COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
Until I received an email from Vice Mayor Tracy Carroll this morning, an email which she also sent to several of her fellow candidates for City Council and to a reporter for the barrier island weekly, I thought I had seen about all the gall any one person could possibly possess.
Inaccurately assuming to be true what she had supposedly been told by “a member of the radio press,” Carroll attributed to me a comment posted online at InsideVero.com.
In my reply to her, I reminded Carroll that neither she, nor anyone else in their right mind, would attempt to hold Treasure Coast Newspapers Publisher Bob Brunjes to account for the wide variety of comments posted daily on TCPalm.com.
Similarly, if InsideVero.com is to provide a forum for the free expression of ideas, the site will invariably carry many reader submitted comments with which I may not agree.
Carroll concluded her diatribe by making reference to my father and grandfather and to my family’s long association with Rotary. In an email sent to five other recipients, Carroll, also a Rotarian, challenged me in to “remember the 4-way test.”
I have witnessed some real ironies in my time, but for Carroll to lecture me, or anyone else, on the Four Way Test is the pinnacle of paradox. When I consider the fact that she has dragged the community into a difficult and expensive legal battle over short-term rentals, I cannot help but conclude that her behavior fails the Rotary Four Way Test on all four counts.
Drawing a careful bead, Carroll wrote, “I was made aware this morning, by a member of the radio press, of a commentary you penned, in which you state about me:
I don’t believe, however, that she will participate in any forum that does not give her the ability to tell anyone who may question her to sit down and shut up (consistent with her council attitude of arrogance and rudeness). Her behavior is consistent with a cowardly attempt to avoid any venue where a citizen can attempt to hold her accountable. (This is actually a reader comment posted on InsideVero.com.)
“Wow, Mark, I’m arrogant, rude and a coward. Name calling at its best. I have always treated you with the utmost civility due a fellow Rotarian, and you and your parents have been welcomed many times into my home. You make your Dad and grandfather proud, I’m sure.
Please, let’s all remember the 4-way test:
Of the things I think, say and do:
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it bring good will and better friendship?
Is it beneficial to all concerned?”
Indian River Guardian 
The only thing thinner than her record is her skin…adios Tracy on November 5th, your 15 minutes are up.
Now, lets be real. You sooo loved getting this from her. It gives you more fodder for your publication. The only bad part is that those who become subject to your criticism are not great politicians. They don’t play the “game” very well.
Mark, I wrote that comment as a response to her email telling you to “grow up”. Her response “I have always treated you with the utmost civility due a fellow Rotarian,” is typical of a person who has a double standard while applauding their own personal behavior and crying foul when being called out on it. I was careful to avoid any “name-calling”. A literal reading shows that I didn’t.
However, if Ms, Carroll can observe her behavior as a member of the council as she deals with the citizens of our community, she would be turning a blind eye to a demeanor that can only be described as rude and arrogant by a person of ordinary sensibilities.
And to be fair, there is a long line of people who have suggested Carroll is often rude and arrogant.
What was it Carroll called Inside Vero? “A self-published advertising circular,” she said during a City Council meeting. That comment was hardly an effort on her part, as a Rotarian, to live up to the Four Way Test.
FOUR WAY TEST
Whats in it for me?
Do I get to talk?
Will I get my name in the paper?
Do I get to talk some more?
Actually, they have stopped calling them City Council meetings. That are now called them the Tracy Carroll Show.
While Tracy Carroll plays the roll of attack dog ( which she plays so well) she again displays her rudeness and arrogance. She is a coward for not wanting to take part in the Inside Vero Forum. She has a sorry record that not only will not pass the Four Way Test, but does not pass the smell test either. Notice she never talks about the real life disastrous situation she alone has created with her weekly rentals. She has no interest in doing what is right for all the citizens of Vero ; her only interest is doing what is best for Tracy Carroll and no one else. That is the real reason she will not take part in your forum..
I hope the upcoming elections provide all new faces with fresher attitudes and willingness to serve the community and not ones political self. Out with the OLD and in with the NEW.