Just a reminder. Trying to win an election by using volunteers as “political foot-balls” is not a winning strategy.

Find out below why going after volunteers and volunteer boards “to possibly create doubt and suspicion about what’s going on here at City Hall” can backfire in a very big and public way. And when that happens you can pretty much give up all hope of getting elected in this City. Ever.

First off, the volunteers serving our City are the backbone of Lake Worth. For example, all those volunteers serving on our City boards. Without them our City would not be able to function.

But there’s a big difference between public discourse, e.g., disagreeing with what a volunteer or particular volunteer board did, and using them as ‘political footballs’. Let’s say a board makes a decision you disagree with, here’s a few questions:

• Were you there at that board meeting?
• Did you see all the evidence and backup material presented before the board?
• Prior to many volunteer board meetings members receive a packet from the City to get prepared ahead of time. Did you ever request to see that information?
• Volunteer board members are part of the community. Did you ever think of contacting them or even walking up and asking, “Why did you vote the way you did?”

Sadly, this kind of political attack, using volunteers as ‘political footballs’ is nothing new.

But!

If you do decide to go down that path there’s something you need to know. If you think volunteers will just sit back and not respond to being used as a ‘political football’, well, you are very mistaken.

The statement below was originally posted in March 2016 on this blog. This was in the lead-up to the municipal elections that month. Mr. Greg Rice, the Chair of Lake Worth’s Planning and Zoning Board demanded an apology, which he never received, for false statements made about volunteers who serve the City:

“I would like to make a public statement. Somebody running for city commissioner [the challenger to Commissioner Andy Amoroso] has made public comments at public meetings accusing members of this Planning and Zoning Board, and there are several of them in this room tonight, for being involved in secret meetings with the developer of the Gulfstream hotel and the Planning and Zoning Board. He’s making a slanderous statement. That has never happened [emphasis added]. I want everybody to realize that. I don’t know why, whatever that means, to possibly create doubt and suspicion about what’s going on here at City Hall. But these volunteers on this board that aren’t elected officials that are serving this City, making the sacrifices, this could have a significant, things like slanderous statements like that, could have a significant impact on their ability to be able to make a living. Especially those that are involved in professions that are construction-related or design-related. I would like an apology before the election that [‘secret meetings’] never happened.”

By the way, Mr. Rice gave his “public statement” on March 1st, 2015. Two weeks later, on March 15th, Commissioner Andy Amoroso went on to win re-election in a landslide victory.

To watch for yourself: The video below is Mr. Rice giving his annual Planning and Zoning Board update two years ago. At the 10:30 mark in the video he thanks the volunteers and the City staff for all their hard work and sacrifice. At the 11:00 mark he makes the statement above:



And lastly, if you happen to be upset or even angry about what a volunteer board did or didn’t do, did you ever think of becoming a volunteer yourself on a City of Lake Worth volunteer board? It’s actually very easy. Click on this link or send an email to the City’s Volunteer Coordinator, Olivia Brown: obrown@lakeworth.org