22 October 2024

Oscar nod | Voting | ROGOs - Weekly briefing - October 22, 2024

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Hurricane Oscar formed near Cuba and rapidly intensified (seems like all of them do now) and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. Forecast models show no chance of Keys impact

Fantasy fest is underway. 

Early voting (EV) underway. Early voting began at five locations across the Keys, and continues daily through Saturday, November 2. Note that the Key West residents' closest EV location is on College Road on Stock Island, and that the former location at Southard and Whitehead is no longer in use for early voting. Details at the Supervisor of Elections web site.  
Community representatives push back on more ROGOs. Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Marathon, and spent nearly two and a half hours on the topic of issuing additional ROGOs (residential building permits) that are limited by law stemming from the state's designation of the Keys as an 'area of critical state concern.' The series of surveys administered by the BOCC were acknowledged as being unscientific.
  • Watch it. The full video can be watched here. Viewers interested in the ROGO discussion should select agenda item Q2, which begins at 10:12 a.m. in the video timestamp. 
  • Vague language. Commissioner Craig Cates advocated for the "absolute minimum, if not less,” of new ROGOs, while other commissioners used vague language such as 'middle of the road' and 'sweet spot' to avoid committing to final numbers
  • Community advocates spoke. A series of community activists, including representatives of Last Stand and the newly formed Florida Keys ROGO coalition spoke in blunt terms about flaws in the hurricane evacuation model, exaggerated exposure to so-called 'takings' liability, and their opposition to any additional residential development in the Keys. The BOCC's surveys vastly overstated takings liability as being up to $1 billion. 
  • 220 ROGOs approved anyway. The BOCC approved its request for 220 new ROGOs from the State, the disputed number that is claimed to be allowed without exceeding the state-mandated 24 hour clearance time. 
  • Updated EMS drug protocols. Officials briefed the BOCC on changed protocols in the wake of arrests, indictments, and firings in the wake of Monroe's county’s air ambulance scandal that began two years ago.
Final TDC audit.  The Monroe County Clerk’s Office released its final audit of Monroe County's Tourist Development Council contract, finding problems with its contract with Two Oceans Digital, the TDC’s website and digital services provider. TDC paid Two Oceans roughly $330,000 a year in both 2023 and 2022, according to the audit.
Ugly. Keys Weekly's Mandy Miles offered her take on the prior week's ugliness at the Key West City Commission (KWCC) first covered in last week's Key West Voices
Survival story. Miles lightened the mood with by recounting her personal history in the Keys

No stink this yearLinda Cunningham celebrated the unexpected lack of sargassum odor this year

Brown noddy. Mark Hedden related how brown noddies got their name with both kind and unkind versions. In 1758, the word noddy meant a sleepy person, or more to the point, a simple and stupid person. 

