kids in the county [commission]
County commissioner Al Higginbotham is kicking off his re-election campaign with a feel-good outreach effort to citizens well below voting age. Politicians have always kissed up to babies because it’s an easy way of getting votes from their parents without having to discuss controversial issues.
According to the commissioner’s press release:
Commissioner Al Higginbotham hosts a new program, Kids in the County, which will offer behind-the-scenes tours once a month to groups of kids in Hillsborough County. Included in the tour will be a mock election in the Supervisor of Election’s office, a visit to Traffic Services to see how traffic at major intersections in the County is monitored, and an experience at the County’s television station, HTV22, among other departments. The tour will end with a brown bag lunch in Chillura Square, where the kids can talk to Commissioner about being an elected official and other services the government provides.
Community activist George Niemann jokes that if Higginbotham wants to show the kids how our county government really works, he “should give the kids a behind-the-scenes tour of the Tampa Bay Builders Association headquarters on the 2nd floor of County Center.”
Of course it’s the county commissioners, not the builders, whose offices are on the 2nd floor of County Center, but it’s easy to get them mixed up since the commissioners do practically everything the TBBA tells them to. TBBA wields enormous political power in this county, so from their perspective our commissioners are very obedient “Kids in the County.”
U-CAN chairperson Terry Flott blasted Higginbotham with this point at the first of his town hall meetings on June 14 in Plant City. Terry opened her remarks with “Ladies and gentlemen, TBBA runs this County.” As she continued to whack the commission, George tells me Higginbotham “acted like he’s waiting for the Hartline bus, rustling his papers and guzzling water.”
You can give commissioner Higginbotham a piece of your mind at any of the remaining meetings:
- June 18, 6:30 p.m., Brandon Community Center, 510 E. Sadie St.
- July 9, 6:30 p.m., Balm Civic Center, 14747 Balm Wimauma Road.
- July 10, 6:30 p.m., Valrico Recreation Center, 707 S. Miller Road.
- July 17, 6:30 p.m., Bloomingdale Regional Library, 1906 Bloomingdale Ave.
For information on the meetings, call (813) 272-5740.
Ask Higginbotham to quit following the other Little Rascals — our commissioners acting like kids in a candy store — and start standing up for his adult constituents.
Tags: county, County-Commission, hc bocc, Hillsborough County, politics, tampa
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June 18th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
To apply for county commission, the requirements include:1. Having an IQ under 40, 2. Already be in somebodys “pockets”, and 3. Have the desire to get no real work done and just sit back and watch the money come pouring in.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
once again, mariella has nailed it! it’s so obvious higginbotham is starting his re-election efforts early (never too soon!) with some serious baby kissing. who is thinking this stuff up? it’s all for the “chiiiiiildren”
so far his term has been lots of posturing and reminding us all that he is new and is doing “lots of listening”…AND lots of campaigning with stunts such as this.
WHERE’S THE BEEF?
June 18th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Oh, so it’s Higgy with his newfound affinity for the children, huh? ..(he endearingly calls them young-uns.) He has recently, along with co-commishes Blair and Sharpe, had a keen eye for the young-uns who want to have paintball introduced into unsanctioned areas. Sure, let’s teach those young-uns how to circumvent the law, how to flout existing rules and regulations and show those nasty “homeowners associations” - - (actually a civic association that was previously wooed for its votes) just how petty, stubborn and unreasonable the residents are in trying to uphold the laws and protect their property interests. Get real guys! These young people are FUTURE voters, not the ones you will face next election. You’re biting the hands that poked those chads for your seats on the commission. What a bunch of meatballs. And with your forgetfulness for who voted you into office, I suspect you were eating those meatballs out of aluminum pots. You guys should take some ethic lessons from Ms. Ferlita.
Good article, Ms. Smith!
June 19th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Al’s obviously trying to hide safely behind a targetless “Art Linkletter personna” - - Kids may say the darndest things, but they are highly unlikely to ask the tough questions. Come out, come out, wherever you are.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:43 am
[...] Al’s kids. [...]
June 19th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
I missed the Higginbotham schedule - - When is the Town Meeting scheduled for Sesame Street? These jokers are quickly making Channel 22 my favorite entertainment spot. Bumble Bee Blair, Higgly Wiggly, and Foghorn Leghorn Norman have taken the place of the Three Stooges in my heart. But sadly, these clowns are giving away our beloved area to TBBA. But, I guess we all have to try to make our fortunes some kinda way…………
June 19th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Al and The Kids. It’s a new tack conceived after his constant whining of “I was gonna say that, but Rose said it first” got tiresome. I’d say a better tack would be simply upholding what’s best for constituents. Posturing only goes so far… All ears/no action becomes quite transparent in a short time. But then, it already seems like a long time, doesn’t it?…and here we are campaigning again.
June 19th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Will he offer “Be A Developer” preschool classes?
June 19th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Here’s an activity for the kids as they go through their Kids in the County Tour: Give them a list of Higgyisms for them to keep a running tally of how many times they hear him say his stock phrases. You know the ones:
“I’m just a country boy”
“that was before my time”
“I’ll have Jess look into it”
“I ride the bus”
“that happened to me too”
“I’ve only been a commissioner for seven months”
For that matter, it would be a fun game for the adults too while sitting in the audience of his summer reelection campaign…..oops I mean Town Hall Meetings. The tally would be useless information, I know, but I need something to keep my attention on what he says.
June 29th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Almost a year ago, Al and his wife were instrumental in finding a wheelchair accessible van to donate for my son - yes DONATE! This was never publicized. Don’t try to tell me Al’s not got a heart for the children. He didn’t do it for his last campaign - which was AFTER the donation, and he didn’t do it to get votes. He did it for my son. And we are forever grateful.