Rep. Byron Donalds introduces Alfie Oakes at a gathering at Food & Thought 2 last Wednesday.
April 26, 2024 by David Silverberg
Francis Alfred “Alfie” Oakes III will be running again to keep his seat as a Collier County Republican state committeeman, he announced Wednesday, April 24.
Oakes, a local farmer, grocer and Trumpist activist, made the announcement at a gathering at his Food & Thought 2 restaurant. The Republican primary election is scheduled for August 20.
Oakes was endorsed by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) and said in his turn he supports Donalds as well for whatever position he seeks, mentioning the possibility of Donalds’ running for governor in 2026.
In his remarks he also mentioned that while “America First” Republicans had been successful in the past, their preferred candidate, Ted Blankenship, had been rebuffed for mayor in the City of Naples election on March 19, as a result of “country club Republicans.” He said he anticipated different results in Collier County in the upcoming elections.
Oakes endorsed Kristina Heuser for a committe position on the Collier County Republican Executive Committee (CCREC) to replace the current member, JoAnn DeBartolo, a longtime conservative, pro-Trump activist.
Heuser is a local lawyer and the drafter of Collier County’s anti-federal nullification ordinance, which passed the Board of Commissioners last August. A previous ordinance she wrote was defeated in 2021.
Kristina Heuser.
Donalds, Oakes and Heuser all called for unity among Republicans, while acknowledging differences of opinion within the Party.
“Before the Democrats do anything to us, we have to make sure that we don’t do anything to ourselves,” said Donalds. He said that while Republicans had divisions it was only the result of “a passionate commitment” to keep Florida the best state in the country “but that is only going to happen if we unite as one party.”
Oakes said that he opposed DeBartolo for another term on the Committee but chose not to elaborate, saying “if you can’t say something nice about someone don’t say anything at all.”
In her address Heuser stated: “There is an evil, George Soros-funded movement in Florida,” she said of the initiative to amend the state Constitution to guarantee a right to abortion. Amendment 4 supporters “want to legalize abortion through birth, not through a law that can be undone but by putting it into the Florida state Constitution.” She urged listeners to vote against it in November.
She continued: “They are going to say this is to protect women’s health but no, this is to say that the legislature cannot restrict abortion at all.”
She said she would work “to make sure the Republican Party continues to stand for life.”
She also said that while working in New York she had met people who lost their jobs for refusing to take the COVID vaccine and “the government should never tell you [that] you have to inject toxic drugs into your body.”
She said she and the others gathered there were present “we’re here to protect Biblical values” and “We seek the truth through love, that is what the Bible tells us to do.”
Still, Collier County has ‘a superb system’ for elections
Collier County Commissioner Chris Hall at the moment he discussed 9/11. (Image: CCBC)
April 24, 2024 by David Silverberg
During discussion of his election-disrupting resolution during the Collier County Board of Commissioners meeting yesterday, April 23, Commissioner Chris Hall (R-District 2) said that the election of President Joe Biden in 2020 hit him harder than the terrorist-piloted planes that smashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I’ll never forget how I felt the night of the 2020 election,” said Hall. “It was worse than I felt on 9/11.”
He continued: “There was something just deeply wrong with that and I know several in here in the room was ecstatic about that. But there was nothing that was fair about that election, when the results didn’t even show up and had been manipulated.”
He then declined to continue on the subject or offer evidence. “You know, I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole but there’s a rabbit hole to go down,” he said.
Hall’s comparison of the 2020 election results to 9/11 brought a rare rebuke from fellow Commissioner Rick LoCastro (R-District 1) when it was his turn to speak. LoCastro is a retired US Air Force colonel and Air Force Academy graduate.
“First I want to say something to you, Chairman Hall, and I mean this with no disrespect,” he said, somberly. “I was unhappy in 2020 but I got to tell you, as a veteran, I could never say it was worse than 9/11. I lost so many people on 9/11 and afterwards and so…. I understand how you package the meaning you were trying to say and so I realize you’re not being disrespectful, you’re a huge supporter of veterans but I just want to go on the record to all the veterans that are here: 9/11 was horrific, OK?
“Nobody died in 2020. I lost hundreds of friends, I held dead people in my arms, I put American flags over caskets, I put them on airplanes after 9/11 and after, so I don’t ask you to rescind those comments and I say this with all due respect so I’m not…I hope you’re hearing this in a positive [way].”
