Van Sickle and Rogers, just a couple of good ol¹ boys who¹s record has been that of Tax and Spend! ...

Van Sickle and Rogers, just a couple of good ol’ boys who’s record has been that of Tax and Spend!

Mr. Van Sickle encourages us to examine his record and vote accordingly.  Well, here is a snapshot of Van Sickle’s record over the 4 years he has been on the Lake Wales Commission:

• Van Sickle (and Rogers) increased the City of Lake Wales’s Debt from $25.5 Million Dollars to over $35 Million Dollars

• Van Sickle’s plan to pay off $2 Million Dollars (from the Cities Reserve Fund), not only drains the drains the reserve fund but does little to pay the interest on the current 35 Million Dollar deficit. At the end of 9 years the City will be facing over a $50 Million dollar defict, just on interest of the $35 Million alone.

• To give you an idea how ‘fiscally conservative’ Van Sickle is, he wasted over $200,000 dollars on a project that surveyed a parking lot of which nothing could ever be built there.

• Van Sickle (and Rogers) has done NOTHING to address the failing infrastructure that includes the City’s sewer system that constantly fails and overflows into the streets and resident’s homes.

• Van Sickle (and Rogers) has done little to address the worsening economic situation that the City of Lake Wales has been facing for many years.

• Jack Van Sickle, a strong supporter of John Paul Rogers, a known Grand Dragon in the United Klan’s of America which was the most violent and largest Klan organization of its time. Van Sickle has equated John Paul Rogers’s affiliation with the Klan to that of someone having had several speeding tickets in ones past. Really? Do you know Van Sickle’s supporters cheered when he made this comparison! 

• According to a St Petersburg Times article (titled, ‘Lake Wales commissioner has history in Klan’, by Susan Taylor Martin, Times Senior Correspondent, Sunday, September 6, 2009) , Mr. Rogers, along with support from Mayor Jack Van Sickle, fired long time City Manager, Tony Otte, because Mr. Tote’s efforts supported and helped minorities, and, as City Manager, allocated asphalt to repair a local school (i.e. doing his job). However, since Otte didn’t get ‘permission’, was fired, or so the story goes.

• Van Sickle stated that he has never seen such "dirty politics," but he should remember he and his buddies started it all with the firing of Tony Otte without due process. This was followed by the dismissal of Burney Hayes without the city manager's approval. (see http://www.newschief.com/article/20110328/NEWS/103285452/1014/opinion?Title=Concerns-in-Lake-Wales) 

• There was great success with the Lake Wales Charter Schools initiative; unfortunately that success has been overshadowed by four years of negative action on the part of the City Commission majority (3-2) votes (two of those votes have been by Van Sickle and Rogers) on a range of issues that affect the entire community. (see http://www.newschief.com/article/20110328/NEWS/103285452/1014/opinion?Title=Concerns-in-Lake-Wales)

Vote for Betty Wojcik for commissioner and Mike Carter for Mayor. 

Vote "YES" to Amendments 1 through 8 and  

Vote "NO" on Amendments 9 through 14.
Every vote counts!