Where the candidates stand

By John Labriola - Last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade has returned the issue of abortion to states and local governments, but a Republican candidate for the Citrus County Commission has refused to commit to keeping abortion clinics out of Citrus. 

During a candidate forum at this month's Crystal Oaks Republican Club meeting, District 2 commission candidate Stacey Worthington was asked by pro-life Florida House candidate Paul Reinhardt if she would vote to declare Citrus County a "Sanctuary for the Unborn," a move that would prohibit abortion clinics from locating in Citrus, which currently has no abortion facilities. 

Worthington deflected the question by falsely stating it was a "state issue." (See video.) In fact, the Sanctuary for the Unborn or "Sanctuary for Life" movement is a citizen-inspired initiative to get municipal governments to ban abortion at the local level. Santa Rosa County in Florida's Panhandle became the state's first Sanctuary for Life when that county's commission approved its own pro-life resolution. Florida law currently bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy – down from the previous 24 weeks – but it would not prevent an abortion clinic from locating in Citrus County. 

Also at this month's candidate forum, Worthington signaled her support for LGBT propaganda displays in the county libraries, saying she would have voted against County Commission Chairman Ron Kitchen's move earlier this year to ban such promotional exhibits in response to a firestorm of public outrage over last year's "LGBT Pride Month" grooming displays. Worthington attempted to justify her position by making an absurd distinction between the library's "children's section" and the library's main lobby where the displays were located and which are equally accessible to children. (See video.) 

At another candidate forum two months ago, Worthington – along with District 4 county commission candidate Rebecca Bays – denied that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, despite the fact that Democrat governors and officials in several key swing states like Pennsylvania violated state election laws to favor Biden by illegally extending mail-in ballot deadlines without legislative approval, among other unauthorized election rule changes designed to skew the results. 

Worthington's consistently liberal positions have earned her the leftist Citrus County Chronicle's endorsement. Local left-wing blogger Mike Wright, a former Chronicle reporter, recently bragged that he has temporarily switched his party registration from Democrat to Republican just so he can vote for Worthington in the Republican primary. 

Worthington's air conditioning company is one of a handful of sponsors of Wright's liberal blog. Other sponsors include Citrus County Commissioner Jeffery Kinnard, Crystal River Mayor Joe Meek's real estate company, Rebecca Bays' husband Michael Bays' insurance agency, Citrus County School Board member Linda Powers and leftist school board candidate Deborah Daniels, who has also been endorsed by the Chronicle's liberal editorial board. 

Worthington's District 2 opponent Diana Finegan has consistently come out against taxpayer-funded LGBT propaganda displays in the libraries and has told the Citrus Crusader that she would vote to declare Citrus County a Sanctuary for the Unborn.  

Vote for Diana Finegan.

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 4

In the District 4 County Commission race, voters will choose between Rebecca Bays, Winn Webb and John Murphy. Bays and Webb are both former county commissioners, while Murphy is on the Citrus County Chronicle's payroll as regional sales manager while also being married to the leftist newspaper's publisher Trina Murphy. 

Bays entered the contest for County Commission after dropping out of the race for the Florida House when State Rep. Ralph Massullo decided to run for reelection instead of making a planned bid for the State Senate. Despite her demonstrated aspirations for state office, Bays refused to answer a question at a recent candidate forum about whether she agreed with the DeSantis administration's opposition to transgender surgeries and puberty blockers for minors, saying it wasn't a county issue. (See video.)

John Murphy supports allowing LGBT propaganda displays in the county's libraries, which is not surprising considering he has helped run the annual "Diva Night" drag queen events sponsored by the Citrus County Chronicle, which actually had the gall to endorse its own sales manager. Like Bays and Worthington, Murphy also denies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Winn Webb has voiced his support for conservative causes like the pro-life Sanctuary for the Unborn initiative and banning LGBT propaganda displays in Citrus County libraries. 

Vote for Winn Webb. 

SCHOOL BOARD

In the Citrus County School Board's only contested race this year, voters will choose between incumbent Linda Powers and challengers Mary Seader, Joe Faherty, and far-left candidate Deborah Daniels (who pulled this year's most bizarre campaign stunt by having her own drag queen cheering section at the Chronicle's recent candidates forum).  

Mary Seader, a Christian conservative, is an outspoken critic of crossdressing and transgender insanity in the schools, and she is the only one of the four school board candidates who favors ending the Citrus County school system's current policy of allowing students to identify as the opposite sex. 

Vote for Mary Seader.

All candidates will appear on the Aug. 23 ballot. Absentee ballots were recently mailed out, and early voting will begin on Aug. 12. Please print and distribute our Christian Voter Guide by clicking HERE.