How about a little trip to Alachua County

"In an exclusive interview with Florida House of Representatives candidate Charlie Grapski - arrested after he filed a lawsuit alleging voting fraud against Alachua County City Manager Clovis Watson, RAW STORY learns of corruption allegations that can only be described as not seen since the days of Boss Tweed."

Miriam Raftery ---Raw Story


http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061206R.shtml


Mr Grapski says that if we can make things right in one county, we can make them right in the whole country.



I say if we can't stop the machine in one county what hope do we have of having an honest vote ever again.

The Repubs sent a crew to Florida in 2000 that turned a nationwide election around. Let's buzz bomb Alachua County with people calling for free and fair elections. :party: They won't know what a can of worms they've opened.







Triggering BIG EARS by mentioning the word bomb, I'm sure.O8)

When it was a progressive and enlightened place. Sad to see what it has come to.

I know lots of people who went to U of F. They invariably referred to the bizarrely neanderthal local populace dispargingly as "ACRs" (Alachua County Residents). Can't believe there was ever a time when the place wasn't freeperville, at least outside of parts of Gainesville

Alachua is a joke along with Baker county.

http://www.recountflorida.com/ufed/president.php?county=alachua

http://www.recountflorida.com/ufed/president.php?county=baker

Very nice place, Gainesville. Very progressive and proud of it.

(pronounced... al-LATCH-ooh-uh) Alachua COUNTY is the COUNTY that includes the City of Gainesville, where The University of Florida resides. This article is mostly about the TOWN of Alachua which is also in Alachua County but is about 20 miles north of Gainesville.

That Raw Story article refers to the..."city manager of Alachua County.." What? No such thing.

The complaint about corruption is up in the TOWN of Alachua.

Gainesville has been run by democrats forever and is well run, as far as I know.

http://commissioners.alachua.fl.us/

I went looking for contact info so that I could flame a few rednecks and found this site. I dont understand.

nt

The beef is with the City of Alachua. It appears most are Republicans --- some are Democrats.

The issue at hand is concerning absentee ballots.

From looking at what is happening in the area, there seems to be a major battle over a Walmart. My supposition is that if the city council can be packed with the "right" people, then development can proceed without delay. Local issue? Yes. Of national importance? Yes. Do local people have the right to have their vote counted? Do they have the right to cast their ballot without being pressured by the police and office holders of the city?

and make an appointment to examine the ballots.

They quoted me $30/hr after the 2004 election to examine ballots.

cwatsonjr@cityofalachua.com

Send him your best wishes for an early retirement.

Alachua County is a DEM stronghold. We voted 57% for Kerry/Edwards. We even voted 57% for McBride.

Before you hitch your wagon to Charlie Grapski you might want to check out his record to date.

This is not the first time Grapski tried to stir things up around here. It seems that Grapski likes to be confrontational. He's good at pushing buttons and then playing the victim. He makes mountains out of molehills, and this time he seems to have found a willing bunch of suckers to play out his drama.

If Grapski wanted to examine the absentee ballots, why didn't he just go to the Alachua Co Board of Elections and make a request. The procedure is clear. Anyone can look at the ballots for $30.00/hr. Why did he go to Alachua City Commissioners for this?

Prior to this latest escapade, he's also suing the president of UF and FL Blue Key. Once again, he's manufactured a big issue and then proceeds to harass everybody and anybody they he sets in his sights.

We really don't need to be fools again, especially right now and this is where he will lead you.

Are you from the city of Alachua? If you are, have you heard of any problems with the election?

Doesn't matter if it's a Dem stronghold. Elections must be above reproach.


BTW, I have read of the history of Mr. Grapski.

The SOE for the County, who retired last year was a DEM and ran clean elections.

Grapski's issue is not with Alachua County but with the City of Alachua. However the County oversees all elections and that is where you are suppose to go if you have any issues regarding an election. The city municipalities do not have authority over such matters.

Grapski can ask all the city and county commissioners in the world to see the ballots or to examine an election but he's going to the wrong people and going about it the wrong way. He does this on purpose in order to create conflict. He gets everyone of the defensive and then plays people against each other. He has a history of this sort of thing and I think he got all hooked up with the Greens in a similar conflict a few elections ago.

