{"id":51242,"date":"2024-10-23T16:22:19","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T20:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=51242"},"modified":"2024-10-23T16:22:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T20:22:26","slug":"why-is-rep-melony-bell-running-for-polk-supervisor-of-elections-an-experiment-in-entitlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2024\/10\/23\/why-is-rep-melony-bell-running-for-polk-supervisor-of-elections-an-experiment-in-entitlement\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Rep. Melony Bell running for Polk Supervisor of Elections? An experiment in entitlement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The answer is obvious: she&#8217;s a Barnett\/Publix in-law and a GOPer; so she assumes she&#8217;s owed this public paycheck &#8212; even with a record of demanding overturn of voter decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Billy Townsend<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Melony Bell, mother-in-law of a prominent Publix heir, provided me the single funniest and most personally enjoyable moment of my entire tenure as a School Board member in early 2020. I caught her saying in an official legislative public meeting that my election should be overturned and I should be removed from office \u2014 just for existing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" data-dominant-color=\"b7aba5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #b7aba5;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"716\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-5-1024x716.webp?resize=1024%2C716&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51243 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-5-jpg.webp?resize=1024%2C716&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-5-jpg.webp?resize=300%2C210&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-5-jpg.webp?resize=768%2C537&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-5-jpg.webp?w=1478&amp;ssl=1 1478w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She did not&nbsp;<strong><em>\u201chint.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;Exact quote below. Note the part in bold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have a school board member in Polk County \u2014&nbsp;<strong><em>and I&#8217;ll go on the record<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 that most likely needs to be removed and the governor has not removed him and it&#8217;s taken time after time after time and he just disrupts the whole school board, the teachers, the association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m&nbsp;<strong><em>eternally grateful<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;this happened. Seriously, if I\u2019m feeling a little down,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/893512ec-1b86-4f5b-b204-43c4d7def1bc?j=eyJ1IjoidGNsNmsifQ.48gjcKBKKJaliAqEtjeCB_T1Edy9KSg8xPNVTioqiw8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this NewsChannel 8 report can always perk me up.<\/a>&nbsp;It\u2019s still hilarious, four years later. And I\u2019m just tickled it exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" data-dominant-color=\"3b3b3c\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #3b3b3c;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"553\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-1-2-1024x553.webp?resize=1024%2C553&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51244 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-1-2-jpg.webp?resize=1024%2C553&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-1-2-jpg.webp?resize=300%2C162&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-1-2-jpg.webp?resize=768%2C414&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/unnamed-1-2-jpg.webp?w=1360&amp;ssl=1 1360w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think I just articulated it wrong. I was trying to explain that I firmly believe in term limits, gives a fresh pool of people every time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LOL, Melony. You said:<strong>&nbsp;<em>\u201cI want to go on record\u201d<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<strong><em>an official legislative meeting.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Republicans for Lori Edwards<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fast forward four years; and Melony is running for Supervisor of Elections.&nbsp;<em>Why?<\/em>&nbsp;I heard somebody ask that when I was out and about Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The answer: entitlement\u2019s a helluva drug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After all, Polk County already has a competent and very popular Supervisor of Elections named Lori Edwards. How popular? Here are her vote percentages in her last three elections:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>2012:<\/strong>\u00a073%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2016:<\/strong>\u00a0Unopposed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2020:<\/strong>\u00a077%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Lori is a former Democrat-turned-NPA. And this year, Supervisor of Elections gets the partisan letter by the name on the ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That 73 percent in 2012 was against Colleen Burton, who is now Polk\u2019s do-nothing GOP state senator. And the 77 percent came against a prominent Republican activist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the little \u201cR\u201d wasn\u2019t actually on the ballot either time. This time it is. So we\u2019re in for quite the experiment in how much type-setting drives popularity and flips votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>This Republican<\/em><\/strong>, at least, has already voted for Lori Edwards and against the clerical R. It takes more than a printer (and billionaire family adjacency) to win my vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Don\u2019t blame the Barnett elephant in the room<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other part of the question: why is&nbsp;<strong><em>Melony Bell<\/em><\/strong>, specifically, rather than other thirsty, opportunistic Republicans, running against Lori Edwards?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That answer, as anyone remotely paying attention knows, comes down to one word:\u00a0<strong><em>Barnett.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0I did a whole thing about that some months ago. See the article below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/7d7fdab8-3320-48a1-aa38-2da4c4010888?j=eyJ1IjoidGNsNmsifQ.48gjcKBKKJaliAqEtjeCB_T1Edy9KSg8xPNVTioqiw8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/7d7fdab8-3320-48a1-aa38-2da4c4010888?j=eyJ1IjoidGNsNmsifQ.48gjcKBKKJaliAqEtjeCB_T1Edy9KSg8xPNVTioqiw8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Listen to Melony Bell: Your daughter can also marry a Publix heir so you can run for Elections Supervisor<\/a><\/strong> &nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/7d7fdab8-3320-48a1-aa38-2da4c4010888?j=eyJ1IjoidGNsNmsifQ.48gjcKBKKJaliAqEtjeCB_T1Edy9KSg8xPNVTioqiw8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/7d7fdab8-3320-48a1-aa38-2da4c4010888?j=eyJ1IjoidGNsNmsifQ.48gjcKBKKJaliAqEtjeCB_T1Edy9KSg8xPNVTioqiw8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">This is just funny. Funny, funny, funny. Nepotism is always kinda funny, especially when it lacks basic self-awareness and imagines itself inspirational. And my old foil Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade, is not known for self-awareness:<\/a> &nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Read full story<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I said it then; and I\u2019ll repeat it now. I see zero evidence the Barnetts actually&nbsp;<strong><em>encouraged<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;Melony in her adventure \u2014 and only the barest hints of go-through-the-motions support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think they\u2019re giving ya\u2019ll permission to reject the overly-entitled use of their power and influence. But you might have to ask them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Supervisor of Elections is not a Kelli-Stargel-style Florida Poly fake job<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, to sum up, in my informed observation, Melony is running because she wants what former GOP state senator Kelli Stargel has \u2014 a highly paid fake job at a government institution for the next 20 years. It\u2019s her personal annuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See my article about what you\u2019re paying Kelli Stargel not to do at Florida Poly here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/c2d55b75-52b6-45c9-b120-70c8d9b417eb?j=eyJ1IjoidGNsNmsifQ.48gjcKBKKJaliAqEtjeCB_T1Edy9KSg8xPNVTioqiw8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kelli Stargel&#8217;s hilarious hire shows nobody cares about Florida Polytechnic University<\/a><\/strong> Read full story<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The difference is nobody cares about Florida Poly; and she can\u2019t really hurt anybody by collecting a check there. The consequences accrue only to Florida Poly\u2019s dignity and quality of function. (And, of course,&nbsp;<strong><em>we taxpayers<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;have to pay for Kelli\u2019s welfare job.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Supervisor of Elections does matter. It\u2019s not a fake gig. And Melony Bell is already very much \u201c<strong><em>on record\u201d&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong>saying how little she respects elections \u2014 which is literally the job. It was funny in 2020 how unseriously Melony takes elections. Would it be as funny if she was running them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The answer is obvious: she&#8217;s a Barnett\/Publix in-law and a GOPer; so she assumes she&#8217;s owed this public paycheck &#8212; even with a record of demanding overturn of voter decisions.&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"9","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":51246,"url":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-66-18-png.webp","type":"image\/png"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[10136],"class_list":["post-51242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-why-is-rep-melony-bell-running-for-polk-supervisor-of-elections-an-experiment-in-entitlement"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51247,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51242\/revisions\/51247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}