Councilman Caught Stealing Campaign Signs and Confesses!

While we have learned that government begins at home in our own towns and cities, voters are now getting more involved in what takes place in their own City Councils and school boards. They are aware of how important it is to have the right people representing them. There is no place in any town or city for those who get elected and allow the power of the seat, both real and perceived, to go to their heads as though they are above the law. Sadly it appears power has gone to the heads of Cape Coral City Council Members Jennifer Nelson and Bobby Welsh whose actions give the impression that they think they can do whatever they want, when they want, and ignore following laws they don’t want.

Most have had enough of this type or rogue behavior watching the senate and congress do the same in their lawless land and the ratings are very poor for the same out of control actions in the controversial  J6 Kangaroo Court sessions! What on earth are Nelson and Welsh thinking?  It is obvious they aren’t looking at citizens of Cape Coral as anything but a vote, or a mail in ballot?  If they are even looking at them at all… it appears they are a bit more self-centered.

Of all times to do such outlandish business as usual with such schemes, especially during a Biden Administration that is destroying America with high gas and food prices, jabs and a world sick and tired of all the pushed school curriculums that go against parents knowledge of them doing, let alone their wishes. Well, it begins with who you elect to serve you at home in your municipality.  What is taking place in Cape Coral isn’t unique for them, it is a national problem. People are now paying attention to it with eyes wide open and they do not like what they see.

Which brings us to the question…what would Trump do? I think he’d call them all out!

Also embarrassing is Nelson’s public display of having heated arguments  on Social Media  over her  promoting the book “The Kite Runner “ insisting it is good for children to read and understand what goes on.  Nelson expressed she believed the book is good reading for kids starting at 5 years old and calls it literature art. I read the book myself, and it was a complex book of a victims memoir of survival. It is a deep story that is better suited for an adult survivors 12 step program. It requires a level of maturity to understand the concept, the words, the situations, and the mindset of a world gone mad to grasp the intent.  It is not a book for grade school children. It has been published since 2003 and reflects an adult survivors memories of the hell they experienced throughout their life covering sexual abuse, pedophilia, and  the horrors subjected  during times of war. It would require adult discretion, let alone child discretion.  It is a book that is better fit for College level psychiatry and scholarly  debate of the social, philosophical  reconstructions,  of post colonialism ideologies.  The incumbent running for another four year term, wants children to try to read it…if they can even phonic out some of the words, and proudly calls it literature art.

PDF of the book: http://mrsmeganparrish.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/0/5/38056115/the_kite_runner.pdf

After reading it myself, I wondered if Nelson even read the book, if so did she even comprehend a word of what she read?

She is now out sabotaging good people running for the School Board because it opposes her views…enter School Board Candidate Cathy Stout and Sign Bandit Bobby Welsh, whose seat is not up for reelection this November.

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Pictured Left, Bob Welsh  (nicknamed the Sign Bandit), won his Cape Coral District 5 seat in 2020 running against Louis Navarra, pictured right.

Council Bandit Bobby Welsh decided if he sees something he can do more than say something, he can do something even if it is a felony.  It appears that Bobby Welsh, decided to take down many of the signs for a candidate named Cathy Stout who is running for the School Board, which removal of another candidates signs other than your own is in and of itself, a felony in their county.   But the real kicker is, the Stout campaign spent $13,000 on the campaign signs at… wait for it…. Bobby Welsh’s parents printing business which is Arthur’s Printing, which is also a business that Patty Cummings has used for 7 years and refers to others frequently. You just can’t make this stuff up. 

In addition to removing signs for candidate Stout, he also decided to remove many signs for conservative Patty Cummings, the opponent to the seated council woman, Jennifer Nelson.

Why is it so hard for some people to admit they messed up?

  

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Picture it…. Big Bobby Welsh, sign bandit sighted in the VIP section of the city workers was caught red handed bending the sign and placing it under his arm headed for the dumpster.  What Bobby didn’t see was a man named Aaron Bathory, catching the felony on film. As Bobby walked past, Bathory asked firmly, “What are you doing with Patty Cummings sign? So you’re the one that’s been stealing them.  You’re caught.”

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Little did Bobby Welsh know that someone was sited earlier in a grey Nissan SUV stealing both Ms. Cummings and Cathy Stout’s Campaign signs and was followed. The driver got the license plate number.

 Welsh makes an attempt to defend himself. “They were on city property.”

