Friday, September 14, 2007

How Can I Get This Job - Seriously

South Florida politics are murkier than the polluted swamps that cover the state. As Carl Hiaasen has said,
The Sunshine State is a paradise of scandals teeming with drifters, deadbeats, and misfits drawn here by some dark primordial calling like demented trout. And you'd be surprised how many of them decide to run for public office.
It is home to Mark Foley and the original non-gay gay Republican politician, Bob Allen, head of John McCain's Florida Campaign. Nothing is more representative of this phenomenon than the Palm Beach County Commission (let's not talk about the 2000 presidential election - it will just make me sad). These guys make an outrageous $92,000 a year for a local government position. The state senators of Florida are only considered part time and make a salary of about $30,000 (before kick backs). Despite the obvious generosity of the tax-payers, Palm Beach residents have lost two of their seven commissioners in 2007 due to indictment. That's is nearly 30% of the commissioners that committed crimes while in office. Warren Newell and ex-chairman Tony Masilotti were both sentenced to 5 years in jail for using there votes to make money. Seems kind of unfair since Masilotti got to temporarily enjoy 10 million dollars in ill-gotten gains while Newell only stole 500k. But then Masilotti had a drug habit to support and we all know that isn't cheap. In the end though, Palm Beach County Commissioners have only one power that is worth anything and that is determining zoning on real estate and apparently these two knew how to use it (just not how to use it without getting caught). If that wasn't bad enough, a third commissioner, Mary McCarty, appears to be a very mean lady who picks on her poor, defenseless fellow commissioners. So, I go back to my original question. How do I get this job? A do nothing job that pays almost 100k and a person that limits their misdeeds to drowning puppies looks like a choir boy. Elect me. Just tell me how.

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