Friday, September 9, 2016

[UPDATE] November 8th referendum and the tactic critics will use to try and defeat it. For the second time.

First, the rumor being spread the City of Lake Worth has two referendums on November 8th IS COMPLETELY FALSE. With only 59 days to go these attempts to confuse the public will only increase. I'm being told the mood in City Hall is a positive one despite all the silly rumors to scuttle this bond for a second time.

Second, use this link to the City's website with the latest information. Please share this with your friends and neighbors. Continue reading for more tactics the critics will use this time to try and defeat the referendum coming up:
Excerpts from a Post editorial leading up to the 2014 bond vote that failed by 25 votes. Excellent points. However, by that time their beat reporter/intern had confused so many people it didn't matter what the editorial board wrote.

It will be a simple tactic: try to create jealousy, envy, and sow discontent within and between neighborhoods. What the opposition to the bond will do is saturate areas with high voter turnout and do this:

Knock Knock
Voter: "Hello?"
Door knocker: "Did you know that neighborhood west of Dixie is getting their streets fixed and you're not?"

In a Post article by Kevin Thompson he fueled the speculation prior to the City's Workshop last August 25th. Use this link to see what happened at that meeting. Why even publish speculation? Undoubtedly this 'news', which wasn't news, was spread throughout the City to get people riled up. Here are two excerpts from the article:

The city is hosting a second workshop on Thursday [held on 8/25] at City Hall to go over updated road data compiled by A.D.A. Engineering of West Palm Beach. City Commissioners are expected to reveal the list of streets that will be fixed if the $40 million road repair bond referendum passes in November.

[and. . .]

Some of the roads on the list include: North K Street, North J Street, North M street, North B Street and roads in the College Park neighborhood. [emphasis added] Amoroso [Commissioner Andy Amoroso] said he didn’t know how many streets were on the list.

The critics of November's referendum are going to have a very easy job. All they have to do is raise questions. For the referendum to pass will take a tremendous amount of work by supporters.

It's easy to say "No" to a bond. And it's not easy to convince some people that fixing a street on the other side of town will benefit them. But it will in the long run. The bond is an investment in the community. 

So, do I think the bond will pass? It will if all of us who support it work very hard. And when we talk about the bond to voters we have answers instead of just "raising the question" like the critics will do.