FORT MYERS, Fla., June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is a letter from Kenny Hinkle Jr., On Behalf of Bullsugar.org, to Mayor Randy Henderson of Fort Myers, Florida:

Dear Mayor Henderson,

I write to you on behalf of the 127,000 and growing followers of Bullsugar.org.  Bullsugar.org is a non-profit 501(c)4 founded in August 2014 on the belief that stopping the damaging discharges to our coasts and restoring the Everglades is not a science or engineering problem. The science has been known for decades. Our problem is a political problem — and it requires a political solution.

Tomorrow, 22 June 2016, Florida League of Mayors, Inc., on which you serve as the Board of Directors President, will host Lake Okeechobee Learning Collaborative.  Conspicuously missing from the Florida League of Mayors, Inc. website is the event agenda.  We have attached a copy of the event page from your website (Exhibit A).  If it is the case that you, as the President, have not seen the agenda, we have attached it to this letter as (Exhibit B). 

You will find that with agenda item 7 lists Representative Matt Caldwell as “Facilitator” for policy discussion.  Bullsugar.org and its followers, who represent VOTERS and TAX PAYERS in each and every member city of Florida League of Mayors, strongly object to the inclusion of Representative Caldwell in your Lake Okeechobee Learning Collaborative.  We urge you to find a non-biased facilitator who represents the constituents, not special interests – specifically BIG SUGAR. 

Should you have a question regarding the bias of Representative Caldwell, we have done a simple analysis of Representative Caldwell’s 2016 campaign election cycle finance reports (Exhibit C) and of Florida Committee for Conservative Leadership (Exhibit D), which lists Representative Caldwell as associated with the ironically named political committee (Exhibit E).  Please forgive us if our percentages are off a point or two, career politicians and their financiers do a good job smoke-screening money.

• Caldwell 2016 Campaign
  • Total money raised through May 2016: $206,733.00
  • Corporate contributions: 93% of total contributions
  • Individual contributions: 7% of total contributions
  • Corporate contributions from Lee County: 4% of total contributions
  • Individual contributions from Lee County: 1.2% of total contributions
  • Contributions from individuals in House District 79 (Mr. Caldwell’s district):
    • 1 (one)
    • $75 (seventy-five dollars)
    • .03% (three-hundredths of one percent of total contributions)
  • Dominant industries on Representative Caldwell’s finance reports:
    • Big Sugar and its affiliates including Big Tobacco
    • Developers
    • Big Pharma / Big Insurance
    • Soft Money PAC’s, Lawyer and Lobbyists
• Florida Committee for Conservative Leadership
  • Total contributions: $332,355.52
  • Speaks for itself
  • Noteworthy Contributions: $32,500.00 from United States Sugar Corporation

As the President of Florida League of Mayors, Inc. and the Mayor of the City of Fort Myers, through which polluted water is flushed from Lake Okeechobee, we urge you to remove Representative Caldwell and his special interests from tomorrow’s forum.  You have an opportunity to show your constituents and voters across the state, the Nation and the Globe that no longer will the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries be the dumping ground for polluted water.  You have an opportunity to strengthen the economic viability of many communities and preserve the future for many communities.  Show the world that in our water there are grasses, fish, salt and shells – but not special interests. 

Best,

Kenny Hinkle Jr.

On Behalf of Bullsugar.org

For more information, please visit: Bullsugar.org

Exhibit A: http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/381946-Bullsugar-dot-org-Exhibit-A-Lake-Okeechobee-Learning-Collaborative.pdf 
Exhibit B: http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/381941-Bullsugar-dot-org-Exhibit-B-Lake-O-Learning-Collab-Agenda.pdf 
Exhibit C: http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/381943-Bullsugar-dot-org-Exhibit-C-2016-Cycle-Caldwell-Campaign-Money.pdf 
Exhibit D: http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/381945-Bullsugar-dot-org-Exhibit-D-2016-Cycle-FCCL.pdf 
Exhibit E: http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/381944-Bullsugar-dot-org-Exhibit-E-FCCL-Caldwell.pdf

CONTACT: Allie Preston, apreston@bullsugar.org

SOURCE Bullsugar.org

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