[George Page]

“Elections have consequences“

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

Somewhat surprisingly, the three candidates that challenged the three developer-supported Incumbents for positions as Sumter County Commissioners won the Republican Primary convincingly. The challengers will have to win the General Election in November, and there will be lots of developer-designed and funded challenges, probably for write-in candidates. The upcoming weeks will be interesting as this will be the first time in at least a decade when the Sumter County Board won’t be cleanly “in the pocket” of The Villages Developer.

What’s at risk for the Developer? Lots of things. Without a lot of study, how about...

—A repeal of the major change which has the new roads and infrastructure in the new southern end of The Villages funded by the taxpayers rather than the Developer as had been the practice until this year. The result of the change was a 25% increase in property taxes. The challengers all ran with the repeal of those tax increases as a major plank in their platforms.

—The possible repeal of the “One Sumter” procedure for the election of County Commissioners. The change in the electoral process goes back almost fifteen years and was designed and sponsored by the Developer. The result of the electoral change was that the County Board could be controlled by three members, all of whom have turned out to be choices of the Developer and financed by them. The result of course was pretty much complete control of the Board in getting anything the Developer wanted approved.

—There are lots of other decisions facing the County Commissioners that will effect all Villages residents living in Sumter County (the vast majority of us). Not the least important issue might be approval of the re-zoning of the Hacienda Hills CC parcel to permit the construction of a high-rise 286-unit apartment building.

So it’ll probably be important for all of us to begin to pay lots more attention to local Sumter County politics. You can be certain that the Developer will be very creative approaching the General Election and beyond, trying to regain control of the Sumter County Board. Keeping local politics in the control of the taxpayers will take our collective, continual attention.

Thank you for this information. In ignorance I missed the primary, but I can educate myself to make sure my General vote is counted.

[johnsre]

I think Hacienda Hills is in Lake County

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by sharonl7340

I have been a Democrat my entire adult voting life. I align more with Democratic thoughts and values, but changed my party affiliation for this election. I assumed I would go back online change it back over after the election yesterday, but I have been thinking that would be a mistake. This county is controlled by a Republican majority and if I change back then I can't vote in the primaries that will ultimately decide who the candidates (opposed or unopposed) in November will be. I think I will keep my party affiliation as Republican just to balance out the deeply conservative votes in these primaries. This same situation (that occured in this election) will continue to happen in future races and I want to be ready to cast my vote for candidates who will listen to the citizens they are supposed to serve. I think the term has always been a "yellow Democrat" for a person to change their party to win an election; I'll be a yellow Republican to hopefully effect some change in the elections.

Just remember, you can still vote Democrat in all general elections. And (as I discovered too late) if there's a primary with one party running with no other party opposing it, you can vote in that primary no matter what your affiliation is.

In other words:

If the Republican party has 3 candidates running and there's a Primary to determine which one gets the nomination..

and if there is no Democrat running for that particular position...

then the primary becomes a "universal primary" and every registered voter in the district can vote for that primary.

[ts12755]

The developer will buy and own these three new ones in less than 6 months. Look at Washington DC, that's how they all get rich.

[ldovermiller]

Great, I'm glad these "three stooges" are going away!!

[toeser]

Originally Posted by johnsre

I think Hacienda Hills is in Lake County

It is absolutely in Sumter County.

[toeser]

Originally Posted by ts12755

The developer will buy and own these three new ones in less than 6 months. Look at Washington DC, that's how they all get rich.

No, they won't. One is my neighbor and he is loaded with integrity. You should not post things like that about people you do not know.

[robertj1954]

Originally Posted by DeanFL

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WOW! Personally we changed from 'No Party' Affiliation' to 'Republican' in order to vote in the Primary. We are both Independents, but after research it was apparent that the 3 incumbents do(did) not deserve to be in those posts any longer. Some videos we saw of several Committee meetings, and how they treated our citizens (and in turn us all) soured us so much we HAD to vote.

This is good news - sure hope that we end up with more sincere and honest reps.

I must say - today we went online and switched back to NPA.

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The 3 incumbents learned the hard way what happens when you fail to support the people who put you in public office. I can’t add anything to what the other posters have already stated well. This is my message to the Developer. Elections have consequences!

[Deanmasser]

That’s great news! Need to interview these candidates to assure their support on these items. Than tell friends and neighbors and get out and Vote!!

[PompeyKing]

We are new to The Villages and registered to vote and voted. Can you share the website that allows you to change your party. Thanks,

[PennBF]

It would be an understatement to say I am proud of the residents who voted for the new and replacement Commissioner's. That is what Democracy is all about! I agree that allegedly they will be pursued to stay with the Developer and could be under severe pressure to "go with the Developer". Their challenge is to remain loyal to the many who believed in them and their integrity. Politics can be a dirty game and this is an opportunity to truly understand and represent the residents fairly. Again, thanks for your willingness to take on the role of fairly representing your neighbors!

[gatorbill1]

Good results - but the best thing for this area would be to have a needed two party system and just vote in the best people, no matter the party. We will not progress past Developer run area until then.

[champion6]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I though that Hacienda Hills CC was in Lake county.

Originally Posted by queasy27

And back to reality.
Be interesting to see how the Lake County Commissioners respond. In my casual view, they are generally pro development (which doesn't necessarily mean pro Developer). I don't recall any big battles or crises when the land for the new Lake County villages was sold a few years ago.

Absolutely, positively, Hacienda Hills CC - all buildings and all the golf holes - are in Sumter County.

[DeanFL]

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For us both - we are NPA, and truly Independent voters. I don't really care about the D, R, I after a candiates name (too much anyway). What threw our votes against the incumbents was those videos taken from Committee Public meetings and how consituents were treated. Showed us 'true colors', and perhaps their bias and attitudes in the shadows when not in public. The non-stop full page ads in the Sun were turnoffs - funded by Who??? We vote on issues - and for encumbents, past actions in office. This was an 'easy vote' for us and -for now- pleased. We needed to clean house. As some other poster said, hope they don't get bought if they get elected in the General.
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