Mark Schumann

Wilson spends campaign contributions with his own “business”

MARK SCHUMANN

Wilson's campaign signs now include the required word "For" between his name and the office he is seeking.
Wilson’s campaign signs now include the required word “For” between his name and the office he is seeking.

Vero Beach City Council candidate, Charlie Wilson, raised $1,050 during August, and spent $955.47 with his own company, the Media Arts Group.  Wilson gave as the address for his company, P.O. Box 651114, Vero Beach, FL  32960. According to City records, Wilson’s company does not have an occupational license. (See: More questions about Wilson’s business licenses)

Wilson’s largest contributions to date have been $500 from Rick Baker Realty and $200 from the Treasure Coast Builders Association.

Randy Old raised $2,750 during August, and a total of $33,285 to date. Brian Heady has declined contributions.  Because Harry Howle III, Jay Kramer, Jack Shupe and Pilar Turner did not establish their  candidacies by August 1, their first financial reports will not be due until October 10.

A campaign sign mounted in the back window of Wilson's vehicle failed to include the require word "For" between his name and the office he is seeking. The inclusion of "For" is required by Florida campaign low to prevent challengers, such as Wilson, from creating the false impression they are incumbents.
A campaign sign mounted in the back window of Wilson’s vehicle failed to include the require word “For” between his name and the office he is seeking. The inclusion of “For” is required by Florida campaign low to prevent challengers, such as Wilson, from creating the false impression they are incumbents.

5 comments

  2. Remember the term “day late and a dollar short? Too bad Charlie, a picture is worth a thousand words. The sign on “that’ vehicle is in the hands of the elections officials in Tallahassee. There is no question that is a flagrant violation. So he paid himself out of campaign funds. County records indicate media arts group was closed 6-23-2010. City planning has one business and that is Vero Beach Chamber of Commerce business license for Charlie Wilson. So do I have this right? I wonder if Rick Baker and Treasure Coast Builders were aware of this before donating to him. Have they ever wondered why Judge Kanerak removed him? Some times it is not a good idea to take things at face value. And sometimes it’s a good idea to find out how deep the water is before you decide to jump in.

  4. That would be Tim Zorc. Consider the fact that Zorc’s wife set up a political action committee called Indian River Conservatives for Petter Schools that was funded, not by local conservatives such as her and her husband, but by a Washington D.C. based group. Of the $20,100 Zorc’s pack received in contributions, all but $100 came from the American Federation for “Some” Children.

    Can you imagine how even more sordid political finance would be without at least some financial disclosure requirements. In 2012, those requirements, though, did not prevent then candidate Tim Zorc from filing financial disclosure documents greatly overstating his assets. Zorc has now, of course, filed for personal bankruptcy.

  5. And, Of course you all might remember who Tim Zorc’s campaign manager was….Yes, that would be Charlie Wilson. And, prior to that Charlie Wilson was Wesley Davis’ campaign manager who is Rick Bakers partner and I feel pretty certain that his Media Arts Group stays active in order to manager campaigns. Golly Gee, who would know this better than I. I ran against Charlie Wilson, oops I mean Tim Zorc and was the victim of the Zorc overstatement when it came to his assets. In fact he overstated his assets to be in the range of $4M in order to overcome the over $4M in liabilities that led to his recent bankruptcy. It’s all in his public records for all to see.

    I might add that when you run for County Commissioner you must turn in a financial statement as public record however, a run for City Council does not require such details about a persons finances.

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