Stewart Probably Slandered M/A-Com at Debate

Last night, the Lake County Republican Executive Committee (REC) hosted a Candidate Debate for District #4 Lake County Commissioner in Tavares.  It is unclear where Commissioner Linda Stewart was mentally during the debate based on some of her bizarre comments and answers.  There are those who will say this newsletter is just a political hack job on Commissioner Stewart.  We ask that you go to the Lake County Republicans website when they post the video of this event, because you will see a Commissioner who has lost all touch with reality.  Even people who support Stewart left shaking their heads.

The following is a breakdown of some of Linda Stewart’s debate actions and statements, which aren’t just bizarre – they show a public official who doesn’t get it.

• When the candidates were asked by the moderator for a “yes” or “no” answer if they supported Amendment #4, Linda Stewart first tried avoid the question and pass the microphone to Paul Williams without answering.  Neither the moderator nor Williams would allow her to pass, so she took the microphone back and gave a lengthy explanation as to why she wouldn’t answer.  Stewart said she was a public official and she didn’t want to influence the vote.  Then she said, “Amendment #4 has nothing to do with property rights, and it’s not a business killer.”  Hold on, Linda, Amendment #4 is a property rights issue only. And oddly enough, you had an opinion about everything else last night, except Amendment #4.  Also, how do you promote business by adding more regulations?
• When the discussion turned to impact fees, Stewart said that they were in line and that she doesn’t support lifting impact fees off of businesses.  She went on to say, “I definitely do not support taking them off residential.”  In her tortured explanation, she acknowledged impact fees were bad for business, but would not support eliminating them because it would give a break to residential housing.  Basically, Stewart is willing to sacrifice job creation for her hatred of residential construction.
• The entire night, Stewart strove to change the realities of the county, and according to her everything is perfect in Lake County.  Instead of addressing the real issues, she tried to douse them with perfume.  One debate observer said Stewart was “an actress trying to put on a show.”  During one of her performances, she said commercial construction permits were steadily flowing into Lake County, and that business was doing well.  Um, what?  Permits are down almost 90% and commercial construction in Lake County is virtually at a halt.  Commissioner Stewart doesn’t even know what’s going on in her own county!
• A question regarding the Niagara Bottling lawsuit brought about the most bizarre comments from Stewart.  She said, “Niagara is a great company,” and encouraged people to read the transcripts of the closed door meetings because they would see that the county attorney did not recommend filing suit but the attorney they hired did.  Stewart also said it was a shame that taxpayers lost $250,000 in the lawsuit.  Okay, Commissioner Stewart, you ignored the advice of the county attorney who, earlier in the debate, you said was doing a great job for someone you are paying?  You know what the real problem is?  Commissioner Stewart doesn’t even get how dumb her answer is.
• On the subject of an emergency radio system, Commissioner Stewart defended her decision to approve a no bid contract by saying this radio could save lives.  She went on to possibly slander the company who was denied a chance for a fair bid – M/A-Com.  Stewart said of M/A-Com, “M/A-Com was the pits.”  She went on to say, “they are in big trouble.”  She then said they’ve changed ownership three times, and insinuated they were a second rate company.  Folks, every day M/A-Com is serving municipalities throughout the State of Florida successfully.  Her statements defaming this company’s reputation could give them cause to sue her.  Citizens for Better Government, L.L.C. encourages the executives at M/A-Com to request a copy of the video from the REC to determine if they’ve been slandered.
• The other statement Stewart made in regards to the radio system, which was bizarre, is that she said the $1.6 million maintenance requirement for the system “was intentionally kept from the County Commission.”  Stewart is lying!  Stewart was told prior to the contract signing that yearly maintenance could be as much as 10% of the price of the system, and the maintenance agreement was part of the contract that was presented to her for approval.  It is not the fault of Lake County’s staff that Commissioner Stewart isn’t smart enough to read a contract.
• In Commissioner Stewart’s response to the question in regard to her appointing Democrats to committee positions in the county, she accidentally exposed her true colors saying, “qualifications are more important than party.”  Hey Linda, it’s sort-of dumb to make a statement like that to a room full of Republicans.  We guess, under her logic, a communist with a business degree would be okay to serve on the economic committee.
• The discussion of the Comprehensive Plan and the overlays of the Rural Protection Area brought this misinformed statement from Stewart: “The RPA did not change one thing for the landowners.”  After some prodding by Leslie Campione, she back-peddled somewhat.  It is obvious that Commissioner Stewart doesn’t understand the new green space requirements, net land use requirements, and how this will devalue the price of lands and diminish the landowner’s ability to borrow money. Once again, the truth would hurt too much, so she chose to lie.

