THE CONCERNED TAXPAYERS OF DUVAL COUNTY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saturday April 23rd 2011

The nonpartisan Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, Inc. [CTDC], is pleased to announce the publication and beginning of distribution of its second edition of its Voter Guide, a portable document file version of which is attached, covering the Jacksonville consolidated municipal election of Tuesday May 17th, 2011.

John Winkler, Candidate Committee chair, says: “As promised, the Candidate Committee reconvened and the few surviving candidates who had not responded to our questionnaire, originally sent out in late December, were given yet another opportunity to respond. Several did so and were given a second chance to interview. We even included responses to the questionnaire from one candidate who missed our deadline. Additionally, three new interviews have been made available for the voters to review online through www.jaxtaxpayers.org. The committee deliberated the merits of any further modification to existing endorsements as well as the consideration of endorsements for races where we had not previously arrived at a satisfactory conclusion.”

Winkler added: “This second edition of the voter’s guide reaffirms CTDC’s commitment to represent the interests of the Taxpayers and all our citizens in a nonpartisan and unbiased manner. No group has done this level of research and investigation into the consideration of candidates while also making the process entirely transparent.”

Victor Wilhelm, president of the Concerned Taxpayers, says: “We are excited with the overwhelming positive response from the community for the first edition of the voter’s guide where we successfully distributed over 80,000 prints. We received dozens of phone calls and emails praising the overall effort. Even those who did not agree with all our picks said that they found value in the guide and having read it, were better prepared to make an informed vote. While we obviously have our preferences for the election on May 17th, our primary goal was to help inform voters and bring information that would assist individuals to arrive at one’s own conclusions as well.”

Additional information is available at www.jaxtaxpayers.org as well as from the author of this press release, John Winkler, Candidate Committee Chair, (904) 384-9918.

The Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, Inc. is a not for profit corporation and nonpartisan political committee dedicated to serving the community as a watchdog group, supporting ethical, transparent provision of public services while opposing corruption, waste, and tomfoolery in government.

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Recently, in the March 29th Folio Weekly, Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County got a bouquet for “offering a wealth of candidate information” to the Duval County electorate. We thank the Folio Weekly for its recognition of our effort, but we have to raise some questions about its assertion that Mike Hogan said in our interview of him that he “doesn’t believe that public money should support libraries” (Actually, what he said is that libraries are not one of the top core functions of city government and should be funded only when money is available). That is odd to us since we did not publish the interview on our YouTube site until March 30th – one day after the Folio Weekly issue was disseminated publicly.

Here is our press release on this perplexing incident.

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PRESS RELEASE … PRESS RELEASE … PRESS RELEASE … PRESS RELEASE

From:          Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, Inc.

John Winkler, Candidate Committee Chair (904) 384-9918

Victor Wilhelm, President www.jaxtaxpayers.org

March 4, 2011
Jacksonville, Florida

The nonpartisan Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, Inc. [CTDC], is pleased to announce the publication and beginning of distribution of its first Voters Guide,  a portable document file version of which is attached, covering the Jacksonville consolidated municipal election of March 22, 2011, with an initial print run of 40,000.

John Winkler, Candidate Committee chair, explained the purpose of the Guide:  “This is the only truly nonpartisan publication of its kind.  It includes both a chart of the actual voting histories on crucial issues of each incumbent City Council member in contested races, compared head up to how their opponents claim they would have voted, and critiques of every candidate we endorsed as well as our assessments of nearly every other office-seeker.  Obviously our opinions are strongly influenced by our collective commitment, since 1987, to fiscal responsibility, transparency, and ethical conduct in local government, but even those who do not share our passion for efficient and honest government can profit from a review of how the City Council candidates responded to our objective questions.  We guarantee that every voter who reads the Guide will make a better informed choice in this election than those who rely solely on political mailers and television advertising.  Each voter will have at least eight different decisions to make, and the Guide is intended to be useful in that process.

“We regard party affiliation as irrelevant and potentially misleading in local races.  Voters who foolishly think a partisan label is a useful shorthand for selection of a candidate who shares their views will frequently be disappointed, and they will have to look for that information elsewhere.

“Finally, with three or more contestants in a number of races, it is virtually certain that a runoff on May 17 will be required.  We will publish a second Voters Guide for that election, adjusting our recommendations as circumstances require.”

Victor Wilhelm, president of the Concerned Taxpayers, added: With the CTDC’s Voter’s Guide in hand, Taxpayers across Duval County are better informed to make their decision on March 22^nd.   We are hopeful that these efforts will serve to uproot incumbent and aspiring politicians  who would continue the chicanery and tomfoolery that has plagued City Hall in recent years.

Download the 2011 CTDC Voter’s Guide

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