Elections - Weekly briefing - October 29, 2024

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Not really news. Fantasy Fest took place without incident. After several days of zero storm activity, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring a (so far) non-threatening disturbance in the southern Caribbean east of Panama. Daylight savings time ends early Sunday morning, November 3rd.

Elections. Critical national, state-wide, regional, and local races and issues will be decided on November 5th.

• Vote now! Readers are encouraged to return their vote by mail (VBM) ballots, early vote (EV), or make a plan to vote on election day, Tuesday, November 5th. Statewide and Monroe County VBM and EV can be tracked here daily. 
  
  
• VBM surge. 
• As of October 27, 11,029 mail ballots had been returned in Monroe County, while 6,076  ballots remain outstanding. 
• VBM voters can save on postage by dropping their ballots in secured and guarded boxes at five locations across the Keys.  
  
  
• EV enthusiasm. 
• As of October 27, 8,292 citizens had voted early in Monroe County. One KWV contributor reported having to wait in line to early vote, for the first time in memory. 
• EV continues daily at five locations across the Keys through Saturday, November 2. Note that the Key West residents' closest EV location is on College Road on Stock Island, and that the former location at Southard and Whitehead is no longer in use for early voting. Details at the Supervisor of Elections web site. 
  
  
• KWCC District VI. The Citizen profiled the two candidates for the remaining contested seat on the Key West City Commission (KWCC), Aaron Castillo and Marci Rose. Although the race is non-partisan, Castillo has been endorsed by the Monroe County Republican party, and Rose by the Monroe County Democratic party. 
• Rose said,  "As an attorney with over 30 years of experience, I’ve successfully settled 99% of my cases through negotiation. I know how to find common ground and achieve the best outcomes for everyone. If elected, I’ll stand firm on important issues for my constituents, even when outnumbered, but I also understand that progress often comes in small steps rather than all at once."
• Castillo said,"I think everyone that knows me knows that I have a positive attitude and try to bring peace and joy to everyone around me. As a funeral director for the past 40 years, I have had to help people at the most difficult times of their lives. I think my positive attitude, good listening skills, open-mindedness and empathy, all of which I must do as a funeral director, will help to unite the commission."
  
• Big money race Castillo's campaign has been heavily financed by business and tourism interests, some of which are from out of state. Key West Voices earlier ran a deep dive into Castillo's financing. Rose campaign is financed by small, local donations. 
  
  
• BOCC District 3. The Citizen then profiled the two candidates for the only contested seat on Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC); incumbent Republican Jim Scholl and Democratic challenger Chris Massicotte. 
• Massicotte's campaign raises questions about county government spending and accountability, especially in the wake of the critical audits of the county’s Tourist Development Council (TDC) and the grand jury indictments of former County Administrator Roman Gastesi and three others. The BOCC's "lack of oversight and accountability allowed corruption to fester at the highest levels," Massicotte said. 
• Scholl said the BOCC "must be audit-ready, inspection-ready and investigation-ready every day... and that he trusts the county administrator for managing the staff. The county commission found out the audit results along with our citizens. Appropriate immediate administrative action took place to deal with staff. Further legal due process will continue and further action will follow the outcome of the legal processes."
• Yet another bad news TDC audit. The BOCC received the fourth and final audit of the TDC which was harshly critical of its contract with its web site developer Two Oceans Digital. The results were "very troubling," said Kara Franker, the new president and CEO of the TDC.
• ROGOs requested. Despite fierce opposition from community groups, the BOCC voted unanimously to request 220 additional residential building permits (ROGOs) from the state, the maximum allowed under restrictions due to the Keys' designation as an area of critical state concern. Keys Weekly's coverage provided a comprehensive, yet concise overview of the critical and controversial ROGO issues.  
• Yet another poorly designed ROGO survey. The BOCC has fielded its fifth and final community survey, the design of which apparently promotes a pro-development agenda.  
  
  
• Supervisor of Elections  The Citizen also profiled the two candidates for Supervisor of Elections (SOE). Republican Sherri Hodies and Democrat Ron Saunders are contending for the SOE job being vacated by the retiring Joyce Griffin.
• Saunders has received endorsements from prominent Republicans Sheriff Rick Ramsay and County Commissioner Craig Cates, as well as Democrat Supervisor of Elections Joyce Griffin. "As Supervisor, I will treat everyone fairly and impartially, regardless of party affiliation," Saunders said.
• Hodies was endorsed by Governor Ron DeSantis, in her first shot at elected office in the Florida Keys. "This job is mostly all administrative,” Hodies said of the Supervisor of Elections position. “I know this because I called over half of the supervisors of elections in the State of Florida and asked them."
• Hodies' campaign is under state investigation for possible campaign endorsement and finance rules violations, and has been accused of mailing untruthful campaign literature funded by a conservative Tallahassee PAC. Her campaign enlisted a nationally known MAGA election denier to speak at a fundraiser, but Hodies denies being an election denier.
  
  
• KW property acquisition. In addition to four referenda seeking authority to issue general revenue bonds, the KWCC has placed two referenda related to property acquisition on the ballot. One seeks to change the city charter's rules for property acquisition to no longer require voter approval for certain types of property. 
  
  
• School funding. Two school referendum items are on all ballots in Monroe County. They're the "least controversial items on the November ballot, but they will have the greatest impact on our local communities,” said school board chair Sue Woltanski. "...they simply ask to continue our current school funding, something our community has approved for the last 20 years."

Everyone needs a porch. Linda Cunningham loves and celebrated our porches. 