Referring to Commissioner Burt Saunders (R-District 3), LoCastro continued: “So I think, as Commissioner Saunders said, sometimes words matter and we speak up here very quickly about domestic animal services and other things and Conservation Collier, but I just wanted to go on the record and say 9/11 was horrific and I don’t think there’s many things that I hope will [ever] top that.”
A number of public speakers at yesterday’s meeting, including Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier, pointed out that invalidating the 2022 election would have invalidated Hall’s own election, since that was when he won office.
But Hall was at pains to argue that his resolution did not target Collier County and he praised Blazier and the work of her office.
“One of the hardest things I’ve ever done is sit here for 45 minutes and hear this applied to things it doesn’t even apply to,” he said impatiently when the public comment period was over. “We are not talking about our local supervisor of elections. We’re not talking about Collier County, in no way. If I was ever illegally elected I would resign in three seconds.”
In Collier County, he said, “We have a superb system and I have utmost confidence that we were all elected fairly.”
The resolution was aimed at being part of a national movement to alter voting procedures, he said. “…I just want to make it very, very clear this resolution has nothing to do with our local supervisor of elections, our local integrity. It has to do with the people that’s—it’s a grassroots effort, it’s a movement to begin here and go with every county in Florida to send to our state legislators and our state Senate to let them know how important, fair, accurate and accountable elections are. That’s all it is.”
As he put it: “We want the fire to begin here.”
Commentary: finale
Given the public opposition and lack of support of the Board of Commissioners for the resolution that would have significantly altered voting procedures and made them more cumbersome, restrictive and possibly illegal, the United Sovereign Americans effort to light that fire certainly did not ignite yesterday in Collier County. Fla.
The Collier County Board of Commissioners during yesterday’s meeting. (Image: CCBC)
Collier County Commissioner Chris Hall, who is planning to introduce a resolution to alter county elections on Tuesday. (Image: CCBC)
April 21, 2024 by David Silverberg
A resolution demanding election changes in Collier County that is expected to be introduced to the Board of Commissioners this coming Tuesday, April 23, is actually a standard, cookie-cutter template drafted by an organization whose executive director has in the past been warned against voter intimidation, election interference and false representation.
Commissioner Chris Hall (R-District 2) is expected to introduce a “Resolution for a Legally Valid 2024 General Election” at the Tuesday meeting. Discussion of the resolution is on the Board’s agenda.
The resolution was not locally drafted and the 11 demands it makes are not solutions tailored to Collier County needs. They are part of a national effort to profoundly change US elections by United Sovereign Americans, a national non-profit 501c3 organization that purports to promote election integrity.
The 11 demands in the resolution include stringent identity requirements, voting audits, multiple witnesses for operations and requirements for new elections if conditions are not met. (The full resolution text and its supporting documentation can be accessed and downloaded at the conclusion of this article.)
The resolution would disrupt upcoming elections in Collier County, county Supervisor of Elections, Melissa Blazier told Hall in an April 18 message. She called it “deeply flawed and highly unnecessary.” (The full text of her message is below.)
The resolution is in two parts. The first part makes unsupported allegations of election fraud in the 2022 Florida election. These allegations were conveyed to Hall by the Election Integrity Committee of the Collier County Republican Executive Committee (CCREC).
Blazier stated these allegations were “riddled with erroneous conclusions and lack any manner of legally relevant evidence.”
The second part of the resolution is just a copy of the United Sovereign Americans’ standard draft resolution produced and distributed by the organization.
Blazier wrote: “The majority of requests this resolution calls for are either already incorporated into existing law, are in direct violation of existing law or would require technology that is not yet available or authorized for use in the State of Florida.”
She noted that her office was not obligated to abide by the resolution but rather by the laws of the state and the US Constitution. Resolutions are non-binding statements of opinion by legislative bodies.
“To use the words of Governor DeSantis, Florida is the GOLD STANDARD for election administration and Collier County is a leader in the state for conducting elections,” she wrote. “By considering or even passing this resolution, the public’s confidence in the elections that are conducted by the hundreds of Collier County citizen election workers who work hard to ensure fair, accurate and legal elections is further eroded.”
