The Supervisor of Elections office has been under scrutiny since the huge disparity in the absentee ballots and the mail in ballots surrounding the Amanda Cochran vs. Mike Greenwell race for County Commissioner.
Amanda kicked butt in every area, except those two areas ( absentee & mail in ballots ). So Tommy Doyle is out in the pasture now after reopening a private indiscretion that was already settled. Only the rookies in politics will fall for that one. Fast forward with Cecil Pendergrass and Jena vying for the Supervisor of Elections seat. Surprisingly, Cecil had WAY MORE grassroots support countywide than the current Supervisor of Elections, but She had the juice with the Governor….So she (Jena) got the nod.
Unfortunately, Jena may never get a chance to show that Governor DeSantis made the right decision because of one word. TRUST!
Only the people inside of Terry Miller’s circle trust her. Everyone else (i.e. Republicans outside the aforementioned circle, Democrats, and Independents) do not.
What led to this?
Over five hundred school board employees were fired and are furious. Her Father is Chairman of the School Board. The people in Estero are furious because her husband David allegedly dumped toxic things in the area years ago. Then Jena passed a bill etc.etc.etc. The public thinks that her appointment is the next step in a power grab to maintain control in Lee County. Jena needs to address the entire staff in her office, because the majority of them do not trust her, and once employees’ distrust of the main Boss is present in any organization, mistrust is impossible to remove, because the first termination will lead to more suspicion and more distrust.
The scary part is this mistrust of Jena is even within the Lee County Republican Party, which I DO NOT THINK IS FAIR TO HER.
I personally applaud any family who is civic minded enough to take control of the region where they live. What Armor Persons has done with his family is an awesome feat. He positioned his daughter for success as any good father would. Then he vetted the man who would continue his family’s legacy in the person of David, his son-in-law. Plus he kept his childhood sweetheart by his side at all times for decades as a faithful husband. So kudos to him.
Business is business, and government is procurement – bottom line.
…and to the person who sent me the scathing letter because I wouldn’t expose what I know about David…..
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND!
DAVID is NOT an environmentalist. David IS a businessman….& As a businessman WE (collectively) sometimes have to pay fines, and fees, etc….to us – it is the cost of doing business. All businessmen who “produce big numbers” understand one thing. Anytime you do serious numbers in any profession – guess what – here come the Regulators. We understand that Fines & Fees come with the territory.
I got the emails, inboxes, texts, phone calls, letters to the editor etc. regarding Jena’s appointment as the new Lee County Supervisor of Elections. I also received hundreds of emails complaining that the Amanda Cochran race will be rigged again.
My heart goes out to Jena because “Trust” is the one thing that changes everything according to Stephen M.R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust, and that trust was broken before her appointment by the governor according to the public.
Congratulations to Jena on her appointment and keep her in your prayers, because “ALL THINGS WILL WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD.” ROMANS 8:28
p.s. My father’s mentor Meyer Lansky told him “Crown Prince (which he affectionately nicknamed my father) Success Breeds Silent Enemies.”
