Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Too much at stake to stay home

The 2006 election season has been disappointing on so many levels. Too many candidates have failed to run engaging campaigns. The Tampa Bay television market leads the nation in political advertisements, and the mudslinging has been made worse by the explosion of third-party attack groups and anonymous Internet bloggers spewing lies and distortions. No wonder voters are discouraged.

But campaign sleaze is no excuse for staying home Tuesday. There is too much at stake to let our disgust with the state of politics make us so discouraged that we turn away from our civic responsibility to participate in democracy. Floridians will have a significant say in which political party controls Congress at a time when we are mired in an unpopular war and facing difficult decisions about budget deficits and entitlement programs. We will elect a new governor, who is likely to serve eight years unless he stumbles badly in his first term, and is expected to appoint at least two new justices to the Florida Supreme Court. There will be at least two new faces in the state Cabinet and significant turnover in the Legislature. There are plenty of important local races, from school boards to county commissions. And don't forget the constitutional amendments.

The key issues facing this state are meat-and-potatoes challenges confronting every Florida family. They aren't social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, or more esoteric subjects such as government reorganization or tort reform. They are as basic as education, property taxes and homeowners insurance.

The differences are pretty clear in the race for governor and most legislative races. Charlie Crist and most of his fellow Republicans argue that the emphasis on the FCAT and its use to grade and reward schools generally works well. Jim Davis and most of his fellow Democrats counter that there is too much emphasis on standardized testing and that the FCAT and its use ought to be overhauled. We believe it's time for some adjustments.

There also are significant differences in the approach to property taxes. Crist, the Republican attorney general from St. Petersburg, wants to let counties double the homestead exemption. He also would allow homeowners to take their Save Our Homes tax break with them when they move. Davis, the Democratic congressman from Tampa, would limit to 10 percent the increases in property assessments on owners of businesses and investment properties, the taxpayers who need the most help the fastest. He also would lower state-required school property taxes by $1-billion. We agree with Davis' approach.

While both candidates for governor have proposals to address the property insurance crisis, nobody has the perfect solution. Voters will have to decide for themselves whom they trust to address the problem. They should be wary of ideas that sound too simple (like forcing auto insurers who sell homeowners insurance in other states to sell it in Florida).

Voters also should spend time considering the constitutional amendments and other ballot questions -such as the charter amendments in Pinellas and whether the school superintendent should be appointed in Pasco - before they go to the polls Tuesday. Among the constitutional amendments, the most important is Amendment 3. That would require future amendments to be approved by 60 percent of the voters instead of a simple majority. Don't blindly follow the advice of Gov. Jeb Bush or the talking llama in the television ad supporting the amendment. Amending the state Constitution should not be easy, but this amendment is backed by big business and special interests that control the Legislature and don't want voters to have a way to circumvent their influence. Requiring a supermajority vote on future amendments by a simple majority vote on Amendment 3 is wrong.

Polls show most Florida voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, and they are losing confidence in whether the state is headed in the right direction. Don't let frustration and discouragement result in inaction. Floridians can send a message to Washington and Tallahassee that it is time to change course and meet our challenges in a bipartisan effort. Our recommendations are listed below, but voters should tune out the television ads and reach their own conclusions. They should make their voices be heard by voting Tuesday, or be prepared to suffer the consequences for their silence when the debate resumes over the direction of the war, education, property taxes and homeowners insurance.

[Last modified November 5, 2006, 01:17:05]