COMMENTARY

“On TCPalm’s “Ask The Candidates” page, Wilson gives as one of his current occupations his position as president and CEO of the Media Arts Group.  Because the Media Arts Group is a fictitious name owned by Charlie Wilson, and is not a corporation, for Wilson to claim he is service as “President and C.E.O.” is more than a little misleading.”

MARK SCHUMANN

I suspect Inside Vero’s readers are as weary of seeing stories about Vero Beach City Council candidate Charlie Wilson as I am of reporting on his antics.  Still, I am going to lay out the facts one more time regarding the status of Wilson’s business licenses.  This is not so much about a $40 business license as it is a question of veracity, or the lack of it, on the part of a man who is asking the voters of Vero Beach to entrust him with one of five votes on the City Council.

The Charlie Wilson who cannot bring himself to admit he was wrong in 2009, when he claimed to have met the residency requirement to run for City Council, is the same Charlie Wilson who, today, seemingly will not acknowledge he is operating his business, the Media Arts Group of Florida, without a business license.

Here are the facts.

Fact: Wilson has registered with the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations the ficticious Media Arts Group of Florida.  According to Vero Beach Planning Department records, the status of that business is “closed,” but according state records, the name “active.”  The City has no record of a business license for the Media Arts Group, either under its own name or as a “BDA” operating under some other company name.

Fact:  Wilson has listed the Media Arts Group as an active member business of his new Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Fact: On TCPalm’s “Ask The Candidates” page, Wilson gives as one of his current occupations his position as president and CEO of the Media Arts Group.  Because the Media Arts Group is a fictitious name owned by Charlie Wilson, and is not a corporation, for Wilson to claim he is service as “President and C.E.O.” is more than a little misleading.

Fact:  According to City Planning Department records, Wilson has two other businesses, both of which are listed under one business license.  Open Permit Search is doing business as Impact Fee Consultants. Like the Media Arts Group, both of these businesses are registered as active corporations with state Division of Elections, but only two of the three are named on business licenses with the City of Vero Beach.

Fact: Wilson’s latest move was to go into the Planning Department Tuesday to convince City staff the Media Arts Group is not an active “separate” business.  Despite Wilson’s claim, the Media Arts Group is clearly listed with the state Division of Corporations as a separate, active corporation.

Conclusion:  The Media Arts Group is not doing business under some other name.  Wilson, by his own admission, is operating the company under the name Media Arts Group.  If the business is not active, how can running it be one of Wilson’s “current” occupations?  It would appear either the City Planning Department or the voters are not being told the truth.

Again, the issue here is not necessarily about a $40 business license.  The reason the facts behind this story matters is because they raise the fundamental question of whether Wilson can bring himself to tell the truth.