COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
At its monthly meeting to be held this Thursday evening, the Republican Club of Indian River County will be hosting a so-called forum for five of the six candidates in the non-partisan race for Vero Beach City Council. There is one catch. Only the five candidates who are registered Republicans will be allowed to speak, according to Jay Kramer, state committeeman for the Indian River County Republican Party. Amelia Graves, is welcome to attend the dinner, according to Kramer, but she will not be permitted to speak. Why? Because she is a registered Democrat. What a crime!
According to Kramer, the event cannot be used in any way to further the candidacy of anyone who is not a registered Republican. Well, if local Republicans believe they must abide by such a rule, then they might consider not holding forums for non-partisan races. If they cannot host open forums, then they are interjecting partisanship where it does not belong.
Interesting, Tracy Carroll will also not be participating at the Republican Party sponsored forum. She is sending utility activist Glenn Heran in her place. Presumably someone with the Party will check Heran’s voter registration card before they allow him to speak.
In an election where party affiliation should be no more relevant than religious preference, or ethnicity, Graves, herself, would do well to consider the meaning of “nonpartisan” as she prepares her campaign strategy.
Last week one of her supporters, Curtis Carpenter, a former chief of staff for the Indian River County Democratic Executive Committee, blasted an email to some 300 recipients inviting them to a campaign event for Graves. Carpenter wrote, “As some of you know, we are 8 weeks away from another election. We have a city council race right here in Vero Beach on November 5th, and we have a Democrat running! Her name is Amelia Graves, and she’s a 5th generation Vero Beach native.”
I called Carpenter last Friday and asked him if he would explain his understanding of the meaning of “nonpartisan.” “Are we on the record?,” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, “I am writing a column about your email.”
I’m not really sure,” Carpenter said.
Clearly he is not!
Later that day I called Leslie Swan, Indian River County Supervisor of Elections, to ask about the rules for advertising in nonpartisan races, such as the Vero Beach City Council election.
Swan referred me to Section 106.143 on the Florida Statues, which reads, “A political advertisement of a candidate running for nonpartisan office may not state the candidate’s political party affiliation. This section does not prohibit a political advertisement from stating the candidate’s partisan-related experience. A candidate for nonpartisan office is prohibited from campaigning based on party affiliation.”
Because Carpenter’s email correspondence is not political advertising, it may not violate campaign laws. The Indian River County Republican Party’s unwillingness to let Graves speak at what is supposedly a candidates forum may also not violate the letter of the law, but it certainly flies in the face of the spirit of nonpartisanship.
Again, from section 106.143 of the Florida Statutes: “A candidate for nonpartisan office is prohibited from campaigning based on party affiliation.”
Partisan gridlock is crippling the United States Congress and it hasn’t exactly given wings to the Florida Legislature. Sadly, we are suffering from the same kind of partisan disfunction at home, for we cannot even hold what is supposed to be a nonpartisan City Council election without the one candidate, who just happens to be a registered Democrat, encouraging her supporters to cast only one of two votes, and without the Republican Club of Indian River County refusing to let all candidates speak at its forum.
Extreme rightwing Republican candidates for Congress and Tea Party favorite Alan West drove me out of the Republican Party. West was, for me, the last straw. Now the Vero Beach City Council race is souring me on partisanship all together. I have resolved that tomorrow I am going to Swan’s office and register as an Independent.
Indian River Guardian 
Would’ve been nice to get my name right…I didn’t inject partisan politics into this race. I emailed my friends to let them know a registered Democrat was running, the first one in 5 years. The idea is to get the most votes. Amelia will do that.
Well, you and Russ Lemmon will have something in common. At the rate things are happening, the Independent “Party” may end up gaining a lot of ground in this County. I’m pretty fed up with the B.S. (stands for Beverly Sills, among other things) we’ve had to endure. And Mrs Carroll is sending her back-up instead of going to the meeting herself? Wait – I thought I read somewhere her husband was a Democrat…..and she isn’t? Heran is speaking for her at that event? Interesting. Like I have said, I don’t understand why City Council election is nonpartisan anyway…..what’s the point?
