Florida Green Party Candidates Were GOP Moles, Suit Claims

A A A Comments (0) By Eric Barton Thursday, Oct 30 2008

The 20-year-old has a negative net worth of $13,000, but she told party officials she used a rebate she received on a car she purchased to pay the filing fee.

All five of the candidates paid their filing fees by loaning money to their campaigns. All of them also used checks with personal information written in by hand — the kind of checks given out when someone opens a new account. Roman indicated her net worth as $5,219, mostly from a $1,200 car and $1,300 in furniture. For income, she claimed that she makes $15,000 from an undisclosed “Community Center” and $12,000 as a waitress at TGI Fridays in Clearwater.

The GOP may have used Ralph Nader's party to spoil Florida state races.

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Shortly after Roman and the other four phantom candidates filed, the Green Party sent officials out to find them. Jennifer Sullivan, a mail carrier in Spring Hill, went to the address Roman used to file for office. She also went to the Salvation Army where Roman claimed to have coached a basketball team. Roman didn’t return Sullivan’s messages. “It’s pretty bizarre that a candidate wouldn’t want to talk to someone from the party she’s supposedly representing,” Sullivan said. Roman didn’t return messages New Times left for her at work and at a friend’s home in New Port Richey — the address she used to file as a candidate.

On Oct. 24, Roman responded to the Green Party’s lawsuit. Her two-page response denied the charge that she violated campaign finance law; the document doesn’t explain her denials.

The St. Petersburg Times claims to have received an email from Roman, who denied being a Trojan horse planted by the GOP. "I have educated myself about what the Green Party represents and feel it is closely aligned with my beliefs," the paper quoted her as writing.

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