Category Archives: News
How Florida, Palm Beach County, and the City of Boca Raton Voted for President
By Taniel Shant
The Boca Raton Tribune
Without question, the 2016 Election was historic and unprecedented at almost every level in practically every state. From the Electoral College to Florida, and from Palm Beach County to Boca Raton, the following analysis of precinct data, as certified by the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, and the State of Florida Division of Elections, reveals some very noteworthy and record-breaking results. It begins with statewide results for President and Senate, followed by voting results in Palm Beach County, and the City of Boca Raton.
As we know, Donald Trump is now the President, but how well did he really do statewide and in Palm Beach County? How did Floridians vote overall, in Palm Beach County, and in the City of Boca Raton in particular?
FLORIDA
In Florida, Donald Trump defeated Hilary Clinton by 119,770 votes, 49.1% to Clinton’s 47.8%. With over 9 million votes cast statewide, overall turnout (not just President) in Florida was 74.48%, almost 20% higher than the national average of 55%, in the 2016 general election. There are many reasons why Trump defeated Clinton, in Florida and across the U.S. Depending on who you ask, the outcome can be attributed to a variety of factors, such as decreased turnout of African-Americans and Hispanics, who showed up to vote for Obama in 2008 and 2012, but who stayed home for Clinton in 2016. Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Florida invested heavily in a grassroots strategy that helped propel Trump. Another factor is the unpopularity of both major party nominees, as evidenced by third-party Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson’s 2.2% share of the electorate in Florida, up from 0.5% in 2012.
Meanwhile, in the Florida Senate contest, incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) defeated Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL), 52% to 44.3%. Although more ballots were cast for President than for Senate in Florida, Rubio received more votes than Trump in the Sunshine State; 4,835,191 votes for Rubio, to 4,605,515 votes for Trump, a difference of 229,676 votes. As such, Rubio received more votes than any statewide candidate ever in Florida history. Rubio also becomes the first Republican Senator in Florida to win re-election in a presidential election year.
In total, over 3.4 million registered voters in Florida did not vote for President, approximately 27%.
PALM BEACH COUNTY
What we saw play out at the state level was similar in Democrat-heavy Palm Beach County. Voters here should be pleased to know that our turnout was 74.58%, slightly higher than the state. Clinton received 55.7% of the vote in Palm Beach County, compared to 40.5% for Trump. Interestingly, support for both Clinton and Trump was less than it was for Obama and Romney in 2012, who received 58.21% and 41.18%, respectively. Again, both Trump and Clinton were deeply unpopular with Palm Beach County voters, so much so that Libertarian Gary Johnson received almost 5X the vote he received in 2012.
As expected, Murphy outperformed Rubio in Palm Beach County. However, Senator Rubio received over 15,000 more votes in Palm Beach County than Donald Trump. Another interesting statistic is the surge of Early Voting. Approximately 36% of all votes in Palm Beach County were cast during twelve days of Early Voting.
In total, 229,171 registered voters in Palm Beach County stayed home, and did not vote, about 25%.
CITY OF BOCA RATON
In the 2016 general election, the City of Boca Raton consisted of 37 precincts. Although Clinton won 20 precincts, Donald Trump actually won Boca Raton with 48.1% to Clinton’s 47.9%, a difference of 98 votes.
In total, turnout in the City of Boca Raton was 77.2%, while 14,545 registered voters did not vote
In the end, the 2016 general election was wild rollercoaster ride. Records were broken, history was made, and the pieces of the political chessboard were moved around across the nation, in the Sunshine State, and in our county. No doubt, it is time for our elected officials to govern, and get to work on behalf of the people. While there is much to be proud of as Floridians, and especially as citizens of Palm Beach County, there is a lot of work left to be done to expand voter access and information, introduce new technologies, increase voter turnout, and make voting more efficient and accurate.
PALM BEACH COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 5
Taniel Shant
In my race for County Commission District 5 (West Boca Raton, West Boynton Beach, West Delray Beach), I fell short of my goal, with 36% of the vote. However, the 36,930 votes I did receive were the most for a Republican ever in this seat. Additionally, I raised over $50,000, the most for a Republican ever in this seat. I also won my home precinct on Election Day, and 12 overall, again the most for a Republican ever in this seat. While my opponent clearly won, her share of the electorate was actually 5% less than when she ran in 2012, despite a 9% increase in registered voters. I was able to outperform my party and break some records, prompting the Palm Beach Post to recognize the “strong turnout” for my candidacy, and I am proud of the campaign that my team and I ran.
