor James Donchess
1986-1988 Member, Mount Hope Board of Education
· Oversight of personnel, budget and programs for the disabled, appointed by Nashua Board of Education
1984 Founder, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition
· Successfully advocated through PR and fundraising activities, public kindergarten program for Nashua Public Schools (implemented in 1988)
1986-1988 Chairman, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition
1984-1986 President, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition elected by membership
1985-1986 Member, Nashua Board of Education, Ad Hoc Committee on
Public Kindergarten appointed by Nashua Board of Education
· Developed implementation plan for public kindergarten for the Nashua School District
1984-1985 Member, Nashua Board of Education, Public Kindergarten Feasibility Study Committee appointed by Nashua Board of Education
· Studied and recommended the establishment of public kindergarten for the Nashua School District
Awards
2002 Presented by City of Nashua , NH “Certificate of Recognition for Distinguished Service Award”
2002 Presented by City of Nashua , NH “Key to the City”
1991 New Hampshire School Boards Association, “Master of Boardsmanship”
1987 Nominated “YWCA Distinguished Women Leader of the Year”
1986 Nashua Board of Education “Public Kindergarten Special Recognition”
Memberships:
Present
Alumni Association of the Marblehead Public Schools
Citrus Hills Home Owners Association
Prior
National Association of Local Boards of Health
National Organization of Women Legislators
Women’s Network of the national Conference of State Legislators
New Hampshire Women’s Lobby
Legislative Caucus for Young Children
Marquis Who’s Who in State Government
New Hampshire Board of Realtors
Nashua Artists Association
Marblehead Association for the Arts
Monday, April 30, 2007
Candidate Review Wednesday: Overview
This time 4 years ago, I was firmly committed to Florida's favorite son, my former boss, Senator and former Florida Governor Bob Graham. I had taken a look at Howard Dean and liked what I saw. I was not enamored of John Kerry (more on that later) and I thought John Edwards suffered from premature ejaculation (er, uh, candidacy).
This cycle, I am much more conflicted. There is not one candidate who stands head and shoulders above everyone else, in my opinion. Maybe the best candidate isn't even in the race. Maybe the best candidate is ineligible to run again. There are at least two candidates who I would be equally happy to have as my party's nominee. This is the embarrassment of riches we seem to be suffering this year.
Today, I am launching a series of diaries to try and get the fencepost out of my ass. This series is going to be a little bit like examining my navel, something I have successfully avoided doing to this point in my life for the most part. I hope at the end of the day to have developed a coherent reason to support one candidate over all the others.
There are a couple of caveats I should make here. I am going to support the Democratic nominee. Period.
I want to become a paid employee of, or consultant to, the campaign I end up choosing to support. I could repeat my pattern from the last presidential cycle and spend my energy on the Congressional level. That happened after my first choice, Bob Graham, decided he couldn't sustain a viable campaign. This cycle though, I hope I wind up catching on with the ultimate nominee.
There are two top level criteria I am going to use to evaluate the candidates. The first is their ability to win the nomination. The second is their ability to win the general election. You can't have one without the other. That's what happened to Howard Dean in Iowa last cycle. Iowans came to the conclusion that Dean could not win the general. They also came to the mistaken conclusion that John Kerry could, so what do they know?
In my attempts to evaluate candidates chances to win the nomination, I am going to look at these factors:
This cycle, I am much more conflicted. There is not one candidate who stands head and shoulders above everyone else, in my opinion. Maybe the best candidate isn't even in the race. Maybe the best candidate is ineligible to run again. There are at least two candidates who I would be equally happy to have as my party's nominee. This is the embarrassment of riches we seem to be suffering this year.
Today, I am launching a series of diaries to try and get the fencepost out of my ass. This series is going to be a little bit like examining my navel, something I have successfully avoided doing to this point in my life for the most part. I hope at the end of the day to have developed a coherent reason to support one candidate over all the others.
There are a couple of caveats I should make here. I am going to support the Democratic nominee. Period.
