Dear fellow BREC members,

With the election of a new Chair tomorrow night, we have the opportunity to change both the face and dynamic of the BREC. While I am excited about the election, I have been disappointed by some of the behavior I have witnessed and the logic being employed by many who will be voting.

First, full disclosure: I have only been a registered Republican and active member of the BREC for the last few years. I cannot claim 10 plus years of service like others, but I will let you be the judge as to whether or not I have had an impact in the short time I have been involved.

Prior to becoming active in this committee I was registered No Party Affiliation because I thought both parties were corrupt. Guess what I learned upon becoming an active member? I was absolutely, 100% correct, as has been proven by numerous RPOF scandals and the voting record of almost our entire Brevard legislative delegation.

Let’s be clear: it does absolutely no good to elect Republicans that betray their oaths and act like Democrats. I am not here to elect Republicans in name only. I am here to elect candidates who understand and believe in the US Constitution, and, more importantly, whose votes will reflect that understanding and belief. By this I mean candidates who vote for less government, less spending, lower taxes and more freedom.

If one uses the above as the standard for whether or not our local Executive Committee is a success, instead of just referencing how many “R”s or “D”s we have in office, one has to conclude the BREC is a dismal failure. With the exception of a handful of local officials, most of the Republicans elected act and vote like Democrats.

Worse still, the elected officials know the BREC is toothless and has nothing to offer in terms of helping to get them elected, or holding them accountable after they are elected. The absence of said officials at the monthly committee meetings sends the message loud and clear: “Except for the cameo right before the election where I pop in to do a Barbie wave and try to pick up a few volunteers and votes – you have nothing to offer me”. This attitude must change if we want to get solid leaders elected and expect to hold them accountable.

Albert Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. At the time of this writing, we have four candidates in the race for Chair. Three of them are long time BREC members that have invested countless hours over many, many years, and I truly respect and appreciate their service.

The other, Frank Zilaitis, has only been a registered Republican for 18 months (previously registered NPA), and is being vocally criticized for it. But there is no “tenure” when it comes to politics and activism; there should be no ring to kiss when it comes to volunteerism.

This is about who can effectively articulate and implement their vision of what the Brevard Republican Executive Committee should be. So far the only candidate I have seen that has even expressed a coherent vision is Frank Zilaitis.

I encourage everyone that will be voting tomorrow night: please *read* what you have been sent, forget the labels and who has been involved for how long and instead focus on the substance of what these candidates have proposed.

Ask yourself if you think the person has the right ideas, and whether or not you trust that person to stand on principle no matter what pressure is applied by state or national leadership.

In the short time we have been involved, I have watched Frank Zilaitis step up to the plate time and again. He wrote the much lauded resolution condemning pre-primary endorsements that put the BREC in the media last year. He represented members of the Republican Liberty Caucus pro bono at the kangaroo court known as the grievance hearings last year.

In January of this year I watched him go toe to toe with Senator Thrasher over the RPOF Chair race, and call out Senator Haridopolos and Representative Cannon over the credit card charges. I watched him stand up to Chairman Steele over the “sense of the body” to see whether the members of the BREC supported Day or Thrasher.

I do not always agree with Frank, but the one thing I know with absolute certainty is that he is one of the most principled and honest individuals I know, and he absolutely will not back down, no matter what threats are leveled against him.

The choice is ours. Will we act like entrepreneurs and take the view that merit, not tenure, is the standard by which we should judge? Or will we adopt the government bureaucrat mindset that time served entitles you to a promotion? As a walking, talking example of the former mentality, you know who I will be voting for.

May the best candidate win.

Sincerely,

Matt Nye
Organizer, Brevard Tea Party
Chair, Republican Liberty Caucus of Central East Florida
Candidate, Brevard County Commission, District 4

Almost half of the Board of County Commissioners’ budget goes to the Constitutional Offices, but the board currently has no authority to perform internal audits of those offices.