A sharpie is a sharp-shinned hawk. Mark Hedden translated otherwise impenetrable birder lingo heard at his latest hawkwatch. 

Our Eyes  

A migrating Coopers Hawk in the Keys - Mark Hedden

Previously in Key West Voices

Hurricane Oscar formed near Cuba and rapidly intensified (seems like all of them do now) and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. Forecast models show no chance of Keys impact. 

Fantasy fest is underway. 

Early voting (EV) underway. Early voting began at five locations across the Keys, and continues daily through Saturday, November 2. Note that the Key West residents' closest EV location is on College Road on Stock Island, and that the former location at Southard and Whitehead is no longer in use for early voting. Details at the Supervisor of Elections web site.  

• EV records smashed in Georgia.  In the first day of EV in Georgia, just over 310,000 Georgia voters cast their ballots, as compared with 136,739 in the 2020 Presidential Election. The fever pace continued daily since.  
• Florida vote by mail (VBM) enthusiasm. CBS New Miami reported that over 600,000 VBM ballots had been returned as of Tuesday October 15; that count nearly doubled by Sunday, October 20th. Florida VBM and EV can be tracked here daily. More next week.      
• Explainer. CBS News Miami produced a brief segment on EV and Amendment 4 (reproductive rights) without highlighting the legal dispute over ballot language attached to the amendment (but not part of the amendment itself), that plaintiffs say is unconstitutionally misleading.
• Senate race. Keys Weekly published answers to three questions posed to Republican Senator Rick Scott and Democratic challenger former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. 

Community representatives push back on more ROGOs. Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Marathon, and spent nearly two and a half hours on the topic of issuing additional ROGOs (residential building permits) that are limited by law stemming from the state's designation of the Keys as an 'area of critical state concern.' The series of surveys administered by the BOCC were acknowledged as being unscientific.

• Watch it. The full video can be watched here. Viewers interested in the ROGO discussion should select agenda item Q2, which begins at 10:12 a.m. in the video timestamp. 
• Vague language. Commissioner Craig Cates advocated for the "absolute minimum, if not less,” of new ROGOs, while other commissioners used vague language such as 'middle of the road' and 'sweet spot' to avoid committing to final numbers. 
• Community advocates spoke. A series of community activists, including representatives of Last Stand and the newly formed Florida Keys ROGO coalition spoke in blunt terms about flaws in the hurricane evacuation model, exaggerated exposure to so-called 'takings' liability, and their opposition to any additional residential development in the Keys. The BOCC's surveys vastly overstated takings liability as being up to $1 billion. 
• 220 ROGOs approved anyway. The BOCC approved its request for 220 new ROGOs from the State, the disputed number that is claimed to be allowed without exceeding the state-mandated 24 hour clearance time. 
• Updated EMS drug protocols. Officials briefed the BOCC on changed protocols in the wake of arrests, indictments, and firings in the wake of Monroe's county’s air ambulance scandal that began two years ago.

Final TDC audit.  The Monroe County Clerk’s Office released its final audit of Monroe County's Tourist Development Council contract, finding problems with its contract with Two Oceans Digital, the TDC’s website and digital services provider. TDC paid Two Oceans roughly $330,000 a year in both 2023 and 2022, according to the audit.

• NewmanPR out at TDC. The BOCC terminated the roughly $700,000 contract with NewmanPR, the firm that handles public relations for TDC, without cause, which calls for a 120-day notice. NewmanPR’s last day will be Jan. 31. Andy Newman is facing a 14 count criminal indictment. 

Ugly. Keys Weekly's Mandy Miles offered her take on the prior week's ugliness at the Key West City Commission (KWCC) first covered in last week's Key West Voices. 

• Warning. Miles also captured warnings issued to the KWCC during that meeting by Key West resident Robert Jensen about investigations into the KWCC's conduct when firing former City Manager Al Childress in June, an apparent conflict of interest, and other allegations. Commissioner Sam Kaufman called for an independent counsel to advise the commission on the investigations pertaining to these issues.

Survival story. Miles lightened the mood with by recounting her personal history in the Keys. 

No stink this year. Linda Cunningham celebrated the unexpected lack of sargassum odor this year. 

Brown noddy. Mark Hedden related how brown noddies got their name with both kind and unkind versions. In 1758, the word noddy meant a sleepy person, or more to the point, a simple and stupid person.

Oscar nod | Voting | ROGOs - Weekly briefing - October 22, 2024

Essential human-curated Florida Keys news, all in one place. 

Subscribe to Key West Voices for free. See something that should be in Voices? Click here to share it with us.

Our Community

Hurricane Oscar formed near Cuba and rapidly intensified (seems like all of them do now) and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. Forecast models show no chance of Keys impact. 

Fantasy fest is underway. 

Early voting (EV) underway. Early voting began at five locations across the Keys, and continues daily through Saturday, November 2. Note that the Key West residents' closest EV location is on College Road on Stock Island, and that the former location at Southard and Whitehead is no longer in use for early voting. Details at the Supervisor of Elections web site.  

• EV records smashed in Georgia.  In the first day of EV in Georgia, just over 310,000 Georgia voters cast their ballots, as compared with 136,739 in the 2020 Presidential Election. The fever pace continued daily since.  
• Florida vote by mail (VBM) enthusiasm. CBS New Miami reported that over 600,000 VBM ballots had been returned as of Tuesday October 15; that count nearly doubled by Sunday, October 20th. Florida VBM and EV can be tracked here daily. More next week.      
• Explainer. CBS News Miami produced a brief segment on EV and Amendment 4 (reproductive rights) without highlighting the legal dispute over ballot language attached to the amendment (but not part of the amendment itself), that plaintiffs say is unconstitutionally misleading.
• Senate race. Keys Weekly published answers to three questions posed to Republican Senator Rick Scott and Democratic challenger former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. 