Past allegations
Since the election of 2020, unsupported allegations of election fraud and calls to audit or overturn certified elections are nothing new in Collier County.
While United Sovereign Americans’ website claims chapters in 24 states and thousands of volunteers, it does not provide a single name, identify a director, or provide a headquarters location.
In an undated podcast, Hornik told interviewer Jeff Dornik that United Sovereign Americans was “working in state after state to prove that non-compliant and inaccurate elections were certified as compliant and accurate” and that “the elections were a sham, that the certifications were an act of perjury.”
In 2023, New York State Attorney Letitia James sent a cease and desist letter to Hornik stating “that reports alleging that volunteers from the NY Citizens Audit Civic Fund have confronted voters across the state at their homes, falsely claimed to be Board of Elections officials, and falsely accused voters of committing felony voter fraud.”
The letter demanded: “You are hereby instructed to cease and desist any ongoing or contemplated voter deception and intimidation efforts, including instructing or otherwise causing volunteers to falsely represent themselves as government officials or falsely accuse voters of voter fraud. Voter deception and intimidation have no place in New York, and the [Office of Attorney General] will use every tool at its disposal to protect New York voters.”
(The full text of the letter can be accessed and downloaded below.)
United Sovereign Americans is calling for election challenges across the United States. As part of that effort it provides the 11-point draft resolution for local political bodies to use as a model for election demands. This is the same draft being used by Hall for his resolution in Collier County.
As a basis for its allegations of Florida voting irregularities in 2022, Hall’s resolution cites the information provided by the CCREC.
A key member of the CCREC is Francis Alfred “Alfie” Oakes III, a local farmer and grocer, who is also an elected Party state committeeman.
Oakes has been an intense adherent of President Donald Trump’s untrue allegations of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
In 2021 he called for an audit of the results of the 2020 election results in Florida, despite their being uncontested by any party and the fact that they led to all Republican victories. On the Alex Jones InfoWars show, he offered a $100,000 political contribution to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) if the governor would sit down for two hours to listen to Oakes’ allegations of election fraud in person. This prompted fellow Trump activist Christy McLaughlin to warn that such a direct quid pro quo contribution would constitute a bribe, an argument Oakes rejected. Ultimately, DeSantis never took up the offer and the election results were unchallenged.
The allegations of voter fraud passed on by the CCREC prompted Blazier to ask why, if they were aware of election irregularities, they weren’t reported to the proper authorities at the time.
Blazier’s message to Hall is provided in full below:
Commissioner Hall,
As Collier County Supervisor of Elections, with 18+ years of election administration experience, I find the attached proposed resolution to be deeply flawed and highly unnecessary. The statements purporting to support the 11 requests are riddled with erroneousness conclusions and lack any manner of legally relevant evidence. I am concerned that this matter is being presented to the board without being thoroughly vetted to the legitimacy of its claims. One of the key questions is, if the outside organization that provided this information to the Collier County Republican Executive Committee had proof or evidence that the State of Florida’s election had violated both federal and state laws, why would they not present that evidence through the proper legal channels versus through a nonbinding resolution at the local level? This resolution states that the 2022 General Election, in the State of Florida, was fraught with massive inaccuracies that violate both Federal and State laws. This is the same election, may I remind you, that 44 races and contests were decided in Collier County – including County Commission District 2.
The majority of requests this resolution calls for are either already incorporated into existing law, are in direct violation of existing law or would require technology that is not yet available or authorized for use in the State of Florida. My comments on each of the 11 requests is also attached. As election officials in Florida, my staff and I take an oath of office to uphold both the US and Florida constitutions and to implement Florida’s election laws. Should this resolution pass, we are under no obligation to follow it unless otherwise required by state and federal law.
To use the words of Governor DeSantis, Florida is the GOLD STANDARD for election administration and Collier County is a leader in the state for conducting elections. By considering or even passing this resolution, the public’s confidence in the elections that are conducted by the hundreds of Collier County citizen election workers who work hard to ensure fair, accurate and legal elections is further eroded. The statements in this resolution only fuel the harassment of the many individuals who come together to ensure the integrity of the electoral process in our community.
I truly hope that you give consideration to my thoughts and concerns and do not pass this egregious resolution.
