The normally quit race for Florida House District 33 just erupted into a full blown civil war in the Libertarian Party. The seat is currently occupied by Sandra “Sandy” Adams, Republican. James Decocq has filed to run as a Republican for the 2010 election and is the early favorite to win against Alice Sterling (R), Scott Bland (R) and Leo Cruz (D). The Libertarians get at the most 20% of the vote in a great year so why all the intense infighting?
Florida House District 33 Candidate Franklin Perez
The first candidate on the scene who became involved with the Seminole County Libertarian Party (SCLP) was Franklin Perez around 2000. He ran as a non affiliated candidate in 2006 and 2008 because of infighting with the Seminole County Libertarian Party leadership citing “anti-Hispanic remarks”. As former Vice-Chairman Franklin and then LP Chairman Mark Clifford became estranged over issues of style and substance. The former chair allegedly objected to provocative and sometimes lewd post on the libertarian message board in defense of legalized prostitution and descriptive details of those encounters allegedly posted by Mr. Perez. The situation came to a boil in April 19, 2004 when then LP Chairman Mark Clifford sent the following e-mail to Mr. Perez:
Franklin;
You are a virgin to leadership so I appreciate you trying and I appreciate your work at it.
Your Hispanic nature appears to start by creating conflict. Being machismo does not serve you and it slows your progress. (It works when it serves to scare away your opponent but we are not your opponents.)
At the moment you do not seem to understand group dynamics. (I thought about asking the other members to consider removing you for cause as I see you not qualified to hold the office held). You are worried about Robert’s Rules paragraph [zz] but you not have the ‘common courtesy’ part at all. You HAVE a right to speak but you have one mouth and you have two ears -develop wisdom to listen wisely. Individual responsibility means acting responsibly. (What is going to happen when the LP offers Franklin Perez as an example to lead? You need to be ready to do it because those who wear the label with be prejudged by your performance.) I believe you have the individual part but individual responsibility is not related.
Florida House District 33 Candidate Ellen M. Paul
Before I post our reply, I need to get your input as a member of the team. (That means that the post stands by itself and it does not get responded to by someone who helped draft it. Your option to comment is now, not later.)
Your signature block says:
Franklin Perez
Vice-Chairman
Libertarian Party of Seminole County Florida
and you said “I do not understand why you even need approval from the “Executive Committee”. That is the difference between speaking for you and speaking for the organization. And yet you post apparently using the group to add credibility to your post rather than to help the reader to understand your message. You seem to understand the title and seem to like wearing it. It must be more than that or this group will fail to be effective. You appear driven by all about self and no humility. Each post indicates to me you do not understand teams. Every effective leader understands humility.
The Executive Committee speaks for the group and the chair speaks when the executive committee cannot be reached. The vice chair speaks when the chair cannot be reached – not hard to reach but cannot be reached. It also means that you remove the title from your signature until you are BOTH speaking for the party AND you are speaking in the capacity you show. It is for the reader – not the poster. (Period)
You also speak ill of you teammates before you have the facts to judge. This is why your original post offended me. You have an obligation to serve in a neutral capacity so that you can be given the gavel to resolve a dispute that originates outside of the executive committee. When anyone objects to the resolution of a dispute, you will be given the opportunity to resolve it. Point out oversights in private and save the cheap shots for your enemy, not your friends.
Bonus TIP: Drop the need to find fault; after that you can focus on finding liberty.
Bonus TIP2: Respect the time of your chair; it is not an endless commodity.
Franklin – my recommendation to you is to develop the ability to listen-or- resign the post as a leader of a group until you develop the skills and wisdom to lead. I am speaking only to you because I do not need to publicly humiliate you, I need you to get through to you and provide you some honest feedback.
If you do not want to develop leadership skills that is not a crime but you should just stop pretending.
Others have the same view of you but they think you are so hopeless that they don’t provide useful feedback that you can actualize since they do not believe you have the ability to learn. If you have no desire to learn, that is an option but if you need a mentor, I can help.
