Please spread the word:

Until early July, at the earliest, this blog is: “AN OFFICIAL ELECTION-FREE ZONE”.


In other words, past elections will still be studied and analyzed, but future elections WILL NOT BE CONTEMPLATED until after the July 4th Raft Race or at some point thereafter.

Why? City residents need a rest.

Some have already “declared intent” to run for either mayor or commissioner in the little City of Lake Worth on Election Day, Tuesday, March 13th, 2018. However, declaring “intent” to run for elected office is sort of like declaring ones intent to run down Dixie Hwy. naked for the 6:00 news.

“Declaring”, if you didn’t know, formally allows one to raise money and proves you live in the City and are a registered voter. Until it actually happens, and one is formally “qualified” and on the ballot to run for election, it’s a moot point mostly but does get the attention of the news media, political junkies, others thinking of running, and maybe even the person sitting in that Commission or mayor’s seat presently.

Does anyone remember Mr. Succe? If you were paying close attention earlier this year you understand the question.

Commissioner Herman C. Robinson, if you recall, declared very early to run for the District 4 open seat in the last election. And he didn’t even try to seriously raise money until after the qualifying period (the dates are below) to get on the ballot. And if I recall correctly, Mr. McNamara declared his intent to run for mayor very early as well.

Long faces:

Do you remember Post reporter Willy Howard? The inimitable Mr. Tom McGow was there that night in 2009 at “The Cottage”, 522 Lucerne Ave., now the much-improved venue C.W.S. Bar + Kitchen in our Downtown.

Do you know what and when the “qualifying period” is? That doesn’t even begin until November. The first step is contacting the City Clerk after deciding to run.

That election in 2009, ahem, was one where ‘the issues’ were priority #1 here in this City. Not:

Our local Anarchists at the time, forever entertaining, were recruited to convince people René Varela was an evil “Dolphin Dealer”. Appropriately, this protest was held outside the Lake Worth Playhouse.

Anyhow. . .

What I’m sensing in the City right now is this: There is a severe case of “voter fatigue”.

People are tired of it and need a rest. And many are still trying to figure out what happened in the last election. Interestingly, while people are “tired of it all”, going forward there is no lack of interest in what’s happened in the past in this City politically. The traffic to my blog bears that out.

There will be another election next March. And then one in March of 2019. And then in 2020 there is a year off for rest and reflection. A lot of voters in this City still don’t know terms for elected officials will be increasing from 2 years to 3. The referendum making that happen passed last March quite easily. A lot of people I talk to don’t know a thing about that. Yet.

Past elections really show nothing at all about whether jumping into a race early is a good idea or not. Ultimately, that’s determined by the voters. It could be seen as a signal of weakness or a signal of strength. A coin toss right now, 50/50: Either an elected official is a formidable opponent or trying to ward off challengers. A challenger may see name recognition, a huge advantage for any incumbent, a big hill to climb and believe needs a big head start.

The qualifying period is 2 weeks here in the City of Lake Worth. That is how you get your name on the ballot. That begins on November 28th (the last Tuesday of that month) and ends on December 12th, the second Tuesday in December. That’s a long time away, especially in politics.

So. “What could go wrong?” A lot (for example, see Josh Gad in the video below). And “I’ve never seen that before!”. . . Well, we all probably have. Many times before.

But we’ll be off to the races again soon enough. Just not until after the July 4th Raft Race on this blog. And hopefully the only issue with dolphins after July 4th will be the Miami Dolphins and the “Wild Catch” will the one that gets them into the playoffs and maybe even the Super Bowl.

The theme for this years July 4th Raft Race is “Under The Big Top!”

Have you started constructing your raft yet for July 4th?