Thoughts on the Republican National Convention

Wilson: The Republican National Convention was been pretty good. Ann Romney was spectacular. 

What has been interesting has been the press coverage. They all look like I used to look when visiting my in laws many years ago. I knew I should be there and they were polite but I knew I wanted to be in friendlier territory counting the minutes until I could get back on that plane.

The press just can't wait to get to the Democrat Convention to praise the great Messiah.

As of today the election is tight. Razor thin, 1 point or less leads exist in several states. 11 states are considered toss ups. Despite the attacks on Romney two states have moved from leaning Obama to toss ups due to recent happenings. Wisconsin 10 votes and Michigan 16 votes.

The experts give Obama the edge and it will be difficult but not impossible for Romney to win. The polls show Obama with 201 votes and Romney with 191 that are outside the margin of error and likely for the candidate.

Here are the Toss Up states and my prediction for election day:

Nevada 6, Colorado 9, Michigan 16, Pennsylvania 20, New Hampshire 4, Virginia 13 break for Obama. Total 68 votes.

Florida 29, North Carolina 15, Ohio 18, Iowa 6, Wisconsin (because of Ryan) 10. Total 78.

Some may disagree and plenty of time for changes but each of these states falling this way is not a stretch. No one would be surprised if Florida were to vote Republican in the end.

So now that you have thought about it have you added up the electorial votes in this scenario?

Answer: Obama 269 Romney 269. A Tie! In fact it is just one of 32 different ways that end in a tie. What does that mean? I'll save that for another time. I do have some experience though. My mother was an elector for Nixon in 1968.

Let's hope for a positive campaign. We can dream anyway.

Be Nice...

Charlie Wilson: My co-writer for this blog, Gary Wheeler says I am too mean and critical of people. Sweet little old me? So Ok. Here are some Atta boys.

Congratulations to Leslie Swan for an error free primary election season. Indian River County had no issues like St. Lucie County did and that's a good thing. It is time to put the Kay Clem era behind us and I for one am committed to never mentioning her name again.

Congratulations to the City of Vero Beach especially Jim O'Connor, Pilar Turner, Tracy Carroll and Craig Fletcher. Their leadership and patience has led to a huge breakthrough in the Vero utility issue. This issue has been dogging Vero Beach since the 1970's. It took real leadership and commitment to accomplish this task.

Congratulations to Tim Zorc. Tim ran a positive campaign and is now the Republican nominee. There is a lot of talk and a vicious rumor campaign being waged against Tim, so congratulations for having the courage to rise above the fray! Tim has a detailed positive plan to move Indian River County forward economically and to protect our environment and unique quality of life. Good for him.

Congratulations, I suppose, are also in order for our newest Republican. Welcome Tony Donadio. He changed his registration just 71 days ago from Democrat to Republican to run for office as a no party affiliation. During primaries, Donadio has previously supported only Democrats like Obama and Hilary Clinton but now has had a change of heart or at least that is what his group of well financed high profile backers say.

Congratulations to Russ Lemmon who has once again made the arduous journey down to the Supervisor of Elections office to leave the Republican Party. Every year he changes to vote and then changes back. At least he's honest about it. Next time Russ, why not stay awhile?

Congratulations to Bob Solari, Carole Jean Jordan, Daryl Loar, David Nolte and our newest State Committeeman Jay Kramer who all celebrated victory this month.

Congratulations to Wesley Davis who was elected without opposition. Wesley Davis is like Sara Lee...nobody doesn't like Wesley Davis.

Congratulations to our new Clerk of Courts, Jeff Smith. He is the only one to be elected unanimously since George Washington.

See. I can be nice.

Next Week. City of Vero City Council elections. I may not be so nice next week.

It's Electric!

 Wilson: They said it couldn't be done...they said nobody could do it. The electric deal is a go! The final obstacles have been overcome and a deal is in sight.

The “Fair Price” crowd is being unmasked. They will still fight the sale and there is no such thing as a “fair price” to them. In case you are living marooned on an island and haven’t heard, FPL, the City of Vero Beach, Orlando and the Florida Utility Authority have hammered out an agreement that will save City and County rate payers millions.