I want to become a paid employee of, or consultant to, the campaign I end up choosing to support. I could repeat my pattern from the last presidential cycle and spend my energy on the Congressional level. That happened after my first choice, Bob Graham, decided he couldn't sustain a viable campaign. This cycle though, I hope I wind up catching on with the ultimate nominee.
There are two top level criteria I am going to use to evaluate the candidates. The first is their ability to win the nomination. The second is their ability to win the general election. You can't have one without the other. That's what happened to Howard Dean in Iowa last cycle. Iowans came to the conclusion that Dean could not win the general. They also came to the mistaken conclusion that John Kerry could, so what do they know?
In my attempts to evaluate candidates chances to win the nomination, I am going to look at these factors:
- Values projected in the Message
- Stance on issues
- Fundraising ability
- Staff competence
- Primary strategy
- Does this candidate make me feel it?
I am going to go back to square one and do my own research on all these factors. I am a devotee of values based decision making, so I am going to start with that navel gazing thing. I am going to have to come up with a set of criteria to evaluate how each candidate's message resonates with my values (That's the first and the last criteria on the list above.) Those criteria are, by their nature, subjective. The other criteria are more objective in nature. At the end of the day, it is going to come down to my gut feeling as to which candidate makes me feel it more.
That's how I intend to proceed. It should be an interesting journey.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
What Every So Called Political Professional Needs to Know
Do you ever hear a phrase or a saying that just sticks with you? The kind of thing that keeps popping into your head at the weirdest times? Here is the story of one that should be first and foremost in the minds of every one who considers themselves a political professional.
I was standing in this room with a bunch of disgusted Democrats. It was early in 2003. They were still pissed off about the 2000 election fiasco in Florida. And they were absolutely steaming about the governors race that was so badly handled in 2002.
It was the 2000 elections that they were using as a rallying cry. The number 537 played a prominent part in this discussion. There was no crying over the spilt milk of 2002 here. This was all about 2004, and the lessons learned in 2000 and not applied in 2002.
It was a pretty interesting group. There was a County Commissioner whose mother was to run for the US Senate and who is now, herself, a newly minted Congresswoman. There was a former County Commissioner who ran a valiant but unsuccessful Congressional campaign in 2006. The campaign manager for the incumbent Congressman was there. There were some dudes there, but none of us were as impressive as the women in the room.
The matriarch of this group was the mother of the successful attorney who had graciously offered up her home for the evening. One of the interesting things we did that night was to go around the room and offer up our reasons for being a Democrat. That's a story for another time. As we were about to wrap up for the night, the matriarch said she wanted to leave us with something to think about.
Our matriarch was, at that time, a recently retired County Commissioner. She did not stay retired for long. She is now a very successful County Clerk. She wanted to leave us with something that had stuck with her for a very long time. It was something that was told to her by someone we all knew. This fellow was a former teacher and a union leader. He became a Mayor and then a Governor. He wasn't with us that night because he had changed teams in the midst of his rise to political fame and fortune.
There were a lot of people in that room that night who had won, and lost, a lot of elections. But they all nodded when our matriarch relayed this pearl of wisdom to us:
Now those of you who have worked on large campaigns are probably shaking your head at the perceived naivete of that statement. But think about it for a second. This wasn't a statement from some dude who just got elected dog catcher. He had been elected and re-elected as a union leader. He was the mayor of a major city. He was the governor of a significant state. If you still don't get it, maybe you should take up another profession.
At the end of the day, in a close election, what is going to make the difference? In my mind it is the ability to get more of your voters to the polls than the other guy does. In the 2000 presidential election in Florida, 538 more Democratic voters would have changed the history of the world. That's less than 10 votes in each county in Florida. Or for your dozen volunteers, less than 45 successful calls per person.
But the real power of the dozen volunteers is not just the work they do directly. It is the dozen volunteers recruited by each of them, and the dozen volunteers recruited by each of those volunteers. It is the fact that these dozen volunteers believe in you that sustains you. So let's not let these dozen volunteers down again.
