'Tallahassee Dynasty' Runs County Offices

        Old politicians, who are term-limited out of the Florida Legislature, seldom just fade away. They successfully seek and hold local offices in Palm Beach County government.
        This exclusive "club" of former state lawmakers now administer the Constitutional offices of Palm Beach County Tax Collector, Clerk of Courts, and State Attorney for the 15th Judicial District as of November 2020.*
        Three members of the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners also are members of this "Tallahassee Dynasty." They jointly controlled the county mayor's office (chairmanship) for three terms. A fourth commissioner was a former lobbyist in Tallahassee for Palm Beach County before seeking an elected office.
        Members of the "club" have much in common. They are members of the Democratic Party. They had similar voting records while in the Florida Legislature. They served together on the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation, and cooperated on issues of common interest in Tallahassee. Current "club" alumni are (as of November 2020):

• Anne Gannon, the county's Tax Collector was first elected in 2006, and re-elected in 2008 and 2012. She served in the Florida Legislature from 2000 through 2006, where she was selected Deputy House Leader.
• Dave Aronberg, State Attorney for Palm Beach County, was elected to his current office in November 2012. He previously served in the Florida Senate from 2002 through 2010. He was reelected as State Attorney in 2016.
• Former Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher was a member of the Florida House of Representatives for District 88 from 2000 until term-limited out in 2008. She successfully ran for Supervisor of Elections in 2008 and was re-elected to the office. She was elected to a third term 2016, but was removed from office by the governor.
• Commissioner Mack Bernard, a former member of the Florida House, defeated former Commissioner Priscilla Taylor in the 2016 primary election. Taylor was elected to Florida House District 84 and re-elected in 2006 and 2008. In 2009, she was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to replace Commissioner Addie Greene, also a member of the "Tallahassee Club," who resigned due to ill health. Ms. Taylor served her first elected term and was county mayor from 2012-14. Bernard was reelected in 2020, and also served one term as county mayor.
• Commissioner Dave Kerner was elected to Florida House of Representatives for District 87 in 2012 and reelected in 2014. He was elected as the District 3 commissioner in November 2016 and reelected n 2020. He replaced Shelley Vana on the County Commission. She was a member of the Florida House from 2002 to 2008, then successfully campaigned for the County Commission seat in November 2008. She also served a two-year term as county mayor. She ran for Palm Beach County Property Appraiser in 2016, but lost in the Democratic primary. Kerner is serving his second term as county mayor in 2020-21.
• Joe Abruzzo was elected as the new Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts in November 2020 after serving in the Florida House of Representatives from 2008-12 and 2016-81. He also was elected to the Florida Senate in 2012.
• Commissioner Maria Sachs was elected to the County Commission in November 2020, representing District 5, after serving in the Florida House from 2006-10 and Florida Senate from 2010 to 2016.
• Two other members of this legislative club, Lois Frankel and Ted Deutch have moved on to the U.S. Congress. Rep. Frankel also served two terms as mayor of West Palm Beach after leaving the Florida House.
• Prior to her election in 2014, Commissioner Melissa McKinlay was a legislative  lobbyist representing Palm Beach County government in Tallahassee. She has not served in the Legislature but worked with members of the "Tallahassee Club".

        Is having several countywide offices held by former members of the Florida Legislature good or bad for the county? It is a political scale evenly balanced between positives and negatives, vice and virtue. The scale can tip either way. That is the issue.
        The Florida Legislature is a very political and partisan body of government. However, local Constitutional offices, and even the County Commission, should be nonpolitical and public service-oriented agencies to best benefit citizens.
        The active members of this fictional "Tallahassee Club" belong to one political party, have worked together for many years, and share similar philosophies. The question becomes is it in the best interest of Palm Beach County to have political unity or diversity of thought in local government?
        There is a reason both the Florida Legislature and County Commission have set term limits. It is to prevent a ruling class of career politicians from dominating state and county governments.
(c.) Davidsson.  *Updated in 2020.

The Night the Music Died at the Kravis Center

        When it comes to stampedes, there is no longhorn cattle drive in Texas or Wyoming that compares with the rush of Palm Beachers to the valet station and parking garage during the final act of a performance at the Kravis Center.
        Once again the upscale patrons of the performing arts, seated in their high-priced center-front orchestra seats, embarrassed themselves and their community before nationally acclaimed recording artists. The event was a joint concert by folk singing legend Judy Collins and singer-songwriter Don McLean presented Nov. 9 in the Dreyfoos Hall.
        Both Grammy Hall of Fame entertainers presented excellent performances which chronicled 20 years of musical history in the 1960's and 1970's. The audience waited in anticipation of an encore which should have included McLean's haunting 1972 melody "Vincent: Starry, Starry Night" and Ms. Collins' signature rendition of "Both Sides Now".
       There was no encore. The concert hall was empty. The audience was long gone before McLean finished singing his classic "American Pie". This is an eye-witness account of "how the music died" on a Sunday night at the Kravis Center.
        Ms. Collins appeared first before an audience that occupied about 80 percent of the seats in the concert hall. The voice of 75-year-old performer proved undiminished by age.
        After a 20-minute intermission, McLean and his band charmed the audience with a mix of rock-and-roll classics and  his own compositions. The finale was "American Pie," one of the most popular musical narratives of the 20th century rock era.
      McLean performed the traditional version of the classic tune before a responsive audience which gave him a much deserved ovation. Then he made a big mistake. The lights were turned on so members of the audience could dance and participate in an upbeat reprised version of the song.
     The stampede began with a trickle of patrons walking to the exit doors. The trickle became a torrent, then a flood of humanity all determined to be the first to reach their vehicles. By the time a perplexed McLean finished singing, there were less than 50 people remaining in Dreyfoos Hall.
      The few courteous music patrons who remained were denied an encore as a result of the rude departure of the majority. The audience had vanished into the "Starry, Starry Night". The entertainers observed "Both Sides Now" of poor concert behavior in the Palm Beaches.
        Palm Beachers once again proved they're number one - in rudeness.
        *Note: Judy Collins and Don McLean are not scheduled for return engagements during the 2015-16 season at the Kravis Center. Once audiences get a bad reputation, it becomes difficult to book top entertainers. Kravis has booked "Dudu" as a 2016 replacement.
(c.) Davidsson, 2015.