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NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER’S TOWN HALL MEETING

August 18, 2009 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

As submitted to the Huffington Post 08/18/09

“I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord
I’ve been waiting for this moment, all my life, oh lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord, oh lord

Well, I was there and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off the grin, I know where you’ve been
Its all been a pack of lies

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord
I’ve been waiting for this moment, all my life, oh lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord, oh lord”

With apologies to Phil Collins and Genesis

The Orange County Democratic Executive Committee meets every third Monday of each month at 7:00 PM, and for over the last year the IBEW local 606 has hosted the meetings in their hall not far from Downtown Orlando. Attendance at meetings is mandatory for precinct captains with few exceptions, so there is usually a robust crowd at these monthly meetings. The IBEW hall holds up to 125 people and the room is usually 75% full at meetings. On August 14, DEC members received word that Congressman Alan Grayson was to be a special guest at the meeting and he was to update the membership on the current state of Health Care in Congress. On August 16 Grayson announced a town hall meeting immediately following the DEC meeting.

Neil Boortz, a nationally syndicated right wing talker got the word and went on a diatribe against Grayson, talking on Orlando’s WDBO, which you can see here. Other right wing radio hosts on WDBO as well as other talk stations added fuel to the fire so that there would be a substantial crowd at the hall to protest the proceedings. There is no counter programming for progressive talk within the Orlando media market. The closest radio stations are either in Daytona Beach, Tampa or Gainesville and their signals do not reach Orlando. DEC sent out a message to the membership to come early. The crowd started to assemble at 3:30 in the afternoon. At 4:30 the DEC decided to suspend the business meeting and allow Grayson to address the membership, in effect holding two town hall meetings, one at 7:00 and one at 7:45 for the general public.

For the DEC members Grayson stated several positions that he had not heretofore made generally known. When asked about his position on the public option he stated that he supported it, however, if the bill did not contain it he might still vote yes if other provisions were met, such as the insurance companies returning at least 85% of their premiums to health care benefits, no new taxes on people making less than $350,000.00, the elimination of pre-existing conditions and no change in the quality of Medicare. One participant on Medicare offered her opinion on the misconception that Medicare is free. It is not. Seniors on Medicare pay approximately $100.00 per month for part B and many also buy supplemental plans to cover their deductibles which cost an average of $175.00 per month, plus a prescription drug plan under part D that costs about $35.00 per month depending on where one lives. So, the average senior pays about $3600.00 per year for their “free” health care. Grayson also commented that the current bill will phase out the Medicare Donut Hole over a four year period.

DEC Chairman Bill Robinson asked all DEC members to vacate their seats to allow the assembled outside the same opportunity to meet with the Congressman that they had just enjoyed. A mixed crowd was let in consisting of people for, against and undecided on Health Care Reform. By this time the outside crowd had swelled to over three hundred people, many carrying signs for or against, mostly peaceful. There was some contention between groups and there was at least one arrest, but generally all the crowd did was change traffic patterns. There were many comments about this being a “staged” event. The real drama was going on inside.

Grayson’s press person, Todd Jurkowski moderated the evening and presented questions from all sides. Jurkowski started the meeting off by requesting that all parties respect the speaker and the meeting. Grayson acknowledged that there were different views in the room and that the difference is really in the means rather than the goal. He took an equal amount of questions from the protesters and the undecideds as he took from the pro people. Many of the issues that he touched upon in the DEC meeting were also discussed during this meeting. He reiterated that if you are currently satisfied with your current insurance you can keep it, plus if you change your employment or lose your job you will not lose your insurance. He added as well that pre-existing conditions will be a thing of the past.

He discouraged critics from asking questions that did not pertain to the bill at hand such as tort reform and Medicare fraud, stating that those issues will be addressed in many other bills (15 to be exact) which will follow. He cited his record as an attorney who has gone after fraud and waste in government and that it is part of his mission in life. He also said that tort cases and medical malpractice account for only 1% of health care costs. Certain protesters denied his claim, so he invited them to show evidence backing their position. When someone asked him about being denied coverage under certain circumstances he directed them to the bill, which was next to the dais as well as on a projection screen. At that point he pointed to the exact page and paragraph, adding that he in fact did read the bill and he was entirely familiar with it. All remarks based on fear and hearsay were directed to the bill. Grayson continually asked people to show him where their allegations were in the bill. At one point a woman alleged that prostate cancer and breast cancer were being treated unequally Grayson told her that if her allegation proved to be true he would introduce an amendment to correct the situation. At least one protester commented that Grayson had presented cohesive and coherent answers to questions and had cleared up many misconceptions. Other protesters would have none of it and kept protesting that the meeting was a setup. Grayson ended the meeting at 10:00 PM with the note that he wanted a bill that would allow people to live and how can we as a nation best help save lives. He’s certain this bill goes in the right direction.

Three hours worth of meeting was given scant coverage on the 11:00 news by all of the local channels. The Orlando Sentinel gave a somewhat accurate account of the proceedings, and columnist Scott Maxwell blogged the event. Unfortunately, neither Maxwell nor the Sentinel reporters discussed the real reason the crowd was so large due to the radio publicity. To their credit, their reporting was mostly non-partisan and straightforward.

As a society we must determine whether debate can be elevated or squelched. The exercising of our first amendment rights also bears the responsibility of allowing others their right to be heard. This meeting may not have been in the classic tradition of the mythical town hall, but this Monday evening many views were heard, no one was shouted down and more than a few people learned something, whether they liked it or not.

Bill Nelson-Florida’s Enigma

August 2, 2009 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

Jerry Waxman

As submitted to The Huffington Post 08/02/09

“I’m always a flop at a top-notch affair,

but I’ve still got my health, so what do I care?

My best ring, alas, is a glass solitaire,

but I still got my health, so what do I care?”

From the Cole Porter musical, Panama Hattie, 1940

The 1940 lyrics by the great songwriter, Cole Porter, seem to have a prophetic quality about them. A few years before he wrote Panama Hattie Porter suffered devastating injuries as the result of a fall off his horse that left him permanently crippled and in constant pain for the rest of his life. He steadfastly refused to have his legs amputated, against all of his doctors’ advice, and over the next several years he suffered through many painful operations just in order to walk with the aid of a cane. He even had a piano suspended above his hospital bed so that he could continue to work. He didn’t worry about paying the bills; he was, by any standard, rich. He was rich before he wrote his first hit, and he married a woman who was three times richer than he was. So, by the time of the accident he was filthy rich. Health care didn’t matter to him; health did and he could afford to have the best health and health care that his money could buy. In fact, his net worth actually increased during this time due to the royalties he received from his hit shows, hit movies and hit songs.

Today most people worry about illness or injuries that could bankrupt them with today’s health care costs. Staying healthy is not an option, it’s an absolute necessity. During a lengthy hospital stay it is possible for business professionals to work using a laptop computer and cell phone, but blue collar working people normally have to be on location, so a carpenter can’t build you new countertops from a hospital bed, nor can an electrician wire a house. Most working people lose productivity in addition to time and money when they are in the hospital or recovering at home. Add to that the varying quality of many of their insurance plans and the ever increasing premium rates and working people may or may not be adequately insured. What most Americans do agree on is that our health care delivery and payment system is in drastic need of an overhaul.

