Recognizing Palm Beach County day today, PBC home-boy Sen. Dave Aronberg recited some facts about the state’s largest county before giving a shout-out to some county officials watching the Senate session from the East Gallery.

Aronberg, D-Greenacres, introduced PBC Commissioner Burt Aaronson as “The Godfather of Palm Beach County.”

Aaronson was first elected to the commission in 1992.

Aronberg’s intro may be considered a dubious distinction, considering that three of Aaronson’s former county commission colleagues are in prison for corruption charges.

Fresh off vacation, Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson said a casino might be just the boost the embattled Glades region needs.

“It is something to think about,” he said.

Aaronson, a cruise maven and tourism booster, also said the county should do more to help bring slots to the Palm Beach Kennel Club. The club, he said, has been at a “disadvantage” since state lawmakers allowed Broward’s parimutuel facilities to have slots. (more…)

Kucinich

He’s the second Democratic keynoter to be scratched this week. The party dumped Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu on Tuesday because local activists were upset by her refusal to commit to blocking a Republican filibuster of health care overhaul legislation.

After Kucinich was announced as the replacement speaker, state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, threatened a boycott and state Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson and state Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, voiced disapproval today.

Kucinich has a long history of criticizing the actions of the Israeli government, voting against congressional resolutions in support of Israel and opposing sanctions against the anti-Israel government of Iran.

His critics have “falsely characterized” those stances as being anti-Israel, Kucinich said this afternoon in an e-mail to Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel. While defending his position, Kucinich said he didn’t want the controversy to hurt the local party’s money-raising efforts.

Read his complete statement to Siegel after the jump….

(more…)

Aaronson

“Have you ever been convicted of a felony for violation of any state or federal law or regulation: If so, give details.”

Read about it here.

State Attorney Michael McAuliffe and Palm Beach County commissioners today urged the school board and local governments to put themselves under the scrutiny of a proposed corruption-fighting inspector general.

School board Chairman Bill Graham said the school board is “conceptually on board” but wants to examine details.

The discussion came as county commissioners, school board members, state lawmakers and municipal officials held a joint meeting.

With five elected officials jailed on federal charges since 2006, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said local politicians will feel the wrath of voters if they don’t approve reforms.

“If anybody says ‘No, we don’t want to do it,’ your constituents are going to tell you you’d better do it because there’s another election coming up. And anybody that doesn’t want to join in possibly won’t be an elected official the next time around.”

(more…)

Deutch: piling up early money, endorsements

WEST PALM BEACH — Appearing with a dozen Democratic elected officials a few blocks away from potential rival Lois Frankel’s office, state Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, said his congressional campaign has already topped $100,000 in contributions since setting up a campaign web site late Thursday.

Deutch is running for the seat of U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, who last week announced he’s stepping down in January to head the nonprofit Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation.

Deutch’s campaign today announced endorsements from 16 elected Democrats. Most of them stood behind Deutch outside the Palm Beach County Governmental Center this morning. The endorsers include County Commissioner Burt Aaronson, who said he gave “a lot of thought” to running for Wexler’s seat.

(more…)

A majority of Palm Beach County school board members likes the idea of bringing the $2.7 billion school district under the eye of a proposed county ethics watchdog — but not if county commissioners have the final say on filling the position.

After watching five local elected officials go to prison on federal corruption charges since 2006, county commissioners this summer endorsed the concept of an independent inspector general’s office with subpoena power to monitor public officials and government contracts.

But who would hire and fire and approve the budget of the inspector general remains an open question.

(more…)

About 50 members of the anti-tax Tea Party movement showed up for this morning’s Palm Beach County Commission meeting after taking umbrage at dismissive remarks by Commissioner Burt Aaronson at a meeting last month.

Aaronson

After a big crowd filled a plaza outside the county government center for an evening rally on April 15, Aaronson noted during a weekday commission meeting in May that Tea Party activists “participated in the tea party, but they couldn’t get here today.”

Aaronson was silent when one activist said she felt Aaronson’s remarks were out of line.

(more…)

“Don’t let Commissioner Aaronson get away with being dismissive,” organizers of the South Florida Tea Party group are urging members after Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson last month wondered why Tea Party supporters didn’t show up for a weekday commission meeting. The group is urging members to turn out for the June 16 commission meeting to send a message to Aaronson.

Aaronson

A huge crowd of Tea Party demonstrators descended on the county government headquarters on April 15 to protest massive federal spending and deficits. But Aaronson was unimpressed on May 19 when a lone member of the group spoke at a commission meeting on an issue.

“You said that many people have the same feeling as you do and they participated in the tea party, but they couldn’t get here today,” Aaronson told Suzanne Squire in a video clip the Tea Party group is circulating. “Well, they seem to have found a way to get to the tea party. Why couldn’t they get here today?”

Latest south-county internal Democratic feud: Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson is steamed at state Rep. Kelly Skidmore after hearing that Skidmore was speculating on his early departure.

Aaronson says he’s not leaving early.

Skidmore says she didn’t say what Aaronson thinks she said.

Read about it here.

Once bitter rivals, former state Rep. Irv Slosberg and Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson appear to have patched things up — at least enough for them to appear together next week at a traffic-safety event in West Palm Beach.

Slosberg, who lost a 2006 Democratic state Senate primary after Aaronson and other south-county Dems backed underdog Ted Deutch, flirted with challenging Aaronson in 2008 but decided against it.

Slosberg, who lost a teenage daughter in a 1996 car crash, is continuing to promote traffic safety through a nonprofit foundation. He’s also spending lots of time on his half-hour Slosberg Report TV show, a paid program that promotes Israel to South Florida viewers.

“There’s Al Jazeera and there’s Irv Jazeera,” says Slosberg. “Al Jazeera presents one side of the story. And Irv Jazeera presents the Israeli side.”

From left: Addie Greene, Burt Aaronson, Shelley Vana

Our Jennifer Sorentrue reports that three members of Palm Beach County’s corruption-tarnished commission will decline State Attorney Michael McAuliffe’s invitation to testify before a state grand jury trying to uncover more wrongdoing. McAuliffe characterized the probe as a general, information-gathering exercise that isn’t targeting specific individuals or transactions. He didn’t offer immunity.

Read about it here.

The decliners: Burt Aaronson (”no need” to testify), Addie Greene (”I don’t have anything to hide”) and, according to an aide, Shelley Vana.