By: Susan Clark Armstrong ––
Henry Cates said, “The problem with political jokes is they get elected.”
That happens too often in our county and in lots of others. As a result, we are then presented with the improbable and near impossible task of removing an incumbent joke from the taxpayers’ tit…Sheriff “Loverboy” Daniels comes to mind.
As we look to our upcoming election, hopefully a little research can spare us from being on the butt cleavage side of even more political jokes in our county.
Sometimes a campaign slogan can be a window from which to view the cracks in a campaigner’s character.
“We Don’t Need Another “Talker” on the County Commission.
Leslie Dougher for County Commission District 5
We Need a “DO-er!”
Several months after she signed up to run for commissioner, Leslie Dougher was not doing too much, but her opponent was. Dougher’s opposition, Fleming Island Chiropractor, Dr. Kristen Burke, already had her petitions signed to get on the ballot. The doctor, her family, friends and patients were blanketing district 5 with her campaign signs.
It seems Ms. Dougher decided to undo what Dr. Burke had done.
It is important to note that Ms. Dougher married a county deputy a year ago. Apparently, marriage to a law enforcement officer does not guarantee that someone will follow the law. Because on Monday, May 18, Ms. D approached another county deputy and told him she wanted to hire his son to steal Burke’s signs. The deputy emphatically said “no.” Unfortunately for Dougher, the deputy has a teenage daughter who was privy to the conversation. Quicker than you can say 411, the teenage girl hotline began texting, TikToking, tweeting, telephoning and hash tagging across the county straight to…Dr. Burke’s teenage daughter.
Ms. D appeared to have found a willing DO-er because the next day Burke’s small signs started to disappear, then later so did her bigger signs.
Stealing small campaign signs is a misdemeanor. Stealing big ones is a felony.
The signs stealing continued and Dr. Burke finally reported it to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). An investigation was initiated and, sure enough, it was quickly proven that Ms. Dougher had put out a bounty on Burke’s signs.
There is a caveat, however. Leslie Dougher and her husband’s boss, Sheriff Loverboy had been campaigning together. Because of the close ties to the sheriff and the involvement of two deputies, the case should have been routed to the FDLE. The fact that the sheriff had his pregnant girlfriend arrested for stalking to please his gun-toting wife who was hopping mad, might indicate that he may not follow the constraints of the law.
During the same time period, Ms. Dougher’s campaign started spoofing. Spoofing is a technique where a caller deliberately falsifies their caller ID to make it appear it is coming from another source. A male caller made calls to local Republicans who contribute regularly to the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF). Spoofing the RPOF’s number, the caller said he was calling from and on behalf of the RPOF. He gave a little spiel about the wonderful Ms. Dougher and solicited support and donations for her.
Since the RPOF does not typically intervene in local races, especially when both candidates are Republicans, savvy donors contacted the RPOF and asked about the call. The RPOF said they definitely had no part in the calls.
Some smart folks took screen shots of the phone number. I traced the number back to a young man who was campaigning for the DO-er. He said “yes” he had been soliciting funds and support for her from Republican contributors, but he hung up when I asked about the spoofing.
Spoofing carries a $10,000 per call fine.
I brought the spoofing issue to the attention of Commissioner Gayward Hendry, who was initially supporting Ms. Dougher. He casually said “yes” Ms. Dougher told him someone in her campaign was “probably” making the spoofing calls. However, when I talked with Ms. D, she said she knew nothing about the spoofing calls nor the sign stealing.
“It’s campaign season, you know.” she said.
Advice from us voters for your next run for office, Ms. Dougher: The internet never forgets. Especially during the campaign season, you know.
“Our Kids Need Positive Leadership”
Aaron Knowles for Clay County Schoolboard
Yes, kids do! But given the fact that from 1992 through 2019, Mr. Knowles’ life experiences look more like he should be a candidate for incarceration rather than for school board, he may not be the one to provide that leadership.
Mr. Knowles was arrested for Domestic Violence in Brevard County, FL. He was also arrested for Driving Under the Influence with property damage in Manatee County, FL. He was again arrested for DUI in Douglas County, Colorado and placed on probation with his driver’s license suspended. Knowles obviously failed to grasp the concept that if one’s license is suspended in one state, it is suspended in all states. While driving in Clay County, he was arrested for a third DUI and additionally charged with driving with a suspended license.
The candidate also has a long history of spending other people’s money, which is probably why he thought he would fit right in with the Clay County School Board. Knowles was legally penalized for defaulting on a home mortgage, a credit card, and a car. He also had four traffic citations. As of Nov. 18, 2019, Knowles still owed the county for unpaid fees, services charges, fines, court costs, and liens for the payment of attorney’s fee and costs.
Advice from us voters for your next run for office, Mr. Knowles: Don’t do it!
James St. George is fighting Back for Congress in FL 3rd District
I’m not exactly sure what to call this candidate. James George, M.D. inserted a Biblical reference into his name to become Dr. James St. George. The reason he gave for the name change was because he didn’t like having two first names.
Dr. St. George does have plenty of practice in fighting. That fighting started long before he decided to run for congress though…with his ex-wives, mistresses, family, extended family, patients, lending institutions and his cat.
He was arrested in Brevard County for Domestic Violence. According to court records, the doctor practiced medicine in several locations in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Records obtained show he was sued for malpractice in two locations in Florida and in Pennsylvania. One charge was for nearly operated on the wrong kidney of a patient.
Jacob Engels, a journalist from the Central Florida Post, wrote an article referencing court documents from legal battles regarding Dr. St. George. The documents described how St. George held his ex-wife hostage for hours while wielding a knife, ransacking the home and spitting all over the furniture and his wife. Engels also wrote that the documents showed the doctor threatened to “put a bullet” between the eyes of his father and sister during one of his manic episodes. His sister had a restraining order against him.
I have court documents that accused Dr. St. George of writing prescriptions for himself in his wife’s name. Some were for anti-depressants and others were for a condition that I’m pretty sure HIPA would not want me to mention.
During court proceedings, one of his exes accused him of hurling the family cat across the room on wooden floors and into walls and furniture. Dr. St. George qualified his ex’s statement saying the cat did not always hit anything, only sometimes. The doctor named the cat Beazor, a medical name, he said, for a hairball. Hence, he called his activity “Beazor Bowling.” He said his pastime was just a “joke.” I have not interviewed Beazor, but I’m betting he was not amused.
Dr. St. George’s run for Congress is a conundrum. He owns a very expensive home in Ponte Vedra, FL, and has a homestead exemption on it. He has now limited his doctoring to smaller body parts which may be more identifiable, like veins. He has ownership in a vein clinic in Ponte Vedra. Yet, the doctor did not chose to run for Congress in his home district, but in our county where he has a satellite office. He set up a residence in Clay County in Dec. 2019. It appears he did not have the utilities turned on until Feb. 2020, just in time to register to run for Congress in Clay County. A point to ponder: The doctor’s medical income appears to be way more in a month than he would receive in a year from a congressional salary.
Advice from us voters for your next run for office, Dr. St. George: 1.) Step. Away. From.The. Kidneys. 2.) Consider seeking office where you actually live. 3.) Donate heavily to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because CAT PEOPLE NEVER FORGET!
I don’t remember who posed the question, but I read many years ago that someone asked Barry Goldwater how so many nut-Jobs ended up representing us in Washington.
“Hometown voters.” Goldwater answered.
We already have plenty of jokes in public office with even more who want to be…and nobody’s laughing. So, check out the candidates to the best of your abilities. Eeny-meeny-miny-moe is tricky. It’s better to abstain from voting in a race than to add to our misery.
In case you’re wondering, Beazor’s story had a happy ending. To keep him safe, his human mom gave him up for adoption. He’s been living happily every after.
