AFT Train Wreck: Commissioners Sue Their Own Constituents to Take Their Rights Away

The All for Transportation (AFT) tax hike is one big mess.

And the AFT train wreck is getting messier and messier. Six county commissioners are digging a deeper hole by intentionally putting taxpayers at more risk and taking actions that will take away the rights of their own constituents and future commission boards.

Tampa's Little Swamp

What took so long? Some candidates running for Tampa mayor are concerned or asking questions about Vinik's money and influence.

According to this Tampa Bay Times report, Vinik was the subject of a question asked at a mayoral forum by moderator Mike Deeson, a former investigative reporter. Deeson asked "What "controls" should be put over the city government's interactions with Vinik".

After former county commissioner Ed Turanchik said the next mayor should follow an "arms-length relationship" with Vinik, Straz weighed in. 

"The Vinik question. Ladies and gentleman, we need more transparency. And that is, what kind of money is going into Channelside? Who's behind the St. Pete (Tampa Bay) Times? Who's behind All for Transportation? Who's behind a number of these things around town? Let's get some transparency and find out what's going on. If you look at some of the blogs you can get a feeling that not everything's great. We need to investigate that much more further," Straz said.

Did All for Transportation Unlawfully Appropriate Earmarks for 30 Years?

Earmarks are used to set aside funds for a specific purpose or allocate a specified amount of money for a specific project, program, or organization.

Earmarks in government are often associated with pork barrel spending, hand outs and wasteful spending without due diligence. In government, earmarks are handed out with little to no planning and the general public now has wary eyes on earmarks.

It may be after the election but the big mess All For Transportation (AFT) created is unfolding. While local media continues to ignore what is actually in AFT's charter amendment and all the issues swirling around it, we will continue to expose those issues.

AFT knew their transit tax hike did not fund any existing transportation plan. They knew it because the AFT tax hike is not just a tax hike referendum, it is an appropriations bill full of earmarks.

AFT, a political committee accountable to no one and funded by wealthy special interests, made up their own mandated earmarks with no transparent due diligence, planning or plan.

An Offer You Can't Refuse: Who is Peter Schorsch?

Crosspost from Jordan Kirkland, Roundtable Politics



Mob and gangster movies are a dime a dozen. From The Godfather to Goodfellas, the genre has taken the U.S. by storm since the early 1900’s.

On a yearly basis, directors like Martin Scorsese churn out mafia sub-genre movies, allowing viewers to peer into a world of crime and corruption and fantasize about an underground world that revolves around power and persuasion.

While some autobiographical films touch on what really happened in the past, many are just speculative works that sprinkle in exaggerated death tolls. So it’s safe to say that these fantasy crime dramas are just that: fantasy. Right?

Well… not exactly. While the Corleones aren’t gunning down unsuspecting victims in crowded streets, there are real “crime lords” that are pulling the strings behind the scenes. One in particular, lives in Florida…