Community representatives push back on more ROGOs. Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Marathon, and spent nearly two and a half hours on the topic of issuing additional ROGOs (residential building permits) that are limited by law stemming from the state's designation of the Keys as an 'area of critical state concern.' The series of surveys administered by the BOCC were acknowledged as being unscientific.

• Watch it. The full video can be watched here. Viewers interested in the ROGO discussion should select agenda item Q2, which begins at 10:12 a.m. in the video timestamp. 
• Vague language. Commissioner Craig Cates advocated for the "absolute minimum, if not less,” of new ROGOs, while other commissioners used vague language such as 'middle of the road' and 'sweet spot' to avoid committing to final numbers. 
• Community advocates spoke. A series of community activists, including representatives of Last Stand and the newly formed Florida Keys ROGO coalition spoke in blunt terms about flaws in the hurricane evacuation model, exaggerated exposure to so-called 'takings' liability, and their opposition to any additional residential development in the Keys. The BOCC's surveys vastly overstated takings liability as being up to $1 billion. 
• 220 ROGOs approved anyway. The BOCC approved its request for 220 new ROGOs from the State, the disputed number that is claimed to be allowed without exceeding the state-mandated 24 hour clearance time. 
• Updated EMS drug protocols. Officials briefed the BOCC on changed protocols in the wake of arrests, indictments, and firings in the wake of Monroe's county’s air ambulance scandal that began two years ago.

Final TDC audit.  The Monroe County Clerk’s Office released its final audit of Monroe County's Tourist Development Council contract, finding problems with its contract with Two Oceans Digital, the TDC’s website and digital services provider. TDC paid Two Oceans roughly $330,000 a year in both 2023 and 2022, according to the audit.

• NewmanPR out at TDC. The BOCC terminated the roughly $700,000 contract with NewmanPR, the firm that handles public relations for TDC, without cause, which calls for a 120-day notice. NewmanPR’s last day will be Jan. 31. Andy Newman is facing a 14 count criminal indictment. 

Ugly. Keys Weekly's Mandy Miles offered her take on the prior week's ugliness at the Key West City Commission (KWCC) first covered in last week's Key West Voices. 

• Warning. Miles also captured warnings issued to the KWCC during that meeting by Key West resident Robert Jensen about investigations into the KWCC's conduct when firing former City Manager Al Childress in June, an apparent conflict of interest, and other allegations. Commissioner Sam Kaufman called for an independent counsel to advise the commission on the investigations pertaining to these issues.

Survival story. Miles lightened the mood with by recounting her personal history in the Keys. 

No stink this year. Linda Cunningham celebrated the unexpected lack of sargassum odor this year. 

Brown noddy. Mark Hedden related how brown noddies got their name with both kind and unkind versions. In 1758, the word noddy meant a sleepy person, or more to the point, a simple and stupid person. 

Our Eyes  

Palm Warbler - Phil Dodderidge

Previously in Key West Voices

Spared by Milton. Hurricane Milton, which rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to Category 5 strength in about 24 hours, left few impacts in the Keys, and then closely tracked with the National Hurricane Center forecast to make landfall near Sarasota.  

• Two bullets dodged in two weeks. Milton followed Hurricane Helene to make the second landfall on Florida's Gulf coast in less than two weeks.
• Massive impact on the mainland. Milton killed at least nine people and left extensive property damage across Florida, hitting some areas previously affected by Hurricane Helene last month. Millions were left without power, 
• Tornado? The National Weather Service is investigating the possible touchdown of a tornado spun by Milton on Navy property in Key West late Tuesday night. 
  
• Two more? The NHC has its eyes on new disturbances in the Caribbean and mid-Atlantic. 
• Insurance exposure? Financial rating service Fitch said that insurers could be on the hook for over $100 billion in hurricane claims in 2024, the fifth straight year above that level. Property insurers, including state-run Citizens are still tallying losses, and its not yet known whether those losses would result in the special assessments it's entitled to levy on all policyholders if its reserves are excessively depleted. 
• Going private. Florida regulators approved proposals by private insurers to take more than 300,000 policies in December from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., as the state continues to try to shrink the size — and risks — of its insurer of last resort.
• A first-timer reflected on his hurricane experience. 

Ugly displays on the KW City Commission dais. The Key West City Commission met and showed no signs that tensions that emerged with its firing of City Manager Al Childress will abate, despite lip service calls for unity in the city government and the community, and three new faces on the dais. The Citizen described the meeting as "volatile at times." 