Sincerely,
Melissa R. Blazier
Since Hall is expected to introduce his resolution at the Collier County Board of Commissioners meeting this coming Tuesday, April 23, Collier County residents can express an opinion on this matter by writing or calling their commissioners. The resolution is listed as agenda item 10A and residents who sign up in person the day of the meeting can speak before the Board for 3 minutes.
Passage yesterday of a $95 billion aid package to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific in the US House of Representatives revealed fundamental differences among Southwest Florida’s representatives regarding America’s role in the world.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-26-Fla.), chair of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, had a key role in drafting the legislation and voted for it. He supports active American involvement in world affairs and events.
Reps. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) and Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) voted against it, advocating an insular, isolationist approach that would favor Russia’s conquest of Ukraine.
The bill passed in an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 316 to 94.
One hundred and sixty five Democrats and 151 Republicans voted to approve the measure, while 55 Republicans and 39 Democrats voted against it. Twenty-one members did not vote.
The package consisted of four bills: the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (House Resolution (HR) 8034; the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (HR 8035); the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Act (HR 8036); and the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act (HR 8038). The last was a miscellany of measures including sanctions against Russia and Iran, international crime prevention measures and anti-fentanyl and Tik-Tok prohibitions.
These bills will now be merged with a bill already passed in the Senate, and a vote on the whole is expected today, Saturday, April 20.
Diaz-Balart strongly promoted the legislation prior to the vote.
“As Chairman of the subcommittee that provides funds for national security and foreign assistance priorities, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of these important pieces of legislation,” he stated in a press release on April 17. “The strategic alliance between our most dangerous adversaries, such as communist China, Russia, and the terrorist State of Iran, poses a direct threat to our national security. This bill fully funds our security commitments to support Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, which are confronting existential challenges as they face threats from dangerous, anti-American regimes. Passage of this critical national security legislation will support US interests in the Middle East, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific, and make us safer here at home by supporting our military.”
He continued: “There is nothing our adversaries would love more than for the United States to fail to stand with our friends in their time of greatest need. We have no time to spare. Passage of this aid package is critical.”
In contrast, immediately after voting against the bill, Donalds posted on X: “Government must put the AMERICAN PEOPLE FIRST.”
Steube opposed the bill on both partisan and substantive grounds.
“Tells you a lot about our current Republican ‘leadership’ when there are more Democrats than Republicans voting for a so-called ‘Republican’ rule…” he posted on X when the House debated the rules for considering the measure.
Steube made his objections to security assistance in general known in March during earlier consideration of Ukraine and Israel aid. On March 22 he posted on X: “101 Republicans just voted for an out-of-control spending bill that includes more money for Ukraine and $500 million for Jordan’s border security…Meanwhile, as we sit here in Washington DC, our country is being invaded. What about America’s border security? This bill is AMERICA LAST.”
Donalds’ and Steube’s opposition is in keeping with that of the extreme conservative wing of the Republican Party, which is now considering attempting the ouster of House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-4-La.) for working with Democrats to pass the package.
Collier County Commissioner Burt Saunders. (Image: CCBC)
Feb. 13, 2024 by David Silverberg
Collier County Commissioner Burt Saunders (R-District 3) is calling on the county to study whether to fundamentally change its governing structure.
Saunders is calling for the Board of Commissioners to discuss his proposal at its next meeting on Feb. 27.
The question is whether the county should continue as a “single member district” government, with each commissioner representing a specific geographic area, or go to a “county-wide” government, with commissioners being elected by county residents as a whole.
“I believe that utilizing county-wide elections of county commissioners will result in better decision-making by the commission,” Saunders wrote in an e-mail to constituents today. “With county-wide elections, commissioners will be forced to consider the impacts of their decisions on the entire county, not just the district in which the commissioner resides.”
Saunders stated in his message that he will ask for the question to be scheduled on a date certain so that the public can comment.
“The request is simply for the Commission to create a study committee to report back to the County Commission its findings concerning the positives and negatives of each form of governance permitted in Florida,” he wrote.
However, if the issue is studied and the Board agrees, it could face a referendum this year. The language must be presented to the Supervisor of Elections by Aug. 20 so that it can be included in the Nov. 5 general election ballot. It would then take effect in the 2026 election.
