August is a miserable month.

It’s hot, humid, and always marks another trip around the sun for this crusty old bastard.

As I prepare to turn 56 years old this weekend, I have been in a foul and stupid mood for the past several days as I take stock of where I’ve been – and God willing – where I’ll end up.

Memento mori, I suppose.

Since I retired, I try not to make too many plans.

One day can quickly blend into another and the lack of time pressure provides plenty of opportunities to brood, bitch and ruminate on the theme that life truly is what happens when your making other plans.

Now there is a kernel of sound advice for any twenty-something out there who is still trying to figure it all out.

Don’t get me wrong.  I have lived a supremely blessed life – full of all anyone could ever want – and I’ve been incredibly graced to have had so many wonderful people put in my path; people that have done so much for me personally and professionally.

So much that I can never adequately repay.

For instance, I once worked for a very wise old police chief who took me under his wing and probably did more to shape my early professional life than anyone.  He had very black-and-white views about the virtues of accountability and responsibility, and woe be unto anyone who failed to meet his lofty standards of professional conduct and leadership.

I don’t mean to imply that he was unforgiving of mistakes.  To the contrary.

He allowed me to make more mistakes than anyone I ever worked for.

The Chief allowed me to fall short and keep trying, to press beyond my skills and abilities and to employ untested methods and tactics.  He then used the results – good and bad – as a teaching tool.  That type of experiential learning can be terribly expensive – and sometimes hard on the body and mind – but it’s the most effective teaching tool around.

So long as my mistakes were honest – and made in the process of truly trying to better myself, a system or a process – he was accepting and supportive.

However, the one thing he would never tolerate is explanations or apologies.

In the Chief’s view, you either accepted responsibility for your actions, or you didn’t.  The Who, What, Where, and How didn’t matter – only the heartfelt acknowledgement, “I’ve made a mistake, and I’ll make it right again.”

As he explained, “That’s what people respect.”

He was right.

Many years ago I was a newly promoted line supervisor assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division.  In that role, I was responsible for the personnel and case management of a very busy group of police detectives.

In addition, my division had responsibility for the Evidence/Property Section – essentially the ultra-secure repository for all items of physical evidence and property coming into the police department.

By agency policy, as commander of the detective bureau, I was also named the department’s evidence custodian – making me personally responsible for everything from a rock used to break a window, to tens of thousands of dollars in illicit drugs, cash, guns, jewelry and other valuables held in evidence.

Periodically, I was required to conduct a complete audit of the facility and purge items that were no longer needed by the courts, etc.

Pursuant to the law, dangerous drugs were destroyed in a prescribed manner, and other items – tools, skateboards, baseball bats, bicycles – you name it – were sold at auction.

I established what I thought was a foolproof process whereby each item of purged evidence was confirmed to have been released by the court, removed from the computer inventory system, paperwork was routed to the Records Division, then the items were personally inspected by two independent detectives, and myself, to ensure that each item was suitable for sale to the public at auction.

Hundreds of items were meticulously processed in this manner.

On the day of the auction, everything went smoothly and I was quite proud of myself, and my team, for our hard work in preparing for the purge and sale.

That afternoon, while I was home relaxing, the telephone rang.

It was a news reporter asking me – pointblank – why my police department sold drugs from our evidence room to a local family?

From the reporter I learned that a gentleman had purchased a small duffel bag at the police auction for his son to carry his books to school in.

When they got the duffel home, they found a small glassine baggie – pressed completely flat – in a hidden zippered compartment at the bottom of the bag (perhaps where you would store your wallet at the gym or beach).

The baggie contained a small amount of marijuana.

We had missed it during our inspection process.

The reporter was preparing the story for the six o’clock news.

I was horrified.

My career was over.

I immediately sent a police officer to collect the baggie from the family’s home, apologized to them for my embarrassing error, then telephoned the Chief and advised him of my colossal screw-up.

I ended the conversation with the words, “I’ve made a terrible mistake, and I’ll make it right again.”

As I recall, his reaction was, “Damn right you did.”

At the time, we worked for one of the most incompetent and ineffectual city managers I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing.  Trust me, that’s saying something – because I worked for some real winners over the years.

This particular individual is dead now, so I won’t speak ill of him – only to say that he was a sorry human being and an even worse public servant.

The next day, the manager summoned me to his office and actually asked me if the “crime lab” could run a test to determine how long the baggie of pot had been inside the small zippered compartment of the duffel.

You read that right.

