The dirty politics of betrayal and backstabbing was on full display in Lake County, Florida this week, sparking outrage across the state and causing the perpetrators to reportedly flee town.
Cary Baker, a Lake County property appraiser who was first elected in 2012, had high hopes of keeping his seat in November. He ran unopposed as a Republican candidate last Friday just before the noon qualification deadline, but the normal running process did not go as expected.
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The case was brought by Mark Jordan, brother of Lake County Tax Collector David Jordan. Already used It was a “despicable scheme” to “submit documents to a property appraiser without Baker’s knowledge so that only his name would appear on the ballot on election day.”
The tactic prompted Florida Republican Party Chairman Evan Power to announce Tuesday that he and the Lake County Republican Party would call on Mark Jordan to withdraw from the race after “dirty tactics” were used to oust Baker.
A named candidate is one whose name is not printed on the ballot. Election rules require county officials to pay a check for $11,000 to qualify for the ballot, but if a candidate runs unopposed, he or she can qualify as a named candidate and avoid paying the fee.
Baker, a respected member of the community after serving in Iraq and in the Florida Senate, has previously run unopposed and returned the $11,000 donors saved to qualify for the ballot. “What I’ll do is wait a week, and if nobody else is running or there’s no one lined up to run against me, I’ll file a write-in,” Baker told Breitbart News. “If I run a write-in and nobody else runs, the race is basically over and we save everybody money.”
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Baker’s money-saving strategy came into question on Friday. His opponents, Mark Jordan and his brother, David Jordan, are longtime friends and political allies of Baker’s and were in the room when the polls closed. Baker said he had no idea his friend would become his opponent. Jordan said: running To maintain his position on the North Lake District Hospital Board of Directors.
Baker said the morning of the deadline went by like any other: He waited until the last moment for his opponents to get in line, then submitted his nomination papers at the deadline and left the building.
Baker was unaware that Mark Jordan had turned in his paperwork and paid the fee immediately after he left the room, so only his name appeared on the ballot. “I was turning my paperwork in and the time ran out,” Baker recalled. “If I’d been in a room with people I didn’t know, I would have paid the fee. I just didn’t pay it because I knew them well and considered them friends.”
“They paid the registration fee, Mark’s name will be on the ballot, but my name will just be left blank as a write-in candidate,” Baker said.
Baker feels betrayed by his brother’s scheme. “We considered each other friends and worked closely together as county officials for many years,” Baker said of David Jordan. “He acted greedily on his brother’s behalf and stole the election from his friend. The only ones who got away with this betrayal are his friends.”
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The incident appears to have stunned the tight-knit Central Florida community, where residents appear to be largely supportive of Baker on social media. Eustis Mayor Michael Holland, who is Mark Jordan’s treasurer, told WFTV ABC: Resigned Holland was fired as treasurer following the uproar, and did not respond to Breitbart News’ requests asking if he still supports Mark Jordan’s candidacy or whether he thinks David Jordan should remain as county tax collector.
“They never expected the backlash and public outcry from people they considered friends,” Baker said of the Jordans. [David Jordan] “His political and personal support has been completely destroyed,” Baker continued. “His reputation in the region is beyond repair. It can’t be repaired. It’s over.”
Neither Mark nor David Jordan responded to Breitbart News’ requests for comment.
Baker believes both brothers have left town. “Apparently David is on holiday overseas and no one knows where Mark is,” she says. “They aren’t returning her calls or emails, so I think they’re just hiding out of guilt.”
Tuesday, Lake County Republican Party Voted A range of options will be open to denounce the brothers, including excluding them from party events, cutting off funding and removing all references to them from relevant literature.
“I question the legitimacy of a candidate who would use dirty tricks to try to win the presidency,” Evan Power, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, said in a statement obtained by Breitbart News on Tuesday.
“The Republican Party of Florida, along with the Lake County Republican Party, urges candidate Mark Jordan to withdraw immediately as his actions have brought shame and disgrace to our county,” he added.
Wendell Fsebo is a political reporter for Breitbart News and a former Republican War Room analyst. The Politics of Slave MoralityFollow Wendell “Bat” @WendellHusebø or The truth of society @WendellHusebo.
