The Dish- November 2022

Page 4

The son of a media company owner with ties to Fort Pierce Mayor Linda Hudson and Fort Pierce City Commission Candidate Michael Broderick, was convicted of voter fraud when his father ran for Indian River County Commissioner in 2010.

In 1996, Fort Pierce Mayor Linda Hudson formed Media Arts Group with Charlie Wilson after he came under scrutiny for his marketing contract with the St. Lucie County Tourism Development Council. Charlie Wilson settled with the County after an audit showed he overcharged the County and received money for services not rendered.

In 2010, Charlie Wilson lost a bid for Indian River County Commission and following the election, his son, Christopher was arrested for voter fraud.

When Charlie Wilson turned in 700 petitions to the Supervisor of Elections Office during the 2010 race 300 of them were flagged as suspicious.

An investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement revealed that Christopher Wilson forged signatures on campaign petitions for his dad. As a result he was arrested for felony ballot fraud and forgery.

Charlie Wilson lost the race and his son went to jail.

In April 2022, Michael Broderick hired Media Arts Group for campaign marketing. Broderick has paid Charlie Wilson and Media Arts Group over $18,000.00 and received Mayor Linda Hudson’s endorsement.

Broderick is running against James Clasby to fill an open seat on the Fort Pierce City Commission. The General Election is Tuesday, November 8th, 2022.

In a Facebook post on November 7th, Charlie Wilson wrote: “I’m afraid. What will happen once again if republicans are winning in tight races only to have the outcome changed the next day by counting found ballots.”

Christopher Wilson remains a convicted felon and Michael Brodercik continues to use his father’s media

But there was no noticeable progress by February 2021 - nine months after the city turned over the land to Rooted in Change.

On February 27, 2021, officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for "The Root." Still no shipping containers and no community engagement exists on the property.

Citizens began questioning the project and learned that some city employees were interested in "The Root" outside of their employment with the city.

On November 11, 2019, the City of Fort Pierce declared the property at 1134-1138 Avenue D surplus and began accepting proposals for redevelopment. The property sits in the heart of Lincoln Park – a poor, predominately black community.

On February 10, 2020, Rooted in Change, doing business as Lincoln Park Young Professionals, submitted a proposal to develop the land.

The non-profit organization proposed "The Root," a community engagement space that would include shipping container turned into pop-up businesses.

Allegany Ministries, a Catholic Charity of Franciscan Sisters, awarded Lincoln Park Young Professionals a $500,000.00 grant for "The Root" and included a Partnership Agreement between the two organizations in their proposal to the city.

In a Fort Perce Redevelopment Agency meeting on May 26, 2020, city staff voted to move forward with "The Root."

The original proposal to the city said the project would be complete by January 2021.

In corporate filings obtained from the State of Florida, Fort Pierce City employees Vennis Gilmore, Caleta Scott, and Lashonda Henderson are all listed as executive officers for Rooted in Change. Mr. Gilmore is Assistant Director for the City of Fort Pierce Planning Department.

The Dish reached out to the City of Fort Pierce and learned permits were pulled for the "The Root." And that's it.

The Dish spoke to a project manager for "The Root' who cited material and staffing shortages for the delay in development. He said, "The Root" would be complete by the first quarter of 2023. The project manager was not concerned about any conflict between city employees and “Rooted in Change.”

According to the State of Florida Code of Ethics, city employees can not transact business with organizations of which they are officers, directors, agents, or members.

On July 11, 2022 the State of Florida Commission on Ethics found sufficient evidence to investigate the city employees for their involvement with “The Root.”’

The city will hold a project update on “The Root: at the November 8th Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency meeting.