Councilwoman Linda Moore had, in the style of a classic children’s book, a “terrible, horrible, very bad, no good” week: a dust-up at a City Council meeting, an embarrassing admission to signing city documents without reading them, a frosty candidate forum and on top of it all a fender-bender. The week ended with Moore, who owns the downtown Kilted Mermaid restaurant and bar, publishing a video standing in front of her neon green Dodge Charger downplaying a minor accident in which she struck a parked car, then drove off. Leaving the scene of an accident with property damage in Florida is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable up to 60 days in county jail and a $500 fine. The incident at Young’s Market was captured on camera. Multiple reliable police department sources say the footage showed her car rocking back and forth from impact, but Moore said she felt nothing, that she was unaware she’d hit anything. After identifying the city councilwoman, Vero Beach police subsequently handled – with concierge-style, hand-delivered service – what Moore was legally required to do at even a minor crash. A crash report was completed by officers, but police said they will not release it for 60 days. This, of course, will be well after the November election, in which Moore is seeking another two years in office. Vero Beach 32963 asked Moore if she received a ticket or a notice to appear. Her reply: “No. There were no charges.” As news of the traffic incident spread on social media, a number of people suggested Moore got special treatment as an elected official. Moore then posted her own video, saying she could not get any work done as her phone was “blowing up” with inquiries. “I hope that everybody can rest easy knowing the details of this horrific crime, and let me get back to work because that macaroni salad is not gonna make itself. “I was at Young’s. I’m there every single day. Sometimes I’m there twice a day getting produce for my variety of restaurants. I was parked next to an employee’s car. I backed out, did not feel my car hit that car. Didn’t notice anything,” she said in her video. “The gentleman whose car I hit knew exactly who I was, knew exactly where I worked, because as I mentioned, I am there all the time. It makes zero sense that I would just maliciously carelessly drive off somehow thinking I’m gonna get away with it? Look at my car. This is not a subtle vehicle,” she said, gesturing to the neon green car. “The police officer that was called, Officer Luna, came to Kilted Mermaid. He got a copy of my license and my registration and my insurance and brought it to the kid whose car I hit because obviously they don’t have my phone number,” Moore said, adding that she later apologized and offered to pay for the damage to the other car. The widespread suspicion that Moore received special treatment was fueled in part by the fact that she has been a staunch supporter of City Manager Monte Falls, despite major management failures like the city’s missed and late audits, and of Police Chief David Currey, despite the upheaval and low morale in the police department. Second, Moore has made herself into a human lightning rod by championing liberal causes, and as an advocate for the LGBTQ community. “I am not a subtle person,” Moore said in her crash-story Facebook video on Saturday. Moore has attempted to push pride month proclamations on the city council in the past. Last year she was forced to read a statement on pride month under her personal council member’s matters instead of at the beginning of the meeting along with the proclamations. That hurt-feeling proclamation baggage was the setup for Moore’s first faux pas which kicked-off her terrible week. Vice Mayor Taylor Dingle had placed on the Oct. 13 council agenda a proclamation supporting parental rights. Moore made a motion to eliminate the proclamation, so it could not be read aloud and handed to the parental rights advocates waiting to receive it. “We have a policy against any proclamations that are controversial, and, um, I feel like perhaps this one could be revisited and maybe restructured a little bit,” Moore said. Dingle pointed out that the proclamation had gone through all the required staff channels to get on the agenda and that Moore had even signed it. Dingle and Councilman Aaron Vos voted to keep the proclamation alive, but Mayor John Cotugno and Councilman John Carroll voted with Moore and the proclamation failed. "I just don’t understand. We all signed it," said Dingle. "If we’re not going to present it, why did we sign it? If it goes against our standards then why would we print it?" “Well, I’m guilty of signing it without reading it,” Moore said. “I am. They give me a bunch of stuff to sign and I just do it. And then later when I saw it on the agenda, I went back and read it. So I’m guilty of that. And I apologize for signing it without reading it.” The next evening, Day Two of Moore’s terrible week, she walked into an icy reception at a candidate forum hosted by the local Republican Executive Committee. Candidates were asked by the conservative group about the previous day’s torpedoed parental rights proclamation. “The proclamation quotes the law verbatim and gives local elected officials an opportunity to honor parents and families by recognizing October as Parental Rights and Appreciation Month. Will you support our local parents and families by recognizing this important proclamation?” moderator and REC Chair Lamarre Notargiacomo asked. All other Council candidates present said they supported parental rights, but Moore said the issue reminded her of the Covid-era school mask debate and said it’s not something the city should weigh in on. Former Vero mayor Jay Kramer put the matter into context based upon his time on council and his experience as mayor. “I’ve gotta say this, when you’re on council, you don’t get to choose who you serve. I had to read a lot of proclamations I did not agree with but I had to serve the people,” Kramer said. Word was still spreading about Moore not reading the proclamation before signing, and then killing it, and her lackluster performance at the REC candidate forum when, at around 3:30 p.m. the very next day, on Thursday, Oct. 15, Moore, by her own admission, clipped a Young’s Market employee’s car while backing out of a parking space, and then drove away. Three of Moore’s challengers hoping to unseat her from the City Council weighed in on Moore’s terrible week – at least on the fender bender part. “Our community deserves elected officials that are trustworthy, lead by example and believe in enforcing the laws that keep our community safe and special. It is not for me to judge Linda; it is for the people to decide if she represents their values,” said former councilwoman Tracey Zudans, who is hoping to return. First-time candidate John O’Connor, who has worked in public safety for 27 years, said of the mishap, “The law should apply equally to everyone, regardless of whether someone holds public office. I would certainly hope that Councilwoman Moore has been held to the same standards and procedures that would apply to any other resident under similar circumstances. I believe in allowing the facts to speak for themselves, and I’m confident that a thorough review of how this incident was investigated will provide the clarity the public deserves.” Candidate Rob MacCallum said he’s glad no one was hurt and “I just hope that the city officials are going to be held to the highest standards, if not higher standards, and that we’re not, you know, giving them accommodations that a regular citizen wouldn’t get.” If holding the crash report for 60 days is the law, MacCallum said, maybe the Vero Police Department could issue a statement about the crash instead, for transparency’s sake. <em>Photos by Joshua Kodis</em> [gallery ids="237513,237514"]