SEBASTIAN — A new name will appear on the ballot in the Sebastian City Council election race this fall.
Sebastian resident and wounded retired Army veteran SFC Hamilton McWhorter threw his hat in the ring at a meeting of the North County Republican Club. McWhorter filed pre-registration papers the following day and will seek one of the two nonpartisan seats up for grabs on Nov. 4.
The current terms of Vice Mayor Jim Hill and Councilman Jerome Adams expire this fall. Neither has yet said whether he will seek re-election.
Addressing the group a year ago, before his retirement from the Army, McWhorter had said he was looking forward to coming home to Sebastian, his wife, Melissa’s, hometown. Upon his return, however, he said he was surprised and disappointed to find that even with two degrees and 21 years of leadership experience, it was hard to find a job.
McWhorter said he “took some bad ones,” which required him to leave home again. Finally, he told the group, he decided “I am 80 percent disabled, and chasing money no longer.” So he returned to Sebastian to live off his military disability retirement pay and run for City Council.
In 2003, McWhorter was injured in a mortar attack while serving in Iraq. Over the years, the resulting spinal injuries would require seven surgeries (so far). After being stationed in Europe and later serving as an instructor at Patrick AFB near Melbourne, McWhorter was forced to retire. He had served 20 years of active duty.
McWhorter has observed and experienced the fear many people feel when confronted with a war veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder or some other condition or injury that makes him or her appear different.
“We need to honor our veterans, in war and in peace,” McWhorter said, pointing out Barefoot Bay resident Arnie Schwichtenberg, a Pearl Harbor veteran in the crowd.
“There are veterans in this city living under bridges,” McWhorter continued, “because they don’t trust the system.”
A man who believes deeply in patriotism and the Constitution, McWhorter sees this country as, in the words of William Tyler Page in his American’s Creed, “a sovereign nation of many sovereign states.”
Hill called McWhorter “one of our ultimate heroes.” County Commissioner Joe Flescher introduced McWhorter and led the enthusiastic applause when McWhorter announced his intentions.
McWhorter can be contacted at hamilton.mcwhorter@yahoo.com. For information on the North County Republican Club contact Leah Facto: leahfacto@yahoo.com.