Thank you for your work and considering things outside of the box.
This email took more than 6 hours to draft edit and reconsider but it is the
readers digest version. If I have offended you then I have not successfully communicated.
You’re Friend,
Mark
Wm “Mark” Clifford
Oviedo FL 32765-6831
And the battle has continued. The Libertarian Party leadership currently headed up by Sean Concannon, Jennifer Concannon, Larry Lawver and Mike Barr reportedly did not approve of Mr. Franklin’s 2006 and 2008 bid to run as a Libertarian and Mr. Perez ran as a no party affiliation (NPA) candidate. For the latest election cycle it is not necessary to receive approval from the party leadership to run as a third party candidate. Mr. Franklin took advantage of the change in election law and registered for District 33 as a Libertarian.
The leadership disapproved but there was nothing they could do about until Ellen M. Paul agreed to run against Mr. Franklin as a Libertarian in District 33 setting up the first Libertarian Primary election ever in the state of Florida. And the war continues…
Mr. Franklin correctly points out Miss. Paul currently resides in District 37 but Florida law required residency prior to swearing in not during the campaign. Mr. Perez also points out the current house member for District 37 is Republican Scott Plakon who has supported such fiscally unpopular expenditures such as SunRail. Mr. Perez asks “Why does Ellen M. Paul run a Libertarian Party Candidate for Florida State House District 33 when she resides in Florida State House District 37? Florida State House District 37 seat is currently occupied by Scott Plakon and NOBODY has challenging him. On top of that, why does she run in a race where a Libertarian is already running when she could run in Florida State House District 37 against just ONE incumbent opponent in a House District she actually resides in?”
Good questions. The real answer may be in the following e-mail:
Libertarian Treasurer Larry Lawver wrote in July of 2004
It sucks that I have to spend time responding to this clueless shit while trying to handle the devastation of my property after Hurricane Charley. Beaucoup thanks to Mark Clifford and Carl Geiger for their brilliant and damned near heroic work on my roof Saturday 28 August 2004! Franklin remains an unimportant troll with no idea what’s actually going on.
Statement from the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County
1 July 2004
Seminole County Libertarian Party Chairman Sean Concannon
And the LP Executive Committee wrote:
The Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County hereby declares how it will handle the dispute between Franklin Perez and the rest of the Executive Committee for the remainder of Franklin’s term of office.
Franklin Perez has served our party as an officer, a candidate, a major contributor, and a friend for over five years. However, he has chosen to distance himself from the rest of the Executive Committee of the
Libertarian Party of Seminole County since February of this year. We have tried to repair the break, but have failed. We have no idea why Franklin decided to become an adversary, but as heartbroken friends, we deplore his action.
Franklin’s term as Vice Chair of the LPSC expires in November of 2004. Our intentionally simple Constitution and Bylaws make it easier to let his term expire than to remove him from office. Thus, we are subject to his postings to various websites and other entities without recourse. Although he is the elected Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County, he has none of the correct information that officer would normally have, because he has rejected contact from the rest of the LPSC officers.
In particular, Franklin Perez has no knowledge of the actual candidates that the Libertarian Party of Seminole County may field in the 2004 election. His previous privilege as a moderator of some Yahoo! Groups let him appear that he does, and we apologize for that.
Franklin Perez has no remaining support from the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County, but he retains the office for four more months. Our profound embarrassment will continue as long as he holds that position. Our official response to his communications will be silence or reference to this memo. We apologize to our membership for having to endure this conflict. Please plan to attend the November meeting and elect an Executive Committee slate that promotes liberty.
Yours, in Liberty, Mark Clifford, Chair, Libertarian Party of Seminole County Larry Lawver, Treasurer, Libertarian Party of Seminole County Mike Barr, Secretary, Libertarian Party of Seminole County Jennifer Concannon, Membership Committee Chair, Libertarian Party of Seminole County.
