Lake Wales commissioner has history in klan

Lake Wales commissioner has history in klan



Earlier this summer, residents of this Polk County town were shocked by the abrupt firing of the popular city manager. Lake Wales is normally a quiet place not accustomed to controversy. Banners proclaim its "vintage charm,'' evident in the stately lakefront homes, the soaring Bok Tower, the renowned Chalet Suzanne inn and restaurant. But the firing of Tony Otte, praised for his efforts to improve race relations, seemed to refute the other part of the town's slogan: "progressive vision.'' And what disturbed many of the 12,000 residents — black and white — was that one of the commissioners who voted to oust Otte was John Paul Rogers, former grand dragon of the United Klans of Florida, a faction of the notoriously racist and anti-Semitic Ku Klux Klan. "It's embarrassing,'' says lawyer Howard Kay, one of the town's few Jewish residents. "I'm a very liberal person, but I don't think anybody would want this type of person on the City Commission.''

Rogers, a barber, gun dealer and real estate broker, was elected last year with the help of a black friend and an unusually large number of absentee ballots.

Now 68, with a bit of a paunch framed by blue suspenders, he appears far different from the hooded figure once feared by Lake Wales' black citizens. His supporters, including the mayor, say he has been a hard-working commissioner who is always polite and fair.

Even his detractors say he comes across as soft-spoken, charming, even gentlemanly.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/local/article1033790.ece

In fact, Byrd was a "Kleagle" and an "Exalted Cyclops". I guess that shows people can change.

:rofl:

And I doubt that any of those things were named after him because of a proposal by a person of color.

The Constition, the Stars and Stripes, an eagle, and the Statue of Liberty equal what, exactly, in your book?

And in case you missed it, referring to the guy's garage was simply a joke :) Not everyday you see someone with a nifty garage, posing in front of it wearing suspenders, and is also a former leader of a local klan chapter.

All he needed was to be smoking, drinking a beer, holding a sack from olive garden while his wife breast fed their baby and we would have a perfect picture :rofl:

This newspaper artice was written by a lazy reporter that did not even check into the published articles on his background when he was running for commission.(The Ledger, The Winter Haven News Chief) and several TV stations in the Tampa Bay area.

We knew about his background and his past. We also knew of his service to the community in other positions and his desire to attempt to change the reckless spending of the city commission that failed to keep the city manager in check and allowed Mr. Otte to by pass the commission on many projects. Mr. Otte was fired for cause for donating city property and services to private citizens and organization without asking the city commission. Check with the Polk County Florida clerk of court to review a court case 2009-CA-008871-0000-00 in which the City of Lake Wales is being sued by the airport operator for diverting insurance settlements and FAA grants to rebuild airport buildings and hangers destoryed/damaged by the 3 hurricanes. Mr. Otte spend 2-3 million dollars for a firewell at the airport for fire control(you don't fight a plane fire with water, you use foam.)

Thanks to John Rogers, who led the fight to stop the fire assessment fee of $149 a year on every piece of property in the city limits including orange groves and parking lots. That would have been in addition to property taxes.