Follow the rules
To the Editor:

Gentlemen, we are faced with a question today as to performing our jobs well and governing well or not governing well. If you choose to vote for the change in the law you are not governing well, and you are not doing the job you were elected to do. We live in a country and a state of laws. Laws tell us how to drive our car, when to pay our taxes, what we have to do to get married and what we need to do before we die. If I want to play a game, I follow the rules or I don’t play.

You have before you a request from the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber president to change the rule of the petition signature gathering, asking for the non-partisan vote to be on the ballot.  The issue is that the chamber has had these petitions and rules since January. In fact, I attended a meeting not so many weeks ago, where Mr.. Horner presented a pile of boxes claiming they had 15,000 signatures inside. He made a great performance of telling the (Osceola County) Commission he was doing you all a big favor by telling you he had almost enough and wanted you to put the issue on the ballot. It appeared everyone took Mr. Horner at his word but, that night the commission made no changes and did not put it on the ballot then Mr. Horner dropped the hammer and said if we don’t’ get this on the November ballot, we will push for a ballot initiative and have a special election at an estimated cost of $350,000. There was no guilt or remorse in telling the commission this was his goal and he was going to do this.

Well now we have another boo boo by Mr. Horner. He didn’t follow the rules. He didn’t get the precinct numbers when the ordinance was clear. The requirements were  name, address, precinct number and signature. Who is at fault? Only Mr. Horner in his haste to get signatures, he didn’t school his employees properly.

So, I do not see that it is the right thing to do to change a law to suit an error.  From where I stand the question is moot. The law wasn’t followed so the signatures are no good. End of story, and if this commission votes to change the rule to accommodate Mr. Horner’s wishes, then this is bad government and not what you were elected to do.

Karen Awad

Kissimmee