Let's not ever lose another election because we did not put enough resources into our ground game. Remember what a difference 538 votes would have made in 2000. For all the mistakes of the Kerry campaign in 2004, they got that lesson, sorta. They got more Democratic votes to the polls than any other candidate in history. Their problem there was that the other guy did better than they did. Who'd a thunk it?
The 2006 election cycle was one that saw many wonderful victories for our team. But I keep thinking about the one we let get away. We faced a daunting challenge. Our opponent would raise and have spent more money on his behalf than in any other campaign in the country that cycle. He had run several statewide races before. This was our guy's first try at statewide office. And we were not going to get close in the money raising department.
Still for all that, we were closing at the end. We could have won this one. So why didn't we? We did not get more of our voters to the polls than the other guy did. At the end of the day that is the only story that matters. Our team made a conscious decision to put as much of the money as they possibly could into television. It's a huge state after all. You can't win statewide in Florida playing retail politics they said.
Well, they were wrong. You can do it. One of our greatest campaigners walked throughout the entire state. Another went out and spent days working ordinary jobs with ordinary people. That's retail politics folks. And ground is cheap. Ridiculously cheap. But that is where you leverage those 12 committed volunteers. You pay your organizers to look after their care and feeding and to give them some direction. Then you get out of the way and let them do their thing.
I was standing in this room with a bunch of disgusted Democrats. It was early in 2003. They were still pissed off about the 2000 election fiasco in Florida. And they were absolutely steaming about the governors race that was so badly handled in 2002.
It was the 2000 elections that they were using as a rallying cry. The number 537 played a prominent part in this discussion. There was no crying over the spilt milk of 2002 here. This was all about 2004, and the lessons learned in 2000 and not applied in 2002.
It was a pretty interesting group. There was a County Commissioner whose mother was to run for the US Senate and who is now, herself, a newly minted Congresswoman. There was a former County Commissioner who ran a valiant but unsuccessful Congressional campaign in 2006. The campaign manager for the incumbent Congressman was there. There were some dudes there, but none of us were as impressive as the women in the room.
The matriarch of this group was the mother of the successful attorney who had graciously offered up her home for the evening. One of the interesting things we did that night was to go around the room and offer up our reasons for being a Democrat. That's a story for another time. As we were about to wrap up for the night, the matriarch said she wanted to leave us with something to think about.
Our matriarch was, at that time, a recently retired County Commissioner. She did not stay retired for long. She is now a very successful County Clerk. She wanted to leave us with something that had stuck with her for a very long time. It was something that was told to her by someone we all knew. This fellow was a former teacher and a union leader. He became a Mayor and then a Governor. He wasn't with us that night because he had changed teams in the midst of his rise to political fame and fortune.
There were a lot of people in that room that night who had won, and lost, a lot of elections. But they all nodded when our matriarch relayed this pearl of wisdom to us:
If you have a dozen committed volunteers, you can win any election.
Now those of you who have worked on large campaigns are probably shaking your head at the perceived naivete of that statement. But think about it for a second. This wasn't a statement from some dude who just got elected dog catcher. He had been elected and re-elected as a union leader. He was the mayor of a major city. He was the governor of a significant state. If you still don't get it, maybe you should take up another profession.
At the end of the day, in a close election, what is going to make the difference? In my mind it is the ability to get more of your voters to the polls than the other guy does. In the 2000 presidential election in Florida, 538 more Democratic voters would have changed the history of the world. That's less than 10 votes in each county in Florida. Or for your dozen volunteers, less than 45 successful calls per person.
But the real power of the dozen volunteers is not just the work they do directly. It is the dozen volunteers recruited by each of them, and the dozen volunteers recruited by each of those volunteers. It is the fact that these dozen volunteers believe in you that sustains you. So let's not let these dozen volunteers down again.
Let's not ever lose another election because we did not put enough resources into our ground game. Remember what a difference 538 votes would have made in 2000. For all the mistakes of the Kerry campaign in 2004, they got that lesson, sorta. They got more Democratic votes to the polls than any other candidate in history. Their problem there was that the other guy did better than they did. Who'd a thunk it?
