What We Think We Know About Signs Could Be Wrong

Alternative Theories Surfacing About Signs Significant time has been spent looking into "sign gate." For those who have been concerned that this matter would not get much attention, my communication with the election official in charge convinces me that is, indeed, being treated very seriously. Based on information developed by the e-Lee Dispatch, the public may have a very different impression of what transpired based on assumptions that may or may not prove to be wrong. The assumption has been that only Jamie Kelly would have had access to the information on the certification. That may not be true. Just suppose Kelly-Marcom was acting, at least in part, as a supplier, and their bill had an invoice attached with the information. The person with that bill may have known the information, too. Kelly may not have been involved in the filing of the first certification at all. The assumption has been that the primary motivation was to keep Herb Hincks off the board so Jamie Kelly would have a better chance of being chairman. Kelly may have already counted votes and known that he could not get four votes even if Lemmond had won. If so, that theory collapses. It is clear now that some key actors within the Littiken faction of the GOP contacted individuals for the purpose of "defeating Herb." They did a good job of keeping a low profile, and it has taken a month to get reliable evidence to support that charge. Or perhaps it was a person who still harbours ill will against the prior board, especially Hincks and Pascal, for not supporting an action that would have changed that person's political future. Kelly did not have all that much to hide by taking responsibility for the signs. They were excellent and raised legitimate questions even if they left a somewhat false impression on the landfill. But some others could have had a lot more to lose politically or professionally. With or without Kelly's involvement, we don't know, but they could have panicked. After the filing was made and repudiated by Steve Thomas, then Kelly stepped forward and filed the certification in order to protect the other parties. In fact, perhaps the invoice had not been paid, and Kelly decided to purchase the signs himself, making the amended certification technically correct. The question would be why, but that would lead to answers that make more sense than trying to cover up his own involvement. All the rumors about the involvement of a Sanford police officer have, after painstaking research, have been traced to one person. Perhaps that was a diversion, too, and a good one because a lot of people would be naturally inclined to believe it. That rumor's source may have known who was behind the signs or the false certification. In fact, he could have been connected to the signs or perhaps he was one of the two who took the form to Thomas. Acting as if he had learned names from Thomas would be an excellent diversion from his own involvement whatever it was. Starting the rumor about the other individual would make his own involvement less likely. There is a saying, "I once thought I made a mistake, but I was wrong." Perhaps all the rumors are true--sometimes they are. Perhaps they were just rumors with no one feeding them. There was at least a planned diversion that resulted in two certifications being filed. Perhaps the investigation will clear all this up. This is just a suggestion that a lot of what we assumed or thought we knew was a planned diversion. Maybe or maybe not. Based on information learned in digging deeper, there is at least one other "theory of the crime" that makes as much sense and has no more unanswered questions than what most have assumed to be what happened. Both what most have assumed happened and this new theory of a planned diversion have aspects that cannot be explained or answered--just different ones that are just as reasonable. After communication with state officials, this is likely to be the last post on this subject until a lot more is clear than has been the subject of speculation up until now. Editors Note: Another column has been added to the continuously growing post Opinions on GOP Future--A Cross Section Of Ideas on the E-Lee Dispatch Post for those interested in differing commentators opinions on where the GOP goes from here. Each column has a brief summary and a link to the full post. The latest is by Star Thomas and is entitled Formula for GOP recovery: traditional values PLUS limited government. Check by the post and see if reading the full column interests you.