HAAB Minutes 06/28/2012June28, 2012
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY
HISPANIC AFFAIRS ADVISORY BOARD
Naples, Florida, June 28, 2012
LET IT BE REMEMBERED that the Collier County Hispanic Affairs Advisory
Board, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on
this date at 6:00 PM in REGULAR SESSION in Building "F," 3rd floor, of the
Government Complex, Naples, Florida, with the following Members present:
Fiala
HeHenning --f)
Coyle _✓
Coletta JL.
ALSO PRESENT
RECEIVED
SEP 0 4 2012
board of County Commissioners
Chairman: Manuel Gonzalez
Marlene Serrano, Staff Liaison
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Ileana Ramos
Valaree D. Maxwell
Albert Batista
Zetty Y. Rivera (excused)
mist, Correc
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June28, 2012
I. Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Manny Gonzalez at 6:54 pm and a quorum was
established.
II. Approve the Meeting Agenda:
Manny moved to approve the Agenda. Second by Albert. Carried unanimously, 4 -0.
III. Approval of Minutes from the Meeting of May 24, 2012:
fleana motioned to approve the minutes, Albert seconded. Carried unanimously, 4 -0.
A suggestion was made to allow the Supervisor of Elections Representative to make his
presentation before other business was conducted.
IV. Old Business:
V. Public Speakers:
A. Timothy Durham- Chief Deputy Supervisor of Elections
Mr. Durham started with a brief introduction to the Supervisor of Elections role on a 2011
request from the media where they compared voter registration rolls against juror excusal
forms on the Clerks of Courts database against the DMV database. This comparison provided
about 69 names. Out of the 69 people, Mr. Durham reviewed the list, 15 potential names had
the signature on the excusal form that matched the signature on the voter registration
database. To falsely register to vote is a 3`d degree penalty under Florida Law. He had a list
of 15 that they contact individuals to seek documentation in order to disqualify the person as
a voter. Out of the 15, five provided proof of citizenship, 10 were non citizens and 2 are
being prosecuted by the State Attorney's Office because they voted on the 2010 Election.
In the State around April through the DMV records, provide a statewide list of names
when drivers obtain their license and register to vote. Collier County out of a list of 2600 got
27 names. They started the process of contacting the individuals. Racial composition, 10
white non- Hispanic, 3 black non Hispanic, 11 Hispanic and 3 others. The media focused on
this being a Hispanic problem and it was not the case. Four were confirmed immediately in
writing that were not citizen, 3 were confirmed by phone that were not citizen, 9 signed the
certified letter that matched the voter's registration records, 2 were registered as non citizen
and were registered by a clerical error, 1 provided proof of citizenship and 8 people that were
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June28, 2012
contact on several occasions but never responded were published on the newspaper per
statutory requirement. To conclude, 1 was a citizen and 26 were removed from the voting
rolls. The Supervisors of Elections Office does not foresee this issue to arise again.
Manny asked Mr. Durham's opinion about the State of Florida asking for 180,000 names
to be purged and according to organizations like the League of Women's Voters, the names
were extracted from a flaw database and you said Collier County only had 27. Mr. Durham
said that he concurs that the list could have been better. He explained that by law all the
correspondence is by Certified Mail and if it comes back undeliverable, and then you publish
their name on the newspaper, wait 30 days and then remove from the voters list. Mr. Durham
explained that in Collier County they go one step further since they know that a lot of people
don't look in the newspaper and what they do is that they look for a better mailing address or
telephone number to find the individuals. Manny stated that the latest statement that was
made by the US Department of Justice it was stated that Florida Law has a clear racial
impact. What authority does the Department of Justice have over your office? Mr. Durham
stated that they have minimal authority over the Supervisors Elections.
Valaree spoke about her interaction with Jennifer Edwards, the Supervisor of Elections
during Politics at the Park event. She mentioned an incident with a lady that received a letter
stating that she was not a citizen and could not vote and her name was not even Hispanic.
Albert mentioned that in Miami the voter receives a voter registration card every couple
of years and if you don't respond they remove you as a voter. Mr. Durham stated that every
odd year they do a mass mailing to all registered votes to keep track of residents that move
out of the area. The person would become inactive if they don't vote for the next two general
elections. Mr. Durham spoke briefly about the primary elections and the ballots for the
upcoming elections. Albert asked about is the department of elections making an effort to
reach out to the Hispanic voters. Mr. Durham stated that his office has a couple of Hispanic
staff members that offer outreach information and also visit the Spanish radio and provide
information in Spanish for all voters. They go to the high schools and also provide
information to Hispanic voters.
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Lt. Rene Gonzalez- Invited the Board to attend the Minority Meeting in Immokalee on
July 12cn
VI. New Business:
A. Side Walk and Bike Path Initiative — Information provided by the County Manager's
Office for the Board to review. Members of the Board didn't have any comments. Albert
stated that the sidewalks should increase and they are a benefit to the community
members.
B. Traffic Light and new school zone in Manatee School: Ileana stated that the light would
not change in that intersection and is blinking instead of being a steady light. She feels
that the speed is 60 miles and there are two schools near the intersection and its very
dangerous. A girl was killed in that intersection and she wants to know what the
regulation is to change the speed or the way the lights function on the intersection.
Manny explained that these changes have to go to the BCC for a formal request to FDOT.
Manny asked Lt. Gonzalez to check on the process. Information was provided to Ileana to
request a Public Petition with the BCC.
C. Law Enforcement Presentation by Manny: Manny stated that he would make the
presentation next meeting.
D. Next meeting location: The next meeting will take place at the current location on August
23, 2012.
E. Letter from Letter from Mr. Jordan objecting to HAAB Chairman's support of CCSO vehicle
safety check/stops in Immokalee and East Naples.
F. Valaree spoke about the Deferred Action Program recently in place by the Federal
government and the requirements to qualify for the program.
VII. Public Comments:
VIII. Adjourn
Manny motioned to adjourn, Valaree seconded. Carried unanimously, 4 -0.
Meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm.
Next Meeting: August 23, 2012.
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Chairman
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