The old “how long has one bag been inside of another bag test.”  Now, the forensic scientists at FDLE and the FBI are pretty damn good – I’ve seen them work miracles – but they’re not that good.

I’m not positive, but I believe our city manager wanted to make the lame excuse to the media that the person who bought the bag could have easily put the marijuana inside after he made the purchase.

The manager then contacted the Chief and summoned him to the office.

“Here it comes,” I thought.  “I’m done.”

I’m not exactly sure what happened in that meeting, but at the end of the day, I kept my job, but received a written reprimand in my personnel file for my gross negligence in allowing contraband to leave the evidence facility.

More important, the Chief told me that he was proud of the way I handled the matter.

That meant the world to me.

Ultimately, the error went all the way back to the initial officer who submitted the duffel bag without thoroughly searching the bottom compartment.  Then, the evidence technician failed to catch the baggie when the item was logged in to secure storage – and eventually, my detectives and I failed to find it during our pre-auction inspection.

I could have blamed the mistake on any of those individuals and simply stepped aside.

But that wasn’t the culture of our organization – and I could never have reconciled it with myself – or my boss.

As a result, I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of being accountable for your area of responsibility – and for accepting criticism for the acts and omissions of others on your team.

In the aftermath, the reprimand stung for a while, but with the knowledge of how the mistake occurred, we were able to improve our system for disposing of purged property, and in the process, strengthened our culture of accountability – and our unit cohesion – in immeasurable ways.

My wise old chief did not suffer fools.  And neither do I.

Now, I may not have been the best police administrator or civic leader ever to come down the pike, but I recognize those who are by their actions – particularly when under stress.

In my view, people in high positions who make the same mistakes and errors in judgment again-and-again, then make excuses and dodge responsibility, are the antithesis of leaders.  In fact, they are a cancer on the organization or constituency that they are responsible for and accountable to.

Apparently the current DeBary City Council missed this important lesson in government accountability somewhere along the way.

Despite his best efforts, Mayor Johnson has been simply unable to sway his fellow elected officials into dropping the pending “forfeiture hearing” – a meeting where the Mayor is to stand trial in a kangaroo court of his fellow council members on ridiculous charges of charter violations brought by disgraced former City Manager – and forth stooge – Dan Parrott.

To his credit, Clint Johnson has apologized.

He was man enough to accept personal responsibility for his weird conduct and, even though he remains crazy as a barn owl, the Mayor has repeatedly extended an olive branch and vowed to attempt positive personal and professional change.

That’s more than I’ve seen from his judge, jury and executioners on the City Council.

Clearly, the members of the council want to keep their collective boot on Johnson’s throat for as long as possible, lest he dive off into the deep end again with his goofy shenanigans that have brought embarrassment to himself, his office and the City of DeBary.

Now, in my view, certain members of this city council – in conspiracy with certain key staff members and “consultants” – have been responsible for more crimes against the people of DeBary than any other entity in modern times.

Conduct that makes the Mayor’s goofy tweets and Facebook posts pale in comparison.

Their personal and professional conduct in misrepresenting their constituency has been reprehensible – and I am confident that they will ultimately be held accountable.

They are shameless and almost criminally stupid.

Let’s take, for example, the curious case of Vice Mayor Lisa Handy-Peters.

The animus between Ms. Handy-Peters and Mayor Johnson is palpable – even to the most casual observer.  Now, Johnson is alleging that he overheard the Vice Mayor telling someone at City Hall that she has already made up her mind about his fate at the hearing.

When confronted, Handy-Peters advised that she had just returned from her father’s funeral and blamed her statement convicting the Mayor before hearing the first shred of evidence on “all kinds of emotions.”

I’m sorry for her loss – but given their personal history –  I seriously doubt it was a sudden onset of emotions that prompted her private condemnation of Mayor Johnson.

Then, in the worst case of quibbling the facts in this entire sordid affair, Vice Mayor Handy-Peters tells the Daytona Beach News-Journal she didn’t “want to say that I didn’t say them, but what was the prompt to them?  What was the context?”

This clumsy excuse from the same pillar of character that has attempted, time-and-again, to deflect her responsibility in the on-going criminal allegations surrounding the Gemini Springs Annex debacle (“I only looked at pretty pictures!!”  “I didn’t vote on anything!!”).

I’m going to say this in the kindest way possible:  Ms. Handy-Peters – resign.

Get the hell out.

