Fraternal Order of Police, Lake Worth Lodge #1 Endorses my Campaign!

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Sunset Ridge - 17th Avenue North Clean-up

Wow! What a busy day. It started around 8:30 this morning when I gathered some equipment to help the nice Sunset Ridge folks. Borrowing a bucket and a "picker-upper" from the Mad Hatter, along with some garbage bags - thanks Broward and Kelley, I then walked to the Regency Party Rental parking lot, south of the 17th Avenue North right-of-way. That's where I met up with the group from the neighborhood.

I had read about the venture yesterday on Lake Worth Talk.com and the neighborhood planned a clean-up of 17th Avenue North from Dixie Hwy to D St. So, the group pictured below started out and worked our way west. Lots of glass, plastic, bits of flags from the big parking lot, Styrofoam, cardboard and assorted debris (some from the hurricanes) were all gathered into trash bags and taken away. Most of the effort was spent on the area by the FEC railroad tracks. The picture below was taken when all was said and done - You can see me in the back row.

The officers of the Sunset Ridge Neighborhood Association appear in the above photo. From left to right: President, Chris Erhard; Treasurer, Barbara Ringhiser; Secretary, Christine Velez; and Vice-President, Ryan Oblander.

Thanks for the great commitment you have to your neighborhood and City - glad that I could lend a helping hand!

After that, I grabbed my dogs and headed down to the Street Painting Festival. Worked the crowd and spent much of the middle part of the day in our downtown. I talked to a lot of merchants and residents. Such great weather contributed to what will probably be a record crowd. I'll go back tomorrow and concentrate more on the art being created and will share some pictures here.

Then, off I went to the ALF-CIO endorsement screening up in Riviera Beach. I guess I just missed Retha Lowe, but got to chat a while with Mayoral candidate Mary Lindsey while we waited our turn. After a bit, Jo Ann Golden appeared and soon after Mayoral candidate Jeff Clemens showed. Then, it was back home to dust off, rest, etc.

We'll be back at it tomorrow. Remember, this week we have the presentation by Warren Newell at the Golfcourse Clubhouse, the Parrot Cove candidate forum on Tuesday and then the College Park candidate forum on Thursday.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Good Times in Vernon Heights

We had a great time at 1716 N. 22nd Avenue tonight with Carla, Terry and Micheal hosting a great event for District #1 Retha Lowe and District #3 Wes Blackman candidates. Mayoral candidate Jeff Clemens also attended. It's all a part of getting the word out and letting Lake Worth know what a great future it has in store. Here are some pictures from tonight. Enjoy!

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Endorse my Campaign!

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Pics from Jonathan and Ruben's Get Together and a Possible re-do of 431 N. L Street - WOW

Thanks to Jonathan and Ruben for opening their home for a campaign gathering. They have done a great job with their house on N. Palmway, with a fantastic backyard and pool area. It was a blustery day, but the winds calmed as the day drew to a close.

I gave an update on the status of the campaign to the group. We just got through a week of screenings by various groups that will be endorsing candidates in the municipal elections. The big push now is getting volunteer group together and oriented toward our mission. Things are looking good in that regard. Mayoral candidate Jeff Clemens came by for a visit too.

Afterwards, we adjourned to the Mad Hatter and bumped into Paul Landrigan, who is currently playing a major role in the Lake Worth Playhouse production of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge". As I was chatting with Jonathan and Ruben, they mentioned their desire to find a property near the downtown, preferably north. They have a significant amount of experience in rehabilitation of historic properties in Miami Beach and want to turn their efforts towards a Lake Worth property.

Immediately I thought of 431 N. L. Street. This is a property that the Planning, Zoning and Historic Resource Preservation Board saw last September. It is a City-owned property that was shut down through the nuisance abatement process (the members PZHRPB serve on the Nuisance Abatement Board as well) - a former Joe Dimauro property that plagued the neighborhood for years. The City wanted to demolish the entire structure and therefore applied for permission to demolish the building.



Through some excellent work performed by Darrin Engel, the City's Historic Preservation planner (see below), he put together the following staff report/recommendation and the Board ended up denying the request. The board did express concern regarding the future of the property and the chances of whether or not it was realistic to think that the existing ten units in the building could be converted back to the original four units as the building was originally designed.



As you can see from the staff report, the building was designed by G. Sherman Childs - who was the architect of the Municipal Auditorium (current City Hall), the City Hall annex, etc.

So, this is one important structure in our City's history that deserves to be saved and it is good to know that there ARE people interested in returning it to a positive, contributing factor in the neighborhood Of course, any exchange of this property from City to private hands would be through the RFP - Request for Proposal process and might trigger a referendum and it might have to be affordable housing, base upon the recent State law. I am looking into the process now and will get with some answers.

If you have trouble viewing the staff report, I can e-mail you a copy. I also have the powerpoint presentation available: wesblackman@gmail.com

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Fun at the Lake Worth Beach Green Market

We braved the brisk weather this morning and headed down to the Lake Worth Green Market. It was fairly well attended today. Broward and Roger, friends from the Mad Hatter joined me. I thought it would be nice to share pictures with you. I picked up some great goat cheese - from a Turtle Creek farm. They have about 110 goats out in Loxahatchee - wonder if he'd let me take Mars and Venus out there so they could renew their herding instincts?

Picked up a sour dough bagette and along with some half sour pickles which became my lunch. I bumped into some nice people while there, including Peter who is the organizer of the event and other supporters of my campaign. What a nice way to enjoy a Saturday morning at our beach park.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

FYI

Hmmmmm.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Fundraiser on Sunday, February 18th - 1222 N. Palmway

See invitation below:

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

New Hand-Bills

This is the new addition of my hand bills. These should be ready in the next few days and they take care of a few details - note the cool picture of the beach on the back.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Palm Beach County - Human Rights Council Endorses my Campaign!

