KEN SORENSEN, GEORGE MAURER’S

OPPONENT IN THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE

RACE IN HOUSE DISTRICT # 120

September 7, 2004

By George Maurer

My opponent’s record in the state legislature is virtually nothing for Floridian’s state-wide, virtually nothing for residents of Miami-Dade, and little more for residents of Monroe County (the Keys). He’s described as “brusque” and a “racist”.

His record of non-achievement for his past 2-year term is here noted. For the Regular Session 2004, he was primary sponsor of 9 bills. Only 2 of those 9 were enacted into law; 4 died in committee; 1 was vetoed by the Governor; 2 were “laid on the table” never to be resurrected.

The two 2004 primarily sponsored bills that he managed to enact had nothing to do state-wide and nothing to do with Miami-Dade. They both involved Monroe County sewage treatment. House Bill 1545 extends the time from 2004 to July 1, 2010, during which extended time lesser quality sewage systems can be used. House Bill 155 rather insignificantly allows the 5 Key largo Wastewater Treatment District members to be paid their pre-existing allowed up to $900 per month stipend, out of funds from any source; in addition, the new bill eliminates any requirement for a special election in event of a vacancy of one of the 5 members; the remaining members can appoint someone until the next general election.

That’s it; that’s the only 2 primarily sponsored bills that Sorensen got passed in the 2004 Regular Session. Even more bizarre; a brochure that Sorensen sent out in August, 2004, lists 3 other supposedly primarily sponsored bills, HBs 1345, 1519 and 1725, none, not one of which was ever enacted.

House Bill 1345 proposed to exempt most state BRAC meetings and records from public records or sunshine requirements; it was tabled and died. House Bill 1519 would have modestly increased monies for retrieval of abandoned lobster traps; it never was enacted. House Bill 1745 was not, in fact, a primarily sponsored bill but, rather a co-sponsored bill. It was a good bill that provided education advantages for children of military personnel, etc; but it, too, was never enacted. It and some 12 other bills were considered by the Senate which adopted its own Senate Bill 1604.

Altogether, Sorensen was listed as a co-sponsor (often with many others) of some 14 bills in the 2004 session; most were not enacted. In his August, 2004 brochure beside House Bill 1745, above, he lists 2 co-sponsored bills that did pass. The first was House Bill 155, about which I would hardly brag. Bill 155 prohibits creation or maintenance, by government and its personnel, by private entities and/or persons, of any list, record, or registry of firearms, and makes it a felony to do so. Thus, pawnbrokers, gun show dealers, gun businesses, can not make a record of a gun sale and commit a felony if they do so for commission of which they will be fined between $250,000 and $5 million. Lee Harvey Oswald would be home free in Florida; also see the novel “Balance of Power” by Richard North Patterson. Sorensen succeeded, indeed, with a host of others, in getting House Bill 155 enacted and signed by Governor JEB Bush.

For 2004, Sorensen also lists in his August brochure, House Bill 579 for anesthesiologist assistants; it, in fact, was also tabled and never enacted.

Finally, for 2004, Sorensen did manage to get his name attached as one of a host of co-sponsors to the traditional 9-day sales tax exemption on books, clothes and school supplies, and the 1-month 8 cent gas tax reduction; same was House Bill 237.

The above accurately reflects Sorensen’s dismal lack of accomplishment in the Regular 2004 Session of the State House of Representatives.

For the 2003 Sessions, Sorensen was equally ineffective. He was primary sponsor of 14 bills, less than half or six of which were enacted. Those 6 were, likewise, were all relatively insignificant, did nothing state-wide, nothing for Miami-Dade and very little for Monroe County. The enacted 6 were HB 185 which eliminated the requirement that the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District comply with the state Administrative Procedure Act; (the Key West Citizen of 4/11/03 suggested that the bill eliminated required notice of rate changes; required public meetings; possible appeals). House Bill 203 merely combined various prior acts into one single act for the Lower Keys Hospital District and permitted it to continue to levy real estate taxes of up to 2 mills annually. House Bill 307 abolished the non-existent City of North Key Largo Beach. House Bill 431 allowed low income seniors to apply for reduced charges from the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority (at a total estimated savings, county-wide, of $2,000 per year). House Bill 1729 permitted the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District to borrow up to $1 million for 5 years. House Bill 1731 permitted the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District to, no-bid, purchase property and equipment.

That’s it; that’s Sorensen’s total primarily sponsor accomplishments in the 2003 Sessions. He did also succeed in adoption of a co-sponsored House Resolution 9003C, urging the federal congress to reinstate the federal tax deduction for paid state and local taxes. Like most of his other activities, it accomplished nothing.

