OK. Here we go. Getting into the home stretch. Only four more ballot items to decide on. This one is state level, then we have US House, US Senate, and President. I am running out of time too! There are a little under 5 hours until the polls close, and some of that time I have to be at meetings or taking Amy to music lessons, and other things like that. So… lets get to it. The candidates are:

* Mitch Needelman (Republican)
* Gerda Termitus (Democrat)

OK Termitus, you lose points for not having a website. At least not one I can find. Once again I say, PEOPLE, it is 2004! Get on the web!!

The Florida Today summary is useful as always. Just in this forum, Needelman shows a greater breadth and concern over a wider range of issues. Termitus defines herself as a narrow issue candidate (education and health care). But does not provide any information that really defines what she would do to any level of detail, even on those issues. One naturally can not speak too much in such a forum, but it could have been more. A website would have helped here too.

In addition, when you look at Needelman’s site, he uses his incumbancy well. He has a long list of legilsative proposals he has sponsored, most of which look reasonable at first glance. He has the experience, he has the track record, I don’t see anything as an overriding negative…

Florida today agrees in their endorsement. They say, “Needelman’s opponent, Democrat Gerda Termitus, worked in the pharmaceutical industry and is a captain in the Army Reserve. Although she has a sincere desire to serve, she has little knowledge of the issues and is no match for Needelman’s experience. ” Yeah, that is what it looked like to me too.

My vote: Mitch Needelman (Republican)

Which one will say my house is worth the least so I can pay as little tax as possible? (Once I buy a house anyway.) Um… the candidates are:

* Jim Ford (Republican)
* Penny Farrar (Democrat)

As usual there is an endoresment by Florida Today. But this time there is also a Letter to the Editor critizing that endorsement. According to Florida today, Farrar accuses Ford of “wasteful spending, top-heavy management and high error rates “. They say they see no evidence of that though, and point out she was fired from that office a number of years ago.

Hmm. I really don’t know where the truth is here. But reading Farrar’s website some of the charges have at least an air of plausibilty, as does her friend defending her in the letter to the editor.

Plus, I like her signs. Her name is Penny, and her signs have a big picture of a penny. And her slogan is “It Just Makes Cents”. Ha! Can you beat that?

Anyway, I actually have no stong opinion here. But the incumbant has been in the office since 1988. That is a long time. I’m for shaking things up occationally. So…

My vote: Penny Farrar (Democrat)

Oh no. So far I’m 3 for 3 voting for Democrtats on the items that actually have parties. That can’t be good! Usually I’m all over the place on local races! This one WAS close, I could have gone the other way… I almost did… I had written the last paragraph differently then went back to change it right before submitting the post… but in the end I picked Farrar.

OK, this is the first one with parties… the candidates:

* Jackie Colon (Republican)
* Margarita Ilecki (Democrat)

I could not find a website for Colon. Ilecki’s is minimal and doesn’t speak much about the issues, but it is there.

Once again, Florida Today has more information:

Brevard County Commission Endorsements

This contest pits Republican Jackie Colon, who is seeking a second term, against Democrat and political novice Margarita Ilecki.

We endorsed Colon four years ago and again recommend her to voters, but this time with reservations. Here’s why:

Colon sold herself to voters in 2000 as a moderate Democrat. Then, last year, she pulled the ultimate flip-flop, switching parties and becoming a conservative Republican.

Colon says she did it because of her religious beliefs and opposition to abortion. She also said she felt uncomfortable with the Democratic Party’s pro-choice stance. We have the utmost respect for her personal convictions, but her switch raises this question:

Just who is Colon, and what does she really believe in when it comes to the future of Brevard? Often, it’s hard to tell.

She failed a major leadership test when — saying the $4,445 figure was too high — she voted against impact fees for new homes to help pay for more schools to meet the Florida Constitution’s mandate for smaller classroom sizes.

In doing so, she offered no sound solution to a problem that must be immediately addressed. Her choice let down students, parents and teachers who needed her support.

She also backed the county’s manatee protection plan while a Democrat, but now, as a Republican, opposes a small funding expansion of the county’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program to save our resources from the bulldozer.

As a result, she’s against what may be the last chance to preserve the best of what remains of our irreplaceable landscape.

If re-elected, Colon must understand that her job is to make hard decisions for the betterment of Brevard. She can’t hide behind half-measures she knows won’t work to give herself a safe political out.

Parts of her record suggest she has the experience, thoughtfulness and mettle to reach that point, making us hope she’ll live up to the promise she once showed.

Eight years on the Palm Bay City Council gave her excellent insight into the needs of cities. She also spearheaded the first county-city-school summit — a smart move that can result in better communication and planning among civic leaders.

And we don’t question her dedication, care for constituents and involvement in valuable programs, such as working with local churches on youth drug-awareness programs.

Ilecki, a hearing specialist, is a quick study on the issues, but has never held elected office and has been in Brevard only a short time. We hope she seeks a municipal office to gain some experience and stays on the political scene.

But Colon, despite our reservations, is the better-qualified candidate.

I don’t really understand. They spend many paragraphs (I excerpted the whole bit about her) slamming her on many fronts. But then say essentially, “Well, she sucks, but we’ll still pick her.” There is not much information about Ilecki, and she is a novice, but… it sounds like you can’t count on Colon for much of anything. I’ll take the novice Democrat over the not quite sure what she is doing Republican.

My vote: Margarita Ilecki (Democrat)

OK, I feel like I am skimping, but I am also running out of time. I will roll the questions of the five district court judges into one post. In Florida judges are appointed by the Governor, but then every six years have to be voted for “Merit Retention”. That means you get to vote yes or no on each one, to determine if they get another six years. If they are voted out, the Governor gets to appoint someone else. The District Judges up for retention at this time are:

* Vincent G. Torpy, Jr.
* Winifred J. Sharp
* Earle W. Peterson, Jr.
* David A. Monaco
* Jacqueline R. Griffin

OK, the websites just give basic resume stuff. And apperantly judges aren’t allowed to have “real” campaigns where they talk about their views and stuff. And I don’t have the time or resources to actually start going and looking up the case histories for these judges.

In several palces I was able to find summaries of these retention races, and they all looked very similar. Here is a typical one. Basically it gives info on each of the judges and how long they have been in their positions. It also gives a couple of one sentence summaries of a few proiminant cases. It notes that a survey of area lawers showed that all five candidates enjoyed a greater than 80% support rate for retention.

Another article that I found makes the point that since Florida has had this system, there has NEVER been a judge removed by this system. OK…

In thew absence of finding any serious move to remove any of these guys, and nothing I could find with any serious problems with them, I’m OK keeping them all.

My votes:

Vincent G. Torpy, Jr.: YES
Winifred J. Sharp: YES
Earle W. Peterson, Jr.: YES
David A. Monaco: YES
Jacqueline R. Griffin: YES