A former candidate for City Commission in Lake Worth “fanning flames of mis- and disinformation.”

Ellie Whittey didn’t get mentioned a lot on this blog after qualifying and leading up to Election Day, last March 14th. Frankly, could never quite figure out why she was in the race to begin with. Did hear that almost everywhere she went Whittey attracted a large crowd and enthusiasm but that never translated into votes.

The District 4 race was already an odd one to begin with, a rarity in Lake Worth, an “open seat” election due to then-Commissioner Ryan Maier exiting his re-election bid. Herman Robinson won outright avoiding a run-off and Maryann Polizzi came in second place and Ellie Whittey a distant third.

What may have sealed the fate of Whittey was what she said about the Lake Worth Casino. And to make matters worse she then doubled-down and made the same claim again in front of a packed City Commission meeting on January 24th during public comment: 

“I can understand the hesitation of wanting get involved with this company [Morganti] legally. Morganti is not a United States owned company. They're based out of Athens. So again, they don’t have to comply with our rules. I would be hesitant. I don't believe people knew this going into this contract. Again, we learn from our mistakes. NEVER [Whittey raises voice] have a contract with a company which is not an American-owned company. Because again, what can we do when they mess up? They don’t have to comply with our laws as you know. Thank you.”

So, is Morganti, the construction company that built the Casino going to skip town and screw over Lake Worth? Go back to Athens and give our City the shaft? No. Not at all.

Sure, it’s taking much longer to fix all the problems at the Casino but progress, although slow, is being made. Whittey said, “They don’t have to comply with our laws.”

ABSOLUTELY FALSE. The public, the City of Lake Worth elected’s and staff working so hard to fix all this, as well as Morganti all deserved an apology. It’s irresponsible, at the very least, to be spreading this complete falsehood, especially from a candidate seeking elected office.

Unfortunately, mis- and disinformation leading up to elections is all-too-common in this City. Like the rumors spread days prior to Election Day that Mr. Omari Hardy wasn’t a resident of this City.

In the end this is a hopeful sign. The voters seem to be paying very close attention to what’s going on in this City and then making their choices wisely.