CAMPAIGN OPENER SPEECH

Just over four years ago, I ran for Cooper City Commissioner, with a firm belief that The People of Cooper City deserved a true and honest Public Servant who would put an end to 'politics as usual' and help restore integrity, honesty, accountability, transparency and openness to the daily business of running our great city.

It has been a very difficult road thus far, and I have met very staunch opposition every step of the way from those career politicians who have a personal agenda. I’ve had a wonderful career and I have a wonderful family. I have again decided to give back to our wonderful community by running for office again in November 2010 in order to continue to represent the residents and business owners of our community, with their interests at the forefront. I have decided to run again, because my work in representing your bests interests is far from completed.

I serve as a very proud and loyal member of the city commission, and no city has been more contentious and embarrassing than that of Cooper City under the current leadership. I want to help the citizens by being an honest and hard working commission member whose only desire is to run the city in an efficient and cost effective manner on your behalf, saving tax dollars and working hard for you, your business and your family.

I find that the city is controlled by career politicians whose only desire is seemingly how successful their next personal agenda was. I've also found that there are political groups that would target you and me, and perpetuate false statements about you and me, coming to the podium and making the most absurd, false and wild statements about yours and my integrity and honesty, with no basis in fact. Unfortunately, it still occurs today.

This well-known Commissioner has become a lightning rod of controversy because I simply refuse to be part of the political 'go along to get along' clique’. I don’t 'go along to get along', and I am not at city hall to be part of the establishment. I am there to do a job for you, and I am dead serious about that job! Unfortunately, our city has become heavily influenced by personal agenda's, special interests and other career politicians.

There is a current path of destruction, increased debt and increased, unnecessary spending. I question why the city's budget grew by about eighteen percent these past few years. I called for cutting departmental expenses not absolutely necessary, except police, and getting rid of the pork at city hall. I was met with staunch opposition and cries of employee layoffs rather than a basic executive summary or a basic discretionary expense analysis by highly paid department heads.

I have found myself on the defensive after an ex-commissioner and their political cronies mounted a false recall campaign against me filled with lies and subsequent accusations of anti-Semitism, a current commissioner filing false battery charges against me and a Planning and Zoning Board Member falsely accusing me of improprieties, among other things on a continual basis. I call it a typical “Cooper City corruption squad smear campaign” and it amounts to nothing more than a Salem Witch Hunt because I continue to expose the waste, inefficiencies, improprieties and lies.

The only way their kind can defeat anything positive for this city is to kill the messenger and demonize 'We the People', because they cannot win in the arena of ideas, facts, issues, discussion or stand in the light of day. Things like this show how unprofessional, self-serving, really scared, inexperienced or insecure they are. It looks like we've ruffled the feathers of the do-nothings who stand in the way of real progress, accountability and success in city hall, and as one current commissioner stated, "we just continue to spin our wheels and nothing gets done. It’s getting old…" and I agree! This is exactly the reason why We The People do not need to elect political 'yes men'.

If you want to know why we have lousy, cheating, lying, self-serving politicians, it's because sleazy politicians like these, and their cronies who disseminate this kind of negativity, get elected thorough their political ties and by unscrupulous residents and advisory board members who do the same to get their candidates elected. Everyone on the Commission has done everything in their power to chastise and criticize their fellow commission members, staff and residents at every opportunity in public, which shows a total lack of professionalism, leadership and a lack of respect for the city and for you.

Fueled by anger at politicians and general distrust of the government, we have big taxing, big spending and big government. Enough is enough! People no longer have patience for this kind of dirty politics anymore.

Decent, honest, hard working people who want to serve our community can't, or won't take a chance that these despicable people will smear their names with horrible lies. So the bad guys prevail. Nice job. Stack the political seats with people who have no morals and let society continue to corrode.

Those who perpetrate this kind of negativity are actually so-called pillars of our community, showing a false face to their constituents, friends and neighbors. So, who is to blame for our current and recent crop of sub-standard politicians? It’s all of us. It’s each and every one of us, because we are not tuned in to what is really happening to our city. We are not tuned in because we are all too busy trying to keep our heads above water, make a living and keep our families healthy and safe. We are not tuned in because we are all disgusted with politics and typical career politicians. As always, the 'establishment' in our city doesn't seem to have a clue about real people and their real issues.

The governments of man are filled with lies, corruption, special interests, excessive taxation, bloated bureaucracy, oppression, red tape, favoritism, injustice, bickering, fighting, war mongering, selfishness, egotism, pride, thirst for money and power, and on it goes! Can you imagine a government that is void of such oppressiveness and pettiness—a government that is genuinely for "We The People"?

As such, leaders lead by their actions and leaders are also supposed to bring everyone together as a cohesive team in order to be successful. This simply has not happened under the current political regime.

We need more people with leadership abilities like myself who will actively shake up the political establishment that the Cooper City insiders and special interests have controlled for far too long. We need honesty, integrity, trust, transparency and accountability in local government.

