Cuckoo birds of the same feather

And then there’s these guys.

John “Library Guy” Labriola. Paul “Library Guy Wannabe” Grogan. 
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Labriola is seeking a seat on the Inverness City Council. Grogan is hoping for County Commission District 5. Both are trying to unseat incumbents.

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Neither deserves north of 20% of total votes. They should get far less, but we live in a world today where fooling voters is so easy that we now expect the unexpected.

Let’s have a conversation about these two.

Cutting to the chase: A vote for either of these characters doesn’t mean you’re out of touch. It just means you’re out of touch with reality if you think either candidate is concerned with anyone’s best interest but his own.

Been doing this a long time. Seen all sorts come and go. Some candidates truly have the community’s concern at heart. Some candidates only want power. Others use campaigns for publicity.
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These two, though, well, they just take the cake. They are the worst. Ever.

It’s not just that their hearts aren’t in the right place, or that they’re trying to fool people into thinking they’re someone they’re not. 

Nope. Here’s what really burns my buns: That smug arrogance. How dare they try to speak for us? How dare they pass themselves off as true representatives of this community when, in reality, they’re just looking for a way to jerk our chains?

So, I have some thoughts:

— Not everyone likes Councilwoman Jacquie Hepfer. Not everyone is thrilled with Commissioner Holly Davis. Totally get it. This isn’t the time to put your foot down.

I’m hearing that some longtime Inverness folks, those who would consider themselves influential, are actually backing Labriola because they have some personal beef with Hepfer.

Well, let’s just be clear. Anyone who fancies him/herself an Inverness leader and supports a bigot for City Council, is turning his/her back on the city and its citizens. That’s just dumb ego. Nothing more. Issues with Hepfer are minuscule compared to the havoc this ninny will cause.

— Had a very nice chat the other day with Elisha Belden, owner of Twistid Ink tattoos and whose nonprofit, Twistid Arts Initiative, is all the rage in Inverness with creative ideas that draw in families and children.

So of course, Labriola hates it. (He must be a RIOT at parties.) It’s not enough for Labriola to voice his objections at City Council meetings like we’d want all citizens to do. No, he’s taken to his social media to go personally after Elisha and her business.

This guy doesn’t have an ounce of decency.

— The Grogan campaign file is quite interesting. You know me…always looking at where candidates are getting their money and how they’re spending it.

Grogan has $4,407 in collections. He’s personally ponied up all but $218 of that. Of his $3,716 in expenses, $2,929 was the ballot qualifying fee. As you can see, he’s tight on cash.

So, how did he pay for these pretty red/white yard signs that are twins to Labriola’s signs? Great question! No idea. 

His report shows $100 in-kind for “built a sign.” I doubt that’s it. He also shows $306 in-kind “signs for campaign.” Unless he literally created these signs in his workshop, that’s not an in-kind donation. If someone else paid for these signs, his report would need to show that.

Why hone on these details? It shows Grogan can’t be trusted with the most mundane task. Handing him the keys to the Courthouse washroom is disastrous.

— I’m sure Library Guy and Grogan are fine humans in their own right, though Labriola constantly gives us reasons to not believe that. As political candidates, they’re horrible. I don’t know how else to say it. There is not one single redeeming value in either candidate for Citrus County. Not one.

No vision, no community participation, no basic understanding of how things work around here. Elect them to office?

C’mon voters. You’re smarter than that.

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