Lake County voters, if you don’t believe what we are saying, then view the videotape.  You will come away like most in the crowd saying, “oh-boy!”

Citizens for Better Government, L.L.C. understands that running for political office is very demanding and challenging with nerves being frayed; but, it’s almost as if Stewart has become unhinged.

Debate Summary

One of the more interesting exchanges of the night was between Buddy Atkins and Paul Williams.  Williams asked a question about Atkins’ plan to promote senior citizens to buy foreclosed homes; he wanted to know how much economic impact these senior citizens would bring.  He pressed Atkins for actual average incomes, which Atkins didn’t have.  Atkins fired back saying he’s been a resident of Lake County for 33 years with a proven business record, unlike Williams who is from Atlanta and has no record of business.  In our opinion, the question by Williams wasn’t smart because he sought to demean the positive economic impact of seniors in Lake County.  Meanwhile, Atkins brought up a notion that many have considered: Williams is exaggerating a record that no one can substantiate in Atlanta.

In a question to Leslie Campione, Buddy Atkins tried to brand her as a developer lawyer due to her years as a land use attorney.  However, Campione defended herself well, saying she spent more time representing regular people on environmental issues in land than issues for developers.  Atkins, who is a developer himself, was unable to come forward with any details to dispute her answer.

Torture

The debate would have been a total bust if not for the bizarre responses of Commissioner Stewart; the chuckles in the crowd during her responses actually kept many awake.

Buddy Atkins is beginning to act like a “one trick” pony with every answer centered around his 33 years in business in Lake County and his plan to fill foreclosures up with seniors.

In most of Paul Williams’ responses he spent half of his time dropping big names, big cities, and large corporate ideas, which seem insincere and canned.

Leslie Campione actually had good and concise answers and offered the most details, but she was never able to get into an actual debate because of the format.

The REC debate last night was torturous, because it was not a debate.  At best, it was a bad forum.  While one Republican official said it was better than nothing, one audience member asked, “can I have my last three hours back that just got wasted?”

Write-in Republican Candidate, Vance Jochim, got so frustrated that halfway through the debate he interrupted the moderator to point out that it wasn’t a debate, as billed, and they should at least change the starting order of question answering.

If the REC wants to build more voter participation at these events, they should open up the question and answers, allow for more free-flow, and put a moderator in place that can pick up the pace.

Endorsements

Citizens for Better Government, L.L.C. will post on our website the official endorsements, press releases, and letters from organizations other than just pure political parties for candidates seeking office in Lake County.  Endorsements by groups will be posted on the “What’s on Your Mind?” portion of the website, and two weeks prior to the election our group will send a special The Right Side of the Lake listing each candidate’s endorsements.

Endorsements are very important to candidates, and these endorsements inform like- minded voters as to which candidates share their interests.  To send us a candidate endorsement, email it to lakecountygov@lakecountygov.info.  An informed electorate will make the best decision, and please check out our website at www.lakecountygov.info .

If you attended last night’s debate, give us your opinion and let us know your take on this event by commenting below.

Related posts:

1. IT’S DEBATE NIGHT!
2. Bizarre District 4 Race Shaping Up
3. Linda Stewart’s Political Threesome
4. Conner/Reagan vs. Stewart/Obama in Lake County
5. Commissioners Renick and Stewart Flunk Grass 101