Latest News

• 02Nov

  Jennings an ethical voice on Lake Worth Commission

  Cara in the News

  Palm Beach Post - Letters to the Editor - Saturday November 1, 2008

  Jennings an ethical voice on Lake Worth Commission

  Lake Worth is one of the last bastions of Old Florida. It’s a tight-knit community where you can walk down Lake Avenue to meet friends and neighbors, and where mom-and-pop shops that cater to the locals outnumber the chain stores.

  When the city signed a contract with Greater Bay Development to replace the old shopping plaza along the Lake Worth beach, a small, relatively unnoticed provision was slipped in that would allow for only 39 decal parking spaces for Lake Worth residents. Everyone else would have to pay a premium price for the privilege of parking at the city’s beach. Only Commissioners Cara Jennings and Jo Ann Golden opposed the plan. Does Florida really need another waterfront for the rich? Not hardly. We need an ethical woman like Commissioner Jennings, whose real concern is for the residents of Lake Worth.

  Speaking of ethics, with so many of our former elected officials behind bars for criminal indiscretions, who was the only official to propose an ethics ordinance forbidding the “pay to play” so common in Palm Beach County? Cara Jennings. We can’t afford not to have her in office.

  VON PETERSON

• 02Nov

  Halloween eve campaigning in Lake Worth

  Cara in the News

  Palm Beach Post - Friday, October 31, 2008

  Halloween eve campaigning in Lake Worth

  By Willie Howard (reporter/Palm Beach Post)

  LAKE WORTH - Honking horns and cheering drivers greeted supporters of city commission candidates in front of city hall Friday afternoon as both the election season and Halloween were in full swing.

  Sam Goodstein wore a joker’s cap for Halloween while holding signs for District 4 city commission candidate Rene Varela and presidential candidate Barack Obama.

  Varela was standing nearby at the corner of Lake Avenue and Dixie, holding the same pair of signs against a blustery wind.

  “I’m running, but this is the one I’m excited about,” Varela said, pointing to the Obama sign.

  Less than a minute later, the sound of a group of young ladies chanting “Obama, Obama” wafted from the window of a passing car.

  Dave Simms showed his Cara Jennings sign to passing cars in front of city hall and said he also supports Suzanne Mulvehill in the District 4 race.

  A member of the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition, Simms said he likes Jennings for her pro-environment, anti-development posture.

  “I want someone who will control development,” he said. “She’s a grass-roots candidate.”

  The scene at 10th Avenue North and Dixie included a campaign volunteer in a bear suit and a woman walking a small dog that seemed to be dressed as a hotdog, all of which drew lots of honks from passing motorists.

  Final campaign contribution reports were due at 5 p.m. on Halloween, but most probably were sent by mail as only two commission candidates, Varela and John Jordan, had delivered theirs to the city clerk’s office Friday.

  As of Oct. 17, Jennings, the District 2 incumbent, had raised the most money in the city commission race: $16,002.

  District 2 challenger Mary Lindsey was not far behind, with $14,938. Jordan reported $25.

  In District 4, incumbent Dave Vespo had raised the most, with $12,200. That’s nearly twice as much Varela ($6,903) and Mulvehill ($6952) as of the Oct. 17 filing.