Troubled incumbent Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill, who is still facing serious questions after her bizarre behavior while under the influence of something was recorded and shared publicly, has received some financial support from Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph. The interesting political alliance appeared in this month’s financial documents as Randolph became one of Hill’s largest donors for her re-election effort.
Randolph now accounts for about one-sixth of all of Hill’s campaign contributions to date with his $500 donation. Randolph contributed last month, but has not made any statement or effort to pull back his support of Hill to date. Randolph is the first local elected official to throw his support and his money behind the troubled commissioner.
Interestingly, Hill has loaned herself $2,000 total so far despite facing major bankruptcy, raising additional questions about her true financial situation.
Hill’s major expense is listed as a $1,000 payment to “GOTV Consutling,” however the address listed is a personal residence where known absentee ballot broker Sandra Lewis is registered to vote. In 2014, an election fraud complaint directly named Sandra Lewis for her efforts to collect absentee ballot votes for candidates who pay her to collect votes. All of this is connected to similar allegations that led to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer being indicted in 2005 for absentee ballot fraud after his first election. Dyer – and others – have never stopped their election tricks and pay-for-votes schemes, and a major Orlando Election Complaint was filed after the 2012 elections against Mayor Dyer and absentee ballot brokers including Sandra Lewis and her team (read the full 2012 complaint here). Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Alphonso Williams refused to question the Orlando City Clerk, Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles, or others involved despite hundreds of pages of evidence in that case. Sandra Lewis and Ezzie Thomas even blatantly lied directly to FDLE investigators and Agent Williams in 2013 during an investigation, however, FDLE simply looked the other way. Would this happen to others in the community who lie to law enforcement?
Does Tax Collector Scott Randolph, who remains very active with his wife in local Democratic politics, want in on the absentee ballot broker business? Or is he just the first brave elected official to stand behind Regina Hill?
Hill is facing a lot of competition to hold the District 5 seat, including Jibreel Ali, Ericka Dunlap, Cynthia Harris, Betty Gelzer and Stovelleo Stovall. There will be more to come on the campaign developments.
RELATED: See Video of Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill’s Bizarre Behavior Caught on Video
