A.G. Gancarski
One might think, given the fact that 4th Circuit Public Defender Matt Shirk and State Attorney Angela Corey are in competitive GOP primaries, they might debate their opponents.
While there’s still plenty of time for that to happen, it’s not happening Wednesday afternoon.
The embattled incumbents, each facing challenges from members of their own party, will instead debate each other.
The debate will be held at the San Jose Country Club, under the auspices of the Southside Business Men’s Club, a group known for its interesting political gatherings.
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During the 2015 election, the group hosted Lenny Curry, who at that point was still holding out hope he would get the coveted endorsement of SBMC member Bill Bishop.
That endorsement didn’t happen, of course, but Curry used the forum to pitch the group on differences between the incumbent mayor and himself.
Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, Curry was strong on the Southside, and the Florida Times-Union credited the reclaiming of a traditional GOP stronghold as being instrumental in his win.
As well, there was a compelling debate for sheriff, in which Mike Williams and his challenger, Ken Jefferson, exchanged thoughts on everything from the administrative structure of the sheriff’s office to the then-current national embarrassments in Ferguson and North Charleston.
Williams seemed to find his voice and his persona in that debate, as he went from a 22 percent showing in the first election to winning in May with 52 percent, by positioning himself as an heir to the John Rutherford legacy, but not a clone.
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The sheriff’s debate was heated.
Will this debate be?
The press release gives context clues.
Shirk and Corey will be “discussing and debating several of their conflicting issues” at this event.
That sounds promising.
“This debate is to take place for friendly discussion of the justice system and to boost knowledge about the issues discussed.”
That sounds less promising.
The justice system is not a friendly place. Miscarriages of justice abound. Justice, often as not, depends on the relative quality of the lawyers and the temperament of the judge, as it does on a lucid and clear dispensation of facts.
Also an issue: with both Shirk and Corey, campaign chicanery has overshadowed what otherwise might be lucid and drama-free re-election bids by incumbents.
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Shirk, getting obliterated in fundraising by Charles Cofer, has political observers wondering if there is a secret PAC somewhere, because people are clearly reluctant to donate to him.
The 4th Circuit public defender brought in just $1,800 in April, with no notable donors in the mix for the Jacksonville Republican. Meanwhile, J.B. Coxwell, a reliable indicator of who might win an election, went with Cofer.
Shirk’s strategy has included some interesting moves.
He called Cofer a tool of “the liberal trial bar and Angela Corey.”
He has leaked letters critiquing the performance of Corey’s office on matters like the trial of Shelby Farah‘s killer and the veterans’ court to the media.
But none of it seems to be registering with the donor class.
Questions for Shirk might include:
Why is Charles Cofer destroying you in the fundraising race?
Given the joke nature of write-in candidate Roland Falcon, who is running for no coherent reason, and who is a charter member of the Matt Shirk fan club, is a closed primary in this race at all defensible?
Why, after years of playing the role of the Washington Generals to Corey’s Harlem Globetrotters, are you assuming the role of a “fighting” public defender for what are obviously political purposes?
And are the rumors of chaos in your campaign true?
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Angela Corey, up until a few weeks ago, was in great position for a waltz toward re-election.
Wes White, her challenger, was struggling to keep his campaign afloat, relying on personal loans to pay for petition collection from mercenaries ranging from rent-a-preacher R.L. Gundy to anti-HRO haranguer Raymond Johnson.
Then, a funny thing happened on the way to a slam-dunk primary win: it became clear that Melissa Nelson would get into the race.
As ’80s pro wrestler Arn Anderson used to say, “adversity introduces a man to himself.”
The same presumably holds true for the campaigns of incumbent state attorneys.
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Consider what happened.
As if following Nelson to Tallahassee, Corey’s campaign manager just happened to be at the R.A. Gray Building at the same time Nelson was … to file the write-in paperwork of “men only” divorce lawyer Kenny Leigh, whose men’s rights-styled advertisements are even jokes on sports radio stations.
Nelson was there to file her own paperwork. Corey’s campaign manager, known for his selflessness and for going the extra mile (or an extra 150 miles), was there to file for Leigh.
Despite Leigh being a write-in from Clay County, Corey’s manager, Alexander Pantinakis, was there “in [his] capacity as a Duval County Republican State Committeeman.”
Again, going the extra mile.
In Pantinakis’ statement, issued after three days of prompting that included a public conversation with this reporter at Corey’s campaign headquarters, he admitted what he had done.
“I received and submitted Kenny Leigh’s documents on Thursday, May 5th solely in my capacity as the Duval County Republican State Committeeman,” Pantinakis wrote. “Throughout my time as State Committeeman, I have always been a proponent of ensuring that only registered Republicans select Republican nominees for office and would question any Republican candidate who would reject that idea.”
Some good questions for Corey:
Why is Pantinakis still on board with her campaign given that he has done freelance work for what we are expected to believe is a legit opponent?
Why is the Corey campaign so scared of Nelson’s challenge that it would go to these lengths?
Though we have been assured that the Corey campaign can’t be accused of doing anything that isn’t “legal, moral, or ethical,” and that apparently advancing a joke write-in candidate whose business model is rooted in misogyny is also “perfectly legal,” does any of this sound like good faith? Does any of this, at all, sound like the kind of aboveboard leadership Republican voters of the 4th Circuit deserve?
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I have no confidence these questions will be asked of Corey or Shirk. But if the SBMC wants to use them, they have FloridaPolitics.com’s permission.
