Victoria Siplin – Gary's Girl Friday
- Details
- Category: Politics
- Published: Friday, 08 August 2014 17:30
- Written by Hughey Watson
by Hughey Watson - Political Contributor
A special report to Community Steeple
The Rap on the candidates for Orange County Commissioner District 6
In a series of six reports I will lay bear the heart of each candidate in the Orange County Commission District 6 race. I will discuss the rap on each candidate and provide their patent responses to what people are saying.
I will review the candidates in alphabetical order. I have done Lawanna Gelzer - The Perennial Candidate and Homer Hartage - The Wannabe Comeback Kid. Today we examine Gary Siplin's Girl Friday – Victoria.
Victoria Siplin – Gary's Girl Friday
Though her first name means victory she has yet to win. Her first foray into elective politics was against Senator Geraldine Thompson, in 2012. She lost.
The rap on Victoria Siplin is that she is her husband's Girl Friday. A Girl Friday is a young woman whose
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job is to be somebody's personal assistant and to do general what they command. Victoria, who is twenty years younger than her husband, actually started her work career as Gary's secretary during his Miami days. And even today, her main gig is as Gary's paralegal. The shoe fits.
Victoria is really a sympathetic figure. After the sudden death of her mother and the abandonment of her father, Victoria became an orphan and went to live with an aunt. Her tragic beginning is usually the opening line in her stump speech. And truly this is a sad start for any child.
As the wife of a politician who has been lured into political waters, Victoria is best viewed through the prism of three noted political wives.
First there is Eleanor Roosevelt the wife of the 32nd president. Eleanor Roosevelt never got her feet wet in elective politics, but she was the eyes, ears and voice for her husband who was bound to a wheel chair. She toured the nation during the great depression and later travelled the world during WWII to keep FDR personally abreast.
Next there is Hillary Clinton wife of the 42nd president. After her years in the Whitehouse as first lady, Hillary leaped head first into the political waters becoming a U.S. Senator and then the Secretary of State. Her own woman, Hillary is nobody's Girl Friday; and may become the first female president of this nation.
Clearly Victoria is not nearly in the same league as these giants.
The one political wife that properly illustrates the role of Victoria is Lurleen Brigham Burns Wallace wife of the arch segregationist Governor George Wallace of Alabama.
Alabama governors were not allowed to serve two consecutive terms. Term limited like Gary, George devised a plan by which his wife would run for governor while he continued to exercise authority behind the scenes. At her inauguration, Lurleen Wallace stated that her husband [George Wallace] would be her "No. 1 assistant".
This was Gary's plan in 2012 and this is his plan now in 2014. The only difference now is that Gary wants to be state senator and county commissioner all at the same time.
You might also be interested in: Lawanna Gelzer - The Perennial Candidate
Homer Hartage - The Wannabe ComeBack Kid
Thus, to truly examine Victoria one has to examine Gary because Victoria has no say in the matter. She has no voice. Whatever you hear coming from her month is what Gary is saying.
Victoria's patent response is that she is her own woman and she runs her own business. According to her campaign website, she owns and runs a for-profit business called Ushindi Enterprises, where she is a consultant, event organizer, and fund raiser for non-profit organizations. Ushindi she says "focuses on changing the lives of children." By the way the word Ushindi is Swahili for Victory. Thus her business really is Victoria Enterprises.
But according to her own financial disclosure the company has no net worth and pays her no salary. Her company last made money in 2011. Ushindi made $7,500 from a Republican-led group that unsuccessfully fought the popular Fair Districts movement. That same year Victoria made more working as Gary's paralegal. He paid her $10,000.
Back to reality. Victoria or rather Gary has constantly voted against progressive ideas. He regularly sided with the Florida Chamber and the Associated Industries of Florida and their pro-business agendas. Gary supported the privatization of Florida prisons, voted to cut education expenditures, voted to force public sector employees to take a 3 percent pay cut. And, he voted for student progress to be based solely on high stakes tests such as the FACT.
But worst of all, I mean incredible, Gary, a black man and a lawyer to boot, voted for the "Stand Your Ground" law. Wow! I need not mention the prominence of this law in the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin.
This time even the Florida Democratic Party (Gary's own political party) is against him in a primary election. This is an unusual step taken by a political party. The norm is for candidates to fight it out on their own; and then their political party supports the winner in the general election. The Democratic Party isn't taking any chances with Gary this time around. They sent out mailers titled "Gary Siplin: Can't be trusted." The piece accuses him of having deep ties with Insurance companies and steering money into his wife's county commission campaign.
And what is Gary's response and reason for running for the senate and putting his wife up to run for the county commission? Well in his own words, he said, "I can't stay out of the game."
Game?
Unfortunately, there is not much of a patent response from the candidate herself because she is limited. Whenever she is confronted with a tough question she usually refers to her website or her Face book page. You know, the stuff Gary prepared.
Well, this is the rap on Gary or rather Victoria and her allowed patent responses.
Note: the journalistic norm is to use the last name of a person, but in this report first names were used to differentiate between Gary and his Girl Friday - Victoria. No offense.
Next up, Derrick Wallace – aka `Shine'.
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