A Seminole man with attitude and an edgy Facebook presence caused a stir with his posting last Saturday, writing that Amendment 2 is failing because its campaign workers have been coerced to drop what they're doing and work for Charlie Crist's election campaign instead.
Jeremy Kyne, listed as owner of a company called Property Redevelopment Specialists, posted this on his own and NORML's Facebook pages: "According to a friend who works with United for Care, the reason we are falling in the polls is because their efforts have ceased, their workers have been forced to do campaign work for Crist, and YES that is illegal ..."
NORML of Florida is a nonprofit lobbying organization working to legalize marijuana, stop arrests of smokers and provide educational research and legal information.
Kyne went on to write, "... It is likeof our efforts have been a smokescreen to have access to thousands of extra workers at the midnight hour ... for the Crist campaign .... and OH WELL if medical marijuana does not pass. My friend is making a YOUTUBE VIDEO to release next week and expse what United for Care and the Crist campaign have been doing ... stay tuned, and keep fighting, but be sure to direct any further funding either to NORML ... or spend the funds yourselves and make your own signs etc!"
The post, entered at 12:59 Oct. 25, has drawn a flurry of commenters -- more than four dozen to date. Some -- certainly not all -- are dissenters.
"Your undermining the cause by doing this ... Bold faced lie," wrote Morgan Haas, head of the Polk County Chapter of United for Care. "...Because, you know united for care is nonpartisan by all means, and you sayin we are helping Charlie in anyway is a lie! Stop stirring the pot! And do something!"
Wrote Brian C. Cole, a media studies student at the University of South Florida, "I voted for Bill Wohlsifer. Had he not been running for attorney general, just like if Adrian Wyllie (who I also voted for, along with Yes on Amendment 2) had not been running for governor, I either would have left the space blank or wrote in 'None Of The Above'."
John Amerson, Amendment 2 supporter from Fort McCoy, wrote, "No one from UFC is being forced to work for the Christ campaign! Amendment 2 is not a smoke screen for the Christ campaign it is about one thing, Compassion for Patients! Some people are working on both because they can't stand Rick Scott. I'm never amazed at how low the NO on 2 folks and the anti-Obama folks are willing to stoop and lie. Ridiculous!"
Kyne replied to Amerson: "No tv ads, no signs ANYWHERE, no nothing ... just Crist workers with mm (medical marijuana) money, it is just plain wrong ... think of it this way folks ... have you seen a yard sign? ... no ... not in person, you haven't."
Karen Seeb Goldstein, executive director at NORML of Florida, presented her response as a commenter, hoping to put an end to any doubt. "Sending money to NORML of Florida is a great idea and making signs yourself is also a smart move," she wrote, "but NOT because United For Care is forcing their workers to do Charlie Crist work. Trust me on this. We work very closely with United For Care."
Sunshine State News attempted through Facebook to reach out to Jeremy Kyne but was unsuccessful.
Political consultant and lobbyist Ben Pollara, executive director of John Morgan's United for Care -- the organization that spearheaded the medical marijuana amendment drive -- did not comment on the NORML Facebook page. But in a telephone interview Tuesday, he categorically denied Kyne's allegations.
"Yes, we've heard about it and seen it," Pollara said. "And there isn't a word of truth in it. We have workers at three sites around the state hustling their tails off to win this thing. Our polls show us at 62 percent. We're concentrating on doing everything we can to stay there or improve."
He said United for Care and the Charlie Crist campaign right now are hiring a lot of temporary and part-time workers. These are job seekers looking to make the best deal for themselves, and who can blame them, he said. If we see a few working for Crist, who were previously working for United for Care, that's just the nature of the temporary job market.
"Believe me," Pollara said, "Our people, volunteers and staff, are fully engaged -- nobody is missing."
A lot of the United for Care staff, he said, aren't even Charlie Crist supporters. "If you took a vote around our offices, probably Adrian Wyllie would come out the winner."
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
