.

"Happy Thanksgiving

to your family

from ours"

Stick the handle

This morning I laughed out loud when I read this letter in the opnion section of the Hernando Today. This letter is in reference to the "Broom" story in their Wednesday edtion. Here's the letter. Enjoy!

No Sense Of Humor

In response to your article on Nov. 19 regarding Linda Hayward: How mature is it to bring a broom without a handle to official meetings?

By the way, where did she stick the handle? Maybe the same place she put her sense of humor.

Joan L. Christian
Springhill

Pick a fight

After watching the Online streaming of yesterday's Hernando County Commission meeting it became apparent that one commissioner has come to the table to pick a fight. Newly sworn-in Commissioner James Atkins took no time in drilling several county employees at the podium in a less than polite fashion. Some of his questions were relevant but his delivery method certainly needs to be polished for the public.

One suggestion for Atkins would be to purchase a copy of Robert's Rules of Order so he can conduct himself in a civil manner during these business meetings. He continually interrupted everyone at his first meeting, even after he was reminded of protocol by the chairwoman.

The most revealing comment made by Atkins came at the end of the meeting. He said, "They had a super majority and it was time to get busy". Chairwoman Rocco was quite gracious in her response, saying she hoped it was a reference to gender and not political because she fully intended to represent the public in a non-partisan fashion.

The giant chip Atkins is carrying around on his shoulder will become a burden to all of us if he cannot come to grips with his new-found responsibilities as a commissioner. It must be tough hanging from those marionette strings, dancing to the music of the state committeeman and REC chairwoman...

Broom

Did you read this morning's article in the Hernando Today titled "Activist insulted by county boss' sign". This story really illustrates blatant hypocrisy from the local Hernando County Republican Executive Committee Chairwoman Ana Trinque. This chairwoman has spent the last four years publicly berating Jeff Stabins and now she thinks he needs to adjust his attitude with the press. "I think Jeff needs to use the media to his advantage," said Ana Trinque in this article. Apparently she expects Mr. Stabins to manipulate the media like she has been doing with her cohorts.

Jeff Stabins has endured verbal, and written abuse, from the majority of the media located in Hernando County but still managed to get elected with a 56% majority. These negative attacks have come from WWJB and Hernando Today. There two media outlets have been fueled by Ana Trinque, the state committee people for the REC, individuals associated with Government Gone Wild, and the Hernando County Tax Payers Alliance.

Commissioner Stabins should be commended for conducting himself as a complete gentleman over the last four years. He did not stoop to the nasty, vile behavior of these people. Face it, Commissioner Stabins well placed "broom" comment made all of us laugh at these angry individuals.

Score one for Commissioner Jeff Stabins!

BandShell

The BandShell Bash last Saturday night featured two of our Hernando County Commissioners. Commissioner Jeff Stabins sang his song about Hernando County and Commissioner Rose Rocco lip synced Kate Smith's rendition of God Bless America. Their performances were part of a celebration of our local veterans. Everyone really enjoyed this relaxed version of our local politicians!

Ginny sends thanks

Thank you for again selecting me to serve the citizens of the 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

I am proud to represent your interests in Washington for another term. In case our paths didn't cross on the campaign trail and I missed the opportunity to thank you personally, THANK YOU for your continued support.

There is one more thing. When you are out and about and you see "Ginny!" campaign signs, if you would please pick them up and either drop them at the campaign office at 6161 Deltona Blvd. in Spring Hill OR call my campaign office at 352-592-9222 and arrangements will be made to have them picked up from you.

Again, thank you for all your help and sending me to again serve as your voice in the U.S. House of

Representatives.
Sincerely, Ginny

Ticking

The voters overwhelming agreed that Ginny Brown Waite has served our community well, by returning her to Congress for another term. Her 61% margin of victory clearly shows how well liked she is in her district. Congratulations, Ginny!

John Druzbick ran a clean campaign on the issues that face Hernando County in his bid for county commission. The majority of voters listened to his message which gave him a victory in his race against Diane Rowden. Ms. Rowden needs to be thanked for her eight years of public service to this community. John is so fortunate that he has such a great wife, named Debbie. She helped him every inch of the way in this election. Congratulations, John and you, too, Debbie!

