Will there be an empty chair and an unused microphone at the Candidate Roundtable this Thursday evening at the Heritage Center? Though there is no longer a scheduling conflict between the Roundtable and a debate to be staged later in the evening by the island weekly, Tracy Carroll has yet to confirm she will join her fellow City Council candidates for a 90-minute discussion on quality of life issues and the future of the city.
“I have already committed to be at the VeroNews event,” Carroll wrote to Inside Vero publisher Mark Schumann. Having scheduled its event for the same evening as the Candidate Roundtable, which was announced a day earlier, the island weekly decided to move the start time for its debate to 8:30, thus making it possible for all candidates to participate in both events.
Candidates Amelia Graves, Brian Heady, Warren Winchester and Richard Winger will participate in the Candidate Roundtable, which will begin at 6:00 p.m., with 30 minutes allotted to meet and greet the candidates. Hors d’ oeuvres and non-alcoholic drinks will be served, including fresh organic vegetable juices provided by LOVJuice. Joseph Guffanti will be out of town and unable to participate.
At 6:30, the candidates will begin what will hopefully be an elevated and thoughtful 90-minute discussion about where each proposes to lead the city.
“We are hopeful this format will give the candidates an opportunity to engage in discussion focused on the future of Vero Beach. It seems less than productive to continue to debate the sale of the electric system, which is why we have invited the candidates to focus on how they would lead the city forward,” Schumann said.
Schumann added that three additional forums are scheduled at which the candidates will almost surely be asked to stake out positions on the sale of the electric system. Immediately following the Candidate Roundtable, the candidates will participate in a debate hosted by Vero Beach 32963. The Taxpayers’ Association will hold a luncheon forum on Oct. 10 at the Elks Lodge, and the Indian River Tea Party will host a forum the evening of Oct. 17 at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center.
The candidate roundtable will be moderated by Schumann and Inside Vero associate editor Milt Thomas, and will be recorded for later broadcast on WAXE AM 1370 and FM 107.9 and Channel 10 Television. A video of the roundtable discussion will also be posted on InsideVero.com.
Indian River Guardian 
Tracy Carroll says in her brochure that “our codes should be changed or modified as long as the modifications fall within the state law.” Hmmm. She must think we are all stupid. The state law allows short term rentals. There are many voices in Vero who have stated they do NOT want short term rentals.
She has the nerve to state in her brochure that based on communications from many homeowners about short-term rentals, that she will commit to working with the City Manager to craft new Codes for business and residents that meet all laws, allow property and neighborhood rights and continue keeping Vero the pristine community we love. Does anyone other than me see a disconnect here… I mean is she really able to fool us into believing she is willing to keep Vero pristine while all the while she continues with her short term rentals.
And to make matters even more painful to discuss, Tracy Carroll along with the rest of the troika, actually had the nerve to raise the electric rates yet again on the citizens of Vero Beach. Councilmen Kramer and incumbent Candidate Richard Winger both voted to table the raise until January to study the situation and see if they could not find a better deal for the city in how they purchase wholesale…..something like that.
I guess she and her handlers have it figured out. There are so many candidates out there who will be pulling votes from one another that she just might be able to squeak this one through for herself. Can you imagine Vero Beach with two more years of her on the dais? Heaven help us. I think she will not fill that empty chair at this forum because she is not willing to face up to the “townies” who probably will be attending this forum. If she does go to the Round-table discussion, I wonder if she will scan the room trying to decide how many in the room had signed the recall petition to have her ousted from office.
If Tracy Carroll is looking for excuses not to attend the InsideVero roundtable she can always say she will be walking her dog at the dog park. Oh, I forgot ,she tried to give away the dog park.She might use the excuse that she has to tidy up her weekly rental property for her next tenant. That might work. NOT