Virginia talks about Sarasota & Beyond.

For the longest time, I have said that in Sarasota there are two rules of order at City Hall.

#1) HE WHO HAS THE GOLD RULES

Or

#2) THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREESE.

I would like to have balanced, reasonable, and visionary thinking at City Hall. I am tired of the obstructionist behavior, micromanaging and nit picking that has been going on for the last two years. There is a majority on the current City Commission that only listens to a small cabal of community activist who say they represent EVERYONE in the neighborhoods.

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE.

I am ready for a voice of reason, leadership with experience and first hand knowledge of City issues. That is why I am voting for Ken Shelin and Suzanne Atwell for City Commissioner. This City cannot afford to have novices at the Commission table.

We could also use balance on Sarasota Voices, it would be nice to have other people posting here. It seems to be just one person most of the time.

VIDEO

Check out this video of Ken in his own words before you decide. Don’t let the squeaky wheels make all of the decisions for you.

Not being the run of the mill candidate you should not expect the same old, same old Campaign wrap up & thank you message from me.

Unfortunately I did not get elected to the Charter Review Board but I still intend to work hard to fulfill the promises I made to you ( Sarasota voters) during my campaign. They are as follows:

        Make the CRB more transparent.
        Increase public participation in CRB process.
        Fight for you’re right to elect your Sheriff.

Join me and speak under public input at the CRB meeting on Monday.

Ask CRB Chair Cathy Layton to suspend her efforts to place a referendum on the ballot for an appointed Sheriff for Sarasota County.

Ask her to implement a plan to increase public participation with a web page on the county web site for the CharterReview Board, just like most Charter Counties in Florida have.

Ask her to always provide the Public with support documents for all agenda items coming before CRB. 
(There are no support documents for referendums.)

I would also like to to invite you to attend a talk I will be giving at the Art Center Sarasota about my experiences as an Artist deeply involved in the Political Scene for the last six years. I will try to make this provocative and entertaining.

Thursday November 20 th  6-8 P.M.

If you have not seen the show that is up Sex, Lies, & Politics you will enjoy the art.  Please read an article about the show by the well known art writer Joan Altabee, here is a short exert:

“Not only does Hoffman believe in political art, she sees it as a necessity: “In difficult times our best resource is the creative mind. Who better to think of new and fresh problem-solving ideas than an artist? It makes perfect sense for an artist to be involved in politics, long ago when I was just starting out in my art career, I was impressed with Jean-Paul Sartre’s idea of commitment in art was an effort to bring equilibrium between creative freedom and social responsibility. This has never left me. From time to time people in politics ask me, ‘What about your art Virginia? Well I say I am living my art now by trying to make a difference in my own community.’ This activity uses all of my creative resources when facing the challenge to convince the public who is best for an elected office and why my approach to issues is better than the next guy. This is merely another form of expression for me.” Read more.

To the 73,000 people who voted for me, I am honored. 
To those who contributed to my campaign, I am honored.
To those who worked beside me, I am honored.
My rewards are abundant. 

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
It has taken eight long years to get here. 
Finally we have a Democrat back in the White House. 
I can sleep better now.
                      My warmest affections to each and every one of you,

Earning Your Endorsement

From my experience in running for office for the first time, I now have a much greater appreciation and respect for the past efforts of fellow citizens who also took the big step to run, especially for positions that some refer to as ‘bottom of the ticket” offices.  The reality is that every elected position from bottom to top demands a meaningful commitment to fulfilling the mandate that each particular office requires. 

Most candidates appear to take the responsibilities and obligations of holding office seriously. And most newspapers take the time to analyze and discern between what various candidates have achieved or propose to accomplish.  I am truly grateful for the manner in which the Pelican Press carefully assessed candidates from local to national levels, and I appreciate their endorsement of my candidacy for Charter Review Board. 

