- April 18, 2024
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Dear Editor:
In the on-going bitter slugfest between the two mayoral candidates, Alan Lowe and Milissa Holland, one thing is clear. Holland has based her attack on verifiable information and Lowe has taken the opposite approach. The Holland campaign found court records that showed Lowe’s non-payment of income tax, tax liens, a dismissed theft charge, bad debt lawsuits, a foreclosure, and threats of civil and criminal action against the IRS agents who were attempting to collect the taxes due.
Although Holland’s campaign attack initially missed this very important information, Flagler County court records, most filed by Lowe himself, also clearly show his past alignment with an ultra-radical anti-government “sovereign citizen” movement, a movement labeled by the FBI as “domestic terrorism.”
Lowe, on the other hand, has based his counter attack on proven false and unconfirmed allegations about law enforcement and ethics investigations involving Holland. These allegations have been reported on for months, and Lowe certainly knew their proven credibility problems when he recklessly produced his attack ad, an ad exposing his campaign to a valid cry of defamation.
In the messy and often unsavory political arena when punches are thrown, hitting below the belt is unfortunately allowed, but a wild flailing desperate swing and a miss has its repercussions and in this bout, Lowe loses.
Bob Gordon
Palm Coast
Editor’s Note: In a phone call with the Palm Coast Observer, Lowe denied being aligned with the “sovereign citizen” movement. He said he temporarily wanted to renounce his citizenship due to a spiritual awakening.
Moreover, he said that the spread of false information about his “sovereign” leanings has led to people at the polling station making threats on him, saying he should be hanged or shot.
“I’m fearing for my life,” he said. “That’s my response to the garbage that you guys are doing. ... If I get killed or if I have to shoot somebody because I’m being threatened, congratulations. … There’s a lot of crazy people in this world, and they’re being pushed, especially this particular season right now.”
With regard to the accusations of FBI and ethics investigations, he suggested that we talk to Jay Maher, the former compliance officer for the city. Maher filed ethics complaints against the city. Several former employees at the city of Palm Coast have told the Palm Coast Observer they have been interviewed by the FBI and ethics investigators.
Dear Editor:
As an active member of our community, and former clerk of the court and comptroller here in Flagler, I’ve always believed it is so important to know who represents the best interest of our community. That’s why, during election seasons I always do my homework before walking into the voting booth. During my search into the candidates for mayor of Palm Coast, I found what I immediately assumed to be a clerical error.
Candidate Alan Lowe had only registered to vote in Flagler County on Feb. 14, 2020. From the little I had heard about Mr. Lowe, I understood he had been a resident of Palm Coast for nearly 40 years, so why had he never exercised his right to vote until 2020? In an effort to know and understand, I contacted our Supervisor of Elections, who confirmed to me that Alan Lowe had, in fact, only registered to vote in February, and had only exercised that right by voting in the primary election in August. Coincidentally, that was the same election that his own name appeared on the ballot.
He never voted for any president in U.S. history.
I feel I would be doing a great disservice to you, the residents of Palm Coast, if I did not share this information. Exercising your right to vote is a civic duty and a privilege I do not take lightly and frankly, nor should you. There are brave men and women who fight to protect the freedoms we enjoy here in the United States, and we owe them the respect to participate in the electoral process that so many people around the world do not have.
Alan Lowe decided to register to vote when it was convenient for him, not when you, the fine people of Palm Coast, actually needed his participation.
My intention is not to advocate for any one candidate in this race, but merely to shed light on the character of an individual who will be asking for your vote. A person who clearly does not respect the service of our men and women in uniform, for if he did, he would have made the effort to participate in our previous elections in Palm Coast and Flagler County.
Gail Wadsworth
Flagler County
Editor’s Note: In response, Alan Lowe said: "I have said from the start of this campaign that I am not a politician." He also accused Wadsworth of supporting Mayor Milissa Holland. "Gail Wadsworth is president of the Republican Club, which is sanctioned by the Republican Party of Florida and the local Republican Executive Committee. She has violated that political position of trust by endorsing one Republican over another in this election. Even worse, she has violated Ronald Regan’s 11th Commandment that reads: 'Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.' Gail Wadsworth had no concerns when she took my membership dues. Now, as a paying member of the Republican Club, I call on her to resign her position as president immediately."
In response to his accusation, Wadsworth said Lowe was only deflecting. With respect to her role as club president, she said, "Neither the RNC nor the RPOF tells an individual they may not support or endorse a candidate or candidates of their choice. I am an individual."
