news Accusations Fly as Brown, Thanos Clash at Council By Ryan McGahan
The March 16 Gulfport City Council meeting began with swearing in recently re-elected city councilmembers Christine Brown, Ward 2, and Michael Fridovich, Ward 4; Councilmember April Thanos was appointed vice-mayor for the year per the usual ward-to-ward rotation. The meeting proceeded routinely as council discussed new rules for council meetings and appointments to local boards, until Brown, in her closing statement, read a prewritten speech about what she claims were attacks on her family during the recent election by her opponent Mike Bauer. She also asserted that Thanos not only recruited Bauer to run against her, but also recruited one of Fridovich’s recent opponents, and possibly one to unseat Councilmember Paul Ray next year. Thanos laughed at this remark, causing Brown to pause and say, “You’re laughing?” “Yes. It’s not true,” Thanos said, before allowing Brown to finish her speech. Thanos denied the accusations, but admitted that she does want to see some change on the makeup of city council. Brown and Thanos Clash at Council “I’m like Elton John: I’m still standing,” began recently re-elected Councilmember Christine Brown, reading from a prewritten speech during her closing statement at the March 16 council meeting. “I’m standing up for me, for my family, for my city and for my neighbors.” Brown framed her statement as a response to what she claimed were attacks on her during the recent election, including a piece by Peter Shorsch on his website FloridaPolitics.com, which called Brown’s husband “a racist” and claimed his previous comments “should disqualify [Brown] from
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ever being elected again.” Brown finished her full statement “The blogger that wrote the pobefore rebutting. litical hit piece about my family is “Christine, I did not use city known to do anything for money. email. I BCC’ed things that I sent Read up on him in the Tampa Bay from my own email to the city, Times. The paid political hit piece because Sam had made so many came out just in time for mailnasty comments on his rant that out ballots. What a coincidence,” I was responding, and I sent it to Brown said, before calling out her Andy [Salzman, Gulfport’s city atopponent, Dr. Mike Bauer, directly, torney] and to others so that the claiming that the article originated city would have a record of it. But from his campaign. I did not send those from my city “Playing games with people’s email.” lives, this horrific paid-for hit Mayor Sam Henderson interjectpiece, is what ed, saying, “You’ve drives people to “Playing games never seen me rant,” suicide and you did and laughed before with people’s lives, it anyway… Did you allowing Thanos to intend for some- this horrific paid-for continue. body to follow my hit piece, is what On Wednesday, husband around March 17, the Gabber drives people to and take pictures looked at the emails of him? Because suicide and you did in question and found that’s happening. it anyway.” no instance of Thanos Did you intend for improperly using her somebody to be quoted saying city email address to share the ar‘let’s go over to their house’? That ticle. same person planned to confront In her speech, Brown also claimed my husband and his son,” she conThanos “recruited Dr. Bauer to push tinued. her policies... recruited somebody The Gabber reached out to to run against Fridovich,” and, “I’m Brown on Wednesday, March 17 told she already has somebody to about her comments. When asked run against Councilmember Ray,” if she had any evidence to back her before adding, “She has already assertions at council, Brown said discussed outsourcing sanitation. she had no documents supporting Is defunding the police next?” the claim that Bauer had paid for On Wednesday, Brown told the the piece. Gabber that “[Thanos] told me in At the meeting, Brown later pivthe council chamber, off the reoted to target the person across cord” that Thanos had recruited the stage, Ward 1 representative Bauer to run against her. The GabApril Thanos, claiming she “used ber followed up with Thanos about city resources to share this... paid this on Wednesday, and the counpolitical hit piece through [her] city cilmember admitted that this was email account with constituents true. with the express reason to destroy In her rebuttal at council, howevme and my family. er, Thanos said, “I have not asked “I gave you a ride home from the anybody to run against Paul Ray.” tree planting. For the love of God, “That’s not what I was told,” Ray were you stabbing my husband in responded. the back on the way?” Brown add The mayor interrupted, saying ed. to Thanos, “You also haven’t done Thanos mostly waited until anything to stop it.”
theGabber.com | March 25, 2021 - March 31, 2021
