Politics takes place of protests for new Lake Worth commissioner

LAKE WORTH — Over the years, Cara Jennings has taken extreme measures to make her liberal views known.

She helped organize a sit-in during which two people chained themselves to a stairway railing and others dumped rotting fruit and sand in the offices of the Palm Beach County Business Development Board to protest development plans for The Scripps Research Institute. Politics takes place of protests for new Lake Worth commissioner

By Tanya Wragg
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, April 02, 2006

LAKE WORTH — Over the years, Cara Jennings has taken extreme measures to make her liberal views known.

She helped organize a sit-in during which two people chained themselves to a stairway railing and others dumped rotting fruit and sand in the offices of the Palm Beach County Business Development Board to protest development plans for The Scripps Research Institute.

She has traveled the country fighting for women's empowerment and equal rights through what she called radical cheerleading, a practice that would later become a national phenomenon.

Her philosophies remain the same, but now that the 29-year-old has won a seat on the Lake Worth City Commission, she said her tactics will change.

She plans to connect with her constituents by hosting town hall meetings and street parties, not rallies and protests.

"People can expect to see me as a very hands-on commissioner," she said. "I believe strongly that the community's needs and desires should be reflected through their commissioner."

Even her wardrobe has changed.

Right around the time she decided to run for office, Jennings traded in her trademark cut-off jeans and messenger bag for conservative tees and slacks. At the polls Tuesday, Jennings, a registered member of the Green Party, sported a black suit.

"I think it's important to look presentable, but I'm going to try my best not to lose my fashion sense," she said, laughing.

Jennings, some say, will bring a fresh voice to the city commission. She replaces her polar opposite, eight-year Commissioner C.H. "Mac" McKinnon, 79, a staunch supporter of development, who cast votes to approve the construction of The Lucerne, a six-story condo in downtown Lake Worth and the controversial sale of a downtown parking lot.

Jennings' vision for Lake Worth includes an aggressive affordable housing program, a civilian police review board and fair code enforcement, and alternate energy sources, such as solar power, to lower residents' electric bills.

The Santaluces High graduate also made headlines working with Earth First!, an environmental group that has staged several protests against Scripps, and Lake Worth Global Justice Group, a loose collective that creates coalitions around housing, free trade and immigrant rights.

In 2004, Jennings, along with David Vespo, who also won a seat on the commission Tuesday, were appointed to the city's Stakeholder's Advisory Committee. The board was charged with encouraging public participation in the master plan, but also to make sure that citizens' voices are reflected in the new plan.

Opponents question Jennings' ability to hold office. She's an anarchist, someone who believes in overthrowing government using violence, they say. Her boyfriend, Panagioti Tsolkas, was arrested after climbing onto a bamboo tripod on Dixie Highway during rush hour last year to protest The Lucerne, and two of her girlfriends bared their breasts to protest Scripps in 2004.

Jennings said the textbook definition of anarchism is misleading.

"The more thorough definition of anarchy speaks to the concept that people are equal," she said. Local government can be used to help meet the needs of the people, she said.

Jennings said her first exposure to social justice issues came when she was 14, at Peace Camp.

Run by the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice, it was a "typical summer camp," only it featured speakers and workshops ranging from HIV/AIDS awareness and international policy in Latin America, Jennings said.

Many were shocked by Jennings' victory Tuesday, considering her opponent, Jorge Goyanes, a local businessman and former head of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, blew past her in the March 14 election with 370 more votes.

In Tuesday's run-off, she outpaced Goyanes by about 600 votes.

Jennings thinks she won because she went door-to-door.

"Most people know that government can't solve all their problems, but they want to know that elected officials are accessible to them and share their concerns," she said.

Goyanes said it was the combination of The Post deciding to change its endorsement to support Jennings and a last-minute smear campaign that squashed his chances for a victory.

The Post reported Goyanes started a now-defunct male escort service in 1995.

"How they thought that was news to them considering they ran the article 10 years earlier, almost to the date, was kind of mind-boggling," Goyanes said.

"Longtime resident Peter Timm agrees the talks about the escort service played a big role, but said Jennings also rallied a lot of her supporters to the polls.

"She had everybody on the street. I never saw so many hippies running around in Lake Worth in my life," he said.