VIDEO: Brevard Commission Candidate Bryan Lober Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Opponent Chuck Nelson
By Space Coast Daily // August 25, 2018
2018 Primary Election will be held on August 28
ABOVE VIDEO: Brevard County Commission District 2 Candidate Bryan Lober has filed a defamation lawsuit against Chuck Nelson arising from the publication and distribution of two political mailers.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Brevard County Commission District 2 Candidate Bryan Lober has filed a defamation lawsuit against Chuck Nelson arising from the publication and distribution of two political mailers containing what Lober alleges is false, injurious and defamatory statements about him and his political positions.
Nelson, a former two-term county commissioner, is Lober’s opponent in next Tuesday’s Republican primary election for Brevard County Commission District 2.
Lober said among the false and defaming statements in question were: “Liberal lawyer Bryan Lober is OK with cutting road deputies by $1 million dollars and is willing to let criminal illegal aliens roam our streets putting our safety at risk.”
The mailer cited as the source of the statement a candidate forum held on August 8 at Eastern Florida State College in Cocoa.
“Dishonesty and blatant fabrications have no place in what would otherwise be a fair and lawful election – my opponent’s lies attack the very integrity of this election,” said Lober.
“I will hold accountable anyone responsible for manipulating the election with false information. My opponent’s baseless comments have no basis in reality and were concocted by a man desperate to win by any means necessary.
“The Florida Today candidate forum, which was broadcast on WEFS, a public television station, and also video and audio recorded with the full knowledge and consent of all participants, utterly fails to support any of the allegations by my opponent,” said Lober.
Lober said the segment can be seen in its entirety at the 23:25 mark of the below video.
ABOVE VIDEO: “The Florida Today candidate forum, which was broadcast on WEFS, a public television station, and also video and audio recorded with the full knowledge and consent of all participants, utterly fails to support any of the allegations by my opponent,” said Brevard County Commission Candidate Bryan Lober. The segment in question can be seen in the above video in its entirety at the 23:25 mark. (EFSC video)
The lawsuit filed by Lober alleges that Nelson brought up a potential one million dollar cut to road deputies despite the fact that Lober “never once so much as insinuated that he supported any such cut.”
In the video, Lober in response to Nelson’s comments at the forum pertaining to cutting the budget for road deputies said: “What was said was a mischaracterization of what I had earlier said. I’ve never proposed a million dollar cut to road deputies or anything of that nature so I’m not sure where that came from. I think that’s just a strawman argument that was put up to be easy to knock down.”
Lober went on to say, “My opponent’s assertion that I am willing to let criminal illegal aliens roam our streets putting our safety at risk is wholly fabricated and without any basis in reality and without any support whatsoever in the cited forum and/or anywhere else.”
The lawsuit says that the mailers in question contain photographs of Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and text pertaining to Sheriff Ivey endorsing Nelson in such a manner as to imply Sheriff Ivey endorsed Nelson over Lober.
“I have known Bryan for quite some time and have recently had several conversations with him since he became a candidate,” said Sheriff Ivey.
“In each conversation, Bryan has shared with me that he is a strong supporter of our agency and has no intention of reducing our budget should he