Jeff Stabins should take on the old slogan of Timex Watch company after this election. The slogan that says, "Took a Licking but kept on Ticking" fit his campaign to a tee. Jeff took a proverbial beating on every inch of his soul, even the soles of his feet. This came at the hands of Hernando County Republican Executive Chairwoman Ana Trinque, their state committeeman, Tom Hogan and several other influential people in our community. Their personal vendetta to have him removed from office was an embarrassment to all Republicans in this county. Aside from this unsavory action, Jeff was overwhelming re-elected as our county commissioner. "Congrats Jeff, you are the man of the hour! "

On a sad note, Shirley Anderson was defeated for her bid for supervisor of elections after a very hard-fought campaign. After the votes were counted last night, many comments and accusations flew at the courthouse about the non-party candidate in this race. This candidate was equated as the "spoiler" candidate who got into the race just to draw votes away from Shirley. This may, or may not be true, but if it was a two person race, the incumbent would have lost in this race yesterday. Shirley, we love you. Don't ever give up on your dreams. You did a spectacular job, even if it came up a little short!

Echo

Did you hear it last night? Did you hear the echo behind the roar of Obama supporters in Chicago? This echo was the slamming of doors across this Nation. This deafening roar that could only be heard by the business community. Obama's promise of an almost 4% tax increase on business has caused a ripple effect of fear for our country. The backbone of our economy is small business and we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

After two long years of Obama ripping our country to shreds, politically, economically and racially, he proclaimed in his speech last night that we are the "United States" of America. Mr. Obama cannot just snap his fingers to heal the deep wounds he created by his racially charged campaign. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama never learned Dr. Martin Luther King's message of hope that people should not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Yesterday, Fox News Network reported an incident on the divided, racial climate created by the Obama campaign. It was reported that white voters were being intimidated at the doors of one polling place in Philadelphia by two Black Panther members. This YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCeD1RcJjAg should send shivers up the spine of any American.

The fear that is being felt this morning throughout this country stems from the racial divide created by this man, Obama.

Thanks, Gene

The following is a thank you note to all the supporters of Gene Magrini who came up short in yesterday's school board race. This note from Gene says it all. His class and his grace prevailed throughout his entire campaign. Thank you, Gene!

Thank you to all of you that supported my campaign and voted for me!

We came up around 4,400 votes short tonight, but I am humbled by the fact that we received over 34,000 votes and garnered 47% of the vote compared to 28% in the August Primary. To put this in context - you have to remember that we faced a candidate that has owned a business in this county with his name on it for over 23 years, was involved in numerous civic organizations over the years and I was basically unknown prior to entering this race.

I attribute this showing to the tremendous work of many volunteers - be it sign waving, walking door-to-door, talking to your friends, neighbors or customers - you made these numbers happen and I appreciate your efforts and hard work! Thank you so much!!

The great thing about our election process in this country is that it forces candidates and incumbents to dig deeper into the issues and challenge conventional wisdom and thinking, and pushes new thinking to the forefront. I truly believe we had a game-changing campaign - even though we didn't win tonight - we won in challenging the assumption of what our county should expect from their School Board members. During this election we had a great message and we brought managing and scrutinizing the School Board budget to the forefront of this debate; we brought raising the bar for our students, not lowering it to the forefront; we changed the assumptions of what a School Board race in Hernando County looks like - and yes this was the most expensive School Board race in our County's history!

I thank all of you again for everything you did for me. My only disappointment is that I didn't honor your hard work with a victory! But keep your head up high, and keep fighting for the issues that matter to you - and yes I will do the same.

Thank you again and have a great night.

Gene Magrini

Live stream

Media Release
For Immediate Release
November 3, 2008

Live Election Results Webstreamed on Channel 622

Hernando County Government Broadcasting will broadcast live local election results Tuesday, November 4, 2008, beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. The complete results of all races and issues on Hernando County ballots will be continuously updated as they are received by the Supervisor of Elections Office until ballots from all precincts have been counted. The live results may be viewed on Bright House Channel 622 or on the Web at www.hernandocounty.us - just click on the "Live Streaming Broadcast" icon located in the upper right corner of the home page. For additional information about the broadcast, call Hernando County Government Broadcasting at 540-6777.

Thanks

All candidates in this year's local elections deserve a round of applause. Granted, some candidates may not recieve our votes tomorrow but they certainly deserve our thanks. They deserve our thanks for laying their hearts and souls on the line for the betterment of Hernando County. It sure will be nice to have the campaign commercials come to their frenzied completion tomorrow.

Good luck Ginny, John, Jeff and Shirley!

Violate county policy

Apparently the county budget director thinks he's exempt from county policy. He was noted for making calls on behalf of Diane Rowden to the Hernando County School Board several weeks ago. Apparently he had a list of questions for the school board representative about Rowden's opponent in this election. All the information requested was a matter of public record so it makes one wonder why he would jeopardize his position with the county to campaign for Diane Rowden during work hours. On the other hand, having the budget director make calls on her behalf appears to be an abuse of power by Commissioner Rowden.