To the Editor:
On April 27, there was a letter to the editor titled “Sumter County Commission elections controlled by oldest trick in the book.” This letter and most of the posted comments imply that, if Sumter County returned to “SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICT VOTING” the voters in Sumter County better served by our county commissioners. The issue is “SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICT VOTING” versus only the voters residing in a particular district would elect one commissioner from that district issue. If someone started the petition process to get the issue on the 2020 ballot and the actual vote was successful, it would not be effective until the 2022 election. In addition per state law, the current board of commissioners determines the boundaries for the districts.
The proposed change would not prevent the Developer from making large donations to the candidates for each of the three seats in the 2020 election or any subsequent elections. Those three 2020 seats are currently held by Al Butler, Steve Printz, and Don Burgess. The other two seats will be in the 2022 election and there are currently held by Doug Gilpin and Garry Breeden.
If you are unhappy with the actions of the current commissioners, I suggest that you send an email expressing your displeasure to:
Stephen.Printz@sumtercountyfl.gov
Doug.Gilpin@sumtercountyfl.gov
Don.Burgess@sumtercountyfl.gov
Garry.Breeden@sumtercountyfl.gov
(You should be able to copy and paste the string of email addresses to your personal email. In your email tell them that you are a registered voter in Sumter County)
If you are a registered Republican or Democrat voter in Sumter County, then cast your informed vote in the primary elections to select the candidates for the three 2020 seats. Villages-News.com should play a key role in informing the voters about the candidates for the county commission. All should assume that information in the Daily Sun is influenced by the Developer of The Villages.
As of 4/27/2019, there are 99,549 registered voters in Sumter County; the developer’s family is a small percentage of that total.
Make your vote count in 2020!
John Kastura
Village of Belvedere