The 2006 election cycle was one that saw many wonderful victories for our team. But I keep thinking about the one we let get away. We faced a daunting challenge. Our opponent would raise and have spent more money on his behalf than in any other campaign in the country that cycle. He had run several statewide races before. This was our guy's first try at statewide office. And we were not going to get close in the money raising department.
Still for all that, we were closing at the end. We could have won this one. So why didn't we? We did not get more of our voters to the polls than the other guy did. At the end of the day that is the only story that matters. Our team made a conscious decision to put as much of the money as they possibly could into television. It's a huge state after all. You can't win statewide in Florida playing retail politics they said.
Well, they were wrong. You can do it. One of our greatest campaigners walked throughout the entire state. Another went out and spent days working ordinary jobs with ordinary people. That's retail politics folks. And ground is cheap. Ridiculously cheap. But that is where you leverage those 12 committed volunteers. You pay your organizers to look after their care and feeding and to give them some direction. Then you get out of the way and let them do their thing.
You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both faggots and they won't take either of them. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement. Arlo Guthrie, Alice's Restaurant.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
How to Talk About Universal Health Care Insurance: Part 2
In How to Talk About Unviersal Health Care Insurance: Part 1 I talked about how the main crisis is not health care delivery, rather it is health care insurance.
This conversation was sparked by the response to another diary of mine published in December, How to Talk to Small Business People . Almost all the responses from small business people mentioned health care. They told me they are looking for a good way to get affordable health care insurance for themselves, their families and their employees. Of course these responses came from small business people who are progressive enough to comment and / or post on Daily Kos.
This diary is for people who want to advance the cause of Universal Health Care Insurance by persuading others. So let's get started...
If you have seen any of the other How to Talk to diaries, then you know the drill. If you are new to this, here is how we go about the task of talking to people already on our side. The purpose is to give them the tools to persuade people who should agree with us, but don't, that our ideas are the better ones.
The first thing to do is to define the values that relate to the task at hand. Here is my list of values applicable to this subject:
This conversation was sparked by the response to another diary of mine published in December, How to Talk to Small Business People . Almost all the responses from small business people mentioned health care. They told me they are looking for a good way to get affordable health care insurance for themselves, their families and their employees. Of course these responses came from small business people who are progressive enough to comment and / or post on Daily Kos.
This diary is for people who want to advance the cause of Universal Health Care Insurance by persuading others. So let's get started...
If you have seen any of the other How to Talk to diaries, then you know the drill. If you are new to this, here is how we go about the task of talking to people already on our side. The purpose is to give them the tools to persuade people who should agree with us, but don't, that our ideas are the better ones.
The first thing to do is to define the values that relate to the task at hand. Here is my list of values applicable to this subject:
- Community
- That the promise of America is equal opportunity for all and special privilege for none
- Mutual Responsibility
- Inclusion
- Work and Family
We then have to incorporate those values into an argument that fits into these tasks:
Define the Overarching Strategy
Define the Terminology
Mangle the Memes
We start with the strategy.
Define the Overarching Strategy
When you talk to the other side, you should start with your goal in mind. So first, you need to define your goal. Only then can you determine the best overarching strategy to achieve your goal without compromising your values.
As in most of these tasks, our goal is to persuade people who should agree with us but do not yet. We need to do this in a way that does not lose our audience at hello. The target community must receive our message in a way that resonates with them on a personal level. This can best by done by research and real world examples. First, some research.
Some of the best and most persuasive resarch done in this field has been has been done by physicians%20themselves.%20 This research covers topics ranging from the huge administrative cost of our current system, taxes and who actually pays for these costs, and the sad fact that we already pay for national health care insurance, but don't get it.
If that isn't impressive enough, consider the research done by medical students . If the physicians already working in the health care delivery system and the medical students working to join them are in agreement, why would anyone else tell them that they are wrong?