And nothing has changed in the last six years. So Ellen M. Paul comes into the feud to save the SCLP leadership from Mr. Perez and the war hopefully will reach its climax in August 24th 2010 when the primary is held. That is if Mr. Perez does not switch party affiliation to No Party Affiliation (NPS). Personally I think this should be fought to the end. The loose cannon against the party establishment candidate. Finish what you started.
February 5th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I attempted creating an argument like this once, however I did not get an especially good response. Lets hope your writing about this subject works better than mine did. Keep up your terrific writing.
February 11th, 2010 at 3:04 am
Hello Folks:
This Blog in response to my http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4349 “PRESS RELEASE entitled PRESS RELEASE: Libertarian Primary Election to Occur in 2010 Between Franklin Perez and Ellen M. Paul for Florida State House District 33 Race – Disengenuous Motive Exists Given that Ellen M. Paul Resides in Florida State House District 37, which is an Unchallenged Race, and Not in Florida State House District 33! Perez Suspects Libertarian Party of Seminole County Leaders Sean Concannon & Larry Lawver Involved in Propping Up Fake Non-Resident Libertarian Candidate Ellen M. Paul”.
I later issued a Version 2 of the PRESS RELEASE, which you may find at the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4355 hyperlink, due to some initial inaccuracies and to add more information.
I may decide to issue a PRESS RELEASE in response to the Blog if there’s an inaccuracy or to clarify a point.
Sincerely,
Franklin Perez (Libertarian)
Florida State House Candidate (District 33) – Year 2010
Libertarian and Independent! Not Beholden to Party Politics!
http://www.fperez1776.com
http://www.twitter.com/fperez1776
http://twitwall.com/view/?who=fperez1776
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Z1WI2rNqE
(407) 694-7805
February 11th, 2010 at 3:57 am
PRESS RELEASE: Libertarian Candidate for Florida State House (District 33) Franklin Perez Responds to Blog Article Entitled “Seminole County Libertarian Civil War” – Cites Some Inaccuracies
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4358
February 11th, 2010 at 9:58 am
PRESS RELEASE: Libertarian Candidate for Florida State House (District 33) Franklin Perez Responds to Blog Article Entitled “Seminole County Libertarian Civil War” – Cites Some Inaccuracies
Dear Members of the Press and Public:
My name is Franklin Perez, and I’m running in year 2010 for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 33) with a Libertarian platform. You may view information about my campaign by going to the following websites:
1) http://www.fperez1776.com
2) http://www.twitter.com/fperez1776
3) http://twitwall.com/view/?who=fperez1776
4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Z1WI2rNqE
Economics9698 posted a blog on 2/4/1010 in response to my http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4349 PRESS RELEASE entitled PRESS RELEASE: Libertarian Primary Election to Occur in 2010 Between Franklin Perez and Ellen M. Paul for Florida State House District 33 Race – Disengenuous Motive Exists Given that Ellen M. Paul Resides in Florida State House District 37, which is an Unchallenged Race, and Not in Florida State House District 33! Perez Suspects Libertarian Party of Seminole County Leaders Sean Concannon & Larry Lawver Involved in Propping Up Fake Non-Resident Libertarian Candidate Ellen M. Paul.
I later issued a Version 2 of the PRESS RELEASE, which you may find at the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4355 hyperlink, due to some initial innacuries and to add more information.
The Blog Article is entitled Seminole County Libertarian Civil War. You may view the contents of the Blog by going to the http://usa-wethepeople.com/2010/02/seminole-county-libertarian-civil-war or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4356 hyperlink. You may also see the contents later on below in this PRESS RELEASE.
Below is my response to some of what Economics9698 wrote….
> The normally quit race for Florida House District 33 just erupted into a full blown civil war in the
> Libertarian Party. The seat is currently occupied by Sandra “Sandy” Adams, Republican.
> James Decocq has filed to run as a Republican for the 2010 election and is the early favorite
> to win against Alice Sterling (R), Scott Bland (R) and Leo Cruz (D).