“Ultimately, it is the wishes of our citizens that determines how the county should be governed,” he wrote.
Saunders is making the proposal at a time when the Board’s Chair, Commissioner Rick LoCastro (R-District 1) is facing criminal charges. Last Wednesday, Feb. 7, he was charged with domestic battery following an October altercation with his girlfriend. Following what was characterized as a medical emergency, he was arrested, booked, incarcerated and released on bond. His lawyer has stated LoCastro is innocent and will fight the charges.
History and background
According to Saunders, the last time Collier County’s government was evaluated was over 35 years ago, when it had a much lower population and was less of an international tourist destination. The changes since then warrant a re-examination, he stated.
All of Florida’s 67 counties have five districts.
Collier County is in the minority (one of 20 counties) with a single-member structure. It has had that structure since 1988.
Most Florida counties (40) have county-wide commissioners. This is the default mode in the state.
Seven counties have a mixed structure, with five resident commissioners and two at-large commissioners.
Each structure has its strengths and weaknesses.
Single-member districts can “result in decisions being made that are not necessarily in the best interests of the entire county,” wrote Saunders. “If a District Commissioner objects to a project, the other 4 commissioners have no ‘political’ push back since they are only selected from their individual districts.” On the other hand, single-member districts make it easier to elect minority members.
On the other hand, “With county-wide elections, commissioners will be forced to consider the impacts of their decisions on the entire county, not just the district in which the commissioner resides.”
Proponents of mixed districts “claim that it allows some commissioners to bring a countywide view on matters brought before the board while also allowing more district-based commissioners to advocate for specific areas of the County.”
If a study committee is formed, as Saunders is proposing, “This committee would evaluate the basic types of county governance and the pros and cons of each for consideration by the Commission.”
Below is the Executive Summary of Saunders’ proposal in full
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Request that the Board consider scheduling a referendum on returning to at-large commission districts, wherein each Commissioner would reside in one of the five Commission Districts but would be elected in a County-wide vote.
OBJECTIVE:That the Board evaluate the pros and cons of returning to at-large Commission Districts, and consider creating a study committee for this evaluation.
CONSIDERATIONS: Overview of County Commission Districts in Florida
In Florida all counties are divided into five Commission districts. There are three basic types of county governance in Florida:
(1) At-large districts (40 counties), in which each District has a resident Commissioner, with all five Commissioners elected in a county-wide election. This is the default mode of County government in Florida.
(2) Single member districts (20 counties), in which each District has a resident Commissioner, and is elected on a District basis. Since 1988 this has been the model used by Collier County.
(3) A mixed district (7 counties) consisting of a combination of five single members (elected on a District by District basis) and two at-large commissioners (elected on a County wide basis). Proponents of the mixed system claim that it allows some commissioners to bring a countywide view on matters brought before the board while also allowing more district-based commissioners to advocate for specific areas of the County.
Returning to county-wide commission elections requires a voter approved referendum which could be conducted during the general election in November, 2024. The deadline to schedule such a referendum is August 20, 2024, at which time ballot language must be presented to the Supervisor of Elections. If approved, the changes would take effect in the 2026 election.
History of the Creation of the Single Member Districts in Collier County
For much of Collier County’s history the County operated under the at-large district system. On December 1, 1987, the Collier County Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution calling for a referendum election to be held on March 8, 1988, to submit the following question to the electors of Collier County: “Shall the five members of the Board of County Commissioners of Collier County, Florida, be elected to office from single-member districts by electors residing in each of those districts only?” By a vote of 14,521 in favor (Yes) to a 13,745 vote against (No), the single-member county commission district referendum passed. Obviously, Collier County has dramatically changed since the 1988 vote, with a county population approaching 500,000. There are now 255,099 registered voters in the County. It is time to re-evaluate the structure of county government and to let our citizens determine what is the best type of county governance for the future.
Chapter 124.011(10), Florida Statutes, allows Collier County to return to being an at-large district by going back through the same referendum/proposition process as occurred in 1988.
The request is to create a study committee to evaluate the pros and cons of returning to county-wide commission elections. This committee could be formed very quickly, with each commissioner appointing the members, or this could be assigned to an existing committee, such as the Productivity Committee, for a thorough and timely review. This committee would evaluate the basic types of county governance and the pros and cons of each for consideration by the Commission.