• Lopez is Vice Mayor (for a short time). Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez appointed outgoing Commissioner Clayton Lopez to the largely ceremonial role of Vice Mayor over objections of Sam Kaufman, who previously held the title. Commissioner Lissette Carey will take over the role when Lopez is replaced by either Aaron Castillo or Marci Rose in the November 5th  election. 
• City Manager search fast tracked, but not as fast as sought. The city manager search committee narrowed the field to five candidates, over the objection of two committee members. Commissioners Donie Lee and Carey wanted to move forward with interviews and possibly making the hire at the Nov. 14 meeting, but the rest of the commission agreed to wait. 
  Lee criticized Kaufman, who serves on the selection committee, for making negative comments at the last committee meeting about one candidate and how he handled a recent rate increase proposal for live-aboard boaters at the city-owned Garrison Bight Marina.
• Parking rate increase. The commission raised parking rates from $5 an hour to $6 an hour in a 4-3 vote. 
• Commission in the balance. On some key votes, the Commission is divided between two blocs, with Henriquez, Carey, and Lee on one side, and Kaufman, Haskell, and Mary Lou Hoover on the other. The winner of the critical November 5th election of term-limited Lopez's successor is likely to be the deciding vote on controversial issues.  
• Telling friends to vote “no." Linda Cunningham regretted her votes in favor of the Key West bond referenda, after a detail-free candidate forum. "We don’t have a clue how this newly constituted City Commission thinks, much less what it considers its priorities for the city and the new administration. Nada. Zip"

Navel gazing at the BOCC. Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) considered hiring a consulting firm owned by a former chief of staff to then Governor Rick Scott to review all county departments and their processes, in the midst of two ongoing government scandals. County Mayor Holly Raschein disclosed she has a "longstanding relationship" with firm owner Adam Hollingsworth. 

• ROGO surveys to be discussed. The BOCC has a packed agenda regarding prospective ROGO (residential building permit) allocations at approximately 10:00 a.m. at its regularly scheduled meeting at the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Hwy, as agenda item Q2. Those concerned about the controversial and rapidly approaching decision (expected in December) about how many new ROGOs will be issued (if any) should attend or watch. 
• Show up and speak, in person or online. A newly formed advocacy group called Florida Keys ROGO coalition, which is comprised of 19 community organizations, has issued a call to action, in partnership with community advocate Last Stand for those opposed to further growth in the Keys to attend the meeting. Representatives from both organizations are likely to speak. 
• Zoom in. You may attend by Zoom at  https://mcbocc.zoom.us/j/89204098700
• Your personal safety. A post on Last Stand's Facebook page entitled Rapid intensification, ROGOs, and your life is a worthwhile five minute read on the topic.  

Two critical races at candidate forum. Keys Weekly and the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce partnered to sponsor a candidate Q&A forum. Video of the two hour event is available here. Voting by mail is already underway, and early voting begins Monday, October 21st. 

• County Commission District III. Republican incumbent Jim Scholl clashed with Democratic challenger Chris Massicotte on issues of oversight and accountability in county operations, and fiscal responsibility. 
• Massicotte stressed a need to divert additional resources for continuing audits of individual county departments, pinpointing “wasteful spending” to create a “culture of oversight."
• Scholl spoke of a need for stronger top-down leadership, beginning with newly-promoted County Administrator Christine Hurley, and reminded viewers that “the legislative body doesn’t control day-to-day operations of the county – it’s the administrator’s job.”
• The pair disagreed on the county’s future acceptance of additional building rights, with Scholl in favor of additional units bestowed by the state used largely for workforce housing, “as long as we get to control how they’re going to be issued out.” 
• Massicotte said that while surveys and meetings to gauge resident sentiments on additional units were “okay,” he advocated for a temporary moratorium on additional units to allow completion of “an actual, real infrastructure assessment,” arguing that the threat of takings cases filed by property owners unable to build is “made out to be way more than our liability actually would be.”
• Supervisor of Elections. Republican Sherri Hodies and Democrat Ron Saunders are contending for the SOE job being vacated by the retiring Joyce Griffin. 
• Amid an investigation authorized by Gov. Ron DeSantis into whether the Monroe County Republican Executive Committee broke its own rules in April and committed campaign finance fraud in endorsing Hodies with a $20,000 donation ahead of the Republican primary, Hodies pushed back against labels given to her campaign, calling the complaint filed by fellow Republican Phyllis May, “frivolous.” 
• “I think (the investigation) is an example where we need to stay on top of things and make sure things are run properly,” Saunders said. “If nothing’s wrong, that’s great, but it remains to be seen what will happen.”
• Referencing a May fundraising event in which she hosted retired Army intelligence officer Capt. Seth Keshel, a nationally-known election denier, Hodies said, “I am not an election denier, but there have been people at my fundraisers who have been labeled,” she said. Asked directly whether Joe Biden won the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Hoodies stated: “In 2016, Trump won, and in 2020, Biden won, plain and simple.” But why would Hodies invite a nationally known election denier to raise funds so she can count votes in Monroe County?
• Hoodies continued to blast May’s complaint in her closing statement.
• Saunders closed by touting bipartisan supporters of his campaign, decrying recent attack mailers from the Conservative Family Alliance political organization as “full of lies and misstatements.”

One step forward, two steps back. Mark Hedden quoted a Bruce Springsteen lyric to help us understand the challenges of counting hawks.

Spared by Milton | Ugly displays at KW City Hall - Weekly briefing - October 15, 2024

Essential human-curated Florida Keys news, all in one place. 

Subscribe to Key West Voices for free. See something that should be in Voices? Click here to share it with us.

Our Community

Spared by Milton. Hurricane Milton, which rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to Category 5 strength in about 24 hours, left few impacts in the Keys, and then closely tracked with the National Hurricane Center forecast to make landfall near Sarasota.  

• Two bullets dodged in two weeks. Milton followed Hurricane Helene to make the second landfall on Florida's Gulf coast in less than two weeks.
• Massive impact on the mainland. Milton killed at least nine people and left extensive property damage across Florida, hitting some areas previously affected by Hurricane Helene last month. Millions were left without power, 
• Tornado? The National Weather Service is investigating the possible touchdown of a tornado spun by Milton on Navy property in Key West late Tuesday night. 
  
