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John G

Beach Fanatic
Jul 16, 2014
1,803
553
Looks like big time developer has allowed his bank to some interesting candidates.

Two school board members (yes, school board), have accepted big $$$ from a big time player.

WHY? Its a school board.... :-$

$100+ million budget needs tight management, no?
 

John G

Beach Fanatic
Jul 16, 2014
1,803
553
Looks like another big $$$ guy is now into the school district race. Why?

No one used to care about the school district....
 

Seaducer

Banned
Jan 17, 2008
291
59
Destin
I am going to guess you're just being rhetorical.

Let's quit being rhetorical then



so why don't you list the specific contribution from the evil developer
in each case. It's public information and you are mentioning it, bust
up and list the name, the candidate and the amount. No need to vague
 

DaleDalbey

Beach Fanatic
Nov 1, 2011
281
152
Are the contributions illegal? Is receiving them illegal? If people are concerned, I suggest pushing for meaningful campaign finance reform. All I see that this money funds is an overabundance of signs littering our roads. Let's spend some energy hosting candidate forums where candidates have to state positions publicly.
 

Bob Wells

Beach Fanatic
Jul 25, 2008
3,380
2,857
Are the contributions illegal? Is receiving them illegal? If people are concerned, I suggest pushing for meaningful campaign finance reform. All I see that this money funds is an overabundance of signs littering our roads. Let's spend some energy hosting candidate forums where candidates have to state positions publicly.

Although candidate forums are important, signs play a significant role in getting a candidates name out. I will agree that it does nothing for informing the public on issues, but it is great for name recognition. To this point, there aren't near as many signs out there as have been in the past, and I think part of that is direct mailings and social media. Will you never see signs, probably not, but I think it is possible you will see fewer signs in the future. Just one guys opinion.
As to whether the contributions are illegal, no they are not. I think most posters here have issues with the names associated with them. Also they own large tracts of land that governments desire to purchase for various reasons which give local pundits some heartburn, because they construe it as payback for contributions. Personally, it is difficult for me to rant about whether something is fishy or a conspiracy is afoot. I can understand how folks can jump to conclusions, but lets take for example the property for a new school in south Walton. The School Board had a committee established to find property in a certain area. Based on the articles, there were a couple of parcels that met the size requirements. Of those, as I understand it there were some that were higher elevation than others and some that had more usable land than others. All this seems to be prudent when buying property to build a multi million dollar facility. Unfortunately, the person, group or whatever was a contributor to a politician, and now we have a problem because it smells like payback. I don't know, I wish it wasn't a contributor so those that have issues with it could feel at ease. In the end, those folks that have been elected are supposed to be looking out for our interest, and if you don't like how they are doing it, we have the opportunity to change it, if it means donating a grand or 2 to help your chosen candidate or whatever. Beware that you could be criticized for ever doing business with those entities, whether you are a teacher, cook, an air conditioner repairman or whatever. I am done with my rant. Thanks for reading. These views are mine and don't represent any groups or organizations I may be affiliated with.
 
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Jdarg

SoWal Expert
Feb 15, 2005
18,068
1,973
WaltonParent, there have been quite a few candidate forums, some public (Chamber, teachers' union, ECAR) and some closed to the specific group (Rotary, Democratic Women, Republican Women, South Walton Republicans). The Defuniak Springs Business Association has a forum on August 6th, and there is an event in Red Bay on Aug. 16th I believe. Don't know how many more candidate forums would really be feasible scheduling-wise, especially since some of the candidates are incumbents and have a pretty full meeting and workshop schedule.
 

DaleDalbey

Beach Fanatic
Nov 1, 2011
281
152
Some missed the point. I would rather change campaign finance laws than to assume everyone who takes legal contributions has no moral fiber and has already sold their vote to the highest bidder. There is no doubt there is too much money in politics. To turn away contributions is to lose. Let's change laws so that there is a level financial playing field and get dirty money out of politics.
 
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