The Errors And Omissions Candidate
Hey GOP, that's some candidate you've got there. Just when voters might think they know everything about David Jolly, something new turns up. Sometimes several times in one day. So far, the only thing genuine about him seems to be that he's a slick politician.
Take the revisionist history in his campaign for the seat of his old boss, Bill Young.
Of course, oil drilling and Social Security privatization are merely the tip of the lobbying iceberg for Jolly. Another thing that wouldn't thrill the voters in his district are his views on making veterans pay more for their health care. These are all things that aren't easy to swallow in a district loaded with seniors, veterans, and beautiful sandy beaches.
Then there was the little dust-up over residency. Jolly claimed that Alex Sink was a carpetbagger, and that he, and only he, was the true local in his district. How, he asked, could Sink possibly know what the voters of Pinellas want? That all sounds great if you ignore the facts:
He stresses that he has lived in Pinellas since 2005. (He owns a 950-square-foot condo in Indian Shores that he and his wife bought in 2005 for $340,000. They also own a 1,650-square-foot home in Washington bought in 2007 for $900,000).
Jolly often notes that he serves on an Indian Shores zoning board (not a heavy lift considering that board has not met in three years).
He says he served as Rep. Young's district director for a year. (Actually, it was more like seven months.)
His cellphone number has a Washington area code. Since registering to vote in Pinellas in 2006, county records show he has voted by absentee ballot 10 times and in person three times.
That's not all. While Jolly is busy claiming he's a tried and true Pinellas-only resident, another unfortunate fact popped up today:
But tax records in Washington D.C. show that in 2007 Jolly applied for and received a homestead exemption on his Washington D.C. home. Declaring that as his principal residence saved Jolly $528 in taxes in Washington - while he was simultaneously receiving a homestead exemption in Pinellas County.
Oh, those pesky tax records. But Jolly has a way to spin that little inconvenient truth:
"We bought the DC house in 2007, the closing paperwork incorrectly homesteaded us. I wrote a letter to DC property appraiser when I noticed the error and the homestead exemption was rescinded."
You see? It was all just a mistake! The kind of mistake that seems to happen a lot with politicians in Florida who have a track record of errors and omissions on disclosure documents. So I suppose that's at least one honest tie he has to the locals.
Finally, another Jolly disclosure just came to light. Not disclosed by Jolly, however, and he is crying foul. How dare people dig up more facts like this from his past?
Republican congressional candidate David Jolly was involved in a fatal car accident at the age of 16.
Jolly's vehicle struck and killed 30-year-old lawn service company owner Blair W. Ropes, on a rural road in southern Pasco County, according to a news report at the time. A spokeswoman for Jolly said Ropes was walking in the road after his motorcycle broke down that June night in 1989 when Jolly struck him.
Jolly acknowledges it was a tragedy (big of him), but apparently the bigger and more important issue for Jolly is the fact that someone would bring this accident to light.
"I don't know who has pushed this story, but I believe it to be a heartless individual who has clearly never lost anyone close to them or experienced such a tragedy," he said.
Jolly was not cited for the accident, adding he was "exonerated of any culpability."
No sir, Jolly is not happy that anyone would dare to dredge up this secret from his past, and he says he won't be discussing it any further, and no wonder:
Kent Ropes, the brother of Blair Ropes, recalled for theTimes that some family members questioned whether authorities declined to charge Jolly with any violation because Jolly's father was a prominent Baptist minister in east Pasco.
But enough about the feelings of the victim's family. Won't someone think of poor David Jolly's?
"It took several years for me to get to a place of peace, but not something anybody would ever get over," Jolly said.
"I'll be honest, for several years it challenged my faith. I questioned how such things could happen, but tragedy occurs."
In other words, stuff happens?
Like I said, that's quite a candidate you've got there, GOP.
