Burnette's Political Campaign Looks More Like a Political Con Game
Don Burnette’s campaign for Mayor of Port Orange sunk deeper into the politics of deception this past week. His use of the official seal of the City to imply endorsement of his campaign is certainly unethical and no doubt illegal as well. Ted Noftall, his opponent in the race, pointed out at the August 2, 2016 City Council meeting that use of the seal on political literature is a violation of Florida Statutes, Section 165.043. Such a violation constitutes a misdemeanor of the second degree and is punishable by a fine of up to $500.00 and/or 60 days in jail.
Burnette admitted his wrongdoing at the meeting (“oversight” was his term), and it is obvious that he has no “certificate of approval” to use the logo as is required by City Ordinance 2012-18. So, it seems the only determination that remains to be made is the amount of the fine and/or number of days in jail. Right?
Anyone who believes that has not been paying attention to Port Orange government for a long time. If you are merely a citizen and taxpayer, the powers-that-be will slap a fine on you so fast it will make your head spin; but, if you are a member of the elite like Burnette about all you can expect are a few chuckles from fellow Council members about your careless “oversight”.
While nothing of any consequence may ever be done to Burnette, the way that he mishandled the situation speaks volumes about his character. He failed to mention the illegal action until he was caught and once caught he tried to make light of it by calling it an oversight. I don’t want a careless criminal as Mayor of Port Orange.
C Dundee
Me neither Dundee
Burnette’s disregard for the law extends far deeper than his illegal use of the city logo as a review of his homeowners association injunction and his driving record quickly reveals.
This holy than thou pompous ass is a fraud and a criminal to boot.
It is only a matter of time before Council charges him with his illegal action.
Kudos to Ted for calling him out. .
This is “leadership” that makes a difference? Don reminds us constantly that he has 6 years on council. Those 6 years were some pretty bad years for the City of Port Orange in terms of revelations. Happened on your watch, Don. Don Burnette’s leadership qualities and experience are his rationale for election for Port Orange mayor. Much like Hillary Clinton’s vast “experience” in government qualifies her to be president? What about those pesky emails and what FBI Director James Comey called carelessness in their handling? Hillary Clinton too wants to minimize her “goof”.
This is a little more than a “goof” Don. See Don’s quote below from News Journal article: “I overlooked it. It was my goof. I take responsibility for that,” Burnette said, adding it was one of several items his campaign asked the printer to remove but he never followed up on it.”
“Never followed up on it”? Why did you not acknowledge the “goof” as soon as you became aware that it had occurred? How does one demonstrate “honesty and integrity”? How can the electorate determine whether a person has those qualities or not? Aren’t those quality made manifest in our behavior? Claims to competence, leadership, honesty and integrity are words associated with your campaign; how are those displayed in this unforced error?
Looks like you just hoped it would go unnoticed while benefiting from the use of the city’s logo. You knew full well that the Port Orange city logo gives an imprimatur to your mailer. It looks “official”; like a city sponsored document.
Common decency with a strong inclination toward personal honesty who will acknowledge a mistake before we have to beat it out of them is what I am seeking in a mayor and a president for that matter. And yes, that person needs to have attention to detail.
We lurch from one stupid mistake to the next: nationally and locally. It looks like Don Burnette will continue that distressing tradition. If you cannot manage your own mailer how can you manage the job of mayor, Don?
And yes, C Dundee, the other elites on council apparently are just going to laugh this one off too. No one up there on the dais is ever willing to criticize another sitting councilman; their allegiance is to each other. Not to the taxpayer or the electorate. There is never a sanction or consequence. Mistakes happen, in all departments, but we have to “move on”, “look forward”, never look back. God forbid, we ever appear to be “negative”. As Don says “hindsight is 20/20”. Yes Don, but we never seem to learn from our mistakes.
Trump and Sanders are right: the system is rigged.
I don’t know why this Is news, Mr. Noftall used the city logo on one of his mailers in the past, then when he was called out on it he used the tree part of the logo, removing the city’s name. And I heard that in the past he was reluctant to use his city issued e-mail address when he was on one of the cities board. That tells me he isn’t as transparent as he says he is.
It’s amazing that Noftall would call Burnette out for what might be an oversight for something Noftall has repeatedly done on his advertising for a year now…If Burnette goes to the slammer, Noftall needs to share a cell with him! It’s amazing the double standard that Noftall lives by…talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
And you report it like this is news??? Did our faithful reporter even call Burnette? Or call Noftall out for the same behavior repeatedly over the last 12 months? Noftall is a fraud.
As that timeless advice goes
IF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE INCLUDING THE CITY HAS A CASE AGAINST TED THEN GO AHEAD AND FILE IT.
Otherwise Jack Hammer you don’t know Jack Shit and that is a fact
Port Orange’s Administration appears to be situated in the belly of the Sitra Achra.
Based on the facts as stated, the proper recourse seems to be Mr. Noftall contacting the State Attorney’s office to file a complaint as he believes a Florida State Statute has been violated.
Let them make the decision to pursue or drop it.
I wouldn’t leave it in the City Attorney’s hands.
Mr. Noftall doesn’t want to involve the state attorney, which is the proper course of action since he has been doing the same thing for over a year and still is. All he wants to do is embarrass people to score cheap political points. And THE FACT is Mr. Noftall is still using the city seal, even after lambasting Burnette for his error in using it. Which also makes Dianne Gardner appear like she has no idea what is really going on around her!
To truth be told, I think your advice applies to mr Noftal as well, he should take legal actions against anyone he thinks is breaking the law. You do see how that applies to mr noftals situation also, and telling everyone or one person they don’t know jack is your way of saying he might be squirrelly but prove it. Name calling and bullying is never the answer. I think calm conversations and looking at all the facts is the best way to deal with problems.
Name calling, bullying, arrogance and a condescending attitude etc. is the modus operandi for Mr. Noftall and his Lieutenants – the Gardners. See other post where the articulate Mr Gardner refers to some as “doofus” .
It somewhat of a shame as Mr. Noftall is indeed intelligent, and a knowledgable person with a terrible approach and demeanor. Somewhat Trump esque. This will be the main reason he will likely not be successful in his political bid. At times, he purports to have the citizen’s best interests in mind. Other times, he seems to have his own agenda with little regard or room to debate.