Suffering from Voter remorse and outrage? Candidates say all the right things to get our votes. They smile and shake your hand; tell you they agree with what you say. Then once in office, they change their tune. Sadly there is no pill to take for the condition, but there is a cure. Do something and vote them out!
Voter remorse and outrage means nothing unless you DO SOMETHING
At the November 22 City Council meeting, Mayor Scott Singer introduced Ordinance No. 5637. When he asked who would sponsor it, there was dead silence. Eventually, Council Member Drucker spoke up to sponsor it.
If Mayor Singer gets his way, you will have to wait 4 years to vote out a bad Council Member or Mayor. AND, it is retroactive to include Mayotte and Drucker but not Deputy Mayor O’Rourke. If you’re against the Mayor’s scheme to extend the terms for current and future Mayors/City Council members to four years, click the button at the bottom of this article to send an email to the entire city council.
Normally, a proposal like this is done on behalf of others for the good of others. The fact that Mayor Singer is doing this for his own gain and hiding behind Drucker to do it, doesn’t pass the smell test.
Here’s the facts
The cover letter of Mayor Singer’s proposed Ordinance 5637 is below. Here’s what you need to know:
- Mayor Singer’s ordinance seeks to change the City Charter and extend term lengths of the mayor and council members from 3 to 4 years.
- For Council members Mayotte and Drucker whose terms are up March 2024, it will retroactively add a year. For the Mayor (Singer), the term starting March 2023 will be a four year term.
- Since the qualifying date to run for the two open City Council seats in March was November 9th and Seat A drew only one candidate (Nachias), Seat A will also have a 4 year term starting March 2023.
- At the December 13th meeting, the council will vote on Ordinance 5637 and if passed, the question will go on the March 2023 ballot for voters.
Why does this matter?
Three-year terms for the Mayor and council members are there for a reason. They keep members campaigning and reaching out to voters. Four-year terms do the opposite, making members lazy towards voter interests. Three-year terms help ensure accountability from elected officials. By comparison, Delray Beach’s charter specifies two year terms.
Normally, a proposal like this is done on behalf of others for the good of others. The fact that Mayor Singer is doing this for his own gain and hiding behind Drucker to do it, doesn’t pass the smell test. Note that the ordinance was introduced AFTER the November 9 cutoff for anyone to qualify to run against Singer. No candidates qualified to oppose Singer. If the ordinance had been introduced before the qualifying period, it might have stirred-up some competition for Singer and Nachias.
To make matters worse, the upcoming March Municipal election will likely have low voter turnout. That is, a City Charter change will be decided by a very few.
Therefore, we all need to tell the council NOW to vote NO on Ordinance 5736 on December 13th. If they approve it anyway, then we need to come out in March and turn the issue down. There is no vaccine for voter’s remorse. But there is a cure. Vote NO for extending term lengths.
Do something about voter remorse and outrage. Make your voice heard
The Boca Raton City Council CANNOT extend term limits themselves. It must be approved by Boca voters. If the council approves Ordinance 5637 at its December 13th meeting, the issue will be on the March 2023 Municipal Election ballot. It’s important to stop it now and not waste time, energy and dollars campaigning on it. Say NO to extending term lengths.
But what do you think? If you think it’s a bad idea, tell your elected City Council to vote NO to Ordinance 5736 and extended term lengths.
Dear City Council, I live and vote in the City of Boca Raton. I am against changing the City Charter to extend term lengths of Boca's Mayor and Council Members. Please VOTE NO on Ordinance 5637. Regards,
Copy/paste the text above or write your own. Include your name and be nice. Here’s a button to create a pre-addressed email:
