Tampa, Fl
From: Eye On Tampa Bay
Posted by: Sharon Calvert
Deja Vu Hillsborough County! The cronies are
pumping their rail tax hamster wheel again.
It's 2010, 2016 and
2018 in Hillsborough all over.
Instead of the
County directly using Parsons Brinkerhoff and local PR
crony Beth Leytham as they did with the 2016 Go
Hillsborough rail tax hike scam, this go round the County just merged with the
All for Transportation Transit (AFT) rail cartel cronies. The
County is shamefully rewarding the very same people who funded the illegal AFT
rail tax.
The old cronies are the same as the new cronies. Many of the AFT
cronies were donors and associates of the 2010 pro rail PAC Moving Hillsborough
Forward (MHF). MHF, created by leader of the rail cartel the Tampa Bay
Partnership, spent almost 2 million dollars on their PR campaign supporting the
2010 rail tax. Thankfully that rail tax boondoggle was overwhelmingly defeated
58-42%.
The vast majority of
Hillsborough residents want their roads fixed. But the "tone-deaf"
cronies just pivot and turn the other way in their rail cartel hamster wheel.
They want AFT 2.0 rail tax on the November ballot. It will take $18 BILLION out
of the wallets of taxpayers and businesses in Hillsborough County that will
benefit them.
The rail cartel does
not care about taxpayers and businesses struggling with raging inflation,
declining real wages, economic uncertainty and many still recovering from the
pandemic. Like 2018 when the rail cartel cronies funded the unlawful and
illegal 2018 rail tax - the End Justifies The Means.
The rail cartel
campaign for a $18 BILLION AFT 2.0 rail tax is underway.
So follow the
"circle of money".
Jeff Vinik, AFT's largest donor who donated
almost a million dollars to AFT in 2018, has opened his wallet again. Vinik has
already donated thousands of dollars to ALL the county commission incumbents
running for re-election in November.
According to their
campaign filings on the Hillsborough County SOE website, Vinik has
donated to 4 of the 5 Tampa Centric Democrats (Kimberly Overman, Harry Cohen,
Gwen Myers and Mariella Smith) and Republican career politician Ken
Hagan.
The District 4 county
commission seat is open with Commissioner Stacy White term limited this year.
Vinik covered all his bases and has donated thousands to Michael Owen, a
Republican who has filed to run for the District 4 seat.
Vinik has been eerily
silent on the transportation issue since Commissioner White's lawsuit was
filed. Local media has protected him by never asking him to answer why he
funded an illegal tax in 2018.
But his money
talks.
Also, Gladys Kravitz Busybody Beth Leytham,
associated with the Go Hillsborough scandalous debacle, has also donated
thousands to these same incumbent commissioners and Owen. The Leytham dollars
have flowed from her individually, through her PR firm and through her
daughter. Leytham has gotten gobs and gobs of taxpayer monies over the decades
and will want a piece of a massive $18 BILLION rail tax hike.
The rail tax is tied
to a new taxpayer funded Rays stadium in Ybor City. Campaign
filings reflect some directly associated with the new stadium have started
opening their wallets to some incumbents.
Ybor Land LLC, owned
by Darryl Shaw, who would benefit greatly from the rail tax and the new stadium
since he bought up all that property, has chipped in. The Chief
Cheerleader for a new Rays Stadium Cheerleader Ron Christaldi has opened his
wallets to incumbents.
The rail cartel donors
who keep funding massive rail tax hikes and funding those who support their
costly rail agenda have polluted the transportation issue in Hillsborough
County.
The county
commissioners, beholden to the rail cartel donors, are holding road funding
hostage for a rail tax that will benefit their crony donors. The Tampa Centric
5 Democrat county commissioners eliminated the 2017 ten year $812 MILLION
transportation funding plan that used existing county revenues to fund local
roads. They now falsely claim there's no money for transportation and
push for AFT 2.0 rail tax.
The County's tax hike
playbook has grown old and stale. The entrenched County bureaucrats are again
presenting misinformation, disinformation and confusing information to mislead
the public. We've seen this rodeo before as it is the same sloppiness and intentional incompetence.
Hillsborough County
refuses to properly prioritize the bloated County budget. They rely on the
public not reading or understanding the County's growing budget. The
County creates a false narrative that a massive sales tax hike is needed to
fund transportation. Then they refuse to discuss any other funding options
and/or revenue sources.
The County's phony tax
hike playbook is stale. It is discombobulated to confuse the public and filled
with disinformation and misinformation to deceive the public.
Vinik and AFT's other
crony donors created the big AFT refund mess. Silly little things such as
Hillsborough County hasn't refunded one penny of the unlawfully collected $512
MILLION AFT rail tax dollars don't matter.
NO sales tax hike is
required to fund Hillsborough County's transportation "needs". It is
basic math, deciphering the County's incoherence, and proper spending
priorities. It it a hoax for anyone at County Center to demand/request or claim
taxpayers must give Hillsborough County one penny more of their hard earned
money.
The city of Tampa and
Vinik's WaterStreet District have revenue sources available to fund their own
trains if that is their priority.
The County is trying
to pull the wool over Hillsborough County taxpayers eyes...again....and will
only tell you what "they" want you to know so you do what
"they" want you to do.
We won't.
Stay tuned.
Posted by Sharon Calvert at 8:16 AM
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