At the end of the day, I congratulated my opponent on her re-election. This was my first run for public office. Although I was up against extremely high odds – a Democrat incumbent in a “safe” Democrat seat who raised 2.5X times what I raised – it was important to me that my first race be in the district and community in which I was raised. As I stated throughout the campaign, West Boca has been my home since 1984. Public service is about giving back to your community and helping people, and I feel that it is important that those who do run, do so first in their home communities. I met so many wonderful people in this process, and I learned a lot about the people in District 5; their concerns, the challenges families and small businesses face, and how government can improve lives. It is an experience I will carry with me forever and I am truly grateful to have had the support of so many people in my home community.
An edited version of this article originally appeared in The Boca Raton Tribune.
Taniel Shant is a resident of suburban Boca Raton, and former candidate for Palm Beach County Commission District 5. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Florida Atlantic University and Master’s Degree in Political Management from The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. You can follow him on Twitter @TanielShant.
Armenian EyeCare Project Introduces New Board Members as 25th Anniversary Year Begins
(L-R): Mr. Alexis Gevorgian, Dr. Khodam Rostomian, AECP Founder Dr. Roger Ohanesian, and Mr. Michael Sahakian
NEWPORT BEACH, CA – As the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) enters its 25th year of providing quality eye care to Armenia, the organization is pleased to announce its newest board members who will help facilitate the organization’s success for many years to come.
Dr. Khodam Rostomian, Mr. Michael Sahakian, and Mr. Alexis Gevorgian joined the Board of Directors for the Armenian EyeCare Project late last year and each will bring their professional expertise as well as their personal dedication to fulfill the organization’s lifelong mission of eliminating preventable blindness in Armenia and providing quality eye care for every Armenian in need.
“The Armenian EyeCare Project is very near and dear to my heart,” Dr. Rostomian, an ophthalmologist at Kaiser Permanente in Lancaster, says. Dr. Rostomian’s history with the AECP goes back to 1995, when the doctor joined the organization’s Medical Mission to Armenia, then as a junior medical resident.
Appropriately, it is Dr. Rostomian’s early educational experience with the AECP that inspires him to further develop that section of the organization, be it through encouraging students abroad to visit Armenia with the group and learn more about ophthalmology or by providing quality medical training to doctors in Armenia so they can care for patients at the same level as physicians in the U.S.
“I love that our mission goes beyond just charity,” Dr. Rostomian says. “Our goal is to establish an infrastructure in Armenia so the doctors there can be self-sustainable and be able to provide care even without us.”
Dr. Rostomian, who also sits on the Board of Directors at Southern California Permanente Medical Group, intends to share his 20 years of experience working with large patient populations at Kaiser Permanente with the AECP so the organization can benefit from this knowledge and build its capacity capability to treat even more patients in Armenia.
Sahakian also joins the Board of Directors at the Armenian EyeCare Project and says his respect for the organization grows with each visit to Armenia.
“As I spend more time in Armenia, I find real value in the Project,” Sahakian, a business consultant and owner of MISHO Consulting, says. “It touches me when they save the sight of so many Armenians, especially of children and the elderly who can’t afford care on their own.”
Gevorgian, the organization’s third new board member, echoes these sentiments.
“Giving back to the community has always been important to me and the Armenian EyeCare Project is known for its professionalism and legitimacy,” Gevorgian, a real estate developer who runs the land development company AMG & Associates, says. “Anything I can do to help the underserved population in Armenia is time well spent.”
Gevorgian adds that he hopes to add value to the AECP in its finances and operations, which is where his expertise lies.
Rostomian, Sahakian, and Gevorgian join the Armenian EyeCare Project’s Board of Directors as the organization begins its 25th Anniversary year. The AECP will celebrate 25 years of service to Armenia by hosting several activities throughout the year —a special Mission Trip to Armenia in July with the organization that’s open to all its friends and supporters and a 25th Anniversary Gala in November, which will be the organization’s biggest Gala yet.
“I think the EyeCare Project’s 25th Anniversary is a testament to the fact that our mission is based on a solid foundation,” Dr. Rostomian says. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be around for 25 years and we wouldn’t be thriving like we are today.”
Since 1992, the Armenian EyeCare Project has developed several sight-saving programs in Armenia, including eight subspecialty eye clinics in Yerevan; a Mobile Eye Hospital that travels throughout Armenia to treat patients unable to travel to the capital; a Center of Excellence for the Prevention of Childhood Blindness specializing in infants and children; and — its biggest project yet — five Regional Eye Clinics in five different provinces in Armenia so those living far from the capital can still receive quality eye care. To date, the organization has treated over 600,000 patients in Armenia and performed more than 20,000 surgeries.