Thanks to Tracy Carroll and Pilar Turner and Craig Fletcher for their diligence, and no thanks to Jim Gabbard, Tom White, Sabe Abell, Ken Daige, Bea Gardner and Jay Kramer. 

Special no thanks to former City Attorney and aspiring City Council candidate Charlie Vitunac. No one in history has done more damage to our beautiful, friendly little City than Charles Vitunac. Part of the deal is a $20,000,000 million dollar penalty snuck into the contract and kept secret for years by Charles Vitunac. One man, Charles Vitunac, through incredible malfeasance has now cost our community $20,000,000. An amount equal to 5 years general fund revenues by one man failing in his basic responsibilities. I suggest the Council now look into the terms of his malpractice insurance.

I am just sorry I could not have finished the job citizens elected me to do. Fortunately we were blessed with courageous people to take up the flag. I feel like Moses wandering in the desert for 4 years in exile. I can see the promised land but I won't be there to go in. Maybe they can have a signing ceremony like the president does and I can get one of the pens used to make the signature.

I don't know if anyone will remember the story I recounted during the campaign. The senior lady who came up to me on the street outside of a downtown restaurant. Through tears running down her face she said she was 67 years old and could not afford to keep her electric on and run her breathing machine. To her the electric issue was not just about money, unions, keeping city pensions, it was a matter of life and death. I will never forget her quote, "I never thought it would come to this" she said "where the government would have so much and I would have so little".

I did not get her name but I will never forget her. This agreement is for her wherever she may be.

Elections

Congratulations to all the winners. It’s nice to be an incumbent. They have been returned without exception for two election cycles. Only surprises were the margins of victory and defeat especially the School tax issue and the Harpring Swan contest.

Next Week!

Nuclear war is brewing between the Tea Party and the Republican Party. Can it be avoided?

Last week of the crazy season

Wilson: As I write this, more than 12,000 people will have already voted. After Saturday you could murder your opponent and still get elected in Tuesday’s primary because more than half of the votes would already be in and counted.

Gotta hand it to Bea Gardner for one thing, after running the nastiest campaign I have seen and being the all-around Queen of Mean for the last two years someone in her campaign has a sense of humor. Her significant other was holding a sign at the early voting location in the library. A notice had been added to the otherwise drab Bea Gardner sign saying "Endorsed by Danny DeVito". Pretty funny.

After all is said and done we could be looking at the second election in a row that ended up without change. In the last election all incumbents were returned. I cannot rule out at least one upset. Sheriff, Tax Collector and Supervisor of Elections all favor incumbents but an upset in at least one race would not surprise me. Of course one race in the primary has no incumbent. Zorc wins that one hands down.

The missed issue in this race was a candidate who would pledge to fire Joe Baird. The Commission would need at least one more vote in favor of helping Joe retire faster.

What would have happened in the Solari race if a strong candidate had come forward and said" The difference between me and the other candidates is that "I pledge to Fire Joe Baird." My guess, he would have won.

Many are fed up with Joe Baird's behavior "off the field". Whether you like Joe or not, I believe that there are a growing number of professional reasons to move on from the Joe Baird era. Unfortunately, all three candidates in the district 5 Solari, Thomas, Heady race have said that they support Joe Baird. Certainly Bob Solari has to be counted as a Baird supporter. So, the fire Joe Baird crowd will have to wait one more election cycle and the departure of Peter O’Bryan, Joe Baird's most steadfast supporter. But after years of Baird's less than forthright rule the light is at the end of the tunnel. Mark your calendars, November of ‘14 will see Joe's last day.

Dust up at the Economic Development Council this week. A local businessman suggested that we invite other experts to look at helping Indian River County with economic development rather than the Chamber of Commerce. I could have warned Mr. Kite against threatening Penny Chandler’s gravy train of County money. Several years ago I suggested we invite advertising agencies to bid on the advertising project. No other ideas had been even entertained in 20 years. Maybe Mr. Kite will have better luck or maybe we can just start a new Chamber of Commerce that actually represents business interests.

