Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 10-26-20

Recommendations
The Sentinel Editorial Board’s Recommendations For November 2020 Election
Part 4
Your VOTE is your voice on issues affecting housing, education, employ- ment and healthcare.
If you want to make a difference in your household and your community you must vote.
The offices in the November elec- tion control budgets, control policy, and decide whether you get fair justice or NOT. They make decisions in the U. S. government, Tallahassee and Hillsbor- ough County.
The November election is crucial, so please vote.
Early Voting is October 19-No- vember 1st. Vote By Mail ballots were mailed September 24; and Election Day is November 3rd.
School Board District 1
Incumbent and present Vice Chair- man of the School Board Steve Cona, III won this seat replacing Susan Valdes when she left to run for the State Legislature. However, Cona did not receive 51% of the votes and has a runoff against career educator and new- comer Nadia Combs. The schools in District 1 have done well, however, it is troubling when an incumbent is not elected outright. Ms. Combs reached out to our Board to ask that we consider her over Cona. After consideration and conversation of her platform, the Board decided to switch our primary endorse- ment of Cona to Combs.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Nadia Combs
School Board District 3
District 3 for the Hillsborough County School Board extends from the northern suburbs of Carrollwood and Lutz through New Tampa and into the northern reaches of eastern Hillsbor- ough, including Dover and Thono- tasassa. This seat is open due to Cindy Stuart vacating to run for Clerk of the Circuit Court. Our Board had an oppor- tunity to get additional information about the 2 remaining candidates in this race and decided to support Mitch
Thrower.
The Sentinel Editorial Board
endorses Mitch Thrower
School Board District 5
District 5 consists of 69 schools in the inner city and majority Black popu- lated areas of Tampa. Many of the schools have struggled to pass the State required tests, and have been the topic of many headlines. Incumbent School Board member, Tamara Sham- burger and her challenger Henry ‘Shake Washington are in a run-off for this seat. Ms. Shamburger has proven to be a very vocal and present board member however, our biggest concern, is that those who were on her team in the last election have jumped ship and are now supporting Mr. Washington. Washington had a double digit win in the primary and was just short of the 51% needed to solidify a win.
Henry ‘Shake’ Washington in our Board’s opinion is the best person to lead District 5. Mr. Washington has years of history and experience as a teacher, principal,, administrator and Area Supervisor that give him the best perspective to move our schools for- ward. Washington is also well-liked throughout the community and within the district. His calm and kind nature
along with his ties to many Black prin- cipals and teachers, both active and re- tired within the community will be a strong coalition if he is elected.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Henry ‘Shake’ Washing- ton
School Board District 7
District 7 is an at-large District and its Board member represents all the schools in Hillsborough County, the 7th largest school district in the nation. Former Board member Sally Harris and incumbent board member Lynn Gray are in a run-off for this seat. Har- ris lost her seat in District 2 on the Board in 2018 to Stacy Hahn. Har- ris, however garnered more votes than Gray in the primary election that had 2 candidates on the ballot. Harris’ an- swers to the questionnaire sent helped us decide to throw our support behind Harris over Gray in this race.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Sally Harris
Constitutional Amendments
The Board appreciates Ret. Florida Supreme Court Judge Peggy Quince for her opinion on the Amendments.
My Take On The Proposed Constitutional Amendments
BY THE HONORABLE PEGGY QUINCE, Retired Florida Supreme Court Judge
PROPOSED AMENDMENT 1 - Citizenship Requirement To Vote
Recommendation: Vote NO
Rationale: The Florida Constitu- tion already requires United States cit- izenship in order to vote, thus this proposed amendment is not necessary.
Sponsors: Florida Citizen Voters, funded by secret donors
PROPOSED AMENDMENT 2 - Raising Florida’s Minimum Wage
Recommendation: Vote YES
Rationale: Presently the Florida minimum wage is $8.56 per hour. This has been the minimum wage since January having increased only 10 cents from the prior minimum wage of $8.46 per hour. This minimum wage equates to $17,800 yearly!
The passage of this amendment would move Florida workers toward a more liveable wage. More than 25 states have a minimum wage higher
than Florida.
Sponsors: Florida for a Fair Wage and funded by John Morgan.
PROPOSED AMENDMENT 3 - Primary Elections
Recommendation: Vote NO
Rationale: This proposed amendment would have all candidates vying for most state elected positions be on one primary ballot without re- gard to party affiliation, and the two top vote getters would be on the gen- eral election ballot.
The two candidates on the general election ballot could be from the same party, thus giving the voters no real choice. Additionally, it has the poten- tial to dilute minority representation by opening minority districts to being represented by whites who are not fa- miliar with the issues faced by the peo- ple in these districts.
Sponsors: Substantially funded by south Florida businessman Mike Fernandez, who was finance chairman for Rick Scott’s 2014 re-election cam- paign.
PROPOSED AMENDMENT 4 - Proposed Constitutional Amendment DOUBLE Approval
Recommendation: Vote NO Rationale: The Florida Constitu-
tion presently makes it difficult for cit- izens to get proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot. For citizens initiatives, the proponents must gather signatures that equates to 8% of votes cast in the last presidential elections, the signatures must come from at least 14 of our 27 districts, the signatures must be gathered over a two-year pe- riod, and the signatures must be veri- fied. This is a costly and time consuming process. Then, the pro- posed amendment must receive an af- firmative vote of 60%. This proposal would add yet another hurdle to this process - another affirmative vote of 60% at a second general election.
Sponsors: A group called Keep Our Constitution Clean, and it has been reported that the group is funded through a nonprofit organization con- nected to Florida Power & Light, U. S. Sugar Corp. and other big businesses.
PROPOSED AMENDMENT 5 - Extends the Time to use Save Our Home benefit
Recommendation: Vote NO/yes Rationale: The Florida Constitu-
tion presently provides for a two-year period to transfer the Save Our Homes tax exemption benefit from one home- stead to your next homestead. This proposed amendment would extend that period to three years. Because Florida has a limited tax base, sale taxes and property taxes, I am gener- ally opposed to extending exemptions that reduce the tax base. This is a very personal choice. But keep in mind that the taxes we all pay are used to pay for the services we all enjoy, fire rescue, schools, police, parks, etc.
Sponsors: The Legislature
PROPOSED AMENDMENT 6 - Homestead Property Discount to Spouses of Deceased Veterans
Recommendation: Vote NO/yes
Rationale: This proposed amendment would allow the spouse of deceased veterans who had a combat related disability to transfer the veter- ans property tax discount to the sur- viving spouse. This will be a personal preference, but I am generally opposed to proposals that reduce the tax base.
Sponsors: The Legislature
Whether you agree with our choices or not, please VOTE!
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2020