 And although receiving an endorsement by the Sarasota Herald Tribune would have been welcomed, they chose instead to give the nod to my opponent.  That’s their prerogative.  However, the typical standards applied to informing voters on other local issues of importance should have been employed in the Charter Review Board endorsements.  The Editorial Board rejection of a recent County Commission referendum to limit the ability of citizens to amend our local Charter is a good example of their commitment to voter interests.

Instead, the Editorial Board repeated almost verbatim Primary election statements in their General Election Endorsement of my opponent. Stating that the Charter Review Board had a history long ago of “causing mischief” by acting in competition to the County Commission and acting as a “back door” for ballot initiatives that were unenforceable.  These vague and unexplained concerns were never specified despite requests for clarification.  But they seem to justify their endorsement of some current incumbents whose priorities appear merely to act as place holders preventing the possibility of future mischief.   

The County Charter itself defines the role of the Charter Review Board—to review and recommend changes to the County Charter for the improvement of county government on behalf of the citizens of Sarasota County.  While some think previous boards may have overstepped their boundaries, supporting a Board that intentionally does nothing is inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the Charter.

Editorial boards are entitled to define the mission of the Charter Review Board any way they see fit, but if elected, I will strive to fulfill the forward-looking pledges I’ve made to the voters in every public forum.

I invite you to take a closer look at the rest of this website as you make your decisions about the future direction of Sarasota County.  Please feel free to contact me virginiahoffman@mac.com or 400-5217 if you have any questions.

 Virginia Hoffman-Meketon
Candidate for Sarasota County
Charter Review Board District Two

http://www.virginiaforcharter.com

Dear Neighbors,

In the most exciting election in our History. My little part has been profound and lively. I am very proud to announce my endorsement by the Pelican Press last week: “County’s Charter Review Board needs an overhaul “When all the watchdog wants to do is sleep, Read on..

I want to meet you, please consider attending one of these events I will be at.

October 16th Thursday 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the South Gate Community Center
League of Women Voters Candidate Fair

October 21st Tuesday 7 p.m. at the Waldemere Fire Station
Arlington Park Neighborhood meeting & Candidates Forum for the District 69 State House and Charter Review Board candidates.

October 30th Thursday 5:00 - 7 p.m. at the Art Center Sarasota 707 N. Trail
Opening reception of show “Politics: Sex, Lies, & Power” Candidates will speak.

Virginia Hoffman-Meketon vs. Cathy Layton: My opponent & I have differing
points of view here are the primary differences.

Cathy: Wants the CRB & the Sheriff to be appointed positions.
Virginia: CRB & the Sheriff must remain elected and changed to non-partisan.

Cathy: Claims CRB has no other pressing issues
Virginia: Litigation over Citizens petitions can be avoided w/ CRB review.

Cathy: Has concerns over misuse of the Charter Review Board.
Virginia: Wants to revitalize CRB functionality and encourage participation.

You can view more on the Herald Tribune Voter Guide.

Tid bits for Voters:

Voting by mail? Save postage and drop your ballot off at the Supervisor of Elections office.
You have still time to vote Absentee, October 29th to request a Ballot call 861-8618 or
Down load form to request ballot.

Early voting starts October 20th; avoid long lines at the polls. Locations here.

Have you been wondering about those pesky Amendments check out Pros & Cons here?

I hope that this information has been useful. Please don’t forget my race is
county wide, you can vote for me no matter where you live in.

Best Wishes,

The Pelican Press  endorses for the board’s seats Jamie Wilson, Ryan Stanley, Bryan Worthington, Ray Porter Jr. and Virginia Hoffman-Meketon.

Pelican Press  |  October 1, 2008
http://www.pelicanpress.org/content/363_1.php

When all the watchdog wants to do is sleep, maybe it’s time to get a new one – especially when undesirables keep trying to slip into the house.

So it is with the current Sarasota County Charter Review Board. It’s time to replace the watchdog.