Your refusal to take responsibility for your actions, and those of your hired hands, are a direct reflection on your professional ethics and abysmal lack of leadership.

You are rapidly becoming the poster child for this steaming crock of shit.

Despicable.  Really.

In my view, it’s high time that the citizens of DeBary consider dis-incorporation of this unfortunate city – returning governance to Volusia County – and shutting down this ill-fated three ring circus once and for all.

Preferably before the lawyers and leeches peck away what remains of their hard-earned tax dollars.

As screwed up as county government is, in my view, it’s a damn sight better than the open corruption and disastrous lack of leadership that has preyed upon the good citizens and stigmatized the City of DeBary for far too long.

Breaking down the tent would be a fitting monument to a group of incompetent and incapable losers who cozied up to half-bright human jackals in an overweening fit of greed and put their own arrogant self-importance before the needs of those they were elected to serve.

Yes, if these depraved village idiots had any sense of decency left they would call an emergency session and turn out the lights on this foul experiment once and for all.

But they won’t.

Stay tuned, kids.

The Mayor’s fate will be decided in special session on August 24 – or, if history repeats, maybe it won’t.  Regardless, it’s going to be an interesting (and incredibly expensive) night for the good citizens of DeBary. . .

(Art Credit: Original Illustration of John Tenniel from “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland”)

The tempest in a teapot within the Volusia Republican Executive Committee continues to play out – and while I don’t believe Chairman Tony Ledbetter’s scheme rises to criminal misconduct – it has exposed the very dirty underbelly of his hand built local political apparatus.

In my view, this imbroglio is indicative of much larger problems in local politics.

Don’t get me wrong – I get it.

Politics in 2016 is a blood sport, and there appears to be no bottom to the rhetoric, posturing and personal destruction that permeates every race.

Perhaps it’s always been this way, but I’ll be dipped if I can recall a time when the major political parties took such an active role in openly rigging primary elections for certain hand-selected candidates – while doing everything possible to internally and externally ostracize same-party hopefuls.

I thought that’s what the opposition was supposed to do?

For example, the Democratic National Committee is in utter chaos after thousands of internal emails exposed a conspiracy at the highest levels of the organization to torpedo the campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders.

I don’t know about you, but I never bought the ‘Russian intelligence’ hacking explanation.

While I see the strategic benefits to a foreign government obtaining opposition research and monitoring the internal communications of the DNC, it seems implausible that the Russian SVR’s political intelligence directorate would then expose sources and methods by dumping the results to WikiLeaks.

And I doubt the Russian’s are outsourcing their intel work to the DNC.

I’m no expert, but what little I do know tells me that hackers commonly route attack traffic through a third-party scapegoat – usually China, Russia or North Korea – and the packets used in these high-level intrusions are often nearly identical, making it almost impossible to positively identify the source of the ‘hack.’

While political espionage is nothing new, the whole Russian angle just seems too clean to me.

I could be wrong.

On the other hand, I have also followed with interest the suspicious death of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Conrad Rich, who was shot to death on a street corner in Northwest Washington on July 10.

Rich, 27, was a self-described “data analyst” for the DNC working on voter expansion efforts.

According to a Washington Post report, “Police said they have no suspects, witnesses, or motive, though they are looking at whether Rich could have been slain in an attempted robbery.”

Since his death, numerous conspiracy theories (without any credible evidence) have run rampant on the internet, each essentially theorizing that Rich was killed after it was learned he was a whistleblower who provided WikiLeaks with the internal emails of the DNC to expose the election fraud designed to help Hillary Clinton win the Democratic primary.

I’ve never been one to put much stock in the myriad conspiracy theories that abound during any election cycle.  Namely because, in the end, we always find that the truth is far more chilling and treacherous than the wild speculation of a paranoid shut-in theorizing through his keyboard from his mother’s basement.

I also doubt that this blatant internal manipulation of the process is limited to the Democrats – even at the local level.

For example, it’s all but certain that “Chairman for Life” Tony Ledbetter and his minions at the Volusia Republican Executive Committee conspired to violate state party rules by circumventing the protocol which permits county organizations to endorse specific candidates for local office – even in non-partisan races.

What started out as an internal brouhaha over emphasis-added sample ballots being distributed by the VREC has now escalated into a criminal complaint filed with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the State Attorney by incumbent Volusia County Chairman Jason Davis.

No one ever accused Chairman Davis of being the sharpest knife in the drawer – he’s not – but even he should have seen this move as over-the-top.  While I admire his spunk in exposing this internecine chicanery, perhaps literally making a Federal case out of Ledbetter’s bullshit was a bit much.