When someone shows up at a meeting with the cameras in tow, in order to document their own arrest, you might want to examine their motives. Obviously, he knew his actions would provoke his opponents to take this action.

Charlie Grapski is a friend whom I've known since 1994 when he worked hard to get Perot on the ballot in Florida. He is courageous, has enormous integrity, is smart, well educated, and is highly dedicated to the democratic process. He is also a tough fighter, willing to bleed, and is not afraid of bullies. In other words he is a badly needed asset -- a Progressive Democrat with Balls.

I have no problem with him getting some press -- as an underfunded candidate for Congress -- why not? The issue he is fighting is legitimate. Anyone can easily see that the tactics used against him are totally outrageous. The case against him is totally bogus.

As for the argument that Alachua County is a Democratic stronghold -- well, yes and no. The Blue Dogs here in Florida are more right wing than most Republicans in many ways... and that is especially true of Alachua. Please note that the man who arrested him is slated to turn into a Republican soon, and the rest who are under him have acquiesced and slid into the slime of fear and corruption. Let's hope Grapski can help clean up this mess and replace them with other Democrats to take their place -- maybe some folks less Blue Doggy. Progressives would be nice. Let's give other Alachua dems a chance get get in who also feel the strong need for cleaner faces.

Grapski is truly a rare person and worthy of admiration and support. His fight with Blue Key was also legit, but you have to dig for the details.

Is Grapski a troublemaker? Well, yes. But in a good way. I like to see trouble being made when it's needed.

It is good to get an inside POV on this.

However, whatever issues Charlie has are small beans compared to the grand scheme of things. In the process, he causes people to waste a lot of time and energy going after trumped up crises.

Alachua County and the towns within it are not hotbeds of corruption. Yes, there are and have been idiots on all of the commissions over the years and I'm sure the City of Alachua has their share of assholes. But what is the goal here? To take down a few small time local yokals, in a frivilous case that probably won't win?

If you practice Aikido then you should understand that the negative energy that Charlie generates is not constructive and does little to solve the serious problems we face has a community and has a country. There are much bigger and more dangerous fish to fry if you want to go after corruption.

He used to make me irritated on the Dean blog sometimes, but he was much admired by all of Deaniacs. He is very outspoken, doesn't always take popular stands, but stands up for what he believes.

Thanks for defending him.

RE: Do You Even Wonder's Grapski criticism: "...why didn't he just go to the Alachua Co Board of Elections and make a request."


The Supervisor of Elections of Alachua County HAD NO JURISDICTION over this election. The election was conducted solely by CITY officials.

The City's Canvassing Board - not the County Canvassing Board - conducted this process. Indeed IT is the main defendant in the legal action.

Furthermore 2 of the 3 Canvassing Board members - are not just defendants in this lawsuit (the mayor and Clovis Watson) - but they were ACTIVELY working for the James Lewis campaign.

The only place Grapski COULD go - is to the Courts.

I called Alachua Co and person that answered the phone confirmed that the manicipalities store the ballots for their local elections.

Charlie is starting small by going after corruption locally. I don't know why you would criticize him for doing this -- as though any of us can singly make a dent in fixing "the grand scheme of things". How can you verify that his current actions ".... causes people to waste a lot of time and energy going after trumped up crises...?

I think the story describing what Grapski is doing says it fairly well. Look at how the arresting official behaved throughout the episode -- it was atrocious! Historically, this is how this official behaves and people are afraid of him. So how can you be annoyed that Charlie is standing up to him? I just don't get it.

Charlie has a good chance of winning this case... just as he did the Blue Key case.

Vote fraud is not frivolous in my opinion. Small potatoes in Alachua to be sure.... but every time someone focuses on illegal means used to steal votes, the more aware people will become as to the games that are played. Certainly the locals will be on alert in Alachualand.

I've never though that Charlie emitted negative energy. He does focus on problems... but then so do most of the people on this forum. To my mind, that's a good thing. I like it that Charlie is intelligent,and has the courage to stand up to corrupt power. Confrontational? Yep. But I don't see a mean spirit in Charlie. And even though he's gone after a small potatoes guy this time-- at least he is doing something by working to make a small part of the country more democratic. Maybe after he's fried the small fish he will be more experienced to go after the Big Bad Tuna.
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