• Two more? The NHC has its eyes on new disturbances in the Caribbean and mid-Atlantic. 
• Insurance exposure? Financial rating service Fitch said that insurers could be on the hook for over $100 billion in hurricane claims in 2024, the fifth straight year above that level. Property insurers, including state-run Citizens are still tallying losses, and its not yet known whether those losses would result in the special assessments it's entitled to levy on all policyholders if its reserves are excessively depleted. 
• Going private. Florida regulators approved proposals by private insurers to take more than 300,000 policies in December from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., as the state continues to try to shrink the size — and risks — of its insurer of last resort.
• A first-timer reflected on his hurricane experience. 

Ugly displays on the KW City Commission dais. The Key West City Commission met and showed no signs that tensions that emerged with its firing of City Manager Al Childress will abate, despite lip service calls for unity in the city government and the community, and three new faces on the dais. The Citizen described the meeting as "volatile at times." 

• Lopez is Vice Mayor (for a short time). Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez appointed outgoing Commissioner Clayton Lopez to the largely ceremonial role of Vice Mayor over objections of Sam Kaufman, who previously held the title. Commissioner Lissette Carey will take over the role when Lopez is replaced by either Aaron Castillo or Marci Rose in the November 5th  election. 
• City Manager search fast tracked, but not as fast as sought. The city manager search committee narrowed the field to five candidates, over the objection of two committee members. Commissioners Donie Lee and Carey wanted to move forward with interviews and possibly making the hire at the Nov. 14 meeting, but the rest of the commission agreed to wait. 
  Lee criticized Kaufman, who serves on the selection committee, for making negative comments at the last committee meeting about one candidate and how he handled a recent rate increase proposal for live-aboard boaters at the city-owned Garrison Bight Marina.
• Parking rate increase. The commission raised parking rates from $5 an hour to $6 an hour in a 4-3 vote. 
• Commission in the balance. On some key votes, the Commission is divided between two blocs, with Henriquez, Carey, and Lee on one side, and Kaufman, Haskell, and Mary Lou Hoover on the other. The winner of the critical November 5th election of term-limited Lopez's successor is likely to be the deciding vote on controversial issues.  
• Telling friends to vote “no." Linda Cunningham regretted her votes in favor of the Key West bond referenda, after a detail-free candidate forum. "We don’t have a clue how this newly constituted City Commission thinks, much less what it considers its priorities for the city and the new administration. Nada. Zip"

Navel gazing at the BOCC. Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) considered hiring a consulting firm owned by a former chief of staff to then Governor Rick Scott to review all county departments and their processes, in the midst of two ongoing government scandals. County Mayor Holly Raschein disclosed she has a "longstanding relationship" with firm owner Adam Hollingsworth. 

• ROGO surveys to be discussed. The BOCC has a packed agenda regarding prospective ROGO (residential building permit) allocations at approximately 10:00 a.m. at its regularly scheduled meeting at the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Hwy, as agenda item Q2. Those concerned about the controversial and rapidly approaching decision (expected in December) about how many new ROGOs will be issued (if any) should attend or watch. 
• Show up and speak, in person or online. A newly formed advocacy group called Florida Keys ROGO coalition, which is comprised of 19 community organizations, has issued a call to action, in partnership with community advocate Last Stand for those opposed to further growth in the Keys to attend the meeting. Representatives from both organizations are likely to speak. 
• Zoom in. You may attend by Zoom at  https://mcbocc.zoom.us/j/89204098700
• Your personal safety. A post on Last Stand's Facebook page entitled Rapid intensification, ROGOs, and your life is a worthwhile five minute read on the topic.  

Two critical races at candidate forum. Keys Weekly and the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce partnered to sponsor a candidate Q&A forum. Video of the two hour event is available here. Voting by mail is already underway, and early voting begins Monday, October 21st. 

• County Commission District III. Republican incumbent Jim Scholl clashed with Democratic challenger Chris Massicotte on issues of oversight and accountability in county operations, and fiscal responsibility. 
• Massicotte stressed a need to divert additional resources for continuing audits of individual county departments, pinpointing “wasteful spending” to create a “culture of oversight."
• Scholl spoke of a need for stronger top-down leadership, beginning with newly-promoted County Administrator Christine Hurley, and reminded viewers that “the legislative body doesn’t control day-to-day operations of the county – it’s the administrator’s job.”
• The pair disagreed on the county’s future acceptance of additional building rights, with Scholl in favor of additional units bestowed by the state used largely for workforce housing, “as long as we get to control how they’re going to be issued out.” 
• Massicotte said that while surveys and meetings to gauge resident sentiments on additional units were “okay,” he advocated for a temporary moratorium on additional units to allow completion of “an actual, real infrastructure assessment,” arguing that the threat of takings cases filed by property owners unable to build is “made out to be way more than our liability actually would be.”
• Supervisor of Elections. Republican Sherri Hodies and Democrat Ron Saunders are contending for the SOE job being vacated by the retiring Joyce Griffin. 
• Amid an investigation authorized by Gov. Ron DeSantis into whether the Monroe County Republican Executive Committee broke its own rules in April and committed campaign finance fraud in endorsing Hodies with a $20,000 donation ahead of the Republican primary, Hodies pushed back against labels given to her campaign, calling the complaint filed by fellow Republican Phyllis May, “frivolous.” 
• “I think (the investigation) is an example where we need to stay on top of things and make sure things are run properly,” Saunders said. “If nothing’s wrong, that’s great, but it remains to be seen what will happen.”
• Referencing a May fundraising event in which she hosted retired Army intelligence officer Capt. Seth Keshel, a nationally-known election denier, Hodies said, “I am not an election denier, but there have been people at my fundraisers who have been labeled,” she said. Asked directly whether Joe Biden won the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Hoodies stated: “In 2016, Trump won, and in 2020, Biden won, plain and simple.” But why would Hodies invite a nationally known election denier to raise funds so she can count votes in Monroe County?
• Hoodies continued to blast May’s complaint in her closing statement.
• Saunders closed by touting bipartisan supporters of his campaign, decrying recent attack mailers from the Conservative Family Alliance political organization as “full of lies and misstatements.”

One step forward, two steps back. Mark Hedden quoted a Bruce Springsteen lyric to help us understand the challenges of counting hawks.    

Our Eyes  

Good Morning - Alyson Crean

Previously in Key West Voices

Will it be Milton's Paradise Lost? On the heels of last week's devastating Hurricane Helene, Tropical Storm Milton formed in the western Gulf of Mexico and headed east. It became a hurricane on October 6th, and rapidly intensified to become a Category 5 storm on October 7. Hurricane Milton's growth was nothing short of astonishing, as it strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just over a day. Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.

• Expect coastal flooding. Jon Rizzo, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service Key West, said Hurricane Milton is expected to bring 1-3 feet of coastal flooding above ground level in low-lying areas on the gulf and bayside early Wednesday morning through Thursday.
• Keys residents are encouraged to visit the National Hurricane Center's official forecast site frequently to monitor the progress of the storm. Forecast models are updated several times each day. 
• Tampa in the crosshairs. As of 11:00 p.m. Monday, the forecast track for Milton's center is aiming for the Tampa / St. Petersburg area, where storm surge flooding could be over 12 feet. But the path will change, and may be many miles north or south at landfall.  
• It's not about the cone. The familiar cone map may be misleading (even without Sharpie annotation). The cone does not indicate the size of the storm; it shows the expected path of the storm's center. Significant impacts, including extreme winds and rainfall, and especially storm surge can occur well outside the storm center. The forecast path, intensity, and timing are updated each time the models are run. 
• When. Not if. Linda Cunningham saw our future in Asheville in the wake of Helene.
• Storm impacts last for years. The Washington Post brought us the sobering news from the journal Nature that excess deaths in the wake of tropical storms far exceed the immediate death toll. The Associated Press reported the death toll from Helene is at 227, with many still missing.
• A ROGO lesson and meeting. In the very worthwhile members only Facebook group Reimagining Key West, local artist John Martini wrote: 
• A fast moving and intensifying hurricane illustrates the negligence of Monroe County Commissioner's intent to consider adding 8000 new and unsustainable ROGO units to the Keys. They have already turned down one study which indicated evacuation times now are over allowable limits. Let them know that the lives and quality of life of the residents are more important then the desires of developers and corporate interests.
• Meeting 10/16 📅 Date: October 16, 2024🕒 Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM📍 Location: Marathon Government Center - BOCC 🏢Address: 2798 Overseas Hwy, 2nd Floor, Marathon, FL 33050

Vote by mail (VBM) ballots are out. Several Key West Voices readers reported receiving their VBM ballots, which were mailed on September 27th.

• Vote and mail now. Readers are encouraged to vote as early as possible, and to ensure that proper postage is attached (three Forever stamps does the trick). 
• Didn't get your ballot? Check your VBM status at the Supervisor of Elections web site, and contact them immediately if there's a problem.
• Early voting begins October 21st at the Supervisor of Elections office on Stock Island and four other locations in Monroe County. Note that you may no longer vote at Southard and Whitehead streets. 
• Election day is November 5th. Why wait? 

Key West District VI campaign finance. Keys Weekly spotlighted the critical contest to fill term-limited City Commissioner Clayton Lopez's open seat, the only remaining seat to be decided in this year's election (note that the City's web site refers to both district 6 and district VI).  

• Marci Rose and Aaron Castillo are in a runoff election to fill the seat. Neither of them reached 50% of the vote to win the seat in the August 20 primary. 
• Few voters, slim margin, high turnout.  As of 2022, there were 2,549 registered voters in District 6. Lopez was reelected to the seat in 2020 by a margin of only 18 votes out (0.84%) out of 2,126 votes cast. 
• Potentially powerful voting bloc at stake. With the bulk of his contributions coming from local and out of state business interests, Castillo could vote for those interests on such critical issues as cruise ships at Mallory Dock, as Key West Voices highlighted recently.
• Big money, big business. Castillo has raised about $88,000, with big donations from business owners, including Ed Swift, owner of Historic Tours of America, hotelier Mark Meisel and the Spottswood family’s businesses. Rose’s donations of nearly $35,000 have come mainly from individuals.
• Data deep dive. Key West Voices dove into the contribution data that is visible to the public at the Supervisor of Elections web site to create the extracts below. 
• GOP support. Although the race is non-partisan, the Republican Party of Key West donated $2,500 to Castillo's campaign.
• Two thirds from big donors. Over two-thirds of Castillo's contributions were in increments of $1,000 or greater, for a total of $60,500. 
• Breaking the rules? Some individual Castillo donors appear to have violated the $1,000 aggregate giving limit.  

click on image to enlarge

click on image to enlarge

Candidate forum. Non-partisan voting advocate Hometown! conducted its final candidate forum ahead of the November election, and posted its video of the event. 