Define the Terminology
Defining the terminology is akin to choosing the battlefield. If you let the other side define the terminology, you will be fighting your battle on the other guys’ battlefield. Any tactician will tell you that he who determines the battlefield has the much better chance of winning the battle.
We also must remember our audience. We are not preaching to the choir here. Out goal is to reach out and create a majority coalition in support of Universal Healthcare Insurance. Our target audience to get this coalition into the majority is twofold:
- Small Business people who already know how hard it is to obtain affordable health care insurance in the current inefficient market.
- Middle class taxpayers who mostly already have health insurance through their jobs.
The best way to reach this audience is to craft arguments where our values intersect with theirs. As we saw in Part 1, the census bureaus's research brought us these two telling tidbits:
- 73% of the uninsured in the workforce worked sometime during the year.
- 63% of the uninsured who worked during the year worked at companies with fewer than 100 employees.
This data give us the first things we can say about Universal Health Care Insurance - Most people who are uninsured are actively in the workforce. We are not talking about some giveaway program going mainly to those who are unwilling to work. We are talking about folks who work for a living just like you and I. Also, nearly 2/3rds of the uninsured in the workforce work for small businesses. This is just one more area where small businesses get the short end of the stick in this country.
So who are the uninsured? They are folks in our community who mostly work for small businesses. One would think that in a country that values entreprenuership, work and family, that we would take care of our workers and their families by making sure they all have equal opportunity to access quality, affordable health care no matter the size of the business they work for.
The other argument that should resonate particularly with small business people is the inefficiency of the current system. Health care insurance is ridiculously expensive, particularly so for folks who are not part of large byuying groups (big business, unions, professional associations, etc.). One of the reasons for the heavy cost is that the private insurance delivery system is incredibly inefficient in delivering the product. Small buisness people know better than most how crucial it is to control costs. The big business of health insurance delivery seems to believe thay can just pass these cost along to us.
What most of us don't know is that the government is already paying the lions' share of health insurance costs in this country.
the amount of public health spending in the U.S. is greater than the combined public and private spending of nations which provide universal comprehensive health insurance. A single-payer system could provide such coverage to all Americans with no need for additional health dollars.
So we could provide equal opportunity for an all inclusive health care insurance sytem without spending additional tax dollars. Is that not a win-win for middle class taxpayers and small business people?
So why do we not already have such a sytem?
Mangle the Memes
The first thing to understand is that there is a powerful lobby in this country that is determined to maintain the status quo. One of the main ways this lobby goes about maintaining the status quo is by demonizing the alternatives. So let's talk about what we are not suggesting.
We are not talking about socialized medicine. Remember, this discussion is about health care insurance. The main problem is not with our health care delivery system. So do not let anyone get away with telling you that it is.
We are not talking about some inefficient government bureacracy deciding who gets what health care procedure and when. In fact, an efficient health care insurance system will put even more of the choice for health care decisions back into the hands of the doctors and their patients. Doctors and patients will take back the decision making from some faceless private insurance bureaucrat.
How do we do that? With a single payer universal health insurance plan, we would wring the waste out of our health care insurance delivery system. Turns out this is a case where private industry is less efficient than government.
administration consumes 31.0 percent of U.S. health spending. Average overhead among private U.S.
insurers was 11.7 percent, compared with 1.3 percent for Canada’s single-payer
system and 3.6 percent for Medicare.
Who would have thought that the US government provides health insurance administration at one third the cost of private insurance?
We have a mutual responsibility to include working families in the health care insurance system. Healthy communities are productive communities. W can provide equal opportuity for access to affordable health care insurance at no additional costs to taxpayers. Ultimately we will have the luxury of seeing health care insurance costs falling for everyone.
So, get away from the keyboard and get out into your communities. Deliver thse messages to your elected officials and other opinion leaders in your community. A concerted netroots / grass roots campaign for single payer universakl health care insurance could get this issue past the tipping point.
What are you waiting for, someone else to do it? Start today.
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