While supporters of Pinellas Congressman Bill Young were driving into the waterfront estate of Fazal Fazlin in St. Petersburg for a fundraiser Tuesday afternoon, approximately 20 protesters held a news conference outside, denouncing Young for a variety of transgressions, including his conservative voting record and his refusal to not only communicate with some of his constituents, but also for his reluctance to debate his Democratic challenger, attorney Jessica Ehrlich.
"Would you like a Congressman that actually listens to you?" asked Greg Stemm to begin the news conference. "Forty-two years is enough. Mr. Young can't seem to get out of his office to come to any kind of public forum where the public can question him, ask him about his policies. He can't show up for a single debate forum. And yet he's able to come to one of the 1 percenters to raise money."
The demonstration came on the same day that the Tampa Bay Times reported on the unusual situation of Congressman Young complaining about his condominium being broken into twice this year, despite the fact that the Indian Shores police deny awareness of any such event.
The article quotes Young as naming both the Occupy movement and the Florida Consumer Action Network (FCAN) as the culprits. "The Occupiers are after me," the 81-year-old Representative complained.
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2012.