Like me, they have to have a commitment to the highest standards. Like me, they have to initiate actions of integrity and make decisions responsibly and honestly, backed by experience. Like me, the importance of everyone adhering to uncompromising integrity and ethics rules is paramount to fairness, honesty and consistency. It is incumbent upon us to maintain high standards in order to maintain values in our communities, aside from what is happening due to the national economy. But, rules alone can’t guarantee ethical conduct. Only people can do that, yet the responsibility to uphold the code of ethics for public officials in everything we do. It starts at the top.

Ultimately, I can only blame myself for feeling all of this because I allowed myself to get involved and I had a vision of continuing to make our city a success. Before this, I used to try and extract the inevitable good I believe is in all people. But, the sad truth is that evil is a real and formidable reality, be it from government or regular people, and unfortunately it survives today in our great city. I will continue to fight that evil!

I believe I have done an honorable job in serving our citizens and wish to continue to do so, yet I’ve had to respond to and address the inequities that have deliberately been thrown at me and my family by unscrupulous residents and city commission members.

There has never been a time when it was as important as it is today, to have experience and continuity in public service. When I began my first term in office, I brought a lot of knowledge and experience to the table. The experience I received by serving our government for the last twenty five years and our citizens for over the last three and a half years belongs to them, and it is my desire to return that experience to them by continuing to serve you as your ‘go to’ commissioner.

I believe that a public servant’s greatest contribution to the people he or she represents is to be accessible to them, and I believe I have been. I have also worked judiciously with fellow commissioners and city staff in strategic planning, taking into consideration the needs and desires of our community, as we continue to create a new business plan and develop an honest, lean budget to meet those needs.

My priorities for the past budget years were the big ticket items; abolition of the 'records building' at the cost of a quarter-million dollars, objection to a a three-hundred thousand plus dollar water conservation program, at least four automatic contract renewals to the tune of multi-millions of dollars and a 'code re-write' at the potential cost of up to one-half million dollars, among others.  The new city manager chose to support my contention that all contracts should be send out for bid.

I stopped the 'Post Office deal' which was handed to us as a big lie. I was the sole commissioner who has openly supported the Jewish Chabad of Nova and have pushed feverously to get that issue fully resolved. I proposed the Hate Crime Resolution for this City to no avail, I sponsored increased police and fire personnel but was undeniably opposed until we elected a pro-fire commissioner, I sponsored an ethics commission and policy which has been undeniably opposed, I moved the antenna pole at the Elementary School, I resolved damage to Diamond Head homes from Monterra construction and resolved their construction issues,  I sponsored citizen’s comments to be allowed at city business meetings to address any issue including items on both the consent agenda and the regular agenda, I sponsored links to the supporting Commission Agenda information on the Cooper City Website, I was the first to sponsor monthly town hall meetings. The list goes on and on...You can see my voting record on my website at here.

I do not consider myself a 'politician' per se. I am a regular family oriented guy, long time government employee, a true public servant, a small business owner, and an experienced fiscal conservative. As an engineer by trade, I identify problems, find solutions and implement them. I would like to continue to convey that mentality on our city board of directors…the city commission.

This campaign isn’t about me, it’s about you, and your success, along with the success of our city and its local businesses. I am  someone that you can believe in, who can truly represent you and one who can continue to move the city in the positive direction that you want for the city. Ask the question “would John's opponent's be an effective leader and a true representative of the values and desires I have for our great city?"

Please take this as a call to action, so that the unscrupulous forces that are sometimes present in our great city do not win out and extinguish the desires of the residents, local businesses and taxpayers as to their wants and desires. The place they call home, and a place that many refer to as Someplace Special, is in need of a true leader such as John Sims, not a follower, and I urge you to take action today! Don’t wait another minute. It is your city, it is your hometown and to a larger degree it is your responsibility to act on November 2nd.

To know John Sims is to know how hard he works for his constituents. He has the right vision for Cooper City and, with the cooperation of a new city commissioner; wonderful new things will continue to happen to our quality of life and neighborhoods in Cooper City. At the same time he is very business oriented and fiscally astute.

If you want a straight answer, not rhetoric, talk to John. If you want many continued empty promises, runaway spending, inexperienced 'yes men', representatives who will simply 'go along to get along' and politically correct gibberish, vote for the others.

It's an honor for me to work alongside so many dedicated residents and business owners just like you who are ready and willing to help us all continue to make our city a better place. We can all make a difference!

Together, if we focus on the important issues, we will make a better future for our families and our community. Most importantly, I will continue to work for you with integrity and honesty, focusing our city government on the needs of our residents, our business owners and our city and on your individual issues. The residents and business owners of Cooper City are the shareholders of our wonderful city and the city needs to treat them as such.

Together, I know we will continue to accomplish great things. I am your ‘Go To’ commissioner. I have been endorsed with that title by many, because I have been taking action and getting proven results for our residents and business owners on a multitude of very important issues. I want to continue to serve you, the city’s shareholder’s, with experience, honesty, transparency, integrity and with great pride.

By joining together as residents and business owners of 'Someplace Special', we can continue to build a local government second to none, one which is reflective of the needs and desires of our diverse community, thereby having a government that will be trusted, accountable, efficient, attentive and one that will serve The People.

Your support is appreciated to allow me to continue to do so. Thank you for your vote and support!

With that, I respectfully request that you vote for me, John Sims on Election Day, November 2, 2010. Thank you!