Hey, Bill Nelson, Whose side are you on?

People in Florida have been asking for a long time, “Where does Bill Nelson stand on Health Care Reform? Does he support a public option or doesn’t he?” According to several union members “Not even his hairdresser knows.” Jennifer Kenny, an organizer for the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans (FLARA) had met with Nelson’s Orlando office staff in late June with several FLARA members. They were told by Nelson’s Orlando District Director, Celeste Brown, that employer based health insurance is “outdated.” Kenny said she and her fellow members were taken aback by that statement.

On July 1 about 150 supporters of Health Care reform led by organized labor leaders from AFL-CIO, SEIU, JWJ (Jobs With Justice), FLARA and the community activist groups, ACORN, Health Care for America Now (HCAN) and Florida Change that Works held a press conference and rally in front of Senator Bill Nelson’s Orlando office in the pouring rain. Celeste Brown met again with eight members of the different organizations. The purpose of the meeting was to hand deliver collections of stories on people who have had to deal with illness or injury, and how they were treated by their doctors or their insurance companies under the current health care system. The assembled and their unions represent memberships which number in untold thousands. The AFL-CIO and its local affiliates alone represent more than 500,000 workers in Florida. The unions are overwhelmingly in support of the public option. The AFL-CIO has recently conducted a Health Care survey that shows the public to also support a public option. You can download and read the report here. Joshua Anijar of the AFL-CIO stated “We are urging Senator Nelson, who has proven to be a good friend to Florida’s working families, to stand strong with them and do everything he can to bring meaningful health care reform to America. He has a chance to make history and we are here today to show him that his constituents support him in this major undertaking.” Representatives from IUPAT, IBEW, several teacher unions and other unions, while not sponsors of the rally, were there to offer their support. Senator Nelson’s staff surprised the delegates by stating that the Senator likes the public option (however he has not publicly spoken in support of it). The Alliance members were pleasantly surprised since it was a completely different position from the last meeting, however, in the back of their minds they were wondering if they were being told what he thought they wanted to hear. Since July 1 there have been many demonstrations on both sides of the issue outside of Senator Nelson’s and Senator Martinez’s offices throughout the state and the result is always similar.

Two disparate groups demanding health care reform held rallies outside of Senator Bill Nelson’s office in Downtown Orlando on Wednesday, July 23 at 3:00 PM. One group, sponsored by Organizing for America numbered approximately seventy, many holding OFA placards and signs with slogans such as “We need Health Care Now!” OFA is an arm of the Democratic National Committee and as explained by organizer Mitch Emerson, “we are a direct line of communication to The White House.” The other group had no clear leader and only numbered nine people with signs that said “No Public Option”, “Obamacare=Socialism” and “Socialized Medicine will ruin the US.” The event was covered by WESH Channel 2 in Orlando and OFA had interviews with several people about their health care experiences.

Rhonda Welsch, a self appointed spokesperson for the anti public option people remarked that she didn’t want her tax dollars paying for a “free lunch” for the loafers and idlers in society. She also stated that there were people in her crowd who had fled Great Britain in order to avoid socialism. This remark caused political consultant James Callahan, formerly an analyst with Chase Econometrics and Progress Energy to opine that the British economic system was solidly capitalist.

When asked to verify her statements regarding the British system she started name calling and remarked “He’s not my President and he’s leading us down a socialist path” among other negative epithets. The anti crowd at that point started to call out racial slurs that also alluded to the questionable citizenship of President Obama. Emerson directed his OFA forces to keep calm and not react to the crowd across the street. The crowd kept quiet and the interviews went on.

Confrontations like this have been playing out all over the state with predictable results. Occasionally in the more rural conservative areas of the state the anti forces are larger, but in general the crowds heavily favor the progressive agendas. Doug DeClew, another political activist said “Don’t they understand that each one of us represents hundreds or even thousands of others through our club and union affiliations? Those people over there only represent themselves.”

He appears to be a model citizen So, why is Bill Nelson not committed either way? A simple check into his background and finances may provide some clues. On the plus side it appears that there are no scandals in his life either personally or professionally-not even the proverbial unpaid parking ticket. He is as close to the embodiment of the All-American boy that you can be. Clarence William Nelson was born in Miami on September 29, 1942 and grew up in the Melbourne, Florida area. While in high school he served as International President of Key Club, a youth service organization sponsored by Kiwanis Clubs. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1965 and a law degree from the University of Virginia, School of Law in 1968. He worked briefly as a fire marshal and then a lawyer prior to his entering politics in 1972. In 1972 he wed Grace Cavert. They have a son and a daughter, Bill Jr. and Nan Ellen.

Nelson served in the Florida House from 1972 to 1979 and in 1978 won election to the US House of Representatives where he served six terms until 1991. He unsuccessfully ran in the primary for Governor of Florida against Lawton Chiles. In 1995 Nelson became Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida, a post he held until 2000 when he successfully won election to the US Senate replacing Connie Mack. Nelson is also the second sitting member of the Congress to go into outer space. According to Wikipedia he was a Payload Specialist on Space Shuttle Columbia‘s STS-61-C mission from January 12-18 in 1986.

During his 2000 Senate campaign he was noted for criticizing the existing health care system and on his website there was actually this quote:

“In the past six years as insurance commissioner, I’ve seen firsthand what insurance companies will do if you let them, and it’s time to stop the practice of denying care, denying claims, and putting profits ahead of patients! We need a real patient’s bill of rights to let people choose their own doctors and know about all available medical treatments, not just the cheapest. I’ve had a lot of practice lately taking on powerful interests.”

Source: www.nelsonforsenate.com, “On Health Care” Sep 20, 2000

In 2003 he was rated at 100% by APHA:

Nelson scores 100% by APHA on health issues

The American Public Health Association (APHA) is the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals in the world, representing more than 50,000 members from over 50 occupations of public health. APHA is concerned with a broad set of issues affecting personal and environmental health, including federal and state funding for health programs, pollution control, programs and policies related to chronic and infectious diseases, a smoke-free society, and professional education in public health.

The following ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization’s preferred position.

Source: APHA website 03n-APHA on Dec 31, 2003

His voting record and policy positions are mixed. He opposes off-shore drilling off Florida’s coast. He voted in favor of tighter bankruptcy regulations. He is one of the few Democrats to have voted in favor of CAFTA. He supports negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to establish lower prices for Medicare prescription plans. He is in favor of abolishing the Estate Tax. His record on women’s issues is progressive and he is highly regarded by NARAL. In 2007 Nelson was the swing vote and the only Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee to vote no (as did all Republicans) on de-funding torture by the CIA. “Dire emergencies” was cited as the lone exception. The measure lost and never came to the floor..

There are some things here that just don’t seem to fit…….

Senator Nelson’s net worth is listed between $1,678,000.00 and $6,645,000.00, and his ranking is #38. This is a relatively modest figure compared to some of the richer senators. His main wealth appears to be in land ownership in Brevard County. He and his wife own few publicly traded securities, however, their largest negotiable holding was (at minimum value) about $300,000.00 worth of stock in a Florida insurance brokerage, Brown and Brown, which they sold off over two days in October, 2008 according to his financial disclosure report submitted in May of this current year. These facts can be verified by following this link. Other than the Brown and Brown stock sale there appears to be nothing of note in his financial disclosure. The Brown and Brown stock is notable only because of the Senator’s previous position as Insurance Commissioner and his strong position against excessive profits in that industry referenced to earlier in this article. Brown and Brown claims to be the sixth largest insurance business of its type, and on its website media page it claims a managed health care department. Other than his Florida state pension there are no investments that produce large income.

A further inspection of the Senator’s campaign finances reveals that Brown and Brown figures prominently in his donors list with past contributions of $37,300 in 2006 and 2008. This cycle they have already donated $38,300. The insurance industry in this cycle has already contributed $214,430.00. In previous cycles their contributions were close to or slightly over $250,000.00. Other large contributors are lawyers, ($2,900,000.00) and health care professionals (over $350,000.00). These figures are easily available here. There is nothing illegal or immoral with fund raising of this type, however, Florida taxpayers and voters need to be reassured that their elected officials are not unduly influenced by these industry contributions. Nineteen million Floridians need affordable, accessible health care, not python skins or snake oil.

SHHHH…..Listen…..do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?

Author Jeff Sharlet wrote an expose’ last year on an organization known among other names as “The Family”. Titled The Family: Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, it chronicles the organization, from its beginning in 1935 to the present day and the influence it wields over many of our politicians and other world leaders. According to Wikipedia Bill Nelson is a member of The Family and here is the link to that page. Recently, some Republican politicians who are members of The Family have been exposed for their marital infidelity, most notably Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Senator John Ensign of Nevada. According to author Sharlet (who lived in the organization’s C Street building for a month) The Family demands loyalty over and above loyalty to either one’s own family or state constituency. The Family’s present leader, Doug Coe, preaches that his members were chosen by God to lead and that his members don’t need to obey ordinary morality and restrictions. Available records show that the majority of members are conservative Republicans such as Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, James DeMint of South Carolina, Charles Grassley of Iowa, Sam Brownback of Kansas and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, yet there are a few Democratic senators in addition to Bill Nelson such as Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska that are members.

The Family has become so secretly influential that every president since Dwight D Eisenhower has attended its prayer breakfasts. A significant number of Washington politicians have been guests, and many have acknowledged that they are “friends” of the organization, but membership is something else. Author Sharlet appeared onReal Time with Bill Maher Friday evening July 31. The interview lasts about eight minutes. Sharlet has recently been on the airwaves with Thom Hartmann, Alex Jones and Rachel Maddow discussing the lobbying influence among other things that The Family does. There is no direct evidence of any influence on Bill Nelson, but given the nature of membership in The Family and what it expects from its members almost all of the Republicans are passionately fighting against the public option, as is Ben Nelson, who has been all over the headlines over the last several weeks.

It is very disturbing to think that any senator, duly elected by the voters and taxpayers in his or her state places more importance on a non-elected spiritual organization than the needs and desires of the millions of people that senator is supposed to be serving. Senator Nelson needs to explain to his constituency what his connection is to The Family and how it influences his votes including health care.

The Enigma machine shown above was how the German U-Boats sent and received encoded messages. Once the Allied forces captured a machine in 1943 the German code was broken and the once feared U-Boats no longer enjoyed superiority on the high seas. Senator Nelson, along with many other senators and congresspersons needs to stop talking in code and start talking straight with his constituents.

“By fashion and foppery, I’m never discussed.

Attending the opry, my box would be a bust.

I never shall have that Park Avenue air,

But I’m in such health, why should I care?”

Health Care Anxiety Looms Large In Orlando

August 2, 2009 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

By Jerry Waxman

Forget the economy; forget Iraq, and forget Afghanistan. Korea is just a place on the map, and few here are even discussing Cap and Trade. Those topics are for debate at another time. Health Care has become the number one topic of conversation in Central Florida and there is no middle ground. On June 27 the Hispanic Health Initiative, a not-for-profit community based organization, held its ninth annual Festival de la Familia which focuses on family health and education. HHI’s founder and CEO is Josephine Mercado, an attorney who moved to Central Florida from New York in 1999 to lessen her work load and eventually retire learned through friends that the Hispanic community in Central Florida was grossly underserved by the medical establishment and that there were no records to establish Hispanic identities. All patients were either white or non-white.

Mercado, using her legal and organizing skills founded HHI a year later. HHI’s mission is “to educate medically underserved families, in a linguistically correct and culturally sensitive manner, about chronic diseases, disease management and prevention, and refer them to their community health care providers. HHI believes that quality health care should be easily accessible and affordable to everyone regardless of their social status or income level.” Mercado added that HHI is a grassroots, Hispanic agency targeting all medically disadvantaged residents of Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties, who are facing linguistic, cultural and socio-economic barriers to health information and care.

Mercado and her 70 or more volunteers serve without and monetary remuneration and in addition to partnering in several health fairs during the year also sponsor disease screening, diabetes testing, referrals for breast and cervical examinations and free or low cost care. She is a strong advocate of either single payer or the public option plan. Her concerns are about “the 70% of low or middle income Hispanics in Central Florida who work in the hospitality industry and are not insured, not because it isn’t available through their employers, but because it is too expensive for them.”

Stories from HHI

Several people were in attendance to tell of their personal experiences with the American health care system and others spoke comparing and contrasting systems in other countries to Americas. Most speakers praised health care in Europe. One couple in particular, Sharon and Bryan Verhoef, have experienced health care in Great Britain and here as Bryan is originally from there. Sharon was born in New Jersey. Both of them are not old enough yet to enroll in Medicare and they are both in need of medical attention. Bryan has heart problems and he has found that he’s better off going to London to receive care. Even with airfare and lodging he saves money over the way he’s treated here. Great Britain has had Universal Health Care since 1949 and it is paid for by taxes based on income and affordability. No one is excluded and British doctors do not have to tackle multi layers of insurance forms and paperwork, nor do they worry about malpractice claims as American doctors do. British medical schools are almost no-cost so that new physicians don’t have a huge debt to pay off. Verhoef also added that doctors in London get paid very well. Some as much as $750,000.00 per year.

When in need

Rosalind, a volunteer with Organizing for America, told of her younger years when she was a single mother who did not make enough money to purchase health insurance. Her problem was exacerbated by the fact that she made too much money to qualify for Medicaid. “The time is now,” stated Rosalind. Her children are now older and she has a good job with good insurance, but she remembers the challenges of her younger years and doesn’t want anyone to have to go through that.

Things are not always what they seem to be

Another volunteer from Organizing for America spoke only under the promise of anonymity. She is a strikingly beautiful woman of thirty eight who by the age of thirty had exceeded her goals of department management in a Fortune five hundred company. Her star was definitely on the rise. All of a sudden she was having problems breathing and moving. Her diagnosis was a rare collagen disease called Scleroderma. Only 300,000 people in the USA are affected by it but it is a slow painful killer. This particular type of Scleroderma attacks the body’s internal organs and slowly thickens and strangles the body. She could no longer work in her field and had to submit to chemotherapy for twelve months. The chemo worked and she stopped getting worse, although she’ll never get better. She is also on medications that cost $3000.00 per month. Her family finances were stretched to the limit and she was paying enormous monthly COBRA prices on her health insurance. She was finally able to get insurance coverage under a relative’s group plan and her husband’s income is capable of paying for it. If you were to meet her today you would not know how ill she really is. There are no outward signs of the disease; in fact she looks to be the picture of perfect health. She knows that most working people cannot afford what she has and she recognizes that health care reform needs to be enacted so that people less fortunate than she are covered in the face of the costs of catastrophic illness.

This Sheriff Doesn’t Ride a White Horse

April 14, 2009 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

As submitted to The Huffington Post April 6, 2009

*Author’s note-When I started this assignment in February ACORN was heavily in the news. Since that time we’ve heard less about foreclosures due in part to the Government’s asking for a moratorium and some banks actively working to modify their mortgages, however, the crisis is about to heat up again as the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae moratoriums ended on March 31. The other players in this drama are the mortgage bankers, who as of this posting have not responded to my request for an interview, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office acting as officers of the court. We know who the bankers are and basically what they do, but very few people know what a modern day sheriff does, so I thought this would be of interest.

Author’s Update:

Huffington Post published today 4/14/09, however they did a heavy edit and lost some of the flavor of this article.

When we think of the Sheriff most of us evoke images of the Wild West and with good reason. Early 50’s television made icons of Bat Masterson, Wild Bill Hickock, Pat Garrett and Wyatt Earp among others who actually were lawmen that made their reputations with their guns. In the 30’s through the 70’s John Wayne made a slew of movies where he either played a sheriff or marshal and some movies where he actually exposed the sheriff as a crook. These films usually showed the evil banker who holds the mortgage on the ranch and his accomplices (usually a corrupt businessman, in most cases the saloon owner, and a crooked sheriff) who steal the cattle and then foreclose on the property, sometimes with the help of a corrupt judge, because the rancher can’t pay. Normally the reason is because the railroad is coming through and all these corrupt people are looking to cash in at someone else’s expense. It appears that, given the situations, some things haven’t changed all that much. The concept of the evil or corrupt sheriff comes from the many stories of Robin Hood where the evil, plotting and mostly inept Sheriff of Nottingham still gets his due on the screen. Our concept of small town sheriff is permanently etched in our memory from The Andy Griffith Show. Reality Check: these Wild West Sheriffs did help bring law and order to the West. The Sheriff of Nottingham is based on a real person, most likely William de Wendenall, and Sheriff Andy Taylor is not unlike his modern day counterpart in our less populated counties.

History of the Sheriff

The word sheriff is actually a contraction of two words, shire and reeve. Prior to the Norman invasion of England the King appointed someone, usually a lord, to be the chief legal official (Reeve) of each shire. This person had the responsibility to keep the peace, collect the taxes and sometimes settle legal disputes between parties. As the English language evolved the title became Sheriff. When Great Britain first colonized the North American continent the separate colonies appointed their own sheriffs to uphold the law. After the American Revolution the sheriff became an elected position. The Sheriff, in most cases, is the highest law enforcement officer in his county and has control of the county prison system. In the northeastern US the Sheriff doesn’t normally have to be the law enforcement arm. They are responsible for prisoner transport and for serving warrants and writs. State Police and city police forces take care of the law enforcement. In southern and western states where there are fewer big cities, less population and more territory to cover the Sheriff’s office plays a larger role. The Orange County Florida Sheriff’s Office is a perfect example of a modern day operation. The office now has 2400 uniformed, non-uniformed and clerical employees, serving over 1,000,000 residents and 45,000,000 tourists annually. They patrol the entire county as many of the Orange County municipalities are too small to have their own police force so they sign contracts for that protection. They have criminal, investigative, undercover, narcotics, and civil process units and act as any large municipal police force with the added responsibility of running the county prison system, serving writs and handling a number of civil duties.

My interview with the Sheriff’s Office

I contacted the Sheriff’s office on Feb 27 as a follow up to the articles we were doing on ACORN home defenders. I felt it was only fair all that sides were presented and had the opportunity to explain their positions. It took almost a month to get a response, and then it was the wrong person and wrong department. Capt. Tina Gordon who is in command of an enforcement unit called me as my request had filtered down to her. I explained my position to her; I wanted to talk to the people who actually do the foreclosures to get their side of the story. She apologized to me. Why? I don’t know. It wasn’t her fault. She did offer to find out who I should talk to and, true to her word, two days later Lt. Robert Corriveau called me to set up an appointment.

Robert Corriveau looks like he played fullback in the pros. He is solidly built and rugged with a mustache that is beginning to turn gray. He’s been in law enforcement for 27 years, 25 years in Orange County. For many years he was a street officer and spent time in the Drug Enforcement division. He entered the civil unit on 9/9/01 which was tantamount to a baptism by fire. My first question to him was “What is it exactly that your department does?” He named a bunch of duties including transporting prisoners, extraditions, serving the writs of possession and intervening in domestic disputes, all within the jurisdiction of the courts. His division does not choose what actions to take; it is ordered to do so by the courts. I asked him how he felt about the record number of evictions that his division participates in. His answer was that it is not pleasant and no one in the department looks forward to it, but it is part of the job and it needs to be done. He emphasized that the Sheriff is a public servant who is an impartial third party. He acts under court order and not at the direction of the landlord or the mortgage company. He is there to insure the orderly transfer of possession. When I asked how many foreclosures his department was handling he told me that there is no specific number. Foreclosure sales are not handled by the Sheriff’s Office-they are handled by the County Clerk’s Office at the courthouse. He receives a Writ of Possession from the court that is served on the property. It may be from a landlord or from a bank and there is no way of knowing until the actual writ is received by his office. All Writs of Possession are handled in the same manner. He offered instead the figures from 2001 through 2008 plus the first two months of 2009.

In 2001 his office handled less than 1000 eviction orders. By the year 2006 that number had increased to 7,180. In 2007 the number increased again to 8,400 and in 2008 alone there was a 26% increase to 10,243. Figures for Jan-Feb 2009 are even higher. January had 1089 scheduled evictions and February had 891. At the same time, Corriveau noted that his domestic violence unit had 13% less activity for 2008 but he stopped short of asserting that there is clear correlation in those figures. That would probably take a separate study.

Lt. Corriveau arranged for me to travel with one of his deputies during his normal shift so that I could get a feel for what his department does. This is not something special because it is a service that is offered to any county resident who requests it, as long as they fill out an application and pass a background check, which I had to do. The specific date was Wednesday, April 1 at 7:00 AM.

When do we stop for donuts?

Back in the 1980’s there was an episode of Hill Street Blues that featured a local TV news crew following officer Renko on his daily rounds. The agenda of the reporter was to point out all of the time wasted by Renko at coffee shops or lunch counters making it seem that most of the time he wasn’t on the job. I know it’s a distorted picture, but I can’t help thinking back to that episode every time I see a uniformed officer doing exactly what we all do at coffee break time or lunch, especially since Charles Haid’s Renko character was a dedicated cop who was seriously wounded in the line of duty. I didn’t want to have any preconceived ideas about what was about to take place. I met Master Deputy Stan Spanich at the courthouse just before the appointed time. He was dressed in gray slacks and dark blue plaid sport shirt just like any other civilian, although the nine millimeter automatic on his hip and the handcuffs gave me a clue that he was in law enforcement. Physically he could be a stand-in double for Governor Crist. We introduced ourselves and went to his car, a late model Chevy Impala. Any prior ideas I might have had were quickly put to rest now that I’m with a regular guy riding in a family sedan getting ready to do the peoples’ business.

Stan Spanich has been a policeman for 35 years. A native of Chicago, he spent 15 years on the force there as a street cop and in other units including narcotics, investigations and a stint as a mounted policeman. He’s been in Central Florida for 20 years and has been in the civil division for 5 years. He is capable of handling any situation that arises, and as I discovered during the day he is strictly by the book, and a gentleman at all times. His territory covers Orange County west of John Young Parkway to Lake County and south of US Route 50 to Osceola County. It’s a large territory that encompasses wealthy communities like Windermere as well as Universal Studios, The Greater Orlando Convention area and Sea World. Today he has 22 postings that include some evictions and notices to vacate. He always starts in the southern end in order to clear the tourist areas before the traffic gets too heavy. He remarked that today is a lighter than usual day, but he expects things to get busier soon due to the lifting of the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae moratoriums. Our day starts off at the upscale Northbridge Apartments which is a large complex that boasts a few Orlando Magic players and other personalities that should be well able to afford the rent. Some people, however, have fallen on harder times and have fallen behind. He has three final notice postings in this complex which means that either he or one of the unit’s process servers have been there prior to now. Once this notice has been posted he will return within 72 hours to assure that the tenant has vacated. He also leaves his secret mark on the door (which I will not divulge) to avoid any tenant’s claim that they were never notified.

This is a definite route. Every security guard and maintenance man is on a first name basis with him at every complex we visit. He is probably in these places at least twice a month. The only foreclosure eviction he had today was at a complex where there are apartments as well as condos. This one was a little complicated because the tenant had been paying on time every month, but the owner was not making the mortgage payments and this was the day that she had to vacate. A property management firm was there to change the locks; however the tenant was not fully moved out and needed some more time. Spanich intervened and diplomatically convinced the representative to give her some extra time. There was no screaming, no histrionics and no pressure. In this case there had been a lengthy legal proceeding and the tenant had found another place to live. Spanich felt satisfied that it worked out.

Spanich had cleared the tourist areas by 10:30 and we had also managed to get through two thirds of his postings for the day. I offered to buy breakfast so that we could talk for a while without the radio or any other official stuff happening. He intimated that today was the first time in years that he forgot to bring his own lunch, and he never takes the time for a coffee break, however he was far enough ahead that it would be OK.

During our conversation I learned that the Sheriff’s Office encourages all of their personnel to be involved in community affairs. Sheriff’s deputies are involved in homeowner associations, little league, community theatre and all the things that people do who aren’t in law enforcement. This was also told to me by Lt. Corriveau. We compared pictures of our grandchildren and we discussed the economy and the effects it has on his department. He told me a humorous story that happened to him about a month ago during an eviction in Windermere. As the tenant was vacating the 3,000,000.00 property he told Spanich “I just can’t afford the $14,000.00 per month rent anymore.” Well, some people have their priorities. I also asked him what he would do if anyone ever refused to vacate. He answered that he would have to warn them that if they don’t vacate he would have to arrest them and put the cuffs on them. He said that it has never happened to him in the civil division and he has never had to draw his weapon in a domestic situation. When I pressed him about ACORN’s home defenders, he said that he’ll do what’s necessary when faced with that situation, and he obviously will not act on his own. He hopes that the situation will never arise.

Keep on truckin’

The further north we travelled there was a definite difference in the quality of property we visited. These were smaller units that were definitely not upscale. The rents were lower and the maintenance budgets were less expensive. Needless to say, there were no swimming pools or tennis courts as in the units further south. A few people had already abandoned before the final notice was put up, however, in one complex two people scheduled for final notice had actually paid the back rent, late charges and court fees and were not leaving. This brought a smile of satisfaction to Spanich’s face. The last two postings were in public housing projects. These are not part of his district and he is covering for an associate who was on vacation, and it’s on his way back to file his reports and set appointments for tomorrow and Friday.

Other people’s trash

It’s really amazing what people leave behind when they leave their property. What happens is that after the formal eviction the landlord takes whatever personal property is left behind and puts it on the sidewalk for anyone to recover. The tenant has no legal right to the stuff anymore but it’s there if they want to reclaim it. If not the scavengers will get it. There’s always broken furniture or kitchen gadgets left behind, but in one particular apartment there was a Bendix entertainment unit from 1949 in the living room that housed a 7” TV, radio and 3 speed turntable in a beautiful wood cabinet. The unit, whether working or not should be worth something to a museum or curio dealer. In other units there were working television sets, vacuum cleaners, blenders, blankets and sheets, etc.

Once Spanich was off the route we parted company as I didn’t need to witness his phone calls or reports. He promised to call me if he had a hot foreclosure coming up so that I could meet him and see how he handles it. Summing up it was a learning experience, informative if not exciting. Since I didn’t really know what to expect I wasn’t disappointed, but I did wonder if the other deputies in his division had similar days in their areas, and if they ever had to draw their weapons. That might be a follow up question for Robert Corriveau. Frankly, I walked away with a positive view of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The ACORN office is located about four blocks from the courthouse, so I decided to go see Meredith Adrion and tell her of my day. Acorn had requested a meeting with Sheriff Jerry Demings around the same time as I did. Adrion said that he has not met with them so far and she doesn’t know if or when he will. She’s also going to inform me of any future actions Acorn will be taking.

Lieutenant Robert Corriveau

Lt. Robert Corriveau

ACORN launches Home Defenders in Orlando

February 26, 2009 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

It started to rain at 1:30 Thursday afternoon, unusual for Central Florida in February. The press conference was called for 2:00 PM in front of Inez Batista’s Avalon Park home. Tiffany, an ACORN organizer said “somehow, it always rains when we do things like this.” ACORN volunteers, being fully prepared, handed out disposable ponchos to any in the crowd who requested one. Slowly, the group assembled as more people came until the crowd reached about forty, not counting the Batistas or the organizers or the press. Considering the weather, it was a sizable crowd.

William Moore, Chairman of the Anti-Foreclosure Committee for ACORN, spoke briefly about the nationwide initiative to keep people facing foreclosure in their homes. He then introduced Travis Munnerlyn, whose successful efforts to save his home through bold action with ACORN garnered national attention last year. Munnerlyn spelled out the principles of keeping people in their homes and working to get President Obama’s initiatives passed through Congress.

Moore then introduced Inez Batista whose foreclosure is scheduled for March 19. Batista explained that they had bought their home in 2003 and for several years they were making timely mortgage payments, however, business reversals in her husband’s construction company necessitated them to refinance. Their business never recovered and they are now faced with much higher payments than their original mortgage, even after mortgage modification. Inez Batista is ACORN’s first initiative in the Orlando area, which is, according to Moore, the highest foreclosure rate in the country.

Avery Salkey, whose story was reported previously in this post, was a special guest who told the assembled that her home was scheduled for that day, but through a last minute effort by ACORN her service company granted her a sixty day extension. There were several people in the crowd who were also facing foreclosure actions and were seeking help from ACORN. Carlos Saenz, who worked for an architectural firm was laid off from his job, had tried to work with his bank. He had gotten a 90 day forbearance which ended in December 2008, but he had not gotten another job so he asked the bank for an additional 90 days and at the same time he would go into his retirement account and bring his mortgage current. The bank refused his offer.

After the interviews Tiffany rallied the crowd with cheers and chants such as “Hey hey, ho ho, predatory loans have got to go” and “The people, united will never be defeated.” As the crowd dispersed the sun broke through.

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub.

February 26, 2009 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

Avery Salkey has spent many sleepless nights over the last year or more in apprehension of what’s to come. She doubtlessly will spend many sleepless nights in the future, but for the next sixty days she’ll be safe in her home. She went to court on Tuesday and filed a motion to delay the sale of her home. Yale Mortgage finally agreed to give her sixty days to work things out. She and ACORN are doing whatever they can to bring the mortgage company around to work with her. For the next several nights she can sleep more easily than she has in the past and maybe she’ll even have some pleasant dreams, but until things can be worked out in her favor she’ll have this sword of Damocles hanging over her bed.

On the street where you live On Monday and Tuesday teams of ACORN volunteers walked the neighborhoods enlisting community support for the Batista family. Many of the houses that were visited were vacant with For Sale signs on the property. The Avalon Park Neighborhood Association had all the foreclosure signs taken down so it was difficult to determine which properties were in foreclosure; that is until you talk to the residents. One resident asked “where were you a month ago when the people next door had to leave?” The people they were able to talk to were mostly sympathetic and signed the petitions. Some of them expressed interest in attending the demonstration scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 2:00 PM.

Some people wouldn’t answer their doors even though the dogs were barking and the kids looked through the venetian blinds. One resident told why; there had recently been a rash of break-ins all over Avalon Park resulting in robberies, vandalism and worse. On Monday night a resident had been raped, and the neighbors are up in arms. Things like that are not supposed to happen in Central Florida’s version of Stepford, where everything is neat and clean, and all the grass is neatly mowed and all the garages are in the rear of the house hidden from street view.

The original purchase price of the Batista house was $390,000.00. Despite a large down payment and a few years of paying on time they needed to refinance because of business reversals. With all of the penalties and interest owed the Batistas now owe $410,000.00 and they’ve been living in the house for several years. An identical house across the street sold recently for just $200,000.00 so under the current system the Batistas can never get whole, and neither can the banks. ACORN thinks it is in the bank’s best interest to work with the Batistas. Property values aside, the neighborhood doesn’t need another vandalized or vacant house. Nor does it need another property off the tax rolls, and Stepford needs to save face.

ACORN to lenders: “Prey no more!”

February 26, 2009 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

Avery Salkey is about to lose her house. It’s similar to a lot of stories throughout the country and it affects millions of people. She purchased a new home on December 4, 2003 and that’s when her troubles began. The purchase price on her house at 1502 Running Oak Lane in Royal Palm Beach was $234,550.00. At the time she was living in New York and made the decision as a single mother to start her life anew in Florida. She paid a substantial down payment, and secured a mortgage from Bank United that cost her $1500.00 per month, including taxes and insurance. She said that she could afford it.

What she didn’t count on was the time it took her to find another job in Florida that would allow her to continue her payments and live her life. She was late on some mortgage payments and at some point the bank threatened to foreclose. She then went to a mortgage broker who steered her to a hard money lender, Yale Mortgage. Yale gave her a variable rate mortgage however the terms of the mortgage were, in her opinion not the terms she was quoted. Her broker suggested that she pay the mortgage on time for six months, which she claims she did, while they continued to look for another lender with better terms. Her payment to Yale was $2800.00 monthly, almost twice what her payments were to Bank United. Additionally, Yale does not report to any credit agencies which adversely affected her credit, and if she were able to find another lender there would also be a huge prepayment penalty. She finally found ACORN who has been working with her to avoid foreclosure on her house. She and Yale Mortgage have been at odds since August, 2007. Her house was originally scheduled to be foreclosed on in November, 2007. She has been interviewed on NPR, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89856332, and was referred to on Good Morning America, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5459044&page=1. Salkey claims that as a result of her NPR interview Yale Mortgage refuses to deal with her. Her home is scheduled to be taken Thursday, Feb. 19.

The ACORN training session

The ACORN headquarters are located at 120 Colonial Drive in Downtown Orlando. The meeting room was filled to capacity. Many of these people were either in or being threatened with foreclosure. William Moore chairs the Foreclosure Committee for ACORN in Orlando, Florida. He cited that the State of Florida is number two nationally behind California in the number of foreclosures and, given the two populations, it is number one on a per capita basis. Orange County leads all other areas in the state, so the nation will be focused on what happens here. Monday, February 16 starts an initiative called Home Defenders. Moore explained that ACORN members and volunteers will be visiting the neighbors of homeowners threatened with foreclosure to enlist neighborhood support. On Thursday, February 19 there will be active teams in place to prevent city or county officials from taking possession of the property. These teams are designed to offer non-violent resistance to any and all people trying to force people out of their houses. Certain team members are also designated to go to prison if the situation arises. These tactics have been used recently in Baltimore and Oakland and they worked. According to Moore the bank had auctioned off the foreclosed property and as a result of ACORN’s actions they withdrew the acceptance and renegotiated with the original owner. Moore intimated that the banks really wanted to do the “right thing”; they just needed a little push in the right direction with ACORN’s help. The key is the number of people that can turn out in support of ACORN’s efforts. “The more people, the more homes we can save” says Moore.

Moore is no stranger to predatory lending techniques used by the banks. His parents are also victims. Moore has an MBA and a law degree and still needed ACORN to accomplish what he needs to. His parents owned a dry-wall installation business and were getting ready to retire. They wanted to make improvements to their home and enjoy their retirement. They were not sophisticated in the world of finance and wound up in the hands of a predatory lender. By the time Moore got involved it was almost too late. Moore was also hampered last year by life threatening surgery which rendered him ineffective for a long time. His experiences led him to ACORN where he is an active member of the organization.

You can do something about it

Travis Munnerlyn fought back and won. Munnerlyn and his wife raised their children in the same house and were preparing to make improvements in order to raise their grandsons. They wanted to add a bedroom. Their lender was Countrywide, a now failed bank that specialized in predatory loans, was taken over by Bank of America. The interest rate on their mortgage ballooned at the same time that his wife, Patricia, was laid off after seventeen years with the same company. Munnerlyn also had health problems. Munnerlyn sought out the aid of ACORN and worked with several officials including Governor Charlie Crist to reverse his situation. Last year he received a lot of attention nationally. He was profiled in AARP Magazine http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourmoney/personalfinance/articles/millions_of_americans.html and made appearances on Good Morning America http://acorn.org/?4316. His story is on Youtube in his own words www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2hEjNcbpNI.

A brief history of ACORN

ACORN was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas by Wade Rathke, an organizer for George Wiley’s National Welfare Rights Organization. The goal was to unite welfare recipients with working people in need around issues of free school lunches for schoolchildren, unemployed workers’ concerns, Vietnam Veterans’ rights and hospital emergency room care. Thus, an idea of low and moderate income community activism was born that would grow and adapt, thrive and flourish, and become a powerful movement from coast to coast. ACORN quickly became a powerful force in Little Rock and Arkansas politics and grew within ten years to active chapters in twenty states. The 1990 ACORN convention in Chicago focused on the fast-breaking housing campaign. The convention also included the ACORN Elected Official Conference which developed strategies for independent electoral organizations.

In 1991The housing issue was still a constant sore point. ACORN fought back against bank lobbyist efforts to gut the CRA. ACORN members staged a two- day takeover of the House Banking Committee hearing room to be sure their voices were heard by Congress. They stood in line overnight and took seats normally occupied by bank lobbyists. As a result, they won the Congressional vote to preserve the CRA in a power move that got national attention.

ACORN has continued to grow and is now in 42 states with over 400,000 member families. It claims responsibility for registering over 100,000 new voters in the state of Florida for the 2008 election. ACORN continues to build community organizations that are committed to social and economic justice, and continues to take action on thousands of issues.

Home Defenders prepare

Inez Batista is scheduled to lose her house on March 19. She lives in Avalon Park, east of Orlando. Avalon Park is a planned community with single and multi-family homes, apartments and retail enterprises. The publicity for the area advertises the benefits and spaciousness of small town living. Home prices range from the low 200,000’s to the high 500,000’s. Inez’s husband had a construction business and in 2003 the business was doing well. They had three small children and Inez was a stay at home mother. They bought the house in 2004 and for a short while life was good, that is until the downturn in the construction industry. Inez and her husband both got jobs, but they seriously fell behind in their payments and received notification of foreclosure in August 2008. The Batistas then hired Advantage Mortgage of Miami who claimed that they could help get a modified agreement with Countrywide. Advantage required an immediate payment of $1500.00 up front in certified funds. The Batistas paid the money and waited. Unfortunately for them, Advantage never contacted Countrywide about refinancing-they talked to them about selling the property. The Batistas then called Countrywide directly to see if they could get a modification and were told to contact a firm called The Home Team. They also went to court to get an extension, which will keep them in their house legally until March 19. When the modification documents were delivered to them they were for a lot more money and monthly payments than the original mortgage. The Batistas refused to sign so they are now facing foreclosure.

The first Home Defenders project will be to rally around and protect Inez Batista and her family. Monday and Tuesday ACORN will be walking the neighborhood to gather community support, and Thursday the kickoff event will take place at the Batista house starting at 1:00 PM. There are several thousand homes in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties that are being foreclosed on. This is only round one.

Inauguration Blues

February 26, 2009 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

Orlando, Florida Jan 20. I can’t adequately describe the feeling inside me. It’s not merely joy, pride, relief or any range of those emotions. It’s rather a combination of some degree of them all tinged with a little apprehension for the work that still lies ahead. Of course this is an historic event and we should celebrate it, all in our own style. I chose not to attend the inauguration; I watched and have recorded the event to DVD so my grandkids can have it. The trip wouldn’t have cost me much because my daughter lives in the area. No, I chose to be here where it all started.

Our group in East Orlando was a driving force in taking Orange County by over 80,000 votes. We are hosting our own celebration and we have vowed to stay together to become a political force here. We are in the process of forming a Democratic club through either a state or county charter. The point is that we are staying involved. Statistically, Democrats did not do well in local, county and state offices. We also failed to defeat Amendment 2. Local politics has to be an important priority now. The 2010 elections are around the corner and we can’t afford Charlie Crist again in any elected office. Jeb Bush and Mel Martinez wisely saw the future and left the field open. I for one do not want to prove them wrong, so my apprehension is whether or not we will let this opportunity pass.

Watching on TV is frustrating because I can’t stand the constant chatter from the same talking heads. Sometimes their perspectives are so out of kilter that I wonder if I’m watching the same event they’re describing. Some people I never need to see again are Pat Buchanan, Peggy Noonan, Wolf Blitzer, George Will James Carville, Mary Matalin, Chris Matthews and others too numerous to mention. As far as I am concerned they contribute nothing except their own hot air. Not a fresh perspective in the bunch.

I really wish we could get past this race thing as much as I wish we could get past gender and lifestyle issues. People should be measured by their abilities and accomplishments and nothing more. Perhaps this inauguration is the beginning of the end of that kind of biased thinking, but it struck me as I watched the ceremonies on our 50” high definition screen that I wanted to throw a shoe at Rick Warren as he spoke. I might have too if the economy and our business income were better-it’s too expensive to fix or replace right now. Another curious thought occurred when Aretha Franklin was singing; why did they choose My Country Tis of Thee which is really a British song, God Save The (King/Queen) with different lyrics? I would have preferred God Bless America written by Israel Baline, a Russian Jewish immigrant whose name was changed to Irving Berlin. It is much more appropriate for the occasion. How wonderful it would have been for Marian Anderson, or Paul Robeson, or Nat King Cole to have had the opportunity to contribute to earlier inaugurations, all of them compelling performers who were on the front lines of the civil rights battles since the 1930’s. Their vindication came today.

So, tonight I’ll celebrate with my kindred spirits and tomorrow we’ll go out into the trenches and wage the battle for 2010. There’s a lot more work to be done.

Campaign Journal:Can We Go Home Now?

November 11, 2008 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

*Note: This was just Submitted to Huffington Post and is awaiting publication.

By Jerry Waxman

Tues. Nov 4 5:30 AM. The office opens. At least, I think it does. I’m still asleep. It’s not necessary to be there since we won’t start canvassing until 9:30, so there’s no real rush, and I have to get today’s school programs ready to go.

7:00 AM. The song, Ooh My Feet! My Poor, Poor Feet! from Frank Loesser’s brilliant folk opera, The Most Happy Fella, comes to mind as I get out of bed. Of course, I could say the same about my back, neck, knees and lumbars too-it just doesn’t rhyme as well.

9:00 AM. “What’s today’s agenda?” I ask, fully expecting to be driving people to the polls since I have a seven passenger van. I’m told by our organizer that we are again canvassing and this time we are not just dropping off reminders to vote, we are talking to the residents and if they have not voted we’ll arrange to get them to the polls. It takes a little more time, but so far, everything we’ve been doing has been effective.

1:00 PM Finished up my walk pack and returned to the office. There is time enough to walk another pack as long as I don’t eat lunch. This pack has over 100 addresses and at that rate I won’t get back until 6:00. Almost everyone that I talked to had already voted and the others were waiting for their spouses to come home. That’s a good feeling.

5:45 PM The office is now calmer now than at any time since last Friday. Reports are coming in about the long lines at the poles and we are ready to go there with cases of bottled water. I went to four polling places where there were no long lines at all. Then the call came in to get to UCF where the estimated wait in line was about three hours.

7:30 PM The polls here are closed but our work isn’t done. We are now calling New Mexico and other Western states urging those that haven’t voted to get out and do so. Those of us not on the phones are tracking the results on our computers through various websites.

9:00 PM New Mexico polls have closed. Someone has brought in a wide screen TV so we can all track the results together. I stay at my computer. Every time favorable news happens we erupt into cheers. I was on the Florida Dept of State website getting updates frequently. We were ahead from the beginning and it looked like it was going to be a cakewalk, but with memories of 2000 still fresh in our collective memory everyone was hesitant. When Pennsylvania and Ohio and New Mexico were declared we knew the election was in the bag, however, we wanted our work to be validated. They finally called Florida at about 11:00 PM and then abruptly called the election for Obama. In an earlier column I stated that Central Florida was the key to winning the state and that East Orlando was the key to winning Orange County and Central Florida. Our East Orlando offices did the job. The vote difference in Orange County was 80,000, almost half the difference in the state. Last election the Democrats won Orange in a1000 vote squeaker. Because of this we were also able to send two new Democrats to Congress. The only drawback to the whole evening was the passage of Amendment 2, which denies gays the right to marry.

I opted not to go downtown to the victory party. I’ve developed an aversion to the noise and mayhem. I’ll celebrate my own way and in my own time-with my family.

Wed. Nov 5 Lots of work to do cleaning up the office and returning all of the rented and leased equipment. My organizer, Erin, lost her car keys last night, and someone took her laptop computer, which had to be reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Security has not been a problem until now-I hope she gets it back.

One of our volunteers, Lyman, is hosting a party for our three field offices tonight. That one I’ll go to. This is a crowd of people as diverse as can be from all walks of life who, for two months, came together for a common purpose. People whom I would have never met otherwise and now have common bonds with. We have all agreed to stay in touch and stay active. Many of us signed up at the party to go to Georgia and work in the runoff election. I even volunteered to go to Minnesota if they wanted me. What we have in place now is a support system for anyone in this area if they choose to run for local political office. That’s a nice feeling to have.

Thur. Nov 6 Reality sucks. All the time I spent on the campaign has taken its toll. The house is a mess. Our supply room is totally disorganized and lacking in things we need for today’s programs. There is a load of mail that has yet to be opened and the lawn hasn’t been touched in five weeks……….ugh!

To answer the title question, perhaps, but not for long. There’s too much work to do. Yes, we can physically enter our houses, but we can’t relax our guard. We need to start getting candidates together for next year’s local elections. We need to start running someone against Charlie Crist in two years as well as those congressional Republicans who held on to their seats. We need to challenge them now in order to keep them from being more obstructionist than they have been. We can go home, but only to get a little sleep.

Campaign Journal: The GOTV Blues

November 11, 2008 by Jerry Waxman Leave a Comment

By Jerry Waxman

*Note: This was submitted to The Huffington Post and not published.

Mon. Oct 20 It’s 4:30 PM and we’re finally ready to leave. We drive to the Citrus Bowl to catch the shuttle bus to the Amway Arena. The event starts at 6:00 P.M. I’m thinking that we have plenty of time as we have the blue reserved tickets. On the bus ride I started to wonder why the Obama people chose Amway for the event. Why are the DeVos family and Erik Prince getting any of my hard earned donation money? That’s wrong. The Obama people should know better. We arrive at Amway at 5:45 and are informed that the campaign people opened up the reserved section at 5:00 and we are SOL. Susan is furious at me for putting her through this. My last experience with Bill Clinton taught me to bring either a milk crate or step stool to these events if you want to see anything, especially since our reserved tickets were denied. We finally got to a place where we could see the giant screen if someone’s head didn’t get in the way. I estimate that we were about 100 yards away from the podium.

It was impossible to focus a camera on the screen unless you raised your hand as high up as you could and aimed in the general direction of the screen, so we never got to see either Hillary or Barack Obama live. Many of the pictures we took turned out OK. Just being at this event was satisfying and hearing them speak live calmed Susan down and she began enjoying herself. We left a little early to avoid the rush. Good thing too.

Tue. Oct 21 The rest of this week is spent identifying volunteers and getting the new staging areas established and staffed. I was supposed to head the Union Park location, however, because of my two real (and paying) jobs my schedule didn’t allow for that, so, I’ve been reassigned to supervise the volunteers, whatever that means. The big thing on GOTV is to be ready on Nov. 1 for a final 72 hour push. We’ve continued to refine our voter identities and volunteer recruitment is up.

Sat. Oct 25 Illness strikes. For the next several days I’m sidelined with a strange stomach virus that doesn’t want to go away. I’ll forego the details.

Tue. Oct 28 Erin intimates that Barack Obama and Bill Clinton will be here on Wednesday and asks if I want to attend. I asked where and there was no stated venue yet-they were looking for a place. I immediately stated my objection to Amway which she passed on to the campaign. The rally took place in Kissimmee so maybe they got other complaints as well. The rest of the week I was tied up with business and could not put any time in the campaign.

Sat. Nov 1 We spent a lot of time at the early voting stations. The Alafaya branch of the Public Library had a line that stretched a quarter mile by 9:30 AM. I had an interesting conversation with a Florida voting rights attorney named Donna who would not allow me to photograph her. She was trying to be impartial and she was doing a good job of it. The office is now totally concentrating on making sure voters get to the polls.

Sun. Nov 2 Early voting is now over. People can still vote by absentee ballot, and in the worst case scenario, we will collect the ballots and get them to the Supervisor of elections, or they can fill out an absentee ballot and drop them at the voting locations on Tuesday. One of our volunteers, Lorna, has been on the phones for over 8 hours straight.

Mon. Nov 3 Today is wall to wall GOTV canvassing. This is strictly to make sure that people who haven’t yet voted that they must vote tomorrow. I probably have over 300 addresses to canvass, but I have all day. Tomorrow is the killer. We must be in the office at 5:30 AM. We’ve arranged to pick up absentee ballots and we’ve also made arrangements to drive people to the polls.

Barck Obama in Orlando with Hillary Clinton