COMMENTARY

MARK SCHUMANN

It would seem reasonable to expect the president of the new Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce to have an active business license for the company he represents as a member of that chamber. According to records provided by the City of Vero Beach Panning Department, that business, the Media Arts Group, is one Charlie Wilson is apparently operating without a license.

You might also expect strict compliance to City Code by a person who has declared their candidacy for a seat on the City Council, and who has made it publicly known he wants to be mayor.  But again, Wilson does not seem so inclined.

Responding Sunday morning to Inside Vero’s first report that his County business license expired in 2009, Wilson wrote, “Wrong again.  Better do more research.”

Monday morning, I checked with the City Planning Department to ask if Wilson’s business, the Media Arts Group, might have a business license with the City.  The clerk there informed me the City has no record of an active business license for the Media Arts Group.  After reporting that fact, I again heard from Wilson, who wrote, “You are such an idiot.  Still wrong but correcting you is a full time job not worth the trouble.”

This morning, Wilson wrote yet again, this time claiming the Media Arts Group has a business license with the City as a “DBA” with another company he owns, Open Permit Search. “I have just received in the mail my renewal notice in the city,” Wilson wrote.

Actually, though Wilson referred to his companies as the “Media Arts Group” and “Open Permit, Inc.,” the business names registered with the state are the Media Arts Group of Florida and Open Permit Search.

On his Facebook page, Wilson wrote, “More nonsense from these pretend reporters.  It is easier for them to smear and insult than to report.”

Despite Wilson’s repeated denials and claims to the contrary, City of Vero Beach Planning Department records confirm that he does not have an active business license for the Media Arts Group.

Far more troubling than Wilson’s apparently running a business without the required local business license, is his tendency to skirt around the truth one denial at a time.  In 2009, Circuit Judge Paul Kanarek saw through Wilson’s claims that he met the residence requirement for City Council candidates and removed the newly elected council member from office one month following the election.

Far more important than the absence of a $40-a-year business license is the question of whether Wilson will meet the residency requirement in his most latest bid for a seat on the City Council.  City records show the utilities at the address he claims as his permanent residence were not placed in his name until Sept. 19, 20013.  To qualify as a candidate for the City Council in this November’s election, Wilson has to have been a permanent resident in the city since Sept. 5, 2013.  In response to our story, Wilson predictably dismissed our reporting, writing, “Wrong again.  Another job of crack reporting.”

Whether city voters will care that the man who wants to serve as their mayor has apparently been operating his business within the city without a license, only time will tell.  Whether Wilson can provide credible proof that he has been a permanent resident of the city since at least Set. 5, 2013, time will also tell.

See also: More questions about Wilson’s business licenses