Republican Jason Brodeur was not mentioned. He is running in year 2010 for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 33).
According to the Florida Division of Elections website, the level of monetary contributions received so far by the candidates running for the Florida State House of Representatives (Distrrict 33 are:
1) Republican Jason Brodeur: $111,377.00
2) Republican Alice Sterling: $94,213.64
3) Republican James D. DeCocq: $2,610.26
4) Republican Scott Bland: $1,150.00
5) Democrat Leo Cruz: $9,317.00
6) REAL Libertarian Franklin Perez: $130.00
7) Fake Libertarian Ellen M. Paul: $0.00
So… if you judge by monetary contributions, the heavy favorite appears to be Republican Jason Brodeur.
> The first candidate on the scene who became involved with the Seminole County Libertarian
> Party (SCLP) was Franklin Perez around 2000. He ran as a non affiliated candidate in 2006 and
> 2008 because of infighting with the Seminole County Libertarian Party leadership citing
> “anti-Hispanic remarks”. As former Vice-Chairman Franklin and then LP Chairman Mark Clifford
> became estranged over issues of style and substance. The former chair allegedly objected to
> provocative and sometimes lewd post on the libertarian message board in defense of legalized
> prostitution and descriptive details of those encounters allegedly posted by Mr. Perez.
The last statement “The former chair allegedly objected to provocative and sometimes lewd post on the libertarian message board in defense of legalized prostitution and descriptive details of those encounters allegedly posted by Mr. Perez” is TOTALLY INACCURATE. I posted things in defense of legalizing the Sex Worker Profession, but those posts were done on the Message Board of various Seminole Chronicle articles and Viewpoints in year 2009. The incidents between Mark Clifford and I ocurred back in year 2004.
Economics9698 has his/her FACTS and TIMELINE wrong in this specific statement!
In order to understand what is going on here, one must got back to the past and read the following:
1) If my political philosophy is Libertarian, why did I not run in years 2006 and 2008 as a Libertarian Party candidate? It had to do with (a) anti-Hispanic remarks made to me by an ex-Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County Florida while I was the Vice-Chairman of that affiliate and (b) the un-Libertarian attitude – and thus hypocrisy – shown by the leadership of the Libertarian Parties of Seminole County and Florida. I encourage everyone to read more about this at the http://www.fperez1776.com/fperez_2008/why_npa_eng.html hyperlink for details.
2) PRESS RELEASE: Franklin Perez Expresses Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4017
3) SUBJECT: Victor Ramos of Orlando Sentinel Reports in his Orlando Sentinel Blog on Franklin Perez’s Digust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4028
4) PRESS RELEASE: Commentary of Orlando Sentinel Victor Ramos’s Reporting of Franklin Perez’s Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4037
5) SUBJECT: Orlando Weekly Mentions Franklin Perez’s Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4051
6) PRESS RELEASE: Commentary of Orlando Weekly’s Reporting of Franklin Perez’s Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4053
7) PRESS RELEASE: Franklin Perez Responds to Sean Concannon’s Remarks About Franklin Perez’s Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions (Part 1) – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4112
> Mr. Franklin took advantage of the change in election law and registered for District 33 as
> a Libertarian.
I wanted to run again in year 2010 as a No Party Affiliation candidate because my campaign slogan is “Libertarian and Independent! Not Beholden to Party Politics!”, but James Coakley, my main campaign volunteer, confinced me to run as a Libertarian so that the voters would know right right away on the ballot that my political philosophy is Libertarian. As I indicated in the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4017 PRESS RELEASE: “I’ll run as a candidate under the Libertarian Party so that voters will know my political philosophy, but I will keep an arms-distance relationship with the Libertarian Party of Florida. I’ll continue to express my DISGUST and ANGER over the LPF’s refusal to deal appropriately with the anti-Hispanic remarks and Censorship in the LPSC Yahoo Groups by issuing annual PRESS RELEASES similar to this one while I continue to run for the Florida State House of Representatives on a Libertarian political ideology.”