Bathory responds, “That’s a felony.” Dun… dun…dun dun …. Dunnnnnn!

Overhearing the confrontation was Candidate for school board Cathy Stout’s husband who shouted out, “I will never do business again with you and I will make sure that everyone knows what you did!”  Remember the price tag for the signs was $13,000.

Bobby stuck with his same story and responded, “It was on city property.”

This gained attention and in a flash city workers approached asking Welsh what he did and he said he took down the signs because they were on city property. He was told by the city workers – “That’s a felony.” Dun… dun…dun dun …. Dunnnnnn!

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Pictured above on the left is husband of Cathy Stout running for  Lee County School Board District 1 and Aaron Bathory the one who caught the Sign Bandit, Bobby Welsh, who stole the signs of both Cathy Stout and Patty Cummings running for Cape Coral City Council District 4.

One of the city workers boldly told Welsh….or rather loudly, “You don’t own the city Bobbie! You work for the people!”

Bobby answered, “But it was on city property.”

Next approached a Female Republican Board Member who said, “What are you doing Bobbie?  You don’t own the city, you work for the people!

Bobby responded, “But it was on city property.”

At this point, Bobby was surrounded by a mix of city workers and  Republicans of which Bobbie claims to be a Republican and a conservative. Bobby left the VIP section shouting…”It was on city property.”

Later a group of concerned campaign members and friends patrolled to find signs and found many in the fields. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure the city property was unharmed and littered up the fields.  The heck with that ordinance.  Fields be damned!  That must be a private property or state issue?

You may think I am making this up. I am repeating word for word what eye witnesses have shockingly seen happen with their own eyes and heard with their own little ears.

Bobby just didn’t understand the protocols.  Or comprehend them… we will wait to see if Bobby repeats the same behavior tomorrow or the next day… or next week and if he does, will he still say it was because they were on city property?  Maybe he will read the city protocols for campaign signs.  Even a police officer can’t yank them up and take them away without committing a felony. They are to report the location of the signs to the Code Enforcement and they handle it. 

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Now whether Bobby Welsh believes he can do whatever he wants because he is a council person or whether he got that idea from watching Counsel Member Jennifer Nelson is a mystery, for he left all of her signs on city property untouched and hers were not found among the many that found their way, alone and cold out in the fields. This strange thing has yet to be answered?  Will it ever be figured out?  Is a detective needed or can common sense add two and two together?

Now in all of this mayhem over signs and the monies spent with Bobby’s family to make them, he has shown no remorse or shame for jumping the gun and taking the law into his own hands… at least not at the moment of this writing.  He has not offered an apology to either candidates or no apology for being the sign bandit.  I wonder if the family is going to offer a refund for the signs Bobbie took control of in his own civil arrest mode…even though it was a felony.  Bobbie the sign bandit believes that by being a council member it allows the right to do whatever he deems necessary to protect the city property from campaign signs. This could be dangerous on other issues.  We are told that when we see odd behavior we must report it. So…?

Meanwhile back to Jennifer Nelson….

It was also reported that Jennifer Nelson tried to intimidate a small business owner by her present title of city council member, to keep her sign up on his property after he had taken it down.  She went inside of the business and asked the owner why he took her campaign sign down and let him know that she was a council member.  He was not intimated; he said a few words of his own and asked her to leave his business.

It appears there is some election bullying or tampering, whatever you want to call it, going on with the removal and placement of campaign signs. It is a felony for council members to remove anyone’s sign unless it is their own. Even the Police have strict orders not to touch campaign signs. If they feel a sign is not in the right place, they are to call code enforcement.  What on earth has gotten into the minds of those who are sitting in their council seats abusing their power and inventing their own laws as they go? This is a good reminder of the many ways of election tampering that propelled the need for the new laws signed by Governor DeSantis, creating an Election Police Force.  Most people had no idea of the many ways those running to keep their seats have created out of their own imaginations as something allowed as a special privilege that needed reigned in, and that goes for campaigns and party headquarters too.

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Governor DeSantis also signed a bill allowing parents to ban books.

But, when we have the examples set forth by a runaway congress and senate and watching the JC Unselect Committee’s Kangaroo Court… at one point we see how this enables those who follow the same lawless policies that lead to and constitute election tampering and unfair voting practices.  We have mini Al Capones leaning on business owners, and sign bandits ripping up any signs that are not of their endorsed candidates. 

