COURTESY : The Reporter
By BILL KOCH
Published February 26, 2004 

THE VILLAGES - After One Sumter organizer Dick Hoffman calmly laid out his reasoning last week why voters in Sumter should be able to vote for all county commissioners, County Commissioner Jim Roberts passionately accused the developer of political manipulation and lying through The Villages' media.

Hoffman, a resident of The Villages who has collected 800 signatures of the 3,600 required to get the petition on the Aug. 31 primary ballot, and Roberts, who supports the county's single-voting districts, addressed several hundred residents of the retirement community at a meeting of The Villages Property Owners' Association.

"Single-district voting has been one of the causes for the growing division in this county," Hoffman said. "Rather than viewing issues from a countywide view, they view it as a district issue."

Sumter residents can vote for only the commission candidates in their district; the county has five. Other candidates for county offices - including for school board - are chosen by voters throughout the county.

The county changed from at-large voting of commissioners to single-voting districts in 1994 "to lessen the influence of the growing population of The Villages," Hoffman said, adding that the process is undemocratic and unfair.

That, in a sense, is the very reason why voters should reject changing the voting districts back to at-large or even sign Hoffman's petitions, said Roberts, who teaches history at South Sumter High School in Bushnell.

"I'm Jim Roberts," he said in opening his speech at the POA meeting. "Look. No horns."

Roberts then presented four recent articles from the developer's newspapers that he said wrongly accuse him of taking unpopular positions on a variety of issues important to residents of The Villages, including blocking library construction and wanting to raise taxes.

"Why do I oppose One Sumter? Because I believe in diversity," Roberts said. "This is a republic."

Roberts said his positions on issues have been deliberately twisted and distorted because he has refused to kowtow to the developer.

"No one owns me," he said. "I can say whatever I want."

One example of distortions in the developer's media, Roberts said, is plans to get a library constructed in The Villages. Contrary to reports in the developer's newspaper, Roberts said, he was the one behind getting a library in The Villages.

"How do you have a community without a library?" he asked.

Hoffman said it is a matter of fairness that residents of The Villages get a chance to vote for all county commissioners, adding that most surrounding counties have at-large voting districts.

Twenty-one of the 23 counties in Hoffman's home state of Michigan vote in single-member districts. Hoffman said he came from one of the two that has at-large voting districts.

At-large voting for commissioners in Sumter "would allow greater influence on taxes and how our taxes are spent," Hoffman said.

"Commissioners would be accountable to the entire county.

"They are county commissioners, not district commissioners," Hoffman said. "If they vote on all issues, they should be accountable to all the voters."

Roberts countered by saying residents can only vote for candidates for state and federal offices in their districts.

"Who gains from (having at-large voting districts?" Roberts asked. "Not you."

Commissioner Joey Chandler, a Republican who also has been harshly criticized in the developer's media, and Roberts "have battled for you, not the developer," Roberts said. "There's a reason I've got these 'devil's horns.' "

Chandler spoke briefly following the comments from Hoffman and Roberts.

"I'm not fighting The Villages," Chandler said. "I'm fighting for your rights."

Chandler also accused the developer's newspaper of twisting his positions for political gain. He said establishing at-large voting in the county for commissioners would give the developer too much power and influence.

"He would do whatever he wants," Chandler said.

Hoffman refused to answer a question from one audience member about whether he would support forcing supervisors in The Villages commercial development districts or the district administrator to be elected.