Sincerely,
Franklin Perez (Libertarian)
Florida State House Candidate (District 33) – Year 2010
Libertarian and Independent! Not Beholden to Party Politics!
http://www.fperez1776.com
http://www.twitter.com/fperez1776
http://twitwall.com/view/?who=fperez1776
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Z1WI2rNqE
February 11th, 2010 at 9:58 am
My name is Franklin Perez, and I’m running in year 2010 for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 33) with a Libertarian platform. You may view information about my campaign by going to the following websites:
1) http://www.fperez1776.com
2) http://www.twitter.com/fperez1776
3) http://twitwall.com/view/?who=fperez1776
4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Z1WI2rNqE
Economics9698 posted a blog on 2/4/1010 in response to my http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4349 PRESS RELEASE entitled PRESS RELEASE: Libertarian Primary Election to Occur in 2010 Between Franklin Perez and Ellen M. Paul for Florida State House District 33 Race – Disengenuous Motive Exists Given that Ellen M. Paul Resides in Florida State House District 37, which is an Unchallenged Race, and Not in Florida State House District 33! Perez Suspects Libertarian Party of Seminole County Leaders Sean Concannon & Larry Lawver Involved in Propping Up Fake Non-Resident Libertarian Candidate Ellen M. Paul.
I later issued a Version 2 of the PRESS RELEASE, which you may find at the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4355 hyperlink, due to some initial innacuries and to add more information.
The Blog Article is entitled Seminole County Libertarian Civil War. You may view the contents of the Blog by going to the http://usa-wethepeople.com/2010/02/seminole-county-libertarian-civil-war or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4356 hyperlink. You may also see the contents later on below in this PRESS RELEASE.
Below is my response to some of what Economics9698 wrote….
> The normally quit race for Florida House District 33 just erupted into a full blown civil war in the
> Libertarian Party. The seat is currently occupied by Sandra “Sandy” Adams, Republican.
> James Decocq has filed to run as a Republican for the 2010 election and is the early favorite
> to win against Alice Sterling (R), Scott Bland (R) and Leo Cruz (D).
Republican Jason Brodeur was not mentioned. He is running in year 2010 for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 33).
According to the Florida Division of Elections website, the level of monetary contributions received so far by the candidates running for the Florida State House of Representatives (Distrrict 33 are:
1) Republican Jason Brodeur: $111,377.00
2) Republican Alice Sterling: $94,213.64
3) Republican James D. DeCocq: $2,610.26
4) Republican Scott Bland: $1,150.00
5) Democrat Leo Cruz: $9,317.00
6) REAL Libertarian Franklin Perez: $130.00
7) Fake Libertarian Ellen M. Paul: $0.00
So… if you judge by monetary contributions, the heavy favorite appears to be Republican Jason Brodeur.
> The first candidate on the scene who became involved with the Seminole County Libertarian
> Party (SCLP) was Franklin Perez around 2000. He ran as a non affiliated candidate in 2006 and
> 2008 because of infighting with the Seminole County Libertarian Party leadership citing
> “anti-Hispanic remarks”. As former Vice-Chairman Franklin and then LP Chairman Mark Clifford
> became estranged over issues of style and substance. The former chair allegedly objected to
> provocative and sometimes lewd post on the libertarian message board in defense of legalized
> prostitution and descriptive details of those encounters allegedly posted by Mr. Perez.
The last statement “The former chair allegedly objected to provocative and sometimes lewd post on the libertarian message board in defense of legalized prostitution and descriptive details of those encounters allegedly posted by Mr. Perez” is TOTALLY INACCURATE. I posted things in defense of legalizing the Sex Worker Profession, but those posts were done on the Message Board of various Seminole Chronicle articles and Viewpoints in year 2009. The incidents between Mark Clifford and I ocurred back in year 2004.