Our Eyes  


Palm Warbler - Phil Dodderidge

Previously in Key West Voices


Spared by Milton. Hurricane Milton, which rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to Category 5 strength in about 24 hours, left few impacts in the Keysand then closely tracked with the National Hurricane Center forecast to make landfall near Sarasota.  
Ugly displays on the KW City Commission dais. The Key West City Commission met and showed no signs that tensions that emerged with its firing of City Manager Al Childress will abate, despite lip service calls for unity in the city government and the community, and three new faces on the dais. The Citizen described the meeting as "volatile at times." 
Navel gazing at the BOCC. Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) considered hiring a consulting firm owned by a former chief of staff to then Governor Rick Scott to review all county departments and their processes, in the midst of two ongoing government scandals. County Mayor Holly Raschein disclosed she has a "longstanding relationship" with firm owner Adam Hollingsworth. 
Two critical races at candidate forum. Keys Weekly and the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce partnered to sponsor a candidate Q&A forumVideo of the two hour event is available here. Voting by mail is already underway, and early voting begins Monday, October 21st
  • County Commission District III. Republican incumbent Jim Scholl clashed with Democratic challenger Chris Massicotte on issues of oversight and accountability in county operations, and fiscal responsibility. 
    • Massicotte stressed a need to divert additional resources for continuing audits of individual county departments, pinpointing “wasteful spending” to create a “culture of oversight."
    • Scholl spoke of a need for stronger top-down leadership, beginning with newly-promoted County Administrator Christine Hurley, and reminded viewers that “the legislative body doesn’t control day-to-day operations of the county – it’s the administrator’s job.”
    • The pair disagreed on the county’s future acceptance of additional building rights, with Scholl in favor of additional units bestowed by the state used largely for workforce housing, “as long as we get to control how they’re going to be issued out.” 
    • Massicotte said that while surveys and meetings to gauge resident sentiments on additional units were “okay,” he advocated for a temporary moratorium on additional units to allow completion of “an actual, real infrastructure assessment,” arguing that the threat of takings cases filed by property owners unable to build is “made out to be way more than our liability actually would be.”
  • Supervisor of Elections. Republican Sherri Hodies and Democrat Ron Saunders are contending for the SOE job being vacated by the retiring Joyce Griffin. 
    • Amid an investigation authorized by Gov. Ron DeSantis into whether the Monroe County Republican Executive Committee broke its own rules in April and committed campaign finance fraud in endorsing Hodies with a $20,000 donation ahead of the Republican primary, Hodies pushed back against labels given to her campaign, calling the complaint filed by fellow Republican Phyllis May, “frivolous.” 
    • “I think (the investigation) is an example where we need to stay on top of things and make sure things are run properly,” Saunders said. “If nothing’s wrong, that’s great, but it remains to be seen what will happen.
    • Referencing a May fundraising event in which she hosted retired Army intelligence officer Capt. Seth Keshel, a nationally-known election denier, Hodies said, “I am not an election denier, but there have been people at my fundraisers who have been labeled,” she said. Asked directly whether Joe Biden won the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Hoodies stated: “In 2016, Trump won, and in 2020, Biden won, plain and simple.” But why would Hodies invite a nationally known election denier to raise funds so she can count votes in Monroe County?
    • Hoodies continued to blast May’s complaint in her closing statement.
    • Saunders closed by touting bipartisan supporters of his campaign, decrying recent attack mailers from the Conservative Family Alliance political organization as “full of lies and misstatements.”
One step forward, two steps back. Mark Hedden quoted a Bruce Springsteen lyric to help us understand the challenges of counting hawks.

15 October 2024

Spared by Milton | Ugly displays at KW City Hall - Weekly briefing - October 15, 2024

Essential human-curated Florida Keys news, all in one place. 

Subscribe to Key West Voices for free. See something that should be in Voices? Click here to share it with us.