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Nice Letter from John Paxman

This is a letter from John Paxman, the current Chairman of the Planning and Zoning/Historic Resource Preservation Board regarding my tenure on the Board. Remember, clicking on an image will create a seperate window for viewing.

Thanks John, it's nice to know the Board is in good and capable hands.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Can't Believe It!

I actually have some time to kill before the City Commission meeting - the one that is going to deal with the Mayor's apparent inability to sign and initial the Greater Bay documents that memorialize the arrangement between the two parties. I have personally known that this has been an issue since early December. This is necessary for Greater Bay to go after financing as this is the only security for the loan - no other collateral. And, this should be important to the Mayor as he asks about their success in securing financing often in a off-hand way to cast aspersions to the project.

Let's just get it done! This is nothing more than a "pocket veto" which is unheard of in a Commission - Manager form of government. Does our Mayor have the ability to carry out the duties of his office? This might be determined at the meeting today.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Order your lawn signs NOW!

Yes, my lawn signs are here - help spread the good word and share the vision! Signs are available at the Mad Hatter - southeast corner of 16th Avenue North and North Dixie Hwy. Just step in and they are stored on the back patio.

If that is inconvenient, you can call me at 308 0364, e-mail me at wesblackman@gmail.com or respond to this post with your address. In your message, let me know the number of signs that you need.

Thanks again for the warm out-pouring of support. Your encouragement gives me strength of purpose on the campaign trail.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

"We Love Lake Worth" Party - Friday, 2/9/07 at the Mad Hatter - Starting at 7 p.m.

Join your friends and neighbors as we celebrate our love for Lake Worth. With Valentine's Day on the horizon, what better time to gather and rally around our shared love of our City. You can think of it as a little patriotism, at the municipal level. We all know that our City has taken its lumps and bumps, having the bruises to show for it. Time to administer a little TLC.

And what better way to demonstrate that love other than to have candidates for our March election be invited to participate, talk and meet the people they will be representing should they prevail on March 13th. All the candidates are invited. This really will be an opportunity to meet and greet the candidates present there. Mics will be provided, but there really will be no structured presentation - just a friendly mixing and mingling.

Thanks to Broward and Kelley, owners of the Mad Hatter Lounge for opening their doors for this community event. There will be some tasty treats, Valentine's decorations (which are already starting to sprout) and a good time.

I look forward to seeing and speaking with you about the lovely future in store for the City of Lake Worth.


The Mad Hatter is located on the S/E corner of 16th Avenue N. and N. Dixie Hwy.

In honor of this event, enjoy some Valentine's cards from the early 20th Century - about the time our City was born.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"

Chance Meeting...

Funny story. About two days ago now, I was minding my own business walking my dogs down Federal Highway (I guess we were actually taking care of their business - ha!). Anyway, a gentleman was walking north on the opposite side of the street as we were walking south. Upon seeing me, he crosses the street and introduces himself. He had just read this blog, read about my dogs and was going to check out where I lived. Well, in the process, he stumbled upon the whole family. We had a nice conversation. He is from the mid-west as well (Oak Park, Illinois) and has been active in historic preservation activities there. He has invested in properties in West Palm Beach, but knew that Lake Worth was really where it was at. It had a sense of place, a history and was being kind to its roots and heritage.

As we were talking, wouldn't you know we bumped into Jeff Clemens (who was running around with his campaign's yard signs). All three (err, five) of us had a nice exchange, Jeff left and Warren walked back with us to the house. The following is an e-mail from Warren sent after our meeting:

Hi Wes,

I still can't believe the timing of running into you today.
Meeting you and Jeff in the same short period had a real "meant to be" quality about it. Ordinarily, it wouldn't be like me to display signage for a candidate without learning more about their positions, but meeting both of you at the same time convinced me the Midwestern God's had spoken. Besides, not only did I discover that both of you have the good judgment to live in the right neighborhood, you both chose homes on the right side of the street! I could
never support a candidate whose front door bakes in the Sun all day long.

Seriously, I've tried to do my homework about you and the other candidates as best I can. I'm limited to the amount of time I can spend reading (due to a medical condition I have with my eyes), but talking with you two today
encouraged me that neither one of you embraces the idea of over-developing Lake Worth. I have a very urban consciousness, but I get concerned when I see too
many multi-family projects being approved. I understand the concept of population growth to support tax-generating commercial development, but these mega-projects threaten to over-burden the roads, dilute single-family property
values, and destroy the basic character of Lake Worth. I won't make the mistake of investing my time or energy in a town whose leadership lacks the sophistication to understand that.

I hope we'll have another chance to talk sometime. I saw some of those old post cards on your web site that showed the original Lake Worth Casino, and wondered if recreating something like that is what's being talked about over on the beach front. I just assumed "casino" meant gambling, and development meant "high-rise", but the opulent structure pictured in your post cards gave Lake Worth something priceless..... An IDENTITY.

Thank you for spending so much time with me today,

Warren Stewart
1828 N. K Street

And, my response:

Thanks Warren and nice to meet you too. Serendipity as it were. Yes, the original casino building had some interesting architecture, but happened to be in a very vulnerable position as it relates to storms, etc. The plan is to emulate the building, but not be a replica. We haven't seen the final plans for the building yet, but they should be moving forward during the later part of the
year.

And thanks for your assessment regarding Jeff and me. I'd really like to keep up a dialog with you and keep you informed on happenings, etc. Thanks also for displaying my sign and I am sure that Jeff appreciates that too.

Wes

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"