SOUND FAMILIAR?

Developers Poor-Mouth While Pumping Millions Into Denying People’s Right To Vote
Published Thursday, April 29, 2010 10:00 am
by Florida Hometown Democracy

The real estate speculators’ latest online video against Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 is a dramatic piece of work, courtesy of skilled political spinners, and it is designed to scare people away from getting their right to vote. Let’s pull back the curtain.It features Annie Fleeting, who claims that regulation has dashed her dreams of building a resort on St. Pete Beach. There are lots of scary-looking images of abandoned lots and graffiti.The truth is that when Fleeting and her developer-husband Robert announced they were going to construct high rises on the beachfront several years ago, local residents demanded input.A familiar Florida battle began: existing residents tried to hold onto their quality of life while speculators spread money and political influence around, trying to make more money off million-dollar views.Developers created a so-called “citizen’s group” called “Save Our Little Village.” “Save Our Little Village” was shepherded by Cornerstone Solutions, a political consultant group run by lobbyists for the National Association of Homebuilders and the Florida Association of Homebuilders.Campaign contribution reports show that “Save Our Little Village” was financed by developers and resort companies. To get people in St. Pete Beach to swallow more high rises, “Save Our Little Village” proposed ballot initiatives to change the town’s plan to allow more development. Then the developer-backed “Save Our Little Village” sued the city.So, the land-use situation that is highlighted in this misleading video against Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 was created by developers, for developers.“It’s ludicrous for developers to make a video that blames the failure of this high rise project on our Constitutional Amendment, which hasn’t even passed,” said Florida Hometown Democracy founder Lesley Blackner. “The developers are really rattled that people might actually get the chance to vote and interfere with their sweet deals. They will say anything at this point.”Why can’t Annie and Robert Fleeting (who own and operate other condo projects) build their resort hotel on St. Pete Beach? Because developers all over Florida overbuilt, over-borrowed, and sent the economy into a spiral of foreclosures and empty buildings.But that hasn’t stopped the developers and their friends from coming up with the big bucks – Since 2007, developers and their friends in the Sprawl Machine have raised $6,050,584 million (Floridians for Smarter Growth PAC, Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Save Our Constitution PACs) to try to defeat Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 – $1.4 million of that since January alone.