Election 2016
Campaign Season in Full Swing
WP Voice Needs Your Help
We are requesting that when you receive an email or a flier from a candidate, please scan front and back and email it to the Voice at editor@winterparkvoice.com We will eliminate any reference to your name, address or other identifying information before we publish.
The Voice will use this information to post a chronology of communications from each candidate. When you are forming your voting decisions, whether you are filling out your absentee ballot or going to the polls, it may be helpful to review each candidate’s position on the issues.
Phone Polls
If you receive a phone call about the candidates or the issues, please record it if you can. Remember, you should always get the consent of all parties before recording any telephone conversation or any in-person conversation that common sense tells you is private. We will post a link so others can listen. If you need assistance, email editor@winterparkvoice.com or call 407-671-2964. There will be someone to assist you.
Some voters report they have already received one political phone call, though when the pollster was asked the origin of the call, neither he nor his supervisor could provide that information. According to the Orange County Division of Elections, if the pollsters make fewer than 1,000 calls and the duration of the calls exceeds two minutes, the call is presumed to be a “political poll,” and no disclosure is required.
This poll solicited Winter Park voters’ opinions of Congressman John Mica, Mayor Steve Leary, candidates Peter Weldon and Lambrine Macejewski, and Commissioners Tom McMacken and Carolyn Cooper. The pollster then asked closely worded questions about issues such as the Historic Preservation ordinance, the Dog Park and development in Winter Park, which could have been a reference to the Carlisle.
Attend a Candidate Forum
In addition to campaign coverage in local media, there will be four candidate forums where you can see the candidates square off in person.
Tuesday, February 9, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Sun Trust Auditorium, Crummer Hall, 1000 Holt Ave.
Hosted by Rollins College Democracy Project and WPRK
Wednesday, February 10, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Winter Park Community Center, 721 W. New England Ave.
Hosted by Winter Park Voice
Friday, February 12, 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Winter Park Welcome Center, 151 W. Lyman Ave.
Hosted by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce
Friday, February 19, Noon – 1:00 p.m.
Winter Park Public Library, 460 E. New England Ave.
Hosted by the Winter Park Public Library
Absentee Ballots
To request or check the status of your absentee ballot, visit www.ocfelections.com or call the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office: 407-836-2070.
Can The Voice publish the rules for these debates? I recall last year there was much mischief surrounding debate rules, moderators, questions, and formats so as to attempt to influence the debates to favor one of the candidates.
Also, you might want to check with a lawyer before advising people to record phone conversations. There are laws that prohibit recording phone conversations unless a certain specific procedure is followed.
Not sure what “mischief” you are referring to, but the Winter Park Voice does not establish the rules for the debates. The rules are established by the moderators. The Voice debate will be moderated by someone from the Orange County League of Women Voters, and she will use the debate rules they have used for years. The moderator is not a Winter Park resident and has no personal interest in the outcome of this or any other Winter Park election.
Moderators for the debates sponsored by Rollins, the Chamber and the Library will set the rules for those debates.
The website has been updated to reflect the necessity for all parties to a phone call to consent prior to any recording.
The Winter Park Public Library’s event is a debate, not a forum. It will be moderated by a representative of the League of Women Voters. Questions will be developed by the moderator. Residents can submit questions via email before the event to redwards@wppl.org and on index cards at the event, but all questions are asked at the discretion of the moderator.
Could it be that someone wants us to remember which of the Commission candidates violated the election rules immediately after signing a Chamber of Commerce pledge not to violate the rules the last time he ran for City Commission?