sheriff's race

I re-read a statement recently that the men and women of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office are being held hostage. Actually, that is absolutely correct. I completely agree with the UNION on that one thing. The sworn men and women of the Sheriff’s Office are in deed being held hostage and in effect, so are the citizens of Clay County.  However, let me explain exactly who is holding them.

With all the negativity on the blogs lately, I thought it fitting to write something positive and at the same time, challenge the Mike Taylor supporters to do the same. For just a season Taylor supporters, write something positive about Mr. Taylor that you can support with tangible evidence. 

 Let us first look at their qualifications: 

I am sickened at the lengths some will go to drag an apparently good family through the mud and I am equally sickened to see many bloggers anonymously jump on the bandwagon to destroy a family and an honorable man with hearsay, rumor and innuendo.

First of all, isn't Clay county the heart of Christian conservatism?  If so, why are so many stones being cast at Mr. Taylor and his son and his family?  Who was there?  Who witnessed anything that has been alledged?  Two investigations and PASSING a POLYGRAPH is enough for me.  I don't know how or why any accusations are being made but Clay county is still in America where you are innocent until proven guilty. 

It is common knowledge in Jacksonville that Rick Beseler has always had an obsession with the media getting his name in the newspaper and his picture on tv.  It just makes me sick!

As I have started reading the blogs, I see the same old Rick.  He could not take criticism, but boy could he dish it out. 

Staff Motto was always "Big Cases - Big Problems, Small Cases - Small Problems, No Cases - No Problems".  Some Crime Fighter.

And with the latest personal political attacks, I can't help but remember all of the stories that have floated around the office since the last election in Clay county.  Stories of a SAO Chief Investigator that was called to the State Attorney's Office and held there standing at attention taking a tongue lashing for leaking information to a reporter for political gain and given the option of resignation or being fired.  I have often wondered how you could work for someone for so many years and think they are just fine so long as you are still getting a pay check, but turn on them after you leave the office, or made to resign, whatever. 

This is a reply to the liar flyer mailed out by the Fraternal Order of Politicians, Lodge 530 Labor Lodge AKA Jacksonville Public Safety Officers.

2008 Murder Suspect: Mike Taylor and the lodge 530 minions know full well the facts behind this case but chose to twist the facts around to suite their political purpose. I am not going to try to explain the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) issue because most readers would not understand it and it only clouds the issue. The issue regarding the dispute between the State Attorney and Sheriff Beseler is simple, Sheriff Beseler did not back the State Attorney’s chosen disciple for his replacement and now he is attacking Sheriff Beseler any chance he gets and the lodge 530 minions are using it for political gain. The fact that anyone would post a letter that is expressing nothing more than an opinion from someone enraged at another as evidence of a misdeed is self-explanatory but in case the point escapes anyone, it is OBVIOUS DESPERATION.

If you combined all the nasty politics from all the campaigns for the various political offices on this year's ballot, it probably wouldn't match the bitterness in the race for Sheriff. That's not unusual for Clay County. Every four years, campaigns for Sheriff are almost always the nastiest.

Even here at MCS, that's the race that gets most of the comments. It's the race where candidates' children have been mentioned, and whether missing a funeral indicates that the Sheriff is uncaring. That kind of stuff doesn't belong in any campaign, but it is the unfortunate norm in the race for the county's top law enforcement position.

Spending a couple of decades in newsrooms in rural Florida and small-town Georgia, I've gotta tell you, the nasty politics in Clay County pales by comparison.  Some of the dirty tricks I've seen played in the name of campaigning, in places like Marianna or Macclenny or Tifton, aren't even fit to be retold in public forums.

Still, we've got some local folks trying to play dirty.  As usual, it's the anti-Beseler faction of campaigners.  The Sheriff had to put out a press release to let folks know that the aggressive, harrassing telephone solicitors telling folks they "work for the Fraternal Order of Police and are collecting money for Sheriff Beseler" aren't connected in any way to him.