Former Lake Worth Fire Chief, Paul Blockson, whines about "False idols and addiction" as reasons why his wife lost the election

Comment Up

Some people NEVER can see the truth not even when it hits them slam in the face. They love to make up excuses and put the blame anywhere but where it should be--on themselves.

In this case, it was not because McVoy and Mulvehill had more money that they won. It is not because they had special interests behind their campaign such as the Unions, the Realtors and even Sun Recycling. It is not because they had an attack dog political action committee raising havoc for them. It is not because they involved the LW Chamber of Commerce to get involved on their behalf that pulled something "shady." It is not because they got a letter of endorsement from the Mayor. It is not because Commissioner Maxwell pulled some tricks before the election and was heavily involved behind the scenes. Those who lost couldn't use any of those excuses for failure.

Paul Blockson now has come up with an original excuse: He says that everyone who voted for McVoy and Mulvehill where "children who did not take their parent's advice." Wow. (I stole that word "wow" from the Mayor). Being unhappy is one thing but indicting nearly 3,000 people who voted for his wife's opponent is an attitude of arrogance and is outside the limits of acceptable behavior. Loyalty is to be admired but when you personally attack people for voting the "wrong" way, you have gone beyond the pale.

This election was one of the most vicious that I can remember, not only on a State level with the West campaign but locally as well. Perhaps they were "nice" people but we had two candidates running who just plain were NOT qualified. Instead of running their own campaigns to win, they aligned themselves with some people that the majority in this City simply do not trust. Carla Blockson and Lisa Maxwell did not understand the issues and continually made up stuff throughout their campaigns.

Paul Blockson has always been what I consider a gentle and soft-spoken individual. He was someone that you liked immediately upon meeting. Personally, I like someone with a twinkle in his eye. Paul always had that until this election. But inspite of these qualities, elections are grueling. They take the best out of candidates, even families. There has to be a winner and a loser but when you lose, you don't indict the entire populous that voted for your opponent.

Voters weigh the candidates as to what they stand for and their solutions going forward and importantly, the people with whom they surround themselves. They look at campaign tactics and ask, is this correct behavior? Is this fair? They look at who gave money to the candidate. If it is an incumbent, did that person live up to my expectations on most issues? Continued and careful analysis is always in the mix of consideration. You have to weigh the positives and negatives of each candidate. The two candidates who lost had NO solutions, just sound bites of mis-information. And even worse, and even when told, they never changed their style; they continued to dish out their false statements and continued using fear tactics.

Blockson wrote an open letter to his wife, Carla, that was printed in the Lake Worth Herald. He says, “…the pain you feel should be, and will be, felt by the citizens of Lake Worth, due to their short sightedness concerning the people they have chosen to represent this community.” Now I understand that you are disappointed but truly this is an offensive remark driven by your own ego.

I take HUGE offense to this silly and insulting statement, Chief, as do we all. I do study the issues. I do attend commission meetings, unlike the losing candidates. Mr. Blockson, I seldom saw you at city commission meetings either. I believe that it is you and your side of politics that was “short-sighted.” Your wife aligned herself with people who lied and maligned and tried to destroy good people. She willingly went along with them and what they did. She even allowed For the Children, an organization that is housed in a city building on a 99 year lease for $1 a year and where she is a Director, use the children there for her campaign wearing Blockson t-shirts.

All you saw in your mind, Mr. Blockson, was the slum and blight and blamed this totally on Cara Jennings. You lumped in Suzanne Mulvehill into the Jennings camp. You lumped in Dr. McVoy, an environmental scientist into the same mold and you and your friends blamed them both for all the City’s problems.

Paul Blockson, someone for whom I had admiration, strong armed the City for sick pay benefits after he went with PB County. I was very disappointed that he did that, even threatening that the Union might sue, and even more unhappy that he was awarded it on a political 3 to 2 vote. Let’s face it. You were mad that Mulvehill voted against giving you the Sick Pay Benefit when your Union failed to negotiate it when you went to the County. You were mad at Cara Jennings for her vote against you too. That was really it now wasn’t it, Chief? It was all personal. You were also mad at the City Manager when she stopped including you in Manager Meetings.

Because of old housing stock in Lake Worth, our property values fell more than the national average. We have way too many rental properties in Lake Worth that has dragged down values and has caused blight. The national economy brought on by the corrupt development and the real estate industry is what caused the mess we are in.

To blame it on the candidates who won is as ridiculous as you calling me and "addict" or worshiping "false idols." To blame it on Dr. McVoy by saying that he put this city in the "doldrums," someone who has never been in an elected office, is a lie and it is shameful. He and his wife are homeowners just like you. He is a professional just like you. He has a PHd and is a scientist. For you to believe that he has a desire to bring the City down as you seem to believe, I would say let us have him committed to an institution immediately. Obviously, you did not listen to one word he said.

It is you and your friends who are short-sighted, not the majority of the voters who voted in Mulvehill and McVoy. Those who voted for them did not want the “good ole boy” system back in Lake Worth. They did not want the corrupt system of yesteryear. Who would? The voters did not want that "status quo" nor did they want the developer interest controlling this City, undoing everything good that has been achieved. It was even heard said by a sitting Commissioner that, "Wait until November 3, we will reverse every decision made."

These elected officials will not be manipulated by anyone. For you to say that we all will suffer because of “those misguided elected officials,” is highly insulting and preposterous to the several thousand people who voted, who are not beholding to special interests, who are intelligent and who certainly do understand the direction we want for Lake Worth:

• The completion of our Casino

• The completion of our Reverse Osmosis System

• No more Sun Recycling on our Lake Worth landfill

• Exiting FMPA

• Height limits of 3 stories

• The passing of an Ethics Policy

• And our City Manager, Susan Stanton, will still have her job

Reliable sources say that you had problems with the Union and it was one of the main reasons why they wanted to go to Palm Beach County--to get out from under your "leadership." I bring this up simply to point out that your indictment and hateful analysis of the election results did not show good sense nor did it show leadership.

Chief, you insulted all those taxpayers who will be paying for your pension for the rest of your life. This is extremely disrespectful and ungrateful of you. Whining is not becoming to a "professional." You have sacrificed a lot of your respect by having your letter printed. You went way too far insulting over half of the voters of Lake Worth. It is too bad that you didn't "sleep on it" for a week or so. It is also too bad that the taxpayers can’t get their money back. And this is why I took the time to answer you.

His Letter