MISCELLANEOUS SORENSEN REPORTS

In a 9/5/04 article in the Key West Citizen, Sorensen was charged with possible violations of public (sunshine) meetings and public record laws. Sorensen purportedly sought to place privacy disclaimers on e-mails between himself and various Monroe County Commissioners. (Interestingly, on 9/18/00 Sorensen had asked the State Attorney’s office to investigate the Lower Florida Keys Health System for alleged open meeting violations. The State Attorney declined.)

In the 8/10/04 edition of the Upper Keys Times, there was extensive discussion about Sorensen’s attempts to bully folks in terms of distribution of 2004/05 state monies for Keys wastewater projects. (In his August 2004 brochure, he brags about getting appropriations of $50 million for Monroe County projects and $700,000 for Miami-Dade projects; that must please the 1/3rd of his district that lives in Miami-Dade. The $50 million, of which he is the supposed originator, includes a purported $10 million for Keys wastewater projects. That $10 million is only half of what the Governor had promised some months earlier and less than 1% of the total anticipated costs.)

In Key West Citizen articles of 5/26/04 and 3/20/04, there was discussion of a special pilot program to develop a countywide health insurance plan. Not a single penny of governmental revenue and/or subsidies is promised, ever. Rural Health Network is supposed to have asked the Lower Keys Hospital District for up to $3 million over the nest 3-4 years “for initial startup expenses and underwriting”. There is absolutely no indication that same would be provided. Sorensen somehow brags about this “accomplishment”.

On 5/16/04, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel evaluated South Florida legislators. On a scale of 1 to 5 stars (with 5 being the best), Sorensen was evaluated at a “3”. The Sun-Sentinel wrote, “With his brusque personality, Sorensen has lorded over the domain of local bills for four years, holding Broward County’s annexation bills hostage until this year when they were pried loose with a bipartisan push from Gottlieb, a Democrat, and Rep. Mike Davis, a Republican. He is involved in issues designed to help Florida keep its military bases in the wake of more expected closings.” (Parenthetically, not a single Sorensen sponsored military bill has been enacted, and this 30-year Army active duty and reserve Bird Colonel humbly believes that he could do a better job of protecting military bases and spending in Florida than a draft-dodging Ken Sorensen.)

On 4/10/04, the Key West Citizen reported that Sorensen had gotten involved in Monroe County Commissioner politics and in a dispute between a former resident of the Harbor Shores Condominium Association and the President of that Association. Sorensen said County Commissioner George Neugent is a “loser” who should be “slap(ped) up the side of his head”. The Association President said that “she (was) shocked that Sorensen would have involved himself without researching the situation.”

On 3/11/04, the St. Petersburg Times reported that Sorensen was opposed to a bill that would add a tax of 50 cents per pack on all cigarettes not manufactured by the companies involved in the 1997 tobacco settlement with the State of Florida. Sorensen was quoted, “Initially, I had insufficient information. It’s my belief now that (the bill) is an impediment to free enterprise.”

On 3/9/04, the Key West Citizen reported that Sorensen had voted for (Larcenia Bullard against) legislation about KidCare subsidized health insurance. The enacted legislation adds restrictions against families who supposedly have access to private insurance (what a joke that is in Monroe County); requires added income proof before parents can enroll their children; eliminates written waiting lists that kept track of those children who were waiting; limits enrollment to twice each year.

On 12/18/03, the Key West Citizen editorially chastised Sorensen for proposing lower, reduced wastewater standards for Keys wastewater treatment.

The Florida AFL-CIO released legislator rankings, using a scale with a low of 5 and high of 25. Sorensen ranked below the mid-point at 14.17 for 2004, and 14.14 for 2003.

On 9/25/03, the St. Petersburg Times criticized Sorensen as one of 4 state lawmakers and spouses who took $3,000 each, all-expense paid trips to Switzerland with a Miami lobbyist, to supposedly learn more about Alzheimer’s disease. The Times quoted Sorensen as saying that he “is a former chief executive of a hospital” and that he “went there as a learning experience. Most of my family has died as a result of Alzheimer’s”, and that “it never occurred to (me) to check the legality of such a trip”.

