COMMENTARY

“It does not take a rocket scientist to connect the dots. Like Turner and Howle, who were supported in the last campaign by an electioneering communications organizations heavily funded by FPL, Sykes appears to be another marionette in FPL’s puppet show.”

MARK SCHUMANN

In a recent campaign update, Lange Sykes, a candidate for Florida House of Representatives Seat 54, claimed to be perplexed by the unwillingness of four members of the Vero Beach City Council to support Pilar Turner’s proposal to join the Indian River County Commission and the Indian River Shores Town Council in calling for another state-mandated and state-funded audit of the Florida Municipal Power Agency.

Echoing Turner’s talking points, Sykes wrote, “It perplexes me that the City of Vero Beach would not want to bring the light of transparency to shine on the financial inner workings of the FMPA.”

Sykes’ perplexity may be the result of his failure to communicate. According to Mayor Richard Winger, Vice Mayor Jay Kramer, and council members Amelia Graves and Randy Old, Sykes did not inquire with any of them about their reasons for declining to support Turner’s resolution.

In his campaign update, Sykes wrote “It is interesting how willing Indian River County and Indian River Shores seem to be to negotiate and offer solutions.”

When asked to be specific about exactly what workable solutions the County and the Shores have put forward, Sykes declined to respond.

Sykes also claims the members of the Vero Beach City Council, with the exception of Turner, have been “unwilling to negotiate and to offer solutions.”

Again, Sykes declined to be specific about what he believes would be a reasonable negotiating position for the City to take in its dispute with the County and the Shores.

Sykes hired Matt Mohler of Front Line Strategies, (Mohler consults for All Aboard Florida), to handle his campaign and to manage his message. Mohler also gave former city council candidate Harry Howle $18,158.89 worth of “strategic counsel” in his 2014 campaign.

Last fall, while also consulting for All Aboard Florida, Mohler went door-to-door campaigning with FPL ally Glen Heran, Pilar Turner, Harry Howle, and Jackie Solari, wife of County Commissioner Bob Solari.

It does not take a rocket scientist to connect the dots.  Like Turner and Howle, who were supported in the last campaign by an electioneering communications organizations heavily funded by FPL, Sykes appears to be another marionette in FPL’s puppet show.