Treasure Coast residents part of lawsuit seeking to stop Tea Party from being 3rd political party
Jim Turner
The amended complaint, filed Wednesday, seeks to have attorney Fred O’Neal and Republican consultant Doug Guetzloe, both of Orlando, change the name of their registered political party and stop threatening to sue activists who use the name.
“We’re not a political party, we don’t want to be a third party, at least the majority of us don’t,” said Port St. Lucie resident Carl Iken.
Iken, who was among the founder of the Treasure Coast Tea Party nearly a year ago, is individually listed now as a plaintiff in the complaint along with the Treasure Coast Tea Party and the Martin 9/12 Tea Party.
Named after the colonial rebellion against the British tax on tea in 1773, the fledgling local tea parties were created to crusade against big government, deficit spending and most of President Barack Obama’s agenda.
O’Neal, a Democrat, and Guetzloe could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that O’Neal and Guetzloe, calling the lawsuit “bogus,” have asked for it to be dismissed.
The lawsuit was initially filed in January with six plaintiffs. O’Neal and Guetzloe registered the name Tea Party with the Florida Secretary of State in August and have said they intend to run candidates against both Republicans and Democrats in state and national races.
According to a release from the plaintiffs’ legal counsel, O’Neal and Guetzloe were not involved with a tea party organization in Florida prior to registering the name, using a Winderemere Post Office address.
“Since registering the third party, the men falsely represented themselves to the media as leaders of the Florida Tea Party movement, supported liberal Sen. Paula Dockery in the Republican Primary for Governor, and threatened authentic Tea Party activists with legal action over use of the name,” the release stated. “The defendants have also threatened to run third party candidates in general elections, a strategy resoundingly rejected by Tea Party activists and groups across the country.”
www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/feb/18/treasure-coast-residents-part-of-lawsuit-seeking/
Feb. 18, 2010