There is an argument that at-large systems can have an adverse impact by making it more difficult for minority residents to elect a minority representative to the commission. Though that is certainly a valid and important consideration, many other factors should also be addressed as well in evaluating what is best for all Collier County residents.
FISCAL IMPACT:None at this time.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT:None.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS:This item has been reviewed by the County Attorney, creates no legal issues at this time and requires majority vote for Board action.
RECOMMENDATION:That the Board appoint a study committee to report back to the County Commission as to the pros and cons of scheduling a binding referendum of all registered Collier County voters on the issue of utilizing county-wide elections of County Commissioners, beginning with the 2026 election cycle.
The United States Capitol. (Photo: Architect of the Capitol)
Jan. 19, 2024 by David Silverberg
In a vote yesterday, Jan. 18, that ultimately kept the federal government funded and running until March 1 and March 8 respectively, two out of three of Southwest Florida’s congressional representatives voted to shut down the government, while Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-26-Fla.) dissented.
The bill, House Resolution (HR) 2872, a continuing resolution (CR) but misleadingly named the Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013 in the House, passed by an overwhelming vote of 314 to 108, with 207 Democrats and 107 Republicans voting for it. One hundred six Republicans and two Democrats opposed it.
The bill first passed the Senate on a vote of 77 to 18, with five senators not voting. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) voted for it. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) did not vote.
Reps. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) and Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) voted against the bill.
The bill had been opposed by the extreme Make America Great Again (MAGA) Freedom Caucus of which Donalds is a member.
At 4:30 pm, just prior to the vote, Donalds issued an X statement: “We have a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY right now to actually win the political argument of the day: Should government remain open & prioritizing Ukraine funding over border security? The ONLY WAY to change behavior in DC is with money. You don’t change it with letters & talking points.”
Neither Steube nor Diaz-Balart issued statements immediately before or after the vote.
The CR provides funding for four agencies covered by four appropriations bills that were set to lapse today. Eight more bills were set to expire on Feb. 2 but will now have appropriations until March 8. It was the product of a compromise between Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-4-La.).
The bill was immediately sent to President Joe Biden for signature.
Kelly Lichter, Collier County School Board chair, during the discussion of an invocation. (Image: CCSB)
Dec. 17, 2023 by David Silverberg
On Tuesday, Dec. 12, the Collier County School Board rejected the concept of holding a religious invocation before its meetings by a vote of 3 to 2.
At issue was adoption of protocols that would govern an invocation policy. Chair Kelly Lichter (District 3), Stephanie Lucarelli (District 2) and Erick Carter (District 4) voted against adoption of the protocols. Jerry Rutherford (District 1) and Tim Moshier (District 5) voted for the protocols.
With the protocols rejected, the invocation idea was completely laid to rest, at least for the next year.
The lengthy debate over an invocation, proposed by Rutherford, had dominated three meetings of the Board. More than just a question of whether there would be a public prayer prior to Board meetings, it went to the heart of whether there should be a separation of church and state in school affairs—or, by implication, in any public affairs at all. As such it elicited much public comment and raised community passions.
Arguments and explanations
In its previous monthly meeting the Board voted to have staff draft an invocation policy. The staff drafted the policy but also a separate set of protocols, rules that would govern the policy itself. These included compiling a database of religious assemblies eligible to provide speakers and rules for selecting a speaker, the invocation itself and conduct at Board meetings. The protocols had to be adopted in order to have a policy and therefore an invocation.
The Board currently has a moment of silence for prayer or contemplation before its monthly meetings.
After public comments both for and against an invocation, each of the school board members explained their positions.
Rutherford argued that church and state had only been separated in the United States since a 1947 Supreme Court decision and that previously public prayer was not a problem. He also argued that public prayers allowed him to hear other people’s prayers. “I want to listen to other people’s prayers. I think prayers have a lot of power,” he said.
He continued: “There’s a lot of things we should look at when you’re thinking about prayers. I want to see them in our schools and in our nation because if we get attacked by other nations, you will have prayers, I guarantee you.”
Moshier pointed out that the school board building was named for Rev. Martin Luther King, a religious leader. “We should honor him with prayer,” he said. “We should honor that before school board meetings.”
