VERO BEACH — Charlie Wilson stood about 15 feet away and held up two signs. One was red. One was blue.
Smiles split the face of three of the candidates – Mayor Pilar Turner, Councilman Craig Fletcher and political newcomer Dan Stump.
The other three, Councilman Jay Kramer, Brian Heady and Nick Thomas – vying from a pool of seven candidates for the three open spots on the City Council – clearly were irked.
The signs will be paid for by two political action committees formed last week to support candidates who back the sale of the city’s utility to Florida Power & Light and target candidates against the sale.
No matter what one thinks of Wilson, one thing is clear: He can have an impact.
That was very clear last week when a representative of Florida Power & Light summoned Wilson to City Hall to be – as one insider put it – the “voice of reason” during a packed meeting when the City Council eventually voted to sign a $54 million memorandum of understanding to sell the city’s electric utility and then voted against a referendum to let voters and not the council decide the sale.
A referendum does nothing but delay, deflect and deny, said Wilson during the public comment period. “That’s aptly what you’ll be doing,” he said.
Wilson surfaced two days later at the first forum between the candidates for the open City Council seats at C.J. Cannons Restaurant.
“Are you a red sign? Or are you a blue sign?” Wilson asked.
The signs are an indication that the potential sale of the city’s electrical system handedly will be the most important local issue when city voters go to the polls Nov. 6 to fill the three council seats.
The red sign means yes for a sale of a utility; blue, means no.
Wilson clearly picked the color blue – as in Blue State, as in liberal or loser in these parts – for the candidates who aren’t on board with the sale of the utility.
A prototype of the signs that Wilson held before the six candidates last week has the red one saying: “Sell Vero Electric Vote Pilar Turner, Craig Fletcher, Dan Stump.”
The blue signs say: “KILL THE SALE vote Kramer, Thomas.”
There’s no mention of candidate Brian Heady even after Wilson asked him point blank at the forum if he wanted to be on the red sign or the blue sign.
“I just want to be on the council,” responded Heady.
By all accounts, Heady supports the sale; he just has major problems with the process under the current City Council.
Kramer also has problems with how the process has played out – only bringing FP&L to the negotiating table which leads him, Heady and Thomas to wonder if the city is getting enough money for the sale with figures as they stand now.
Kramer also doesn’t want to see taxes raised to keep the city afloat after the sale when there will be a projected annual multi-million shortfall each year in general fund revenues. That shortfall will come because the city electric rates are much higher than FP&L and officials funnel electric revenues into the city budget.
“Is the FP&L deal the right deal to go with? I have nothing to compare it against so I don’t know,” said Kramer.
Kramer also wants the sale to be decided in a referendum as does Thomas and Heady. He said the public was under the impression that last year’s referendum was about a lease of the system and not an outright sale.
The metal signs should be popping up in yards and in front of businesses sometime next week thanks to two political action committees that just formed late last week.
Residents for Truth – the group behind the blue signs – is headed up by Wilson.
The red sign group, Operation Clean Sweep, is headed up by Mark Mucher.
The original Operation Clean Sweep was headed by current councilwoman Tracy Carroll when she made her first run for the council. And while Carroll was very clear that she wanted the electric system sold, Operation Clean Sweep was a movement aimed at getting rid of council incumbents.
Now that Wilson and Mucher filed the paperwork and opened accounts at Seacoast Bank, they can begin accepting contributions.
The new Operation Clean Sweep isn’t necessarily about removing the current city council, said Wilson, it’s about ensuring the proper and timely sale of the electric system.
“We are past negotiating. We are past arguing,” said Wilson. “It’s time to vote for the people who have made their wishes clear and in case someone may have misunderstood, we are going to make it very easy: You are red, or you are blue.”
Thomas is doesn’t have a problem being on the blue side of the fight. He’s made that clear from the moment he announced his intention to run and he made it clear at the candidate forum where many more proponents for the sale than opponents turned out to hear the candidates: He’s against the sale because he’s not convinced the deal as it stands now is in the best interests of the residents.
As for signs?
“I don’t have a problem with the red signs or the blue signs,” said Thomas. “I think they are fairly accurate. I’m not a kill the deal kind of guy, I’m a fair price kind of guy. There are certain deals that I think would be good, this (FP&L) just isn’t it.”
Kramer who rolled his eyes and shook his head when Wilson held the signs up last week seemed to be taking the new PACS in stride.
“I’m quite flattered that they think they need to spend resources against me,” said Kramer. “I’ve got to be doing something right. Charlie Wilson is Charlie Wilson; enough said.”
Heady was less guarded with his thoughts on Wilson’s campaign to see that the sale goes through. He also thinks it’s a moot point and that the next seated council’s job will be to “mitigate the damages.”
Heady thinks the council is being led blindly by the pricey outside attorneys negotiating the deal on behalf of the city and thinks that the $54 million in penalties that the city will have to pay to the Orlando Utility Commission to get out of its contracts as outlined in the recently signed memorandum of understanding are too high.
