POSITIONS TAKEN ON
ISSUES, 2009
-- by the Platform
& Issues Committee of the Democratic Party of Hillsborough County, 2009,
ordered from most recent to earliest
2009-09-03: Protecting Cone Ranch as Public Wetlands.
Whereas the damage that has already been done
to the historic wetlands that make up the property labeled Cone Ranch threatens
the health of the Hillsborough River; and
Whereas the restoration of the Cone Ranch
historic wetlands will significantly benefit the Hillsborough River as a water
source for the City of Tampa; and
Whereas the City of Tampa over the last two
years spent $14.2 million “replacing” the water that has been lost because of
the degradation of the Cone Ranch wetlands; and
Whereas the Site Selection Committee of
Hillsborough County’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program
has given the Cone Ranch property its highest priority, the ranking of A; and
Whereas the voters at the last election cycle
approved ELAPP’s request for up to $200 million in bonding authority to fund
ELAPP capital purchases;
WHEREAS accepting the FCEG offer to broker the
privatization of the Cone Ranch property will expose Hillsborough County to
risk of considerable financial loss; therefore be it
RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Hillsborough County
demands that in order to assure restoration of the Cone Ranch property the
Board of County Commissioners cut off further discussion of the FCEG proposal
and, using appropriate financial instruments, authorize the transfer of the
Cone Ranch property in its entirety from the Hillsborough County Water
Enterprise to the Hillsborough County Environmental Lands Acquisition and
Protection Program.
2009-09-03: Reform
of Health Insurance System.
The Committee looked
again at positions taken by Democrats at all levels:
§
DNC
Platform and current position.
[http://www.democrats.org/a/national/american_dream/affordable_health_care/]
§
FDP Platform and current position.
[http://www.fladems.com/content/w/issues#healthcare]
§
HCDEC
Platform and current position.
Hillsborough County Democratic Party Platform Principle 9)… The health of individuals,
the health and well-being of communities, and the conditions of the environment
are inseparably tied to each other, and
that comprehensive whole deserves priority over all else.
Each time the
issue has come up, the Platform & Issues Committee has been unanimous in
its support of a single-payer health care system – or at least a “public
option.”
In July 2009
the Platform & Issues Report stated, under the heading, Health Care for
All:
This Committee, having already offered to the Steering Committee a proposal on “Health
Care For All”, would like to restate once more the importance of Health Care reform in the USA. In the Words of Dr. Howard Dean:
“ We support health care reform that allows individual Americans to choose either a Universally available public health care option like Medicare or for-profit private Insurance. A public option is the only way to guarantee health care for all Americans and its inclusion is non-negotiable. Any legislation without the choice of public option is only insurance reform and not the health care reform America needs.”
In addition, it was noted that there is a strong movement now, for Universal Single Payer Health Care. Although it has been stated that nothing can be expected in this regard until the year 2030, we should remain hopeful that this will be given careful consideration before a final reform program is announced.
We also discussed the possibility of Health Care being regulated on the State/local level. It was suggested that the cost of this would be prohibitive without an additional source of state income. For example a State Income Tax. Thus promoting an issue for discussion at a future meeting.
2009-09-03: Position re proposal that the County sell
Cone Ranch to Private Developers.
We had a brief report on the Cone
Ranch Issue from member Kent Bailey even though he could not attend himself. We Democrats have taken a stand against the
sale to private developers of the County-owned property.
. . .
“It would take serious work for this “proposal” to rise even to the ‘minimal’ standard of ‘a pig in a poke’.
“No part of the plan allows for public oversight or input when modifications of the currently unwritten Conservation Easements are sought by the new private landowners.
. . .
The Committee agrees with Bailey’s recommendations, and urges the HCDEC to join us in urging all
Democrats to send messages to the members of the Cone Ranch Advisory Panel and
to all members of the County Commission.
2009-08-06
o
The
possible sale to private developers of the County-owned Cone Ranch.
Having pondered the many problems that beset this important section of Hillsborough’s environmental lands of such natural value and of such necessity to the area as a source of water, pondering also the growing shortage of water for the entire Tampa Bay Area, and coming to appreciate that the likelihood that the Commission might accept any cash offer given the state of the economy and the county budget, and finally, realizing that the entire problem came about simply because some developers, out of the blue, came up with a proposal to the County Commission, this Platform and Issues Committee decided to ask the Hillsborough County Democratic Party to wait no longer to take a position:
The Hillsborough County Democratic Party recommends no change at this
time in the ownership of the Cone Ranch but a continuing search for the best
way to preserve those public lands to meet future water needs.
2009-08-06
Reform, not just health care, but a health system.
Alvin Wolfe had earlier distributed his Declaration of Independence from Insurance Industry, about how our failure to regulate insurance nationally has put us deeper and deeper under structural control of the Insurance Industry. Insurance costs affect each household and small business, so it is a local problem even though its genesis began with Congress granting the insurance industry exemption from antitrust regulation.
The Committee voted unanimously to
request that the Democratic Party of Hillsborough County post this Declaration on its web site. It can also
be found at http://www.lutzdemocrats.us/DeclarationInsuranceIndependence.pdf
2009-08-06
o ValueAddedDeferredTaxation.. What we want is to give Democratic candidates a pro-business stance that is also pro-community, It has to do with taxes, revenue, and tax breaks. The more it has been discussed, the more detail gets into it until there is always something that somebody objects to. This time we came up with a simple statement of what we recommend:
The
Democratic Party of Hillsborough County takes the lead in favoring a
four-year(?) ad valorem tax break to
commercial property owners who make real improvements to property they have
held for more than four years(?).
2009-07-02
Nonpartisan Commission for Redistricting
The Committee was reminded that the petitions are still being gathered.
2009-04-07
Having studied the multiple problems of health care in America, the HCDEC Platform and Issues Committee recommends that the HCDEC adopt the following paragraph drawn from a Howard Dean statement published on the web on April 9, 2009.
We
support health care reform that allows individual Americans to choose either a
universally available public health care option like Medicare or for-profit
private insurance. A public option is the only way to guarantee health care for
all Americans and its inclusion is non-negotiable. Any legislation without the
choice of a public option is only insurance reform and not the health care
reform America needs.
Respectfully Submitted,
Alvin W. Wolfe, Chair,
Platform and Issues Committee, Hillsborough Democratic Party.