Tag Archive for: County Commission

Dr. Rich Swier endorses Caragiulo for Sarasota County Commission

paul caragiulo with family

Paul Caragiulo with wife Nikki and daughters Sophie and Caroline.

It is rare that men of character run for public office. One man of great character is running for the Sarasota County Commission. His name is Paul Caragiulo.

Paul is a family man, first and foremost. He is a son, husband, father and the youngest of six siblings who was raised in Sarasota County. His father, a baker who immigrated from Italy to the United States in 1958, and mother, a homemaker, have made their home in Sarasota for more than two decades.

Paul is a fighter for individual property rights and empowering the people not government bureaucrats or special interests. Paul is a small business owner. He has been the victim of government overreach. Paul understands that the business of government is small business. Paul wants prosperity for his family, his two daughters and every resident of Sarasota County. Paul understands that the greatest threat to prosperity is central planning. Paul learned from the 2008 housing market meltdown that government is not the answer because it was government at every level that created the problem.

Paul has served as a City of Sarasota Commissioner since 2011 and brings that wealth of experience with him to the County Commission. He understands neighborhood issues, small business issues and most importantly human issues. Paul understands that his role as an elected official is to represent all of the people not any special interest.

I fully support and endorse Paul Caragiulo in District 2 Republican primary.

I ask that you support Paul in any way that you can, contribute to his campaign and most importantly vote for him on August 26th.

To learn more about Paul Caragiulo click here.

Pinellas citizens continue to challenge corrupt commissioners

The following is courtesy of the Florida Term Limits blog:

According to a 2012 study, Florida is the most corrupt state in the United States based on the number of state officials convicted on federal public corruption charges.

“Florida faces a corruption crisis that threatens the state’s reputation, its economy and its ability to attract new jobs and capital,” wrote study authors Dan Krassner and Ben Wilcox.

This should come as no surprise to Pinellas County residents, who are governed by four county commissioners in defiance of the county’s voter-approved 8-year term limits law. After the term limits amendment was approved by 73% of voters in 1996, commissioners refused to insert the amendment into the county charter even after it was validated by a district court in 1999 and the state Supreme Court in 2012.

That it was their duty to do so is beyond question. Per charter Article VI Sec. 6-02 (3): “If approved by a majority of those electors voting on the amendment at the general election, the amendment shall become effective on the date specified in the amendment, or, if not so specified, on January 1 of the succeeding year.” While a court has the power to invalidate an amendment, there is no leeway here for commissioners alone to refuse to accept the vote of the people.

After a commissioner-friendly local court refused to grant relief, Pinellas citizens are now appealing to the Second District Court of Appeals to have their votes finally counted. On Sept. 30, appellants H. Patrick Wheeler and Maria Scruggs filed their Initial Brief to the Lakeland court.

The filing is against Susan Latvala, John Morroni, Kenneth Welch and Karen Seel, the four commissioners who cling to their power and paychecks in defiance of law. Among other things, the brief documents their ill-gotten gains, including annual salaries of close to $100,000 when including expenses. It also points out the commissioners are using taxpayer money to invalidate the clearly expressed will of those same taxpayers.