• Supervisor of Elections. The SOE race was described by moderator Todd German as “the main event,” due to media and public attention. Republican candidate Sherri Hodies faces Democrat Ron Saunders to replace retiring SOE Joyce Griffin. The forum came about a week after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a Republican State Attorney from outside the Keys to investigate a complaint that the Monroe County Republican Executive Committee incorrectly wrote a $20,000 campaign check to Hodies’ campaign.
• Key West District VI candidates Rose and Castillo took different positions on the June firing of Key West City Manager Al Childress.
• Monroe County Commission District 3 candidate Chris Massicotte challenged incumbent Jim Scholl on his votes for the unpopular Publix / CEMEX project in Tavernier, oversight of the scandal involving theft of drugs from the Trauma Star medical evacuation service that has led to indictments and firings, and raising taxes and waste disposal fees for Monroe residents.

Fire rescue chief finally fired. Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley fired the Monroe County Fire Rescue Division Chief Andrea Thompson.

Hawkwatch. Mark Hedden returned from his travels in the northland to share his experience counting hawks and awkwardly avoiding small talk with strangers. 

Milton | Key West District VI - Weekly briefing - October 8, 2024

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Will it be Milton's Paradise Lost? On the heels of last week's devastating Hurricane Helene, Tropical Storm Milton formed in the western Gulf of Mexico and headed east. It became a hurricane on October 6th, and rapidly intensified to become a Category 5 storm on October 7. Hurricane Milton's growth was nothing short of astonishing, as it strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just over a day. Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.

• Expect coastal flooding. Jon Rizzo, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service Key West, said Hurricane Milton is expected to bring 1-3 feet of coastal flooding above ground level in low-lying areas on the gulf and bayside early Wednesday morning through Thursday.
• Keys residents are encouraged to visit the National Hurricane Center's official forecast site frequently to monitor the progress of the storm. Forecast models are updated several times each day. 
• Tampa in the crosshairs. As of 11:00 p.m. Monday, the forecast track for Milton's center is aiming for the Tampa / St. Petersburg area, where storm surge flooding could be over 12 feet. But the path will change, and may be many miles north or south at landfall.  
• It's not about the cone. The familiar cone map may be misleading (even without Sharpie annotation). The cone does not indicate the size of the storm; it shows the expected path of the storm's center. Significant impacts, including extreme winds and rainfall, and especially storm surge can occur well outside the storm center. The forecast path, intensity, and timing are updated each time the models are run. 
• When. Not if. Linda Cunningham saw our future in Asheville in the wake of Helene.
• Storm impacts last for years. The Washington Post brought us the sobering news from the journal Nature that excess deaths in the wake of tropical storms far exceed the immediate death toll. The Associated Press reported the death toll from Helene is at 227, with many still missing.
• A ROGO lesson and meeting. In the very worthwhile members only Facebook group Reimagining Key West, local artist John Martini wrote: 
• A fast moving and intensifying hurricane illustrates the negligence of Monroe County Commissioner's intent to consider adding 8000 new and unsustainable ROGO units to the Keys. They have already turned down one study which indicated evacuation times now are over allowable limits. Let them know that the lives and quality of life of the residents are more important then the desires of developers and corporate interests.
• Meeting 10/16 📅 Date: October 16, 2024🕒 Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM📍 Location: Marathon Government Center - BOCC 🏢Address: 2798 Overseas Hwy, 2nd Floor, Marathon, FL 33050

Vote by mail (VBM) ballots are out. Several Key West Voices readers reported receiving their VBM ballots, which were mailed on September 27th.

• Vote and mail now. Readers are encouraged to vote as early as possible, and to ensure that proper postage is attached (three Forever stamps does the trick). 
• Didn't get your ballot? Check your VBM status at the Supervisor of Elections web site, and contact them immediately if there's a problem.
• Early voting begins October 21st at the Supervisor of Elections office on Stock Island and four other locations in Monroe County. Note that you may no longer vote at Southard and Whitehead streets. 
• Election day is November 5th. Why wait? 

Key West District VI campaign finance. Keys Weekly spotlighted the critical contest to fill term-limited City Commissioner Clayton Lopez's open seat, the only remaining seat to be decided in this year's election (note that the City's web site refers to both district 6 and district VI).  

• Marci Rose and Aaron Castillo are in a runoff election to fill the seat. Neither of them reached 50% of the vote to win the seat in the August 20 primary. 
• Few voters, slim margin, high turnout.  As of 2022, there were 2,549 registered voters in District 6. Lopez was reelected to the seat in 2020 by a margin of only 18 votes out (0.84%) out of 2,126 votes cast. 
• Potentially powerful voting bloc at stake. With the bulk of his contributions coming from local and out of state business interests, Castillo could vote for those interests on such critical issues as cruise ships at Mallory Dock, as Key West Voices highlighted recently.
• Big money, big business. Castillo has raised about $88,000, with big donations from business owners, including Ed Swift, owner of Historic Tours of America, hotelier Mark Meisel and the Spottswood family’s businesses. Rose’s donations of nearly $35,000 have come mainly from individuals.
• Data deep dive. Key West Voices dove into the contribution data that is visible to the public at the Supervisor of Elections web site to create the extracts below. 
• GOP support. Although the race is non-partisan, the Republican Party of Key West donated $2,500 to Castillo's campaign.
• Two thirds from big donors. Over two-thirds of Castillo's contributions were in increments of $1,000 or greater, for a total of $60,500. 
• Breaking the rules? Some individual Castillo donors appear to have violated the $1,000 aggregate giving limit.  

click on image to enlarge

click on image to enlarge

Candidate forum. Non-partisan voting advocate Hometown! conducted its final candidate forum ahead of the November election, and posted its video of the event. 

