The feculent, fetid, feckless, reckless Flagler County Commission Chairman, impecunious, insipid, insulting, insolent insurrectionist JOSEPH MULLINS (a/k/a "I RUN THE COUNTY" in FHP videos) awas handed a stunning rebuke by the voters of Flagler County August 23, 2022.
Three cheers for yet another defeat of yet another unjust steward, a phony public serpent.
MULLINS moved here from Georgia after an electoral defeat for state representative.
Where will he go now?
From Daytona Beach News-Journal:
Flagler County Commission Chairman Joe Mullins crushed in Republican primary
Flagler County Commission Chairman Joe Mullins’ controversial reign will come to an end after one term as he suffered a crushing defeat in the Republican primary at the hands of Leann Pennington.
Pennington had 69% of the vote to Mullins’ 31%. District 4 covers Bunnell and everything west of U.S. 1.
Controversies have dogged Mullins throughout his term. In June, Mullins gained national attention when the Florida Highway Patrol twice ticketed him for speeding. In both stops, Mullins told troopers he was a county commissioner; in one stop, when Mullins was behind the wheel of a red Ferrari in Flagler County, he told the trooper, “I run the county.”
I run the county':Flagler County Chair Joe Mullins to trooper giving him speeding ticket: ‘I run the county’
Invalid badges:Flagler County Vice Chair Joe Mullins accused of fraud over invalid badges to the Masters
In a text, Mullins wrote it was time to move on.
“Voters have spoken and time to move forward. It has been an honor serving this county and I’m ready for the next chapter in life of what God has planned,” Mullins wrote.
When asked about the impact of the controversies, Mullins said his frustration had the biggest impact.
“I think more than anything, the frustration of getting pulled over had the largest impact,” Mullins wrote. “I regret that day and, as I said, have moved forward.”
Pennington said in an interview on Wednesday that the results were a positive for Flagler County.
"It gives a lot of faith in Flagler County," she said.
“I think that it just shows that Flagler County really cares that we remain a community that has good representation and they care about their quality of life,” Pennington said.
Pennington added that more work remains.
“We actually did about 4,000 doors,” Pennington said. “And we’ll do more till we get through this.”
Pennington, a Palm Coast resident, will go on to face Jane Gentile-Youd, who is running with no party affiliation, in the November election. Another candidate is also listed, Brett Borden, a write-in, but it’s unclear whether he is a serious candidate.
The seat on the commission pays $58,364.80 per year for the four-year term.
Besides the speeding ticket controversy, Mullins is also fighting a federal lawsuit in Georgia accusing him of fraud for selling invalid badges to the Masters golf tournament.
Mullins plagued by controversies
There have been other controversies for Mullins, who was elected to the County Commission in 2018. During a commission meeting in 2020, Mullins verbally attacked two commissioners and stormed out of the chambers. Mullins was subsequently admonished by fellow commissioners.
Mullins has emphasized that he is a businessman and sports agent which he said gave him the experience, vision and relationships to serve the county through rough economic times.
Mullins said his main sports agent business is handling requests from companies to arrange trips for VIPs to attend big sporting events.
But a court filing in Mullins’ ongoing divorce case brought into question his ability to run a business.
Mullins is “potentially bankrupt” according to disclosure form filed this year in the case, which states he has a net worth of negative $675,192.
The form reads "the husband is insolvent, manages debt payments in excess of his income, is subject to demands from lenders and IRS and is potentially bankrupt."
The court filing also states Mullins’ “businesses are essentially insolvent, riddled with debt that exceeds revenues.”
Mullins said those numbers represent investments he has made with different partners. He said he owns entirely or with partners nine different companies.
“If we were forced to liquidate stuff today, that's what it would liquidate at. And my goal is to sit there and work through it. COVID has hit us just like anybody else. A lot of it is my stocks have gone down in value," Mullins said.
The court filings of a negative net worth of more than half a million contrasts to a financial disclosure form filed with the state on June 16 which states Mullins has a net a positive worth of $515,602.
In a statement emailed to The News-Journal, Mullins said both documents are correct. Mullins' statement said the document with the negative net worth is a "complex tax document" which accounts for depreciation, carried forward losses and other tax issues. Mullins' statement also said that the tax filing was drafted nearly two months after the financial disclosure form and in that time his family's holdings changed and their portfolio dropped in value.
Mullins: 'I run the county'
About the speeding tickets, Mullins said that in the Flagler County stop, his comment that he "ran the county" was meant to convey to the trooper that he knew the process because he was involved in government. He added he was also aware of the process since earlier that month he had received a speeding ticket in Seminole County. In that stop, a trooper warned Mullins that if he stepped out of his SUV he would be arrested.
In the Seminole ticket, Mullins said he was "shaken" by the second FHP patrol car which drove up as another patrol car was behind him. Mullins said he thought the second FHP car was going to hit his vehicle. He said one of the troopers told him that they thought he was going to flee.
"That's when I showed him my card and said I'm a commissioner. I'm not going to flee anywhere," Mullins said.
In the other county commission race, Flagler County Commission Vice Chair Greg Hansen retained his seat with 44% of the vote while challengers Denise Calderwood had 32% and Janet McDonald had 24%.
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