I apologize about the name, Curtis. Type was small in the email and my eyes have been bothering me.
I left the following out of my original story, but since you brought it up, didn’t you also write in that same email, “We will be going over an unprecedented and certainly unconventional strategy to deliver Amelia a victory in November. I’ve done a lot of calculating over the last couple weeks and there is no reason Amelia cannot win. We have enough votes, we just need your help to secure them.”
If the appeal is to vote for someone because of their political party affiliation, what is that, if not partisanship?
And I would ask, why are the county commission races, and constitutional offices partisan races? From at least 2000 to 2008 the County Commission was controlled by Republicans, people who are supposedly fiscal conservatives. And yet, they let the budget and staffing levels get completely out of hand. It would seem that for Democrats and Republicans, and perhaps for everyone else, there is a great temptation to let expenses rise to meet income. So, I really don’t see how national party platforms have translated well into local policy.
Yes, “we (as in the recipients of this email) have a strategy to help Amelia (My friend, long before she was a Democrat) win a seat in the City Council.”
Don’t be upset when she wins Mark, because she’s going to. And I’ll make sure she remembers this garbage article.
I was at a gathering for Amelia that was led by Curtis and the room was full of people from both sides of the aisle who were there for the sole purpose of supporting Amelia.
She is like a breath of fresh air with a determination to keep Vero Vero. She loves our small city and recognizes the harm that is being done to our city by the current City Council.
Voting for a single candidate is a valid strategy during this kind of an election when you feel that it is extremely important to get your choice elected. There is nothing underhanded or wrong in any way with that.
Curtis, now you are really sounding like a political operative, a hatchet man.
I was also at the gathering (I am a Republican), and I heard Curtis say that it was important to get people of all political affiliations to vote for Amelia, not just Democrats. I was there with two friends who are registered Independent, which is a party, BTW. If you don’t want to be affiliated with a party, you should register No Party. That being said, I totally agree that partisanship is causing major gridlock in Washington.,,,and probably elsewhere.
@Mark Schumann “Curtis, now you are really sounding like a political operative, a hatchet man.” This sounds like a very “cutting” remark…pun intended.
Well, the comment wasn’t intended to be cutting, but I do think Curtis was sounding heavy handed, and so I may have been too sharp with him. Curtis seems to assume that I don’t think Amelia has a good chance of winning a seat, or that I don’t think she would make a fine council member. If that is what he believes, he is wrong. I am simply pointing out what appears to be partisanship by both Republicans and Democrats in what is supposedly a nonpartisan race.
It’s interesting about political parties. You can even register as a member of the Tea Party. In fact, all of two voters registered in Indian River County signed up as members of the Tea Party. Ironically, neither of them are members of the Indian River Tea Party’s executive committee, which means that all of those folks are really members of some other party.
Having a political forum for a non-partisan office without allowing all qualified candidates an opportunity to participate is just plain wrong. All candidates should refuse to participate and just listen to Tracy Carroll’s straw man talk the room into tears. Allowing a non-candidate to speak on behalf of a candidate, who probably will avoid any forum where there is a possibility of unfiltered questions, is also wrong. So a legitimate candidate cannot participate but a non-candidate can? Who makes these rules?
Also this single shot theory, which actually deprives a voter of using both of his or her votes, is underhanded and conniving and don’t we have enough of that already on prominent display? If a person is actually promoting that form of voting, it should be proudly displayed in every campaign ad (“Vote for me and me alone . . .don’t use your second vote”). This is the strategy of a person who knows they are going to lose the election without some form of trickery.
Haven’t we been the victims of enough trickery?
You can call me a political operative, a hatchet man, a divider of parties, or anything else you wish to spew through what I used to call a respectable and credible “news” source.
The bottom line is, I got blind sided by a call, had to ask if I was being interviewed, and got used as a red herring in an article that tries to undermine Amelia’s candidacy.