Rostomian, Sahakian, and Gevorgian will join the Project’s current board members: Mr. David Keligian, Mrs. Meredith Khachigian, Mr. Jack McHale, Mr. Archie Cholakian, Dr. Barry Kuppermann Dr. Richard Hill, and Dr. Roger Ohanesian, who is also the organization’s Founder and President.
“The EyeCare Project is thrilled with the new energy that these committed Armenians bring to our Board,” Dr. Ohanesian says. “Since our inception, our board members have assisted us greatly in policy decisions as well as fund raising. We could not function without their considered direction when making difficult decisions. I would like to thank these new members as well as those I still call upon for advice from time to time.”
To learn more about the Armenian EyeCare Project, visit its website — www.eyecareproject.com.
Goodbye, My Friend: A Tribute to Dr. H. Martin Deranian
Dr. H. Martin Deranian
By Jack Danielian
FLArmenians Guest Columnist
It is so difficult to accept the loss of Dr. Martin Deranian. He was a close and enduring friend of mine. After 40 years of deep talk about Armenians and the Armenian Genocide, our relationship opened up difficult areas layer by layer of our inner responses to the family trauma we inherited. Over many years we began to see the true intergenerational repercussions of Genocide. Martin, my friend, you never gave up on yourself or on me. How can I thank you?
Martin and I had many commonalities in our personalities and our cultural backgrounds. We were both products of proud residents of Hussenig, people who had deep roots in their soil and treasured their village life. The following (Deranian, 1994) are an Elegy and Lamentation by Hussenig survivors:
An Elegy
Alas, my beautiful village is now in ruins,
And I am deprived of seeing it ever again.
I have shouldered the burden of old age,
As I sit beneath the sky of a foreign land,
I sing your praises each day with gladness.
I only wish I had a handful of your soil.
A Lamentation
I remember thee day and night.
I will give all that I have for the sight of your mountains.
There is no other place like it anywhere in the world.
Hussenig is the name of my birthplace.
I do not have a precious gift to offer thee,
Except to keep your glorious memory alive in me.
These memories drawn from an abyss speak to an incalculable loss. The abyss could not be assimilated. Martin and I could do nothing but stand by and try to touch it. Yet, taking it in bit by bit we opened ourselves to the chaotic void it created for our ancestors and of course in the process exposed ourselves emotionally to the vulnerabilities laid bare. Such is the intergenerational nature of Genocide.
I have only shared with you a few treasured interactions with Martin over 40 years. But Dr. H. Martin Deranian was a true gift to all Armenians (and of course to non-Armenians) as well. He was a pioneer in his investigations of valuable Armenian history as it interacted with the Western world. He brought President Calvin Coolidge & The Armenian Orphan Rug to worldwide attention in 2013 and 2014.
(L-R): Armenian National Institute Director Dr. Rouben Adalian, Armenian Assembly of America Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, Florida Armenians Founder Taniel Koushakjian, Dr. H. Martin Deranian holding his book ‘President Calvin Coolidge & the Armenian Orphan Rug,’ Ambassador of Armenia to the U.S. Tigran Sargsyan at the official unveiling of the Armenian Orphan Rug at the White House Visitors Center, Washington, D.C. on November 18, 2014.
Martin was a courageous man. For most of us watching his ever-deepening involvement with the Armenian Genocide, his most incredible undertaking was plunging headlong into his dear mother Varter’s unfathomable suffering in Anatolia. I will not go into the suffering of Varter in this remembrance except to say that her Anatolian oppressors engaged in heartbreaking treachery to force Varter’s children to be abandoned in a dry well. Of course these were Martin’s half-siblings as well. In 1980 Dr. Deranian published in Ararat Quarterly the full harrowing tale of “The Wailing Well” and the piece was republished in 1994 by the Armenian Heritage Press.
The story of Varter also became the centerpiece of a play by Martin’s long-time friend, playwright Joyce Van Dyke, first produced by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre in association with Suffolk University. The utterly personal nature of the play is brought home by Joyce calling Dr. Deranian the “godfather of the play” and by the fact that Joyce herself is a descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors, her grandmother a witness to the massacres, and Varter’s life-validating friend.
Jack Danielian PhD, is a psychologist and psychoanalyst, and dean of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. Dr. Danielian is a friend of FLArmenians and has given his expressed written consent to publish his tribute, which originally appeared in the Armenian Mirror Spectator.
The obituary detailing the life of Dr. H. Martin Deranian is available here.
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