Looking deeper into this type of behavior, we see Jennifer Nelson carries this naturally even into her personal work force and not just limited to abuse of power in her Cape Coral Council seat. As she appears to not show up for city council meetings unless she feels like it, and she has done the same for her high paying job at the Captiva Erosion Prevention District. It appears the Captiva Erosion Prevention District’s commission voted to terminate its executive director, Jennifer Nelson without cause and with 60 days’ notice, as proposed by one board member.  The reason for this is Nelson, unable to get herself to actually work her position, decided she also should have more pay and the position was deemed not needed. Nelson had proven that her Vice Chair was a nothing burger and a waste of Captiva tax payer dollars.

Excerpts from a news article By TIFFANY REPECKI / trepecki@breezenewspapers.com – | Jun 22, 2022 titled: “CEPD board fires head of staff without cause”. Here are some excerpts that show the facts:

On June 13, Vice Chair and Secretary Rene Miville requested a change to the agenda to allow for a discussion about staff changes, which was approved and added before the administrative update.

He reported that Executive Director Jennifer Nelson is scheduled for a performance review in September, and that she has proposed a 21 percent increase in her salary and the removal of some language in her current contract that requires her to work out of the CEPD’s office on Captiva.

“This is my opinion and my view,” Miville said. “I want to talk about — to make a big change.”

He noted that the commission had previously agreed to delay consideration of Nelson’s proposed changes until her review in September, but he wanted his motion to terminate to supersede that.

Miville then outlined his reasons for proposing termination.

“There’s been many missteps and errors in the past 18 months and this responsibility has to rely on the executive director,” he said. “Some of those examples are the election redo embarrassment, mistakes with ropes and poles that upset the community, the failure to get additional funds because they (staff) didn’t move fast enough.”

“Failure to keep office open and populated with staff, and the recognition of that importance to the point that Jennifer sought to remove it from her contract,” Miville continued. “Public criticism of commissioners saying they were unprofessional. Unable to pay attention on Captiva priorities given her other public positions and other responsibilities to various organizations. Failure to keep all commissioners advised on what was taking place several times. Sending videos unsolicited to officials that created discourse and tension.”

“The executive director, in my opinion, provides a superfluous level of supervision that the CEPD doesn’t need and the Captiva taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for,” he concluded. “I’m confident that the remaining staff has and can do the work of the organization. We thank her for her service, but her position is not a good fit for the CEPD and it’s time to move on.”

Read full article here: https://www.captivasanibel.com/2022/06/22/cepd-board-fires-head-of-staff-without-cause/?fbclid=IwAR3VRskCAl27CnV9Wj5N_oaRs25aZMw0AbD3PWXicrdmj0vM5WQK9JqEixE

This is a good example of giving an inch and they take your whole yard. I say congratulations to the tax payers of Captiva for saving some money wasted on a useless nothing burger position.

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So this is all taking place where government starts and that is at the local municipal level. It appears this is a training ground and they take their experience with them wherever they go. Be it in the work place or elected servant capacity.  Did I say servant?  Oh my head hurts.

To look the other way and ignore such behavior is why we have such lawlessness at every city, state and federal level. It simply has to stop and those committing willful illegal acts must be held accountable.

Sadly, while Governor DeSantis gets hit by fake news screaming he has gone overboard in wanting fair elections, a growing city in his state called Cape Coral appears to be having their own battles with council members pulling their own antics. But, fear not… election laws will be enforced with the signing of a new bill that  Governor  DeSantis has put in place that offers help to residents and districts and acts as a guide called the  “Election Police Force”.

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If you live in Florida and need help in reporting election oddities or are not sure what is legal and illegal call the Voter Assistance Hotline!

VOTER ASSISTANCE HOTLINE

Toll Free 1.866.308.6739  (in English and Español), available Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., with extended hours during statewide elections.

If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Division using the Florida Relay Service, 1.800.955.8771 (TDD), 1.800.955.8770 (Voice), or 1.877.955.8773 (Español). For more information visit the Florida Relay Service.

Elections Integrity – Division of Elections – Florida Department of State (myflorida.com)

Bobby Welsh may want to call this number and tell them the campaign signs were on city property… If they tell him to call his city code enforcement to look up his city codes and they tell him it’s a felony, will he believe it then?  Maybe not. But hey, an indictment just might work?

Keep on pressing into the Kingdom of God. Press, press, press!

Dianne

By Dianne Marshall

I don't sleep I write! Author, Graphic Artist, Researcher and lover of the truth.

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