Our Community


Spared by Milton. Hurricane Milton, which rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to Category 5 strength in about 24 hours, left few impacts in the Keys, and then closely tracked with the National Hurricane Center forecast to make landfall near Sarasota.  
Ugly displays on the KW City Commission dais. The Key West City Commission met and showed no signs that tensions that emerged with its firing of City Manager Al Childress will abate, despite lip service calls for unity in the city government and the community, and three new faces on the dais. The Citizen described the meeting as "volatile at times." 
Navel gazing at the BOCC. Monroe's Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) considered hiring a consulting firm owned by a former chief of staff to then Governor Rick Scott to review all county departments and their processes, in the midst of two ongoing government scandals. County Mayor Holly Raschein disclosed she has a "longstanding relationship" with firm owner Adam Hollingsworth. 
Two critical races at candidate forum. Keys Weekly and the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce partnered to sponsor a candidate Q&A forum. Video of the two hour event is available here. Voting by mail is already underway, and early voting begins Monday, October 21st
  • County Commission District III. Republican incumbent Jim Scholl clashed with Democratic challenger Chris Massicotte on issues of oversight and accountability in county operations, and fiscal responsibility. 
    • Massicotte stressed a need to divert additional resources for continuing audits of individual county departments, pinpointing “wasteful spending” to create a “culture of oversight."
    • Scholl spoke of a need for stronger top-down leadership, beginning with newly-promoted County Administrator Christine Hurley, and reminded viewers that “the legislative body doesn’t control day-to-day operations of the county – it’s the administrator’s job.”
    • The pair disagreed on the county’s future acceptance of additional building rights, with Scholl in favor of additional units bestowed by the state used largely for workforce housing, “as long as we get to control how they’re going to be issued out.” 
    • Massicotte said that while surveys and meetings to gauge resident sentiments on additional units were “okay,” he advocated for a temporary moratorium on additional units to allow completion of “an actual, real infrastructure assessment,” arguing that the threat of takings cases filed by property owners unable to build is “made out to be way more than our liability actually would be.”
  • Supervisor of Elections. Republican Sherri Hodies and Democrat Ron Saunders are contending for the SOE job being vacated by the retiring Joyce Griffin. 
    • Amid an investigation authorized by Gov. Ron DeSantis into whether the Monroe County Republican Executive Committee broke its own rules in April and committed campaign finance fraud in endorsing Hodies with a $20,000 donation ahead of the Republican primary, Hodies pushed back against labels given to her campaign, calling the complaint filed by fellow Republican Phyllis May, “frivolous.” 
    • “I think (the investigation) is an example where we need to stay on top of things and make sure things are run properly,” Saunders said. “If nothing’s wrong, that’s great, but it remains to be seen what will happen.
    • Referencing a May fundraising event in which she hosted retired Army intelligence officer Capt. Seth Keshel, a nationally-known election denier, Hodies said, “I am not an election denier, but there have been people at my fundraisers who have been labeled,” she said. Asked directly whether Joe Biden won the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Hoodies stated: “In 2016, Trump won, and in 2020, Biden won, plain and simple.” But why would Hodies invite a nationally known election denier to raise funds so she can count votes in Monroe County?
    • Hoodies continued to blast May’s complaint in her closing statement.
    • Saunders closed by touting bipartisan supporters of his campaign, decrying recent attack mailers from the Conservative Family Alliance political organization as “full of lies and misstatements.”
One step forward, two steps back. Mark Hedden quoted a Bruce Springsteen lyric to help us understand the challenges of counting hawks.    

Our Eyes  


Good Morning - Alyson Crean


Previously in Key West Voices


Will it be Milton's Paradise Lost? On the heels of last week's devastating Hurricane Helene, Tropical Storm Milton formed in the western Gulf of Mexico and headed east. It became a hurricane on October 6th, and rapidly intensified to become a Category 5 storm on October 7Hurricane Milton's growth was nothing short of astonishing, as it strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just over a day. Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.
Vote by mail (VBM) ballots are out. Several Key West Voices readers reported receiving their VBM ballots, which were mailed on September 27th.
  • Vote and mail now. Readers are encouraged to vote as early as possible, and to ensure that proper postage is attached (three Forever stamps does the trick). 
  • Didn't get your ballot? Check your VBM status at the Supervisor of Elections web site, and contact them immediately if there's a problem.
  • Early voting begins October 21st at the Supervisor of Elections office on Stock Island and four other locations in Monroe County. Note that you may no longer vote at Southard and Whitehead streets. 
  • Election day is November 5th. Why wait? 
Key West District VI campaign finance. Keys Weekly spotlighted the critical contest to fill term-limited City Commissioner Clayton Lopez's open seat, the only remaining seat to be decided in this year's election (note that the City's web site refers to both district 6 and district VI).  


Candidate forum. Non-partisan voting advocate Hometown! conducted its final candidate forum ahead of the November election, and posted its video of the event. 
Fire rescue chief finally fired. Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley fired the Monroe County Fire Rescue Division Chief Andrea Thompson.

Hawkwatch. Mark Hedden returned from his travels in the northland to share his experience counting hawks and awkwardly avoiding small talk with strangers