Lucarelli said she had agonized and prayed over the issue and had wanted to keep an open mind about invocations. “I’ve been on board with [the discussion]. But I realize that I’m just trying to convince myself that this is going to be OK,” she said.
She felt that the invocation was intended to demonstrate in public that some people were more pious others, what is known as “virtue signaling.”
“At the end of the day I believe this is misguided. I really feel that it is virtue signaling. I really don’t want this board to engage in something that others may use for nefarious purposes,” she observed.
Carter was chiefly concerned with the logistics of invocations and ensuring that they weren’t used to attack people or other religions. He was also concerned that invocations be held well before the formal start of meetings so that students would not be present. Arranging that was difficult because students are frequently in the chamber well before meetings are called to order.
Lichter was clearly ready for the end of the day, a phrase she used several times in her remarks. She noted that discussion of invocations had dominated three Board meetings and been a massive distraction from the core mission of the Board to educate Collier County’s children. “…That’s really disappointing considering our board created five clear policies right out of the gate of what we want to do, what our focus is,” she said.
“At the end of the day, I feel if there’s a need or an agenda from a board member that wants to push this invocation I think perhaps meeting at the flagpole [outside the School Board building] well in advance of a school board meeting and inviting people to attend to pray if that’s something [they want to do]. But we have spent so much time and resources on this issue and I just can’t get behind it. I really think the more we continue to talk about it, the further I am in wanting to proceed forward with [a final vote].”
She continued: “But at the end of the day, for me, I don’t see how this impacts student education and that is our number one priority, is the academics for our kids.”
She then called the vote. Rutherford was confused by the procedure, as he was at many other points in the meeting.
In a subsequent public end of the year message Lichter wrote: “While I originally did support an invocation, it became clear to me that after much discussion, this did not fit in with our board priorities. Based on feedback I received since the vote, it seems for many that this was nothing more than virtue signaling and another opportunity to say, ‘I’m more Christian than you.’ It’s no surprise that the comments made about my decision are far from the ‘Christian’ values they hold so dear.”
Rep. Byron Donalds, other members of the Freedom Caucus and Rep. George Santos (lower right), watch the expulsion vote on the House floor. (Image: NBC)
Dec. 1, 2023 by David Silverberg
The United States House of Representatives voted this morning to expel Rep. George Santos (R-3-NY) from the body for a wide variety of ethical lapses and alleged crimes.
The vote on House Resolution 878 was 311 to 114 with 206 Democrats and 105 Republicans voting to expel and 112 Republicans and 2 Democrats voting to keep Santos in office. Two members voted “present” and eight did not vote.
Southwest Florida Reps. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) and Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) voted against expulsion.
However, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-26-Fla.) voted for expulsion.
As of this writing, none of the members explained their votes on social media platforms, although they actively made statements on a variety of other topics.
“Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.
“He blatantly stole from his campaign.
“He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.
“He reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign – and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported ‘repayments’ of those fictitious loans.
“He used his connections to high value donors and other political campaigns to obtain additional funds for himself through fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings.
“And he sustained all of this through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience.”
The Nov. 14 meeting of the Collier County Public School Board at its opening. The typo in the title is in the original. (Image: CCPS)
Nov. 16, 2023 by David Silverberg
On Tuesday, Nov. 14, the Collier County Public School Board voted unanimously to have its staff draft a policy for a religious invocation to precede its meetings.
The decision followed a 3 to 2 vote against simply beginning invocations without policy guidelines.
The debate over an invocation has been consuming Board time since September when Board Member Jerry Rutherford (District 1) introduced the proposal. The idea was first raised at the Board’s August 8 meeting by Keith Flaugh, head of the Florida Citizens Alliance, an organization advocating conservative education and policies.
Underlying the debate is the role of religion in public education and assaults on the wall of separation between church and state in Collier County.
Horns and halos
As in the previous meeting when the issue was raised numerous speakers weighed in both for and against the idea.
Particularly noteworthy were remarks by Dr. Joseph Doyle, who said that an earlier invocation was removed in 2010 by a “wayward” school board. He said that the school board’s example would extend into classrooms.
