FL Amendment 4 or "Hometown Democracy" Doesn't Work!

St. Pete Beach ends ‘Hometown Democracy'

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - March 9, 2011 - The poster child for "what can go wrong with Amendment 4" has decided to get rid of its own local "Hometown Democracy" laws.

Last year, the roughly 10,000-person town of St. Pete Beach found itself at the center of the debate over Amendment 4, a statewide version of the government-by-referenda measure St. Pete Beach had adopted in 2006. A coalition of companies, including Florida Realtors, fought to defeat Amendment 4 using the St. Pete Beach example in ads and talking points.

Voters eventually defeated Amendment 4 at the polls, and the St. Pete Beach example played a major role in their decision.

Yesterday, however, the residents of St. Pete Beach voted to overturn their own failed experiment by passing Charter Amendments 1, 2 and 3, which effectively ended the city's four-year experiment in "Hometown Democracy."

"St. Pete Beach has at last come full circle," said Ryan Houck, who served as executive director of Vote No on 4, the group that led the campaign to defeat Amendment 4. "The town that started the debate over ‘Hometown Democracy' has now brought it to a fitting close. Although other battles are sure to occur, we believe that last night's victory will unequivocally consign ‘Hometown Democracy' - and the philosophy that underpinned it - to the dustbin of bad ideas, where it belongs. Congratulations to the people of St. Pete Beach."

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

Seeing first hand how this law worked or technically didn't was a true shame. Any project that the city wanted to do needed a vote, that meant special votes throughout the year that costs the city money to advertise, create ballots and other costs associated with voting. In addition, any work to improve the city was slowed or even halted. Nothing could move in the log jam of public approval. This also kept the law side busy as well with constant court battles to change the amendment or expedite the process. It was playing "Mother may I" but no one could win because no one had the right to move without talking to "Father, brother, sister, grandmother," and so on.

It wasn't just improvements to the city, but anything to deal with anything... sign changes, painting or fixing roads, beach protection, new businesses coming into the area. How could anything move?

Thank God that is all over and normal politics and avenues are back.