In terms of Sorensen’s having allegedly been “a hospital chief executive”, a 9/5/04 article by Jerry Wilkinson, in The Keynoter, noted that Keys Community Hospital had been started in 1962 by a Dr. Setnor who sold in 1971 to a Pennsylvania holding company. The Pennsylvania company sold it in 1980 as a community-owned not-for-profit, now known as Mariners Hospital managed by Southern Health Systems. Sorensen’s purportedly having been a “hospital chief executive” arose in his exaggerated mind because, in 1979, he was chair of Keys Hospital Foundation, Inc., which was going to try to buy the hospital, but did not because of “money hurdles”. Subsequent to 1980, the hospital was managed by Southern Health Systems who, at best, “reported to and were guided by the Keys Hospital Foundation”. As presently reported on Sorensen’s legislative website, this all somehow became that he was the “Mariners Hospital Founder and first President 1976-1980”. Of course, Sorensen also presumably was still an Eastern Airlines pilot in 1976-1980.

On 9/2/03, the Florida League of Cities issued a press release praising Sorensen. The League said that Sorensen’s “greatest defense came during the last week of regular session when, while standing in front of house and senate leadership, he led a floor fight to oppose devastating property rights legislation that threatened local government.” (Emphasis supplied.) Perhaps, Sorensen can explain to us how property rights are inconsistent with and “threaten” local government.

On 6/19/03, the St. Petersburg Times reported that the legislature was working on medical malpractice legislation as to which Sorensen was offering an amendment. The amendment “would require the loser to pay attorney fees when judges declare the lawsuit frivolous. ‘You’ve heard people say doctors are leaving the state,’ Sorensen said. ‘Vote for this and trial attorneys will be fleeing.’”

On 5/5/03, the Key West Citizen reported that Sorensen had proposed a 1% to 2% sliding fee on Monroe County home purchases over $200,000, which would have paid for state-mandated sewage treatment upgrades. Despite being a fairly sensible piece of proposed legislation, Sorensen was, as usual, unable to get it enacted.

In the 5/14/02 St. Petersburg Times, it was reported that the legislature rejected a JEB supported plan to deal with Florida’s growing prescription drug abuse problem. The proposed bill called for the state to develop a database so that police and health professionals could track Floridians who use prescribed medicines such as Ritalin, codeine or Rush Limbaugh’s OxyContin. Sorensen opposed the bill, saying “I would suggest this is Big Brother in the worst way.”

The 2/27/02 South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that caucasian Representative Stacy Ritter charged that Sorensen had created friction between Broward County’s white legislators and black legislators, by selectively placing some Broward annexation bills on his committee’s agenda, while blocking ones that would have helped minority areas. The paper reported that “Annexation is designed to integrate about 100,000 residents of unincorporated sections of Broward into cities. The process has been going for years with cities willingly taking the wealthiest enclaves and the sections with top commercial potential. That has left the poorer communities to fend for themselves.” State Senator Mandy Dawson said that, “Mr. Sorensen is a bigot in the worst way… Him stopping these bills is another indication that racism is alive and well all the way to the capital.”

The St. Petersburg Times of 2/22/02 reported that, despite Sorensen’s criticism and support, the legislature failed to adopt bills that would allow consumers to challenge windstorm rate increases in court and give them more access to windstorm pool decisions, as well as requiring the insurance industry-dominated board to include homeowners and real estate industry representatives.

The 4/13/01 South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that JEB’s efforts to alleviate crowded schools was attacked by Sorensen who was more concerned about home building businesses and developers. In terms of schools, one should note that, for Monroe County, Sorensen continues to get one of the lowest proportions of education dollars as compared to any other places in the state. As reported in the 9/4/04 issue of the Keynoter, the total 2004-05 Monroe schools’ expenditures are about $140 million; state funds only account for $15.7 million of that total. At best, for the state/local split, the state pays 15% and locals pay 85%. In comparison, state-wide, average state education funding exceeds 50% of the total. Sorensen, thus, succeeds in losing Monroe more than $35 million each and every year without getting anything in return. For Miami-Dade this current school year, Sorensen allowed the loss of several million dollars in district cost differential.

A final observation, Sorensen says he got a Ph.D from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, in 1993. This may be true, but, if so, it would be rather extraordinary. In 1992, the United Nations imposed sanctions against Serbian aggression, and the United States banned its citizens from doing business there. In 1991, Croatia had declared its independence from Yugoslavia. During 1991-95, often bitter fighting and aggression was reported by Serbian armies against Croatia. Darko Zubrinic, at www.hr/darko/etf/et2, reports a short, 4-page history of the University of Zagreb. He writes that, in 1991, the Inter-university Center for Postgraduate Studies, located in Dubrovnik, Croatia, was totally destroyed, along with its library of 30,000 volumes, all as a result of the Serbian aggression and all at the same time that Sorensen was supposedly there and going to school.

FINIS