• Supervisor of Elections. The SOE race was described by moderator Todd German as “the main event,” due to media and public attention. Republican candidate Sherri Hodies faces Democrat Ron Saunders to replace retiring SOE Joyce Griffin. The forum came about a week after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a Republican State Attorney from outside the Keys to investigate a complaint that the Monroe County Republican Executive Committee incorrectly wrote a $20,000 campaign check to Hodies’ campaign.
• Key West District VI candidates Rose and Castillo took different positions on the June firing of Key West City Manager Al Childress.
• Monroe County Commission District 3 candidate Chris Massicotte challenged incumbent Jim Scholl on his votes for the unpopular Publix / CEMEX project in Tavernier, oversight of the scandal involving theft of drugs from the Trauma Star medical evacuation service that has led to indictments and firings, and raising taxes and waste disposal fees for Monroe residents.

Fire rescue chief finally fired. Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley fired the Monroe County Fire Rescue Division Chief Andrea Thompson.

Hawkwatch. Mark Hedden returned from his travels in the northland to share his experience counting hawks and awkwardly avoiding small talk with strangers. 

Our Eyes  

Two Great Egrets - Philip Dodderidge

Previously in Key West Voices

Hurricane Helene rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to Category 4 hurricane while passing west of the Keys, where the winds, rain, and isolated areas of local flooding brought anxiety, then relief to our neighbors. But utter devastation was visited on the Gulf coast and Big Bend areas of Florida, then on to Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and other states. Asheville, NC, a favorite summer destination for some Key Westers, suffered 'biblical' flooding, landslides, and closed roads. A few friends of KWV in Asheville reported their safety on social media, but the toll of death and destruction is still being tallied. Millions across the southeast are still without fresh water, power, road, and communications access, and as many as 100 persons (so far) are known to have died. 

• Photo tour. The Washington Post provided an interactive tour of some of the worst as of Sunday evening.
• Another storm? Yet another storm may be forming in the same region of the Caribbean that gave rise to Helene, and the eastern Atlantic has Tropical Storm Kirk and yet another disturbance. While none of these are an immediate threat, Keys residents are encouraged to monitor the National Hurricane Center web site at least once daily for the entire month of October
• One road out. With increasing frequency of rapidly intensifying storms, the official model for evacuating the Keys on 24 hours' notice is increasingly obsolete, while the Monroe Board of County Commissioners is granting and weighing issuing additional residential building permits later this year. WTF? 
• Road elevation. Florida Department of Transportation is elevating three short sections of U.S. 1 in an effort to reduce future flood risk in those low-lying segments.

Monroe County Republicans go to war, with themselves. Keys Weekly extensively covered the feud within the Monroe County Republican Executive Committee (REC) arising from its decision in May to endorse one Republican candidate over another in the primary race for Supervisor of Elections (SOE), along with a $20,000 campaign contribution to candidate Sherri Hodies, that some local Republicans contend was illegal.

• State attorney recused. Key West resident Phyllis May, a registered Republican, filed a complaint on July 26 with Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward (also a Republican and a member of the REC). Ward quite properly recused himself from the investigation, and prevailed upon Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to appoint another prosecutor. DeSantis appointed Amira D. Fox in an executive order. 
• MAGA election denier. GOP SOE candidate Hodies was previously reported to be a MAGA (Trump supporter) and 2020 election denier. Hodies wrote, "If President Trump can get on his knees and his face and cry to almighty God, you should know he was sent by God to help us save this nation” in March 2020 on her Facebook page. 
• Saunders cries foul. Democratic nominee for the SOE Ron Saunders posted on Facebook his reaction to the investigation, as well as responses to misleading campaign messaging from Hodies. 
• Unprecedented endorsement. Current Monroe County SOE Joyce Griffin, a Democrat, endorsed Hodies’ Democratic challenger, Ron Saunders, for the position. Griffin is retiring, and recused herself from the canvassing board in the election to replace her. 
  
• The bottom line. Leaders of the Monroe County Republican party want a Trump supporter and election denier to be the Supervisor of Elections here, while other Republicans are challenging that support. Some Republicans have quietly endorsed Democrat Ron Saunders for the SOE job. 

Taxes going up. Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved a $715.7 million spending plan for the 2025 fiscal year, a $48.7 million increase from the previous year.

Fire rescue chief finally fired. Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley fired the Monroe County Fire Rescue Division Chief Andrea Thompson. Thompson was among four county employees and contractors indicted in the ongoing scandal involving the 2022 theft of narcotics from the Trauma Star medical evacuation service. Former County Administrator Roman Gastesi was among those indicted.  

Florida lawmakers seek to politicize school boards. Florida’s lawmakers proposed Amendment 1: Partisan School Board Elections, on the November ballot. They claim the change will simply provide more transparency. 

• Opponents are concerned about the impact of increasing partisan politics on local school board decision-making, and worry about disenfranchising the nearly 4 million Florida voters who aren't registered with party affiliation. Passage of this amendment means those voters would be shut out of closed partisan primaries to determine school board candidates.

Homeless protections being dismantled. Among Florida laws taking effect on October 1, one bars local governments from allowing people to sleep at places such as public buildings and in public rights-of-way. Another part of the measure will give legal standing to residents and business owners to file civil lawsuits against local governments that allow sleeping or camping on public property. That part of the law will take effect January 1.

Live on an analog island? Coincident with our near miss by Hurricane Helene, Linda Cunningham contemplated what life would be like in the Keys if we were cut off from the mainland.