Wheeler: It's possible CW, that someone could win if they murdered their opponent, but highly unlikely.  Many races are very close, as an example, Hitler one by one vote!

Your comments on Bea are interesting, but my take on it is that she thrives on getting attention and as we've seen many times over the years, not to mention in her most recent endeavor (campaign) she will say and do anything fact, truth and humor have very little value to her.

Here's my prediction for the winners in Tues. election.  Carole Jean Jordon, Daryl Loar, Leslie Swan, Bob Solari, Tim Zorc, and I HOPE Vinnie Celano!

We all know that you and Russ Lemmon have a personal problem and dislike for Joe Baird. Unfortunately, unlike CW and Lemmon, Joe Baird is not perfect. Let me say this about Joe Baird, the tax payers of Indian River County have benefited greatly from Joe Baird's management.

Indian River County financially is one of the strongest best managed counties in the state of Florida.  We all know that it's a team effort and Joe is a major member of that team. Russ Lemmon's most recent articles on Joe Baird were inaccurate, biased and unfair.

Predictions and Repossessions

Wilson: Gary Wheeler is on vacation this week so he missed a lot of the political intrigue,

most of it surrounding the Indian River Chamber of Commerce.

After a 6 year hiatus the Chamber seems to be back to being directly involved in County Commission politics. An informal agreement between the Chamber and Gary Wheeler that promised hands off the Commission by the Chamber seems to have expired once Gary decided not to seek reelection.

The Chamber is guaranteed hundreds of thousands of dollars from the County Commission each year for Tourism and Economic Development. There has not been a bid for the management of these functions for over 20 years.

A goodly chunk of that money finds its way into salaries, benefits and Chamber overhead. The Tourism Director, Susan Hunt, has gone to greener pastures at the Ft. Pierce Sunrise Theatre and I understand the Penny Chandler has decided to promote from within to fill her job at less money. Will that savings go back to the County or into more advertising? Fat Chance.

The recent Chamber candidate meet and greet made the changes evident. Brian Heady was not going to be included. He did not pay the $150 entry fee. Heady said no way he would come anyway and told the Chamber that they better have the police there to arrest him if they tried to keep him out of a public park. The Chamber countered with moving the event inside the Heritage Center but Heady showed up anyway and was allowed to speak. Guess someone told the Penny Chandler that it was illegal to charge candidates to speak.

The second event was when Candidate Tim Zorc reserved a seat for an economic development function involving the Chamber. He was later contacted and not allowed to attend. I am sure it is just coincidence that Zorc's general election opponent, Tony Donadio, is a Chamber Board member along with several Tea Party leaders backing Donadio over a personal business dispute between Zorc and Chuck Mechling developer of Points West. Chuck Mechling and Toby Hill are also Chamber Directors.

I am not sure I would be proud of my record if I were the leader of the Chamber in a community that has been in the top ten highest unemployed Counties in Florida every since I took over. We are now third highest.

By the way 5,400 people have already voted absentee for the August 14 election. Early voting starts Saturday. My turnout prediction 16,500.

Have to go, they are coming to repossess my Chamber plaque.

Wheeler: I may be gone but that is in body only.  Thanks to the internet, IPhones and land lines only my body is missing in action.

Rather than debate with CW this time I would like to say how disgusted I am with Bea Gardner and her latest shots at Tim Zorc in her radio ads and comments in Vero News.  It is shameless for her to point out Tim's debt and none of his assets.  Bea, this is called a Balance Sheet.  What are your ASSETS?  Of course that shows her complete ignorance about finance and the county budget she says she would be over seeing as a (GOD FORBID) County Commissioner.  This also shows her ability to distort the truth.    

I would say that Bea has run the nastiest, most negative and dirtiest campaign this year.  Her campaign basically says DON'T vote for Bea, just Vote against the other guy.  How sad.. 

My turn out prediction is 16,000.