“Because Carpenter’s email correspondence is not political advertising, it may not violate campaign laws”? It unequivocally, 100%, in no way, shape, or form, comes close to even being questioned whether it breaks any sort of law. I emailed a contact list on my email account. A private email, to private citizens, with a private message. If that’s in violation of any sort of campaign law then I need the new definition of the first amendment.
As you can see by previously posted comments to this article, attendees to Amelia’s function were a mixed array of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents…If I injected partisanship into this race, I did a really bad job of it.
The good thing is, you’ll get to write plenty about Amelia for the next 2 years. Have fun!
Curtis, one would think that for a person who served as the chief of staff of the Indian River County Executive Committee, you would not feel “blindsided” to receive a call from the press. Secondly, your assertion that this article sought to undermine Amelia Graves’s candidacy could not be farther from the truth.
Supporters of Tracy Carroll believe that because she is a strong supporter of the sale of Vero Electric to FPL, she should be immune from criticism for trying to turn land that is now a popular dog park over to a group wanting to build a boat house, or for showing a complete lack of understanding of the separation of church and state, or for thumbing her nose at the city’s long-standing prohibition against short term rentals, or for her general air of arrogance and combativeness.
Similarly, Curtis, the fact that Amelia Graves may be a competent and qualified candidate who can do much good for the city does not make her, or supporters such as yourself, immune from press coverage that may not fully serve your purposes.
Mark, I’ve fielded numerous calls from the press. Sometimes on the record, sometimes off…For instance, I’ve never had to ask Russ Lemmon if I was being interviewed.
Over all, it’s a moot point. Amelia is the best candidate in the race. She appeals to all parties, she’s a 5th generation Vero Beach native, and she wants to keep the traditional values of Vero Beach with a fresh vision of how to do it.
While this banter has been enjoyable for the last 12 hours, it’s definitely the least productive thing I’ve done all week. I’m going back to my task of getting her elected.
I’ll talk to you later, and from now on I’ll always assume it’s on the record.
Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes this week’s edition of the Jerry Springer Show….
Curtis deserves to be given a little slack on this issue. After all this is his first rodeo and he is a very young man who is still learning the process. Also, Curtis was the Chief of Staff for the Democrat Party probably less than six months. The biggest thing that Curtis has going for him is that his heart is in the right place — he wants to see improvements in COVB.
Everyone should remember what Will Rogers once infamously said, “I don’t belong to any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.”
Instead of piling on Curtis for his amateur missteps, we need to focus on why Tracy Carroll would even want to be represented by Tea bagger, Glenn Heran, at a Republican event. Are there no moderate Republicans who can represent Tracy Carroll?
i would think she could do better having Tom Tierney represent her. Mr. Heran puts me right to sleep. Having him represent her is proof enough that she is a one issue candidate.
Curtis, Don’t read the press. Do what you do. Set up a kiosk close to the Republican forum and do a meet and greet for Amelia. Participation in these forums is generally not beneficial to a campaign, anyway. Be creative and get your message out.
After reading comments by Curtis Carpenter, it makes me NOT want to vote for Graves.
Being young is not an excuse.
I did make it to the Supervisor of Elections Office today and changed my voter registration to “No Party Affiliation.”
Charlie Wilson “accuses” me, weekly, of being a liberal, but in truth, though it is really none of Wilson’s business, I have more in common politically with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell than I will ever have with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
It is just that I have almost nothing in common with Ted Cruz, Paul Rand, Michelle Bauchmann, and the Tea Party Caucus. In my view, they are far-right extremists who have hijacked the Republican Party. Their unrealistic and delusional thinking is leading the Republican Party to ruin.
Wilson can attempt to demonize me for referring to the Tea Party as the rule-or-ruin-but-mostly-ruin crowd, but I am more than pleased to attribute that turn of phrase to columnist Mark Shields, who spoke at the Emerson Center last year.
When the Republican Club of Indian River County hosts a forum for candidates in the NON-PARTISAN City Council race, and only invites to speak those candidates who are registered Republicans, they are exercising the very same kind of hyper-partisanship that is choking the life out of our nation’s political process and is rendering our country ungovernable.