A perennial political candidate who chairs 41 minor political parties is the target of an election reform bill that cleared the Florida House last week.
Josue Larose, of Deerfield Beach, founded and heads a string of political parties -- all starting with "American," including Presbyterian Political Party, Sports Players Political Party, Pentacostals Political Party, Bourgeoisie Political Party, Multimillionaires Political Party, Jehovah's Witnesses Political Party, Intellectual Elites Political Party and Imperialists Political Party.
Larose's parties outnumber all other political parties in the state, which total 32. Adding to the confusion, two of those other parties also have the word "American" in their title. (See full list here.)
Taking advantage of Florida's easy party registration rules, Larose only had to declare two members of each party -- himself as chairman and a treasurer. Initially, Valencia St. Louis of Tamarac was listed as treasurer, but St. Louis' name was subsequently removed and Larose now holds both titles at all of his parties.
Among its multiple voter-reform provisions, House Bill 1355 restricts individuals to founding or chairing just one party.
The GOP-backed measure, which was approved by the House on a 79-37 party-line vote Thursday, also requires a minor political party to have its chair, vice chair and secretary/treasurer registered to vote as members of the political party they serve.
Chris Cate, spokesman for the Florida Department of State, which oversees the Division of Elections, said that under the legislation, Larose "will need to choose which party he intends to be an active member of, and if the many parties he has already formed fail to maintain any membership, then the parties will be canceled."
"Each party will be given 180 days notice to comply before they are canceled," Cate said.
Larose, who did not respond to requests for comment, was the subject of a Sunshine State News article last August. (Read it here.)
At that time, Peter Lincoln, a spokesman for Larose, said, "We want to attract a broad electorate with lots of parties."
Since 2009, Larose has filed as a write-in candidate in at least six races: a special election in state Senate District 8, a special election in state Senate District 28, a special election for state House District 84, a special election for U.S. House District 19, a write-in for the 2010 gubernatorial race, and a Miami mayoral race.
Larose also has thrown his hat into the ring for the Miami-Dade County mayor's contest in 2012 -- though it's unclear how the Broward County businessman would meet the residency requirement.
While other minor-party leaders, along with Democrats, expressed misgivings about the overall election-reform bill, there was no objection to tightening the rules concerning party leadership.
"I agree people should be registered in the parties they govern," said Cara Campbell, chair of the Ecology Party of Florida.
Fred O'Neal, founder of the Florida TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party, said, "It seems reasonable to require that at least three individuals be members of a political party (the requirement being implied in the requirement of having at least three separate officers).
"After all, the right to organize as a political party arises out of our First Amendment right to associate, and the right to associate implies more than one person is involved."
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
