The latest revelation in the flashy CFO campaign of Democratic candidate William David Rankin is his vagabond lifestyle over the past 30 years.
With his boastful introductory press release, Rankin has unleashed a pack of media press dogs, not the least of whom is blogger Chaz Stevens, whose somewhat irreverent websitemyactsofsedition.com has been ragging on Rankin's resume since Nov. 15.
Now Stevens has produced a list of 51 former Rankin addresses -- yes, 51 -- since 1983. And these residences are in eight states and the District of Columbia.
Check out the complete list -- plus the maps Stevens provides to show you all the places U-Haul man Rankin lived.
Why the rush to move in, move out and move on? Something drives him. I hope I can catch him soon to ask.
OK, so Rankin's lived his life popping up and down like a prairie dog. To me, that's weird, but it doesn't become a problem unless the timeline on his resume fails to match the dates on his rental-apartment agreements. I'm looking forward to the homework assignment.
But already there's one 2 + 2 that doesn't make 4: Rankin's service career. He enters the Army at age 17, has 11 years total service, and claims to have spent all 11 in the Army CID.That's not possible. Stevens calls it impossible, Brooke Knight -- the Tamarac Talk journalist who wrote an extensive story about Rankin -- says the same thing. "That would be impossible," she writes, "considering the CID qualification instructions and guidelines require both college credits and time in service."
Knight, herself a service veteran, said of Rankin, "His platform has been so heavily set on his experience in the CID, that it seemed natural to request a copy of his DD-214, which is a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. He is, after all, applying for a very powerful job. On one occasion, he told several constituents that it was classified, and on another, he didnt have a copy on hand. Strange excuses for a veteran running on his veteran experience."
The significance of Rankin's 51 addresses is that now there are no excuses not to check this candidate out. Fifty-one addresses raise more red flags than a May Day parade inTiananmen Square.
Another red-flag-raiser was the fit Rankin pitched outside the AFL-CIO meeting hall in Riviera Beach on Tuesday when Knight confronted him with questions.Rankin refused to answer them, accused her of working for the incumbent CFO Jeff Atwater, called her story "lies" and got her banned from the meeting.
When asked what part of Knight's story wasn't true, Rankin didn't answer.
William Rankin opened up his campaign leveling allegations of fraud and abuse in the office of Florida's chief financial officer. The Democrat has never explained those allegations and other implied references. Certainly voters deserve to know more about the character and credentials of the man making them.
Rankin can expect more questions and more stories.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423.