“We have no moral compass anymore. We’re decaying from within. This isn’t going to solve everything but it’s a good first step,” he told the Board. “You know, the Jews turned their back on God many times and He punished them, OK? For years, OK? A lot of people say America is the new Israel, OK? The new Zion, I should say, OK? We’re going to be punished. We are being punished.” He decried Marxism and what he said were Marxists in Congress and “probably in this building, OK?” and called for an invocation.
Dr. Joseph Doyle (Image: CCPS)
Collier County resident Cynthia Marino Clark was one of the speakers who opposed the invocation. “What happened to learning religion through your church and you family? That’s where you learn religion,” she said. She recounted that while she began her education in Catholic school she switched to public school and her public education never prevented her from praying then or now. “The school board meetings should not begin with prayers. Our community is diverse with many beliefs. The moment of silence is a great way to take care of that” for people who need to pray, she said.
Cynthia Marino Clark (Image: CCPS)
When the public comment portion was finished Member Stephanie Lucarelli (District 2) complained that the Board’s time was being taken up with “a personal political agenda” that she said was causing “angst.” She also called the whole issue divisive and decried that some of the public speakers, including faith leaders, had said “things that are disrespectful and things that are, in my mind, un-Christianlike.” She noted that the debate did not benefit students, “so who is this for?”
Member Erick Carter (District 4) said that at times passions at the meetings had caused “some Christians to wear their horns, or their halo has slipped and the horns show. And that is definitely not what we want.” He called for any invocation to be inclusive. “We have to be careful not to take one verse out of the Bible and say, ‘This is it,’” he said. He repeated his halo and horns metaphor: “My biggest concern is religious leaders coming in here with their halo so tight that their horns show. That’s not what we want.”
Lichter, who over the course of the meeting showed increasing impatience with the amount of time being consumed on the issue, said “I don’t see how this has any direct impact on children.”
She went on to decry the intolerant tone of some of the speakers: “Then, some of the speakers who spoke tonight about being a virtuous citizen and being a Christian and the irony was not lost on me and I’ve seen and read the very un-Christianlike things you’ve spoken about me and I’m just shocked, so it’s just ironic and it wasn’t lost on me tonight.”
Rutherford defended his motion for an invocation. However, when it came time to vote he displayed confusion over parliamentary processes and procedures.
In a previous meeting the Board had chosen to follow the example of the Miami-Dade School District, the largest in Florida and the fourth largest in the country, which is wrestling with the exact same issue. There, staff is drafting an invocation policy for board consideration.
With its unanimous vote, the Collier County Board chose to follow the Miami-Dade lead.
The draft policy will be considered at a future meeting.
The US Capitol, East Front. (Photo: Architect of the Capitol)
Nov. 15, 2023 by David Silverberg
Southwest Florida’s congressional representatives split yesterday, Nov. 14, when voting for a measure to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. Reps. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) and Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.), voted against it. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-26-Fla.) voted for it.
The measure, House Resolution 6363, funds some government agencies through Jan. 19, 2024 and others through Feb. 2. The bill, a continuing resolution (CR), allows the government to keep functioning past its previous deadline of this Friday, Nov. 17, at midnight.
The bill passed by a vote of 336 to 95, with 209 Democrats and 127 Republicans approving it. Ninety-three Republicans and 2 Democrats voted against it.
Donalds and Steube are both members of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, which came out against the measure.
Prior to the vote Steube posted on X: “We cannot continue to spend ourselves into oblivion. The Republican House is the only chance our country has in getting back on a fiscally responsible trajectory. The Senate surely isn’t going to do it and this White House wants more spending without offsets. We must stand for spending cuts, not CRs.
“We must stand with the American people and not compromise our principles. For that reason, I will NOT support the CR to continue Nancy Pelosi’s reckless spending. We must stand and stand firm.”
(For the record: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-11-Calif.) is no longer in the Democratic congressional leadership. She was one of three members who did not vote on this measure. The other two, Reps. Jacob Auchincloss (D-4-Mass.) and Mike Quigley (D-5-Ill.), did not vote in order to protest the absence of funding for Ukraine in the bill.)
As of this writing neither Donalds nor Diaz-Balart had issued explanations of their votes on any online platform.
Funding for Ukraine, Israel and other defense and foreign policy purposes will be presented in a separate bill.
The bill has now been sent to the Senate where it is expected to swiftly pass and be sent to President Joe Biden for signature.
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