Advocates say approval of this amendment would increase transparency between the Board of County Commissioners and the Constitutional Offices and potentially save Brevard County millions of dollars each year.The Sheriff and Property Appraiser have written letters to the Charter Review Commission opposing the idea. Reasons cited range from the concern over “abuse” of the position to increased costs to the taxpayer. Only one of the proposals would actually increase the size and cost of government, however.

Tax Collector Lisa Cullen isn’t opposed to the concept, but she is opposed to the authority being vested with the office of the Tax Collector, which was one of the options discussed.*

Brevard Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis has spoken before the Charter Review Commission in favor of the position, citing the success of Orange County’s model.

The Supervisor of Elections, Lori Scott, has remained officially neutral on the item because of her position on the Election Canvassing Board.*

Citizens are encouraged to attend the CRC meeting Thursday night at 6pm to speak for or against the amendment. The meeting will be in the Florida Room on the 3rd Floor of the Viera Government Center at 6pm Thursday.

*Editor’s Note: I initially reported the Tax Collector wrote a letter opposing the Comptroller position; to be exact, her letter stated  she didn’t think it would be appropriate for *her* office to perform the duties of the Comptroller, and I have since been informed Mrs. Cullen is in favor of the overall concept.

*Editor’s Note II: In my original story I inadvertently lumped Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott in with the others as opposing the amendment, which was not accurate. The Supervisor has taken no position on the issue because of her position on the Election Canvassing Board. I sincerely regret the error and have apologized to Ms. Scott for the mistake.

Supporter after supporter took the podium to share why they support Sharon Day as the new Chair of the Republican Party of Florida. The recurring theme expressed by committee members was principles over politics, with members pointing to Day’s refusal last year to sign the Rule 11 letter put forth by Jim Greer that would have allowed the RNC to endorse Governor Charlie Crist over rival Marco Rubio for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez as the hallmark of a principled leader. Other supporters pointed to her years of service and experience as a grassroots volunteer.

Only Chairman Steele spoke in support of Senator Thrasher, saying he would support Sharon Day if the party weren’t in such dire straits, but that extraordinary times call for extraordinary fund-raising abilities, something he believes Day lacks. In spite of the support expressed for Day, Steele said he will cast his vote for Thrasher because he gave his word he would support Thrasher when the deal was made to oust Greer. Steele said he was in a very unpleasant position, and understood how people would be frustrated, but he was a man of his word and had to honor his commitment to support Thrasher. Steele personally endorsed Thrasher last month.

The vote taken by the BREC is significant because it highlights the disconnect between rank and file Republicans and party leadership, including some of the leadership at the county level.

BREC State Committeeman Mike Thomas has intimated he will be voting for Thrasher despite BREC members asking him to vote for Day. Unlike Steele, Thomas has made no mention of any prior commitment to vote for Thrasher, stating only that his vote is his own. Thomas was not present at Thursday’s meeting.

BREC State Committeewoman Carlie Rogers has been a staunch supporter of Sharon Day since the news of Greer’s resignation broke.

There are currently three candidates for RPOF Chair: Florida Senator John Thrasher, RPOF National Committeewoman Sharon Day, and Osceola County State Committeeman Mark Cross. The special election for RPOF Chair is next Saturday, February 20th, at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando. You can get details about and register for the event here.

In a move bound to shock some party officials, the Brevard County Republican leadership voted May 14, on a resolution condemning the actions of the state and national organizations for interfering with state and local decisions.

The resolution comes on the heels of the announcement that the NRSC has already taken sides in the primary election to nominate a candidate to replace outgoing Republican U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez. The NRSC, National Republican Senatorial Committee, and arm of the Republican National Committee, has announced it will support Gov. Charlie Crist as Martinez’s replacement. There are at least two other Republicans announced in the primary election, including conservative former Speaker of the Florida House, Marco Rubio.

“This is another example of trying to govern from the top down, and if we want our party to succeed, and grow, we need to trust the grassroots, we need to trust our Republican voters,” said Brevard Republican Chairman Jason Steele. “We cannot revitalize our party, and demonstrate that we are truly the party of the people, of individual liberties and responsibility, if we are dictated to from above. It is Florida, and Floridians need to be allowed to hear from all the candidates.”

