A Need for Pluralism in Government

The 2000 census had 65% of our population over 65 and a median age of 67. The median age of homes in Longboat Key was 22 years, with 4% of them rented. 60% or more of the homes on Longboat are not occupied most of the year. An unknown percentage of our homes are homesteaded by residents who summer off-island, which adds to our seasonal fluctuation in population. 75% of our residents are retired.

The 2010 census may show that we and our homes are 10 years older now. The median age may be considerably older. The average home age will most likely exceed 30 years. We already know that Longboat lost more than 2,400 residents between 2005 and 2010. It will be interesting to see if the percentage of non-resident ownership has increased. This will be a good indicator of the direction our community is headed in the next few years. We may want to find some way of reversing these trends.

I grew up in Larchmont NY. I recently returned to my childhood community and found a vibrant prospering community where the average house is perhaps 60 to 80 years old. The homes are well maintained and worth a fortune relative to their size and age. I mention Larchmont to counter certain politicians who tell us our community is aging and we need hotels and more stores to being us back to life. By comparison Larchmont is a fossil compared to the age of our homes.

I believe that certain business interests along with a clique of pro-developer, pro-business expansion minded residents have formed an informal political entity on this island that discourages anyone, who is not of their ilk, from running for public office or town boards.

I have talked to dozens of residents over the past three years, urging them to run for commission. Alas, not a single resident wanted to confront the political colossus that has emerged within our community. Several residents have said that they did not want to put out the effort only to end up as an ineffectual member of the commission or a board, who is ignored or treated rudely by those who are currently in power. The result is that the voice of those residents who do not want to see our residential community commercialized has, for the present, been effectively silenced.

If the current pro-developer, pro-business majority on the commission and the planning and zoning board want to thwart a robust and healthy political process on this island, one need only look at this year's non-election to see that is exactly what is occurring.

My questions to you are threefold. One, do you believe that having elections where no one runs are beneficial to our community? Two, do you believe that having a "politically correct" commission and planning board promotes new innovations? Three, do you feel that increasing commercial development will have a beneficial impact on the value of your home?

We are currently creating a political vacuum on this island as a result of the ascendancy to power of a cohesive pro-commercialization political group. This group of people have effectively choked-off any political opposition to the degree that no one is willing to challenge incumbents. Favored candidates can count on the support of several community organizations and groups.

Positions on the commission and the various community boards look like a game of musical chairs. Commissioners reach term-limits and return to positions on boards they had previously occupied. We have ex-commissioners returning to office a second time. It is difficult to find a new face in the crowd.

For perhaps the last five years an island clique has been forming a miniature Rolodex of political players who all think along similar lines. Our community has reached a point where no one, who is not in the group, wants to occupy positions on the commission or the various boards.

Anyone who is considering running for office is confronted by a unified group that now controls our community's politics. If you do not agree with the group then you will be confronted by a daunting opposition that has proven to be quite effective if one looks at recent elections and board appointments.

Is having in effect a single political party good for Longboat? If people with intelligent new ideas are discouraged from participating in local government, then how will beneficial change come about? Are we better off having a small group of like-minded people control who is allowed to serve in local government? Does it trouble you that no one offers to run for office, election after election? Last year was different. The Key Club played a major role in our election process. The results demonstrated that commercial interests have finally managed to gain control of town government.

The next mayor of Longboat Key should be, by tradition, Bob Seikman. However, Comm. Seikman does not appear to be part of "the group" and more than one columnist has written about who the next mayor may be. If commissioner Seikman is denied being mayor then all I have written in this piece will be in a sense prophetic.

I feel I need to repeat that I believe the town government needs to focus on the issues that confront our residents such as public amenities and activities, better utilization of public spaces, improving our community image and better community marketing instead of the interests of a few business owners. Certainly businesses on our island need as much help as we can give them. If the commission wanted to immediately help our local business owners, they would not force them to pay taxes for beach dredging as if they were located in the "A" beach tax district, when all but a few are located east of GMD in the "B" tax district. If I owned a business on Longboat I would feel singled out.

Where is our commission when it comes to our taxpaying residents? I see most of the commission's efforts directed towards the Key Club and expanding commercial interests on Longboat, while the rest of our community is left to languish in economic despair.