PRESS RELEASE December 6, 2017
Media Contact: Doug Guetzloe 407-312-1781 Email: floridasshe@gmail.com
DUNN UPSET VICTORY: A VOTER REFERENDUM ON MUNN PARK WAR MEMORIAL Coalition Declares Victory
Lakeland - Yesterday's landslide win for City Commissioner Mike Dunn should signal to all politicial hopefuls that debasing the Munn Park war memorial would be political suicide at the ballot box. "Michael Dunn's victory is proof positive that the folks in Lakeland want to keep the Munn Park Memorial" said David McCallister, Save Southern Heritage Florida ("SSH FL") spokesman. "We view this as a public referendum on the issue. It should send a resounding message to those who hope to seek re-election in the future that there should be re-consideration of Monday's 4-3 surprise vote to take down the Munn Park veterans memorial. Dunn, himself a veteran who had previously run unsuccessfully for Commission, campaigned openly for keeping the historic veterans memorial in place. Dunn will replace incumbent commisioner Don Selvege who lead Monday's sneak attack on the the Memorial. The War Memorial became a key issue in the City Commission campaign, despite Commissioner Selvege's bulldoggish surprise move Monday that resulted in the vote, that left Commissioner Yates feeling "sandbagged". Despite over 6,000 letters, emails, letters and phone calls, just slightly less than the number of voters in Tuesdday's election, the Commission ignored the will of the people, after threats and intimidation from anti-veteran memorial groups. "We were worried about this happening, so our coalition members took a key interest in the campaign. Save Southern Heritage conducted an extensive voter education campaign" said McCallister. Save Their Honor Political Committee conducted its own campaign on behalf of Dunn with the Munn Park Memorial as the call to action in the election. Local citizen activists seeking to "Save the Statue ("SOS") worked vigorously to spread the word that Dunn was pro-veterans memorial. "We believe the coalition, SOS, SSH FL and Save Their Honor, and the rest 'moved the needle' Tuesday. Two other recent elections were wins for pro-veterans memorial candidates. Lakeland's Comissioner Malless lost his re-election bid last month, and Lawrence McClure won the Republican primary in a special election for Florida House District 58 on a pro-Memorial platform. "We will be announcing a new campaign soon to expand on Dunn's victory and Malless' removal made possible by the voters in Lakeland" McCallister said. "Selvge's legacy to Lakeland is discord and division, we believe the new commision won't let that stand". "Our poll showd that most Lakelanders feel it is blashemeous to even be discussing removing a memorial to dead veterans" said McCallister. "We expect the new commission will put the process in hard reverse when they take office in January" McCallister concluded.
SAVE SOUTHERN HERITAGE Inc. is a not for profit education and advocacy organization for Southern Heritage & History. It was started in 2015 in response to the knee-jerk Anti-Southern institutionalized bullying and “Erase-ism” levied against the people of South Carolina by Governor Nikki Haley, after she broke all previous agreements about how South Carolina’s historical veterans and their symbols should be treated and respected. SSH FL does not condone racism and as such we do not support any group or person that does. We respect the rights and privileges of all as bestowed on them by their creator and expect those in our association to respect and treat others as they themselves would wish to be treated. The Florida branch was activated in mid-January 2016, in response to three initiatives in the Florida Legislature that are part of a hate campaign led by Anti-American extremists, who refuse to respect the various cultures that make up the fabric of Florida’s society. Since that time, it has grown in membership and has been active in Heritage battles throughout Florida including the “We'll Remember in November Campaign” that resulted in #heritagehater candidates to lose elections in Florida. More info: www.sshfl.org.