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Sunday's letters: Let's open up the primaries and enfranchise all voters

 
Published Nov. 30, 2018

Oftentimes as citizens we say things like "someone should really do something about X, Y or Z" or we wonder how some big achievement in history happened, almost as if it happened by magic. But change does not happen magically. It happens when someone (or lots of people) take the initiative to "be the change they want to see in the world" and stand up. In most cases, it is just regular citizens caring enough to not take "no" for an answer.

Here in Florida, citizens from all political walks of life are saying enough is enough to "lesser of two evils" politics and becoming independent. The independent movement in Florida has spawned two citizens groups, Florida Fair and Open Primaries and Unite America. We have similar goals — to make sure that independent voters are fully heard, fairly enfranchised and properly represented in the halls of government by pragmatic, solution-oriented, problem solvers. The first group is working to bring open primaries to Florida, running a campaign for a 2020 ballot initiative. Unite America has recently joined them because open primaries are about rediscovering what we have in common and empowering every voter.

We're standing up for change in Florida: things like opening up primaries, instituting ranked choice voting, ending gerrymandering and taking the money out of politics. We believe independent voters are the future of the state of Florida, a future where all voters can vote and don't have to join a party in order to have a say in who will represent them. And a future where that key principle of our founding — no taxation without representation — means taxpayers stop having to pay for private party elections that exclude millions of voters. Independent voters often decide which candidate wins in November. Isn't it time they get to choose the candidates in the first place?

Steve Hough and Perry Waag

Steve Hough is a retired accountant, a lifelong independent and chairman of Florida Fair and Open Primaries. Perry Waag, the author of "The Centrist Path Ahead," has been registered as No Party Affiliation since 2003, and is the Northeast Florida Chapter Leader of Unite America.

5 ways Florida can improve elections | Editorial, Nov. 25

Good news, Ms. Crowder

Did my vote count? I'll be 101 today, and my signature is not just the same as when I was 50. Answer, please.

Evelyn L. Crowder, Clearwater

Editor's note: Happy birthday, Ms. Crowder! We checked and yes, your vote was counted.

A step backward on juvenile justice | Editorial, Nov. 27

Remember the victims

While some juvenile offenders may deserve a re-sentencing hearing and a reduction in their sentence, don't lose sight of the fact that every case has a victim. We received notice of such a hearing in late 2016 for my mom's murderer. In 1998 June Stillman was savagely attacked and murdered in her home by her 14-year-old neighbor. The sentence was life in prison with no parole. After 18 years, old wounds were torn open and once again we had to re-live the nightmare. Writing my victim's impact statement was gut-wrenching. The hearing finally took place in June 2017 — eight months of renewed sadness and anxiety. The judge imposed a new sentence of 75 years. Yes, still essentially a life term. In five years we will go through it again, when my mom's murderer can again request a re-sentencing hearing. As this issue continues to be debated, and you write about it, please, don't forget the victims.

Lynne Martiny, Brandon

Blood and truth | Nov. 30

Restoration, not vengeance

Your superb series on the Zeigler case and your fine editorial on the injustice of carrying over juvenile sentencing share a common problem. We have defined justice as retribution: Something terrible happened and someone must pay. I suggest an alternative paradigm: restoration. In a restoration-driven scheme, the parties we should most care about, victims and perpetrators, would take center stage. Perpetrators don't owe an abstract debt to society. They owe a tangible debt to their victims. Most should be out of prison and in jobs, paying restitution. Society is most efficiently and effectively protected by resourcing tactics that minimize recidivism by enabling those who failed to be good citizens to become ones. We would also be better protected if the minority who are irredeemably dangerous received the full and lasting attention of the Department of Corrections. Harsh punishment flows from the fact that we offer victims nothing else, while creating 80/20 odds of having future victims of the same people.

Pat Byrne, Largo

A real-life horror story

This series is complex and compelling. It is told so well that sometimes I get caught up in the story and forget that this is not just some fascinating murder mystery. This is one man's real-life horror story; a tragedy my mind cannot comprehend. Thank you for the work it has taken to research and write it. I would like to say, "May justice be served." But it is too late for that. I do pray that Mr. Tommy Zeigler will one day breathe air fresh and free.

Lynda Haislip, Palm Harbor

Using balloons, study finds why wombats poop cubes | Nov. 25

The cube root of indigestion

I was somewhat startled to find this rather lengthy article about the shape of wombat "poop." It seems the anally inventive marsupials native to Australia that resemble a small bear uniquely fashion their fecal deposits in the form of cubes.

The article goes on to describe how scientists using inflated balloons discovered that wombats possess a partially inelastic intestinal tract that allows them to produce "perfectly stackable poop with a practical purpose that could cross into humanity's manufacturing industry." The commercial impact of this fascinating study remains to be determined although its immediate impact on my breakfast appetite was decidedly negative.

Fred Kalhammer, Sun City Center