Eight years ago, the incumbents on the charter board embarked on a great public service effort. They proposed amendments to our “constitution” to cleanse its language, knock out its redundancies and bring it into a new century. They deserve our gratitude for a job well done. The voters overwhelmingly embraced the changes they proposed.

Then the incumbents sat down, congratulated themselves, got re-elected and went to sleep. While they napped for four years, monumental changes to the charter were proposed. Some passed. Some failed. But without exception, all of them slipped by the charter board unnoticed.

We depend on the charter board to defend our charter, to help us understand the difference between what is trivial and what is critical. However, over the past four years, the incumbents didn’t seem to care what happened. Many of their meetings lasted five minutes, and critical issues of real significance blew past them.

In the first place, this should be a non-partisan board. But it’s not. That means this 2008 election is a matter of Republicans versus Democrats. Unfortunately, all the incumbents are Republicans, so our advice may seem partisan. We hope it’s not taken that way because the charter is a document for all of us. It begins with, “We the People of Sarasota County, Florida ….”

The Urban Service Boundary, super majority and economic impact analysis issues, along with other charter amendments we’ve seen these past four years, could have benefited from a thorough analysis by the charter board. But the watchdog was asleep.

We believe the Sarasota County Charter Review Board has an important role. And we believe the five incumbents have been AWOL while vital issues were being presented to voters. It’s time for new guardians.

For those who hesitate to vote for five Democrats, we ask you to remember that the charter board’s only power is to propose amendments to you. The board doesn’t decide. You do.

Therefore, on Nov. 4, we ask you to vote for a clean sweep of the current Sarasota County Charter Review Board.

The Pelican Press  endorses for the board’s seats Jamie Wilson, Ryan Stanley, Bryan Worthington, Ray Porter Jr. and Virginia Hoffman-Meketon.

Addressing the criticisms by Charles Senf aka. “\(;harles”

————————————————–

My response to a posting by the Sarasota Voices moderator.  I am willing to discuss this topic with anyone, call me directly at 400-5217 or email me virginiahoffman@mac.com

My response.

Charles,

Thank you for featuring my Candidacy for Charter Review and opening this door to respond to your comments.

Please permit me to correct a few facts.  The School Ave. Project is exactly one mile away from my home and art studio. I live in Arlington Park the adjacent neighborhood to Alta Vista, where the project resides.

You reference is to the School Avenue Charette hosted by Ron Burks. The position I took was not defending one single person but what is best for the City of Sarasota, moving a project forward and a failing economy.

I am a Democrat working hard for the Party, candidates, and who does not see the world in black and white. I am open to other peoples ideas and and if elected multiple points of view will be considered when making decisions.

My love for this community and its people is why I running for this office.

The Incumbent I am challenging was appointed by Jeb Bush in 2000 and has sat in this seat unopposed since. Perhaps this is your preference Charles, but Sarasota deserves to have a choice and I have stepped forward to give them one.

My web site www.virginiaforcharter.com will be up soon for those who wish see my positions. I invite questions directly thru email, at virginiahoffman@mac.com and am happy to address the critisms Charles posted about me.

Respectfully yours,
Virginia Hoffman-Meketon
Candidate for Sarasota County
Charter Review District Two

Senf posting on Sarasota Voices.

Got this message from the Democrats today. It seems Virginia Hoffman-Meketon has filed to run for the Charter Review - posing a dilemma for me.

I sat with her at the School Avenue Charter Review thing and came away with a bad taste. She claimed to be a neighbor, though lived miles away from the site - argued the point publicly. She was for massive development and aligned with the lady from Burns Court who also traveled quite a ways to help Ron Burks get a Hotel on School Avenue.

Disingenuous is the kindest descriptor I can think of at the moment. Hard ball politics also comes to mind. Years of service with the Democratic Party (I understand) but not at all someone I would recommend to help chart our County’s future.

We need to look closely at these folks and try to discover the (possibly hidden) agendas they subscribe to. This is one instance where a “Democratic” label may prove deceptive.

(;harles