10
Currents
November 2018
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veterans affairs department constitutionally required,
and requires five county-level offices to be elected:
tax collectors, property appraisers, supervisors of
elections, clerks of circuit court and sheriffs. That’s a
big deal for Miami-Dade, which has a home-rule
charter and is the only county that does not elect a
sheriff or an elections chief.
The Editorial Board met with members of the
Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Associa-
tion of Tax Collectors, who support the elected posi-
tions. These elected positions
offer more accountability to tax-
payers, say Mike Adkinson, and
Larry Hart, tax collector for Lee
County. But opponents say inex-
perienced people could be
elected, not professionals. Hart
said only Miami- Dade, Broward
and Volusia do not elect their tax
collector. But Miami-Dade gotten
along just fine so far. And no,
Miami-Dade doesn’t need hacks
or lackluster, term-limited legisla-
tors looking for something to do
filling these important positions.
Been there.
AMENDMENT 11: VOTE NO
Property Rights; Removal of
Obsolete Provision; Criminal
Statutes: This is a head-
scratcher, an exasperating bun-
dled amendment. At its best, it
would delete obsolete wording
regarding a high- speed rail
amendment that has since been
repealed; it would also repeal the
state’s ability to prohibit nonciti-
zens or “aliens ineligible for citi-
zenship” from buying, owning and
selling property.
It also deletes a provision that
forces the state to prosecute
criminal suspects under the law
they were originally charged
under, even if the Legislature
changes the law.
Yes, making the Constitution’s
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