If Rick Nolte wasn't a GOP crank, Ron DeSantis would remove him, not endorse him
I've filed an elections complaint to force newly-elected School Board crank Nolte to address $6200 in illegal cash donations. Unfortunately, his "T.I.T.S." creepiness is not an official violation.
I don’t want Rick “T.I.T.S.” Nolte removed from office before he ever takes it.
I prefer instead to relentlessly and mercilessly use Polk’s crank School Board member-elect against the crank governor who endorsed him and against Nolte’s crank ally — criminal campaign manager-hiring school board candidate Jill Sessions.
After November, win or lose, I intend to further use “T.I.T.S” Nolte for four long years to advance my general goals for systemic and humane renewal in public education in the state of Florida.
Like all vicious cranks, he’s valuable to me; and I don’t want him to slink away until I have mined his crank ore for all it’s worth.
The people should correct their own mistakes in a representative democracy
Moreover, I am not Ron DeSantis.
As a matter of principle, I respect the will of the people in a representative democracy, even when they make a terrible mistake and give official power over children to this gross and creepy person:
It’s best for the people of Polk County to correct our own mistakes.
I intend to help us do that by continuing to build on the very encouraging trends that characterized Tuesday's night’s voting — with the exception of “T.I.T.S.” Nolte’s narrow, fluky win.
My official complaint concerning “T.I.T.S” Nolte’s reported $6200 in illegal cash donations
I’m hoping to help advance the process of correcting the Nolte mistake with an official state elections complaint. It’s quite simple. Here’s the narrative I mailed to the Florida Elections Commission on Monday:
Pursuant to Florida statute 106.09, Rick Nolte, who is now Polk County School Board member-elect for District 3, says he collected at least $6,200 in illegal cash campaign contributions during his campaign. See attached screen shot images.
The illegal contributions come in two buckets:
1) On 3/10/22, Nolte says he personally loaned his campaign $5,200 in cash. That would be a felony.
2) Between 8/12/22 and 8/15/22, I count 10 $100 cash contributions, each a misdemeanor.
It is possible this reflects sloppy data entry and record keeping rather than criminal acts. But the 10 identical $100 cash contributions in such a short period seem very suspicious and unusual.
And as of this writing, on Aug. 29, 2022, Nolte’s campaign has not amended any of its reports claiming these illegal contributions, which I noted publicly last week.
“…clear evidence of incompetence, neglect of duty, misfeasance or malfeasance”
If Ron DeSantis had any core beliefs but personal power, “T.I.T.S.” Nolte would pose a powerful conundrum.
And even more recently, DeSantis removed four Democratic school board members in Broward County over safety and “incompetence” concerns flagged by the rogue and political Marjorie Stoneman Douglas grand jury. Here’s how DeSantis justified the removal:
It is my duty to suspend people from office when there is clear evidence of incompetence, neglect of duty, misfeasance or malfeasance. The findings of the Statewide Grand Jury affirm the work of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Commission. We are grateful to the members of the jury who have dedicated countless hours to this mission and we hope this suspension brings the Parkland community another step towards justice. This action is in the best interest of the residents and students of Broward County and all citizens of Florida.
LOL. That is the same Ron DeSantis who explicitly endorsed “T.I.T.S” Nolte and his $6,200 in illegal cash donations and wanted this unleashed on your daughter’s middle school.
Well, if you’re a parent of a girl — or really anyone — in Polk County schools, does this make you feel safe about “T.I.T.S.” Nolte roaming middle school hallways freely, as Florida law entitles him to do? You should make yourself read that full post and its emphasis on “development.”
Nolte kept it up throughout the whole campaign, even after I reported on it.
And as of right now, early in the morning on Aug. 30, 2022, “T.I.T.S.” Nolte has still not filed any amendment with the Polk Supervisor of Elections Office declaring that his illegal cash donations are some kind of “incompetent” bookkeeping mistake.
So I have to take him at his word about his illegal contributions. Here’s the statute:
Here are two screenshots:
Ron DeSantis *is* “T.I.T.S.” Nolte in spirit; so he can’t remove him and probably won’t investigate him
Ron DeSantis could have endorsed Justin Sharpless, the one GOPer in the four Polk School Board races who is not a gross crank.
The fact that he did not tells you a lot about Ron DeSantis, who is, himself, a gross crank. He chose “T.I.T.S” Nolte consciously and rejected two other cranks and the reasonable, decent Sharpless. He *is* “T.I.T.S” Nolte. You know it; and I know it.
Because of that, there is no chance DeSantis will remove his “T.I.T.S.” guy, who, as of now, has openly admitted in official documents to $6,200 in illegal campaign contributions, including one felony.
Trust me: I have been down the investigative road before with DeSantis’ corrupt government already in the DoE/Jefferson scandal.
In DeSantis-world, investigations are cynical weapons to punish enemies or cynical cover-ups to protect allies.
They are not the pursuit of justice based on any kind of merit. So those of us who care about decency and truth should not rely on Gov. Crank to clean up his own cranks.
It’s up to us to do it, from the community level upward.