In a move designed less to condemn any one candidate than to condemn the national organization for its interference, the Brevard Republican Executive Committee, which is elected to govern the party locally, voted to step away from the larger umbrella organization during this race, and formally renounce the decision support Gov. Crist.

“We have an obligation to Brevard voters to assure the most fair and impartial election process,” said Steele. “We have a duty to our party and to our citizens to stand up for the voters who we represent, and that means even against our own party leaders. We are still Republicans, but we have a duty to lead, and that is what we will do.”

This move by the BREC and local party could have statewide implications for the candidates also. Typically, party leaders say, Brevard has been an excellent gauge for the state in the primary election. For the past decade, Brevard voters have been consistently on the side of winning statewide candidates, and while Gov. Crist shows a narrow lead in most polls at this early date, a shift from Brevard voters and leaders could tighten an already tight primary race, and even cost the popular governor the race. Party officials say this is not the goal, but that the NRSC should have considered the consequences of their interference.

“We are not taking sides at this point, but we are taking a stand against being told who to support, and how to vote from on high,” said Steele. “We trust the voters, and we are demanding that party leaders trust them as well.”

Here is the actual resolution that was passed:

Some advocates of the referendum, like Palm Bay City Manager Lee Feldman, explained that the program was based on the (Keynesian) premise that government spending on public works projects spurs economic activity, and believe that FDR and the New Deal are what got us out of the Great Depression.

Opponents of the program like Brevard Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis and other students of the Austrian school of economics like myself maintain the government was a major cause of the Great Depression,that the New Deal prolonged it, and that the Palm Bay Works referendum would have done nothing but misallocate resources.

Specific issues raised against the referendum were:
•Inclusion of $13 million in nebulous economic development programs
•Assumed growth of the City of Palm Bay when all state and local indicators show the state and the county are depopulating
•Failure to take into account the fact the property tax rolls in Brevard County will decline by more than eight percent in coming years, resulting in a higher per household cost to taxpayers than advertised

Of the $75.2 million Palm Bay Works 2009 bond referendum:
•$57.5 million would have gone toward road and drainage work.
•$13 million would have gone to economic-development programs.
•$4.7 million would go to capitalized interest and cost of issuance of bonds.

There is nothing more American than baseball and fireworks, so bring the whole family and celebrate the founding of our country at the Independence Day Brevard Tea Party. The stadium seats 8,000, and our goal is to fill it!

In order to achieve this lofty attendance goal, I am seeking volunteers to chair and participate on several committees:

Public Relations Committee – Will provide the public with information about the Tea Party, handle advertising of the event, signage and decorations.

Fundraising Committee – Will solicit contributions from individuals and businesses.

Exhibitor Committee – Will be responsible for handling the sale of booths to organizations and vendors that wish to solicit Tea Party attendees.

Program Committee – Will help to coordinate the entertainment and program for the event.

If you are interested in chairing a committee, please contact me no later than close of business this Friday; we will be having a committee chair meeting next Monday at noon.

There are almost 600,000 people in Brevard County, with 359,682 of them registered to vote. That means we need just 2% of the registered voters in Brevard County to come out to achieve our goal of 8,000 attendees. spread the word to everyone you know and encourage them to join us in reviving the spirit of the Founding Fathers and restoring our Constitutional Republic.

It seems the City of Palm Bay wasn’t content to have the Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce lead the charge in promoting the referendum. Nope, they actually spent taxpayer dollars and paid staff to put out signs to promote the referendum.

By my calculations, they spent a combined total of $9,269.49 on materials and staff time. I am not a lawyer, but it sure seems like spending taxpayer money to promote a referendum for higher taxes is a questionable practice. And don’t forget the cost of the special election – somewhere between $60,000 and $70,000 according to Brevard Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott.

Welcome to the City of Palm Bay – a great place to… tax?

