Here’s the thing. Informed speculation puts the number of signatures gathered so far by the referendum-seeking Trinity Vote organization at about 20,000. To ensure they have enough good signatures and don’t wind up getting Crained, they likely need about three times that many. And with the June 28 deadline fast approaching, they’re probably scrambling like mad. You need all the help you can get at a time like this. And — I’m being sincere here — just because a guy killed someone 16 years ago doesn’t mean he hasn’t paid his debt to society and he isn’t a good signature-gatherer. But.
But a guy named Joe Carter is working as a coordinator for the Trinity Vote, and he was busted for second degree murder in Dade County, Florida, in 1991. He spent 10 years in prison. You can read more about Carter here. Again, though, I want to stress that unless Carter is violating his parole or something, there’s no reason to suspect he isn’t an efficient, responsible coordinator of signature-gathering efforts.
Reached by phone today and told of Carter’s past, Councilwoman Angela Hunt said, “I am extremely upset, and we’ll address this immediately.” She called back about 10 minutes later to say Carter had been terminated — by which I assume she meant “fired.”
In all fairness, it bears mentioning that Carter previously worked for the other side, Sink the Petition. They’d fired him, too, owing to performance issues.