Economics9698 has his/her FACTS and TIMELINE wrong in this specific statement!
In order to understand what is going on here, one must got back to the past and read the following:
1) If my political philosophy is Libertarian, why did I not run in years 2006 and 2008 as a Libertarian Party candidate? It had to do with (a) anti-Hispanic remarks made to me by an ex-Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County Florida while I was the Vice-Chairman of that affiliate and (b) the un-Libertarian attitude – and thus hypocrisy – shown by the leadership of the Libertarian Parties of Seminole County and Florida. I encourage everyone to read more about this at the http://www.fperez1776.com/fperez_2008/why_npa_eng.html hyperlink for details.
2) PRESS RELEASE: Franklin Perez Expresses Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4017
3) SUBJECT: Victor Ramos of Orlando Sentinel Reports in his Orlando Sentinel Blog on Franklin Perez’s Digust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4028
4) PRESS RELEASE: Commentary of Orlando Sentinel Victor Ramos’s Reporting of Franklin Perez’s Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4037
5) SUBJECT: Orlando Weekly Mentions Franklin Perez’s Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4051
6) PRESS RELEASE: Commentary of Orlando Weekly’s Reporting of Franklin Perez’s Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4053
7) PRESS RELEASE: Franklin Perez Responds to Sean Concannon’s Remarks About Franklin Perez’s Disgust & Anger at Libertarian Party of Florida for Not Passing Anti-Hispanic & Anti-Censorship Condemnation Motions (Part 1) – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4112
> Mr. Franklin took advantage of the change in election law and registered for District 33 as
> a Libertarian.
I wanted to run again in year 2010 as a No Party Affiliation candidate because my campaign slogan is “Libertarian and Independent! Not Beholden to Party Politics!”, but James Coakley, my main campaign volunteer, confinced me to run as a Libertarian so that the voters would know right right away on the ballot that my political philosophy is Libertarian. As I indicated in the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/4017 PRESS RELEASE: “I’ll run as a candidate under the Libertarian Party so that voters will know my political philosophy, but I will keep an arms-distance relationship with the Libertarian Party of Florida. I’ll continue to express my DISGUST and ANGER over the LPF’s refusal to deal appropriately with the anti-Hispanic remarks and Censorship in the LPSC Yahoo Groups by issuing annual PRESS RELEASES similar to this one while I continue to run for the Florida State House of Representatives on a Libertarian political ideology.”
Sincerely,
Franklin Perez (Libertarian)
Florida State House Candidate (District 33) – Year 2010
Libertarian and Independent! Not Beholden to Party Politics!
http://www.fperez1776.com
http://www.twitter.com/fperez1776
http://twitwall.com/view/?who=fperez1776
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Z1WI2rNqE
February 11th, 2010 at 10:00 am
The last statement “The former chair allegedly objected to provocative and sometimes lewd post on the libertarian message board in defense of legalized prostitution and descriptive details of those encounters allegedly posted by Mr. Perez” is TOTALLY INACCURATE. I posted things in defense of legalizing the Sex Worker Profession, but those posts were done on the Message Board of various Seminole Chronicle articles and Viewpoints in year 2009. The incidents between Mark Clifford and I ocurred back in year 2004.
Economics9698 has his/her FACTS and TIMELINE wrong in this specific statement!
In order to understand what is going on here, one must got back to the past and read the following:
1) If my political philosophy is Libertarian, why did I not run in years 2006 and 2008 as a Libertarian Party candidate? It had to do with (a) anti-Hispanic remarks made to me by an ex-Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County Florida while I was the Vice-Chairman of that affiliate and (b) the un-Libertarian attitude – and thus hypocrisy – shown by the leadership of the Libertarian Parties of Seminole County and Florida. I encourage everyone to read more about this at the http://www.fperez1776.com/fperez_2008/why_npa_eng.html hyperlink for details.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Republican Jason Brodeur was not mentioned. He is running in year 2010 for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 33).