In spite of RPOF Chairman Greer’s promises to make the party more inclusive during the last round of RPOF elections, Senate Bill 956, which contains language that would “pack” the state parties with appointees chosen by party leadership, was filed on January 26th by Senator JD Alexander and introduced into committee on March 26th. The bill passed out of committee on April 16th, 2009, and is scheduled for a reading before the Senate today.

BACKGROUND: Currently the statutes require that the elections be open and above board and administered by the local Supervisor of Elections.

This last year, we saw the Party bosses seek to further control and restrict the ability of individuals to run for these party posts by requiring an additional party oath to be filed with the local party prior to qualifying with the Supervisor of elections.

This led to many “disqualifications” by opponents to RPOF party boss Greer and his individual county chairmen. These “disqualifications” are being challenged in court in Miami and Orlando and the courts are ruling against RPOF and the disqualifications.

SB956 was introduced on March 26th and would require that all individuals running for party posts give their qualifying papers to the local PARTY chair and NOT the Supervisor of Elections!

This would allow party chairs (such as what happened in Orange) to deep-six the applications and report they never existed, thereby eliminating opposition to the Party bosses.

This is a blatant attempt to control all individuals that seek to become involved in the Party and remove those that do meet with the Party bosses’ approval.

In summary, the bill will:
1) Move the party elected leadership further from the Republican voters in each precinct.
2) Allow unprecedented power in the hands of the party bosses in the local party and statewide.
3) Severely weaken the Party by destroying free speech within the Party.
4) Allow the party bosses to pack each committee with their hand-picked precinct leaders.
5) Take away the rights of Republican voters in Florida to elect their own precinct committee people.
6) Allow the Party leaders to pick people that only support the candidates they support to the exclusion of other candidates.

What you can do:
E-mail all of the Senate committee members at one time with the subject line: OPPOSE THE PARTY BOSSES at NoToSenateBill956@myfloridaroundtable.com and tell them this is unacceptable.

Call and e-mail your Senator:

State Senator Mike Haridopolos:
E-mail: mike@senatormike.com
Phone: (850) 487-5056 or (321) 752-3131

State Senator Thad Altman:
E-mail: altman.thad.web@flsenate.gov
Phone: (850) 487-5053 or (321) 752-3138

The full text of the bill is here; pages 14 & 15 are where the nasty stuff relating to political parties is.

If you wanted to see proof that average Americans are sick and tired of lying politicians, big government and out of control spending, all you had to do was go to the Mighty Mushroom on Dairy Road in Melbourne on Friday night.

Hundreds of people turned out for the event, which was organized by Tim Wooley utilizing the meetup.com web site and promoted by local talk show host Bill Mick of WMMB AM.

The Mighty Mushroom, the host for he event, was packed inside and out, with folks sitting in lawn chairs and standing in the parking lot to watch Beck’s show on Fox on two big screen LCD TVs. Bill Mick emceed, and there were tables set up to sell T-Shirts, food and other merchandise.

There were at least four locations hosting the events across the county.

In a press release dated December 17, Texas Congressman Ron Paul endorsed Mark Cross, State Committeeman for the Osceola County Republican Executive Committee as his pick for chair of the Republican Party of Florida.

“Mark Cross served as my Florida Coordinator for the Presidential campaign and was at my side for every debate and event scheduled in the Sunshine State. Mark helped establish an informal network of support across the state and I know that he has the integrity, leadership, and resources that would ensure a successful term as Chairman,” Paul said.

According to Cross, “We have to get back to the principles that made this Republican Party grand… less taxation, less government spending, fewer government regulations, and more personal responsibility. We have to offer the voters more than just lip service. We have to deliver.”

Congressman Paul agrees: “If the Republican Party is going to once again flourish, it is imperative that we restore honesty, integrity, and commitment to Liberty in our party. We need principled leadership, and I believe Mark Cross is the candidate to provide that leadership.”

When asked why he didn’t announce earlier, Cross said, “I find it to be in extremely bad taste to announce an election for RPOF positions prior to the general election. Whenever you announce early you create divisions within the party. My goal is to unify the party, rather than divide it.”

For more information on Mark Cross, please visit his campaign web site at http://www.crossforflorida.com/index.html