Leon County General Election 2014

This is my take and observations on the candidates on my ballot. I include links where I can but really this is an exercise to help ME decide who to vote for. Hope it helps those others out there researching.

Research Websites:
WFSU Bandwagon - A bunch of 3-minute videos of each candidate "debating"
League of Women Voters - short summaries of each candidate
Chamber of Commerce guide
James Madison Institute guide
Florida Family Policy Council guide


Representative in Congress/ 2nd Congressional Congressional District:
Steve Southerland - REP - (My Pick)When I first supported Steve in the last election I wasn't sure how he would actually vote. He has been great, voting conservative often against his own party.
Gwen Graham - DEM - Daughter of Bob Graham, lawyer, works as an administrator for Leon School superintendent. Supports Obama Care.

Governor & L.T. Governor
Rick Scott - REP - (My Pick) Current governor. Although not a very good speaker and not always a conservative, he has really focused on job creation in the state, and has done a pretty good job in that arena.
Charlie Crist - DEM - Former Republican governor. Will say just about anything to get elected. Blatantly contradicts himself depending on who he is speaking to.
Adrian Wyllie - LPF - Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida.  Former military, owns IT business. I agree with the Libertarian Party on 80% of their issues, and he would probably make a good governor, however the race is too close to risk letting Charlie win.
Farid Khavari - NPA - Another libertarian not on the libertarian ticket, supports legalizing all marijuana, against death penalty, pro-2nd amendment...Not a chance of winning
Glenn Burkett - NPA - Formerly ran against Bill Nelson in the DEM primary. I have more chance of winning.

Attorney General
Pam Bondi - REP - (My Pick) Current Attorney General. I think she has done a great. She has focused on busting up pill mills and lowering car insurance rates by targeting the gangs that cause accidents to file fraudulent claims. Endorsed by pretty much all of the state police organizations.
George Sheldon - DEM - Former member of the Florida House of Representatives, served as the Secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families. Supports Obama Care, Medical Marijuana, gay marriage, and pro-abortion.
Bill Wohlsifer - LPF - supports "an end to the war on drugs", supports gay marriage, medical marijuana, open carry gun laws,

Chief Financial Officer - this is a hard one to judge, it is not really political.
Jeff Atwater - REP - (My Pick) Current CFO. Former banker at Riverside National Bank for ~25 years. Former Florida House of Representatives, Former Florida Senator.
William "Will" Rankin - DEM - Served as Special Agent investigator in the Army, served as Director of Asset Management for the State Treasury of Ohio, not many endorsements other than the Democrat party.

Commissioner of Agriculture - this is not really political either but is often a step stool for candidates to go to the next level. I think either will do a good job.
Adam Putnam - REP - (My Pick) Current commissioner of Ag. Seems to have been doing a good job. His family are ranchers and citrus growers. He is spoken well of by farmers and former friends of his that I have known.
Thaddeus Thad Hamilton - DEM - Worked for USDA, National Resources Conservation Service for many years, former chairman Broward County Land Preservation Council.  Nothing wrong with Thad, I just think Adam is already doing a good job.

Retaining Judges:
I heard that justices in Florida have always been retained.
I'm voting NO for all the Judges. I think they end up staying in these positions way too long, but check out their resume's and judge for yourself.
District Court
Robert T. Benton
Joseph Lewis Jr.
Scott Makar
Tim Osterhaus
Clay Roberts

County Commissioner, District 1 - was hard to choose
Weser Khufu - (My Pick) Formerly James Washington. Lived in Leon county many years. business owner, engineer and certified General Contractor. He actually has some good ideas that he expressed in an interview I heard.
Bill Proctor - Current County Commissioner. While not the worst county commissioner we have, we could definitely use a change.
A good summary of the two is in the Tallahassee Democrat here

County Commissioner At Large
Curtis Baynes - (My Pick) Real Estate broker. Regular attender for city and county commission meetings. Against the city utility surcharges. Well spoken, I liked the interview I heard.
Nick Maddox - Our current commissioner. Considers himself "a conservative Democrat", is OK with raising taxes, focus on affordable housing in the county. Former FSU and NFL football player, voted for $800,000 sidewalk project that mostly benefits the Double Tree.

Leon Soil and Water Conservation District, Group 2
William E. Helmich - (My Pick) BA Military History. Owns local business consulting firm. Has worked for City Water Utilities and Underground Utilities Departments. Current supervisor, Leon Soil and Water Conservation District.
Stan Peacock - Optometrist. Has had a lot of school involvement. Did a good job answering questions from the Florida League of Women Voters. Not a bad pick but doesn't have the experience or education of Helmich.

Leon Soil and Water Conservation District, Group 4
Brian Lee - Democrat Campaign Director and organizer. Education in political science. Political operative.
Ryan Truchelut - (My Pick) works as graduate research assistant, Degree in Geosciences working toward a PhD in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. He probably can actually tell the difference between soil and water.

The Amendments
In general if you don't understand an amendment it is better to vote NO. Our Florida constitution is muddied up with way too many things that should have been left to legislation by the house and senate, and not put forever in the constitution.
Amendment 1 - (NO) 1st this should not be in the constitution. It limits the ability to adjust the budget in hard times. Over 27% of Florida is already "public lands" which are untaxed. This WILL raise taxes for everyone else by limiting the tax base of state and local governments. Don't be suckered by environmental emotionalism.

Amendment 2 - (NO) Again this does not belong in the constitution and should be legislated. In fact the legislature already allows one type of marijuana for medical use. I don't have a problem with anyone getting any kind of medicine if it helps and does more harm than good. My fear is that the way this is worded is going to make it more about making it easier to smoke pot than it is about providing medicine, Did I mention it shouldn't be in the constitution.

Amendment 3 - (NO) This is actually relevant to the constitution but I'm voting against is based on the idea that lame duck governors are picking judges just before the new  governor takes office.  Even though this might benefit Republicans this year or next, I think it is bad policy.

One Cent Local Government Surtax Extension (Should be called the 1% Sales Tax)
(Yes) - Adds 1% sales tax to everything bought in Leon County. I've been on the fence about this one.  We already have one of the highest sales tax in the state.  That being said I prefer consumption tax over property tax.  Without the sales tax increase you can bet the commission would just up our property taxes which hurts locals and doesn't allow us to gain from tourists spending money when they visit.

Referendum Amending Charter Establishing an Ethics Anticorruption Code, Board, Office and Campaign Finance Program
(YES - PLEASE) One thing Leon county and Tallahassee definitely needs is some way to help stop government corruption. Just using the voter box has not worked (as Mayor Marks knows).