According to the Florida Division of Elections website, the level of monetary contributions received so far by the candidates running for the Florida State House of Representatives (Distrrict 33 are:
1) Republican Jason Brodeur: $111,377.00
2) Republican Alice Sterling: $94,213.64
3) Republican James D. DeCocq: $2,610.26
4) Republican Scott Bland: $1,150.00
5) Democrat Leo Cruz: $9,317.00
6) REAL Libertarian Franklin Perez: $130.00
7) Fake Libertarian Ellen M. Paul: $0.00
February 11th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Two Libertarians set to run for District 33
By Abraham Aboraya | February 10, 2010
SEMINOLE COUNTY – The largest Florida House of Representatives district in Seminole County could make history in August by becoming the first third-party primary fight in the state’s history.
Franklin Perez has been running for House District 33 for the last three elections. In 2006 and 2008, the Libertarian ran as a no-party-affiliation candidate, but for 2010, he announced his candidacy as a Libertarian.
That’s because the law was changed in 2007, and now anyone can announce as a candidate of the party of their choosing.
That meant two things: Perez could announce his candidacy as a Libertarian party candidate without getting the nod from the party. But it also means that, because Ellen Paul announced her bid for House District 33 as well, there will now be a primary.
“In the past, in order to be the Libertarian candidate on the ballot, you had to be nominated by the Libertarian Party,” said Sean Concannon, the chairman of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County. “One of the reasons Franklin (Perez) ran NPA was because he could never get that nomination. In fact, he asked it and was declined.”
In Seminole County, there are about 700 registered Libertarians (remember, voters registered as no party affiliated can’t vote in a Libertarian primary).
In House District 33, there are about 181 registered Libertarians, which is about 150 to 160 households.
Mike Ertel, the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections, said the race will show a microcosm of voting statistics. He said this will be a case study in the theory that candidates drive turnout – but on a much smaller scale.
“Even political parties small in numbers are diverse in opinions,” Ertel said. “So they should be able to field a candidate of their choice.”
Paul was registered as a Republican up until Feb. 1, according to records about her voter registration. She also lives in Apopka – which isn’t in District 33 – but said she will move if she’s elected. State law only requires candidates to live in their districts after they are elected.
This has led Perez to call her a “fake candidate” and accuse the Seminole County Libertarian Party of personally attacking him.
He said he first garnered the ire of the Libertarian Party when the press published “anti-Hispanic remarks” by former Libertarian Party Chairman Mark Clifford.
In April 2004, Clifford sent an e-mail to Perez saying, “Your Hispanic nature appears to start creating conflict. … Being machismo does not serve you and it slows your progress. (It works when it serves to scare away your opponent, but we are not your opponents).”
Perez broke with the party and wanted a condemnation motion against Clifford, which he never got.
Oddly enough, five years after the e-mail, the exchange made it into Orlando Weekly and the Orlando Sentinel. When reached by telephone Thursday, Perez’s first words about Paul entering the race were, “The knuckleheads decided to run someone against me.”
“The real reason is they basically have it in against me because I exposed the anti-Hispanic remarks, and it finally made the English language edition of the Sentinel and the Orlando Weekly,” Perez said.
Perez said that, essentially, he’s waiting for Paul’s first campaign finance report in March to decide if he’s going to switch back to an NPA candidate. Perez pointed out that Paul lives in House District 37, which is held by Longwood CEO and publisher Scott Plakon.
“Plakon is unopposed,” Perez said. “If they were truly interested in spreading the Libertarian movement, they would have run her in that district. Instead, they chose to run her against me.”
Paul, who has worked as a computer programmer, business analyst, test engineer and quality assurance tester, said she resents the fact that Perez has called her a fake candidate. She said that, with a focus on the economy and jobs, she offers a better alternative to Perez.
“I think a little healthy competition is a good thing in America,” Paul said. “I don’t think the issues he brings up are the critical issues in the country right now.”
February 12th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
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