Look, I’ve been out of the law enforcement game for a while now, but I’ll just bet the FBI has better things to do than wallow around in Volusia County partisan politics.

Now, whether or not Ledbetter’s scheme and resulting party discord rises to a violation of Florida’s election law is something else.

I’m not an attorney, but most of my adult life was spent interpreting the elements and proper application of criminal statutes.

In my view, the statute Davis cites was clearly written to address the use of violence and intimidation through bribery, menace or threat to influence a vote.

While the law contains a provision for, “other corruption whatsoever, either directly or indirectly,” I just don’t believe Ledbetter’s blundering efforts to get his candidates a leg-up (despite party rules) rises to a crime.

That said, I don’t know of anyone who has a more difficult job than R. J. Larizza.

As State Attorney, Mr. Larizza’s office is frequently asked to transcend the traditional prosecutorial role and serve as the referee for local political dust-ups – most of which you never hear about.

In fact, the nexus of election season sensitivities and the law often require a disinterested third-party to sort political low blows from criminal conduct – and I suspect, at the end of the day, cooler heads will prevail.

In my many years in law enforcement, on several occasions I was the recipient of some very stern – but extremely helpful – “suggestions” and independent insight from the Office of the State Attorney when I lost my objectivity, especially regarding petty internal spats.

I remain forever grateful for their invaluable guidance.  It kept me out of trouble more than once.

So, if the State Attorney reviews the complaint and “suggests” to Mr. Davis that these are political matters that require a political solution, I hope he – and his supporters – will receive that good advice in the spirit in which it is offered.

I also don’t think Tony Ledbetter, Ed Kelley and the state committee candidates should get away with it either.  What they did was wrong.

In my view, Mr. Davis and his fellow competitors are well within their rights to call for Ledbetter’s resignation or removal for his open manipulation of the process.

Clearly, Chairman Ledbetter needed a way to circumvent the state party rules regarding individual endorsements, and he found it at the point of a Sharpie highlighter.

Much like the Chairman himself – it was unsophisticated and marginally effective.

In a recent op/ed by the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the argument was made that election advocacy is a fundamental First Amendment issue, and a freedom exercised by many organizations through voter guides and similar means.

In the News-Journal’s view, “criminalizing politics by equating candidate endorsements to corruption severely undermines free speech.”

I agree.

In my view, Mr. Ledbetter has every right under the First Amendment to personally endorse any candidate he wishes.  However, as Chairman of the Volusia Republican Executive Committee, Ledbetter has a larger personal and ethical responsibility under the rules of the Republican Party to ensure basic fairness in the process.

You know, the whole “may the best man/woman win” thing.

What is not addressed – in either the newspaper’s editorial or the criminal complaint – is the question of what, if any, role the local donor class played in Ledbetter’s scheme.

In my view, it is simply absurd to believe that Chairman Ledbetter’s handiwork in giving Volusia County chair candidate Ed Kelley special emphasis on the Republican sample ballot is not directly related to the tens of thousands of dollars given by local special interests to bolster Kelley’s candidacy.

Trust me. Nothing happens in local or state Republican party politics that is not in some way orchestrated by – or given the tacit approval of – Mr. Mori Hossieni.

In an excellent 2014 profile by the Daytona Beach News-Journal, reporter Dustin Wyatt wrote, “Though Morteza “Mori” Hosseini, 59, has never won a single vote, no elected official in Volusia or Flagler counties wields more power.”

And you can just bet he has Chairman Ledbetter on speed-dial.

A review of Mr. Kelley’s campaign finance reports shows the extent to which Mr. Hosseini and his fellow big money players – J. Hyatt Brown, Lesa France-Kennedy, and others – have poured huge sums of cash into Kelley’s war chest.

As I’ve said before, I could care less who Mr. Hossieni, Mr. Brown, Ms. France-Kennedy or anyone else supports with their hard-earned money.

These folks are certainly smarter and infinitely more successful than I am, and if they want to invest massive piles of cash in Mr. Kelley’s campaign – who am I to argue?

So long as we call it what it is.

When big money is used to purchase political influence, which in turn is used to engineer a regulated electoral system in favor of a donor-selected candidate in direct violation of state party rules is, in my view, patently unfair as it corrupts the fundamental fairness of the process.

Fairness be damned.  I think Chairman Ledbetter was just doing what he was told.

