Paul Paulson resigns as GOP Orange state committeeman

[Baitball Blogger]

Paul Paulson has resigned as Republican state committeeman for Orange County following accusations he ran a “sham charity” targeting veterans.

Paulson, who ran for Orlando mayor in a nonpartisan race in 2015 and cut short a bid for agriculture commissioner last year, settled a federal lawsuit last week that alleged the vast majority of the $11 million collected by his nonprofit, Help the Vets Inc., went to Paulson or for-profit solicitors.

Paulson agreed to pay $1.75 million to legitimate veterans charities.

GOP state chair Blaise Ingoglia immediately called on Paulson to resign his position, a call echoed by state Rep. Mike Miller and other Orange County Republicans.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-paulson-resigns-orange-republican-20180726-story.html

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. How does a county Hillary won by 25 points have a Deplorable, i.e. Republican mayor ?

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Central Florida's government is run by a good ole boy network.

Behind the scenes there is a lot of compromising going on between Fla Dems and Republicans in the business community. Someone once called it the third party.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. I like Buddy Dyer. I met him in 2000 when Al Gore had a campaign event at the Lake Eola Bandshell.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. I don't know much about Buddy Dyer.

I can only make broad assumptions about whatever influence he might have in Central Florida. For example, there are a few Republican good buddies in my community who were abusing their positions. They probably derive their power and connections through a large university here in Central Florida. I don't know if the president, also a Republican, of that university knew anything about their community over reaches, but he appears to have been pushed out. I don't know if Dyer had anything to do with it, but a hat tip to him, if he did.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. I received my BS and MA from UCF. Good times.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. I received a second baccaleaurate in legal studies from that university.

Not enough to be a lawyer, barely enough to be a paralegal, but just enough to know that the process gets derailed through the back channels of Central Florida. Too many Republicans in high positions, and too many Democrats that want to play on both sides.

[Blue_true]

15. Buddy Dyer is the Mayor or the City of Orlando.

He is a progressive democrat. The City of Orlando and Orange County have Mayors. The Mayor of Orange County serve over unincorporated parts of the county, while the Mayor of Orlando administers that massive city. BTW, the Mayor of Orange County is a woman, a moderate-progressive democrat, she has chosen not to run for another term.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

16. I am aware that Orlando and Orange County both have mayors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Jacobs

She's a Republican.

[Blue_true]

11. The Mayor of Orange County Florida is a women.

She is stepping down, the leading candidate to replace her is either the brother or husband of US Congresswonan Val Demming. Orange County is very liberal, except on the more rural fringes, where a republican may stand a chance of getting elected.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. I lived in CEN FL most of my life before I moved to L A

Having a Republican mayor in a county Hillary carried by 25 points seems incongruous. I know Orlando is a relatively progressive city.

[Blue_true]

17. The Orange County Mayor is a democrat.

Moderate-progressive. The Mayor of Orlando is Buddy Dyer, a very progressive democrat. Now, if one moves to the far reaches of the county on all sides but the I4 west side, then republicans can win seats that cover mostly rural voters. Orlando-Kississimmee, Sanford are pretty progressive, with Sanford and Kisdissimmee lately becoming so. Places like Mount Dora are also becoming more progressive in time. Republicans hate growth because when places grow, they become less conservative and become more liberal as they grow, my area is a case in point.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. Teresa Jacobs, mayor of Orange County, is a Republican.

All those cities you named beside Orlando are not in Orange County.

While we're talking about Orange County mayors I saw Mel Martinez coming out of an event at the Best Western in Winter Park back in the day. He was sweating bullets.

[Blue_true]

19. I stand corrected. She is pretty moderate. Her replacement is likely to be a Dem.

Maybe she chose not to run because the writing was on the wall.

Those towns that I mentioned are very much under the Orlando satellite. I have relative there, all of the region is pretty built out, and that continues.

My area used to be very red, it is now a lot less red.

[Blue_true]

20. The thing about Orange County.

It has a Black sheriff who has been reelected. He will be running for Mayor of Orange County. I must admit, I live north of Orange County, but sit square in the media market. My sense of Jacobs was that she was moderate-progressive, maybe she isn't running again because the county is moving away from her to harder left. She tried to hold up implementation of medical pot for Orange County and got run over. She was very strong during the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub massacre.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

21. Orange County is blue as is Orlando.

I shouldn't have been surprised Jacobs is GOP. All her predecessors were. Still seems incongruous.

[Blue_true]

22. Aren't some of the outer fringes still rural?

My family lives just south of Orlando, between the Big O and Kississimmee.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. I left in 012. It has changed but I don't think that much.

Orange and Seminole County are virtually built out. As you know Central Florida is one suburb after another. Osceola and Lake County, not so much.

I worked on Florida campaigns. My mom was a Kennedy delegate in 1980 at a Daytona Beach straw vote. God less her, she complained about being strongarmed by the Carter people. My buddy, Scott Sokol , had a high position in Buddy MacKay's 1988 Senate run in which he lost by one half percent.

The 2016 presidential campaign was the most humbling in my life. I though for sure Hillary's center left politics would easily carry the day in FL. How wrong I was. If Scott beats Nelson I will be legitimately shook, and if DeSantis beats Gwen Graham I will be shattered.

P.S. Tangerine in Orange County is rural, lol.

[dalton99a]

2. The GOP is the natural home for liars, traitors, and thieves

[gratuitous]

3. Scam $11 million, pay back $1.75 million

Boy, talk about a deterrent - that'll teach Paul Paulson not to scam people!

[MagickMuffin]

4. And the 9.25 million,

Where is it going?

Poof, nothing up my sleeves!

[Blue_true]

12. Boats, homes, liquor, women.

It is always that way with male republican scammers. The female republican scammers go for homes, boobjobs, facelifts, cars.

[oasis]

7. Saw a Trump protest sign this a.m. "GOP: Greed, Oppression, Pollution."

A sham charity for vets is about the lowest GOP scum can go.

[dalton99a]

14. +1