Bury the Chronicle

By John Labriola - The Citrus County Chronicle has given my opponent in the Nov. 5 race for Inverness City Council, Jacquie Hepfer, its liberal stamp of approval. That should come as no surprise. But the editorial, which was published last week, was more of a sloppy hit piece on me than an endorsement of her.   

The newspaper described me as "a divisive figure who will likely bring turmoil to the council." That's typical leftist drivel. The left uses the term "divisive" to describe anyone it disagrees with, including President Donald Trump. The fact is they don't like me because, among other things, I led the successful push to stop the unpopular LGBT Pride propaganda displays in Citrus County libraries, a move the paper vociferously opposed. But if anything was divisive, it was using our taxpayer-funded libraries to promote sexual perversion to children. 

The paper also falsely accused me of wanting to "ban books." That's a lie. Earlier this year, a resident from Floral City (not me) challenged a number of library books based on their graphic sexual content. One of the books, "Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)," which was shelved in the teen section, came to the attention of Citrus County Commissioner Diana Finegan, who shared excerpts from the book with her colleagues at a commission meeting. The library director removed the book from circulation after commissioners said it was pornographic. I happen to agree with that decision, which has nothing to do with "banning" books, just keeping porn away from kids. Obviously, the Chronicle disagrees and wants pornography to be made available to children. 

The Chronicle also accused me of "not engaging with the community in a transparent manner" because I chose not to attend their editorial board interview. That's laughable. The paper is not the community. The community is far more conservative than the Chronicle, and I've made myself available at a variety of public functions and forums, including a candidate forum at the Valerie Theater that the Chronicle even sponsored. But candidates go to the Chronicle's editorial board to get their endorsement. I neither wanted it nor expected it, so I didn't attend. Why would I want the endorsement of a failing liberal rag? The Chronicle doesn't reflect Citrus County values, so why go? If that makes them feel bad, maybe they should try reflecting our values a little better. 

The Chronicle also mentioned a 20-year-old traffic misdemeanor charge which I was never convicted of, but failed to mention the fact that there was no conviction. That's what you call a smear. By contrast, they described my opponent Jacquie Hepfer's own arrest record as "humorous" and reflecting her "lighthearted approach to life." Talk about bias. Interestingly, two years ago, the paper chose not to mention the arrest records of the two failed candidates they endorsed for County Commission: John Murphy (the Chronicle's digital director) and Stacey Worthington. I wonder why. 

Finally, the Chronicle has ridiculously accused me of waging a "holy war" on Halloween. Individuals can celebrate whatever holidays they want in whatever way they want, and the city council has no control over that. The question is whether the city should be giving someone with an occult background $74,000 to plan and promote a month of Halloween festivities that include events like the "Vampire Pub Crawl" that don't reflect our small town values. The woman who got the city contract has spent years on Facebook talking about the joys of witchhood and of collecting animal bones from Wicca stores on altars. Now that she's getting city funds, she's somewhat changed her tune, saying "You should be free to choose what you believe," and "Should it matter if I was a witch?" Actually, it does if you're getting taxpayer dollars. Personally, I think it's a huge waste of money and would give it back to the taxpayers, who've been suffering from years of runaway Biden/Harris inflation. Let's stop wasting taxpayer dollars on nonsense. 

I'm proud to be such a favorite target of the dying Chronicle. I wear their hatred as a badge of honor. But it's not really me they hate; they hate the people of Citrus County and their conservative values, which I plan to represent on the council. If elected, I will work to cut wasteful spending, lower taxes, and stop overdevelopment, and I won't care what the Chronicle has to say about it. 

The Chronicle is terrified of me winning this election because it will prove once and for all that they don't speak for the people of Citrus County. They speak for a small leftist minority that wants to run the county through a campaign of gaslighting and intimidation. So please help me bury them by giving to my campaign. Click the Donate button below!