I also doubt that a “following orders” explanation will sway those core Republican committee members who see this steaming pile of dog shit for what it is.

Unless Mr. Hossieni and the other high rollers stand firmly behind Chairman Ledbetter, I think it’s safe to say that this won’t end well for him.

And it shouldn’t.

After all, at the end of the day, the VREC attempted to do the exact same thing that brought such shame and embarrassment to the Democratic National Committee – they broke the rules and violated the confidence, honor and character of the constituents they represent in an effort to illicitly manipulate the system.

If that’s not a crime, it ought to be.

 

 

I have always admired people who call it like they see it.

It’s why I instinctively turn to the editorial page in any newspaper I open.  Even if I don’t necessarily agree with the content, a good argument, cogently and persuasively made, tells me a lot about the outlet’s viewpoint and the community it serves.

I often judge people much the same way.

Recently, I saw a meme that rang true.  It said – “Everyone appreciates your honesty, until you’re honest with them.”

Despite the fact that most people consider themselves open-minded and accepting, I’ve found it’s a rare breed that can actually engage in an honest and open debate of opinions and still “agree to disagree” at the end of the day.

Not convinced?

Try discussing our current presidential race around the water cooler – or hash-out religious differences, immigration reform, or thoughts on your sister’s relationship issues at the Thanksgiving table.

You’ll get the idea.

I’m fortunate to have a precious few very close and very smart friends that consistently understand the issues and can air their unique thoughts and views with me in a supportive, constructive and engaging way.

Unlike any college campus in America, where anything other than group-think is verboten, we can engage in the healthy discussion and debate of the thorny social and political issues that touch us all.

Perhaps I spend too much time thinking about “things,” but I have an opinion on just about everything.  Regular readers know that I can often be brutal in my assessment of situations that I find detrimental to the public’s welfare – and I can’t stand bullies who misuse the power and influence of their position at the expense of the rest of us.

I’m equal opportunity in that regard.

Last week I read an interesting opinion piece written by Daytona Beach News-Journal Editor Pat Rice extolling the virtues and work ethic of Volusia Republican Executive Committee Chairman Tony Ledbetter.

Now, I consider Mr. Rice a friend of mine – but on this point – we’re going to have to agree to disagree.

In my view, “Chairman-for-Life” Ledbetter is perhaps the single most polarizing force in local politics.

I’m not referring to the hammer and tong battle at election time, I’m referring to the petty strife and angst he creates among his own local party affiliates.

Never one to let the rules get in his way, Tony recently violated both the letter and spirit of his own committee’s agreement with local Republican candidates – and perhaps the law – by distributing a “voters’ guide” that included an effective (if not ham-handed) scheme to give certain candidates special advantage by literally highlighting their names with a yellow marker.

As I understand it, the Republican Party of Florida has a convoluted rule that establishes a process which permits county executive committees to endorse individual candidates.

Among other things, the protocol requires that the committee notify all Republican candidates and hold a meeting where each party hopeful is given an equal opportunity to address the assembled committee members before a vote is taken.

Only candidates who receive 60% or more of the vote can be formally endorsed by the county executive committee.

While it appears Mr. Ledbetter and his committee followed the formalities of a meeting and vote, in the County Council chair race, no single candidate garnered the required percentage of votes to receive a formal individual endorsement in the committee’s voter guide.

In keeping with the state party’s rule, it was agreed that all four Republican candidates – Ed Kelley, Jason Davis, Greg Gimbert and Tom Laputka – would be given equal billing.

Then – as often happens in our era of social media – a photograph began circulating at the speed of Facebook which clearly showed that three names on the voter guide had been highlighted for special emphasis.

To include Ed Kelley.

This left even casual observers with the subliminal – if not glaringly obvious – impression that Mr. Kelley is (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) the committee’s REAL choice.

Another name highlighted for emphasis was Republican State Committeeman candidate Paul Deering.

His competitor in that race, Jim Oddie, reported that he saw a copy of the highlighted guide at a political “hob nob” in West Volusia last week – an event where both Deering and Ledbetter were said to have personally distributed the marked ballot to attendees.

Of course, Tony vehemently denied any involvement – and in true form – made the counter accusation that anyone who said he passed out altered voter guides was a “bald faced” liar.

Interestingly, the same sample ballots highlighting the names of Deering, and State Committeewoman candidate Marilyn Ford, were found stacked at the reception counter – and boldly affixed to the front door – of Ledbetter’s own Republican headquarters.

Naturally, the candidates who failed to receive Tony’s special emphasis are pissed.

Frankly, they have every right to be.

To make an agreement based upon an established party rule, then openly violate that pact, speaks volumes about the honor and character of Chairman Tony Ledbetter – and any candidate who would willingly go along with this despicable deception.

In a yeoman’s effort to downplay the fact that he had been caught red-handed, on Friday Ledbetter told the News-Journal that the “voters’ guides” circulated by Republican volunteers are like “one-on-one endorsements between friends.”

Really?  Because it says, “OFFICIAL REPUBLICAN SAMPLE BALLOT” right at the top of the guide.  Just sayin’.

According to news reports, Ledbetter said, “I leave it up to my volunteers to say what they want to say.  I’m not a dictator.”

Really?  Because it sure seems like it’s Tony’s way or the highway when it comes to local party matters.  Just sayin’.

Interestingly, the self-avowed non-dictator then issued an imperial declaration that all pre-marked sample ballots be removed from Republican headquarters immediately.

In my view, despite the clumsy denials and even more awkward attempt to clean-up his mess, at his core, Ledbetter knows that the damage has already been done.

By taking a page directly from the “There is no such thing as bad publicity” school of political marketing, the Chairman carefully orchestrated a strategy that lets everyone know exactly who the Chairman of the Volusia Republican Executive Committee supports and the rules be damned.

And that, my friends, is bullshit.  It might also be criminal.

Regardless, it’s mean-spirited and counter to the Florida Republican Party’s regulations governing local committee endorsements, and Ed Kelley, Paul Deering and Marilyn Ford damn well know it.

Now, incumbent Volusia County Council Chairman Jason Davis has filed a criminal complaint against Ledbetter.

During a press conference, Davis stated, “This is a broad attempt by Mr. Ledbetter, and his personal preferred candidates, Ed Kelley, Paul Deering, and Marilyn Ford, to deceive the voters of Volusia County and violate Title IX Chapter 104 Florida Statutes.”

It has been reported that Davis is also naming Kelley, Deering and Ford in his complaints.

Good for him.  I’m not a huge fan of Chairman Davis, but it’s about time somebody exposed this insider horseshit for what it is.

Regular readers of this blog know that I have written extensively on my views regarding Ed Kelley’s candidacy for Volusia County chair.

In my view, Ed is a perennial politician with no qualms about twisting his record – and his words – to suit his immediate political needs.

Given his donor list, is it any wonder why Ledbetter and his followers would fight so hard – even jeopardizing their own reputation and credibility – just to give Ed Kelley a leg up?

It’s because money influences people and processes.

And, unfortunately, it directly manipulates the outcome of elections.

Let’s face it, all one has to do is read Mayor Kelley’s campaign contribution reports to understand where his true allegiances lie – and it isn’t with you or me.

As I’ve said before, people like J. Hyatt Brown, Lesa France-Kennedy and Mori Hosseini are highly successful for one reason only – they don’t spend a dollar without knowingly exactly what the return on that investment will be.

In Ed’s case, the “Big Three” are making massive campaign contributions for one reason only – to purchase access and political sway – and Tony Ledbetter’s influence is an important part of their plan.

Ask yourself this:  Why would Brown, Hosseini and France – along with their considerable business entities – spend tens of thousands of dollars to support Ed Kelley for elective office?

Why would Tony Ledbetter gamble with the honor and reputation of area Republican’s to ensure Kelley receives an illicit boost from his committee?

What do you think these uber-wealthy power brokers consider an appropriate return on their sizable investment in Ed Kelley’s candidacy?

While Tony Ledbetter would like to think he swings a big hammer in local politics, the fact of the matter remains – he’s a foolish pawn in a much larger game that relies on simple-minded toadies to do the scut work of the real players – and it doesn’t make a damn if you’re a Republican or a Democrat.

In my view, the system is rigged on both sides of the isle.

Unless and until candidates at all levels of the political spectrum have the personal courage to stand up against the influence of big money, speak truth to power, and truly represent the collective interests of all constituents – not just those of the highest bidder – then we are doomed to having our elections controlled by the Chairman Ledbetter’s of the world.

In perhaps the best example of speaking truth to power that I’ve seen this political season, Volusia County Council chair candidate Tom Laputka is quoted as saying, “Some people are born assholes.  There are others who try really hard to be one.  Ledbetter is both.”

Now that’s calling it like you see it.