Right-of-center, left-of-center, progressive, “political core”, those people and that group over there.

Lake Worth politics couldn’t have possibly gotten more bizarre than in the March 2016 elections. Hard to believe, but true, an Anarchist tried to position himself in the “mainstream”, or middle of the political spectrum in our City. It didn’t work. But that didn’t mean he didn’t try. 

This year the “bizarre” continued when those who’ve always been adored by some for being “out of the mainstream” like the former commissioner in District 2, Chris McVoy, PhD, shifted to the center hoping his supporters would say to themselves, “But I understand. He’s doing what he has to do to swing votes from the other side.” That didn’t work either. Enter the new District 2 Commissioner Omari Hardy.

Hope you enjoy the blog post below from March 2016, following the election loss of the Anarchist, Mr. Ryan Hartman. Enjoy!

A theory is gaining steam why the Anarchist Ryan Hartman lost so badly to Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell: His style makeover was just too disingenuous for the voters to believe or trust. Some voters certainly accepted his apology for his comments about shooting police officers but a complete makeover within days of announcing his candidacy from disheveled Anarchist to “I’m Chuck Bass” was just way over the top:



The video (see below) is one of Hartman and his campaign manager at the Lake Worth High School Library for a candidate forum that included Scott Maxwell. My guess is Maxwell was as surprised as everyone else was to see Hartman transition from this Hartman (image below) prior to his campaign kick-off to the Hartman you see in the video.

Mr. Ryan Hartman during public comment at the City Commission prior to announcing his candidacy.

Mr. Hartman in full, anti-establishment Anarchist-style with angry, piercing look and hands on hips. Read more about this style and his later makeover using this link.

Here is Hartman in a very short, 1½ minute video, following his makeover and take note: the person asking the question of Hartman is Yours Truly:



This video was lost in the mix on my YouTube channel and didn’t get much attention until after the 2016 elections. But it should have. It really gets into the mindset of Hartman, how he would have performed as an elected official, and how he likely views many neighborhoods and communities in this City.

He sees the people who show up at City Commission meetings as being mostly “right of center” and him and his followers as all “left of center”. He hasn’t gotten to know many of those who attend Commission meetings. To call them mostly on the “Right” in American politics is ludicrous.

On one issue in particular — sea level rise — Hartman tried to demonstrate how far out of the mainstream some elected officials in Lake Worth were, like Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell. Here is Maxwell’s position on sea level rise:

Does Maxwell’s position on sea level rise seem extreme to you?

However, the bigger question is why “sea level rise” was even a campaign issue to begin with? The public here in our City has gotten completely fed up with our politics being hijacked to try and tackle issues way beyond our control. The focus needs to be on fixing our own City, e.g., the streets and potholes.

The lesson hopefully learned by now is “Keep It [our City politics] Local!”