Duval Dems disown District 14 City Council candidate for supporting Bill Bishop

District 14 City Council Candidate Jason Tetlak is a nice guy and a principled guy. No one will disagree with that. He may be too nice and too principled for the Duval County Democratic Party, according to an email chain obtained by this reporter.

The drama started on February 19, when Richard Shieldhouse emailed Party Chair Neil Henrichsen to alert him to Tetlak’s apostasy.

“Jason tells me he is supporting Bill Bishop for Mayor”, claimed the longtime Democratic activist, “largely because of his vote on the HRO.”

Shieldhouse then wrote that he “can’t support a candidate who is effectively working to elect an opponent of our incumbent Democratic Mayor.”

“While I wish Mayor Brown would take a position on equal rights,” he continued, “I understand why he would avoid doing that for political reasons.“

Those “political reasons“, in the eyes of some, have to do with a play for Tea Party conservative support.

Shieldhouse then went on to reestablish the Herman Cain/Bill Bishop connection, then linking that to tacit support of Clarence Thomas on the Court and “all of the implications that has for fair and equitable rulings.”

Shieldhouse then posited the fair and equitable question: “Is [Tetlak] a member? If so, he should be tossed out.”

District 14 Vice-Chair Elaine Burnett then added fuel to the fire under Tetlak’s ambitions as a Democratic candidate. “Jason is on his own” in this campaign, where he’s raised less than $3k (by choice, as he has eschewed fundraising) so far against an incumbent who has many times that amount in his coffers. “I am sorry that the only person we had running is someone who thought so little of our efforts,” she added.

District 14 Chair Bob Dorn followed up those messages with an ultimatum to the candidate.

“At the DCDEC monthly meeting this last Monday (Feb 16), the Chair of the Duval Democratic Party nail [SIC] us to the wall for supporting you in any kind of way, in your support of Bill Bishop for Mayor.”

Dorn asked Tetlak to “with draw [SIC] your name, in all types of media, in your support of Bill Bishop for Mayor” so that the Party can continue to support him, such as it is.

We contacted Tetlak — and he’s not budging.

“I don’t really mind if they run me out of the party for voicing my opinions. That is their right and not something I am really concerning myself with,” Tetlak emailed.

“I have been asked several times to backtrack and support Mayor Brown,” the candidate continued, adding that Brown “unfortunately has failed to support members of the LGBT community or make a stand on the issue of the HRO and courthouse weddings, so I can’t in good conscience say he is the best choice for leading our city forward.

“I have no plans to do anything about what the Duval Dems are discussing internally, I’m focused on doing what is right for Jacksonville and the residents of District 14,” he concluded, adding that he feels no ill will toward “the party or its members”.

The beneficiary of this scrum? Incumbent Jim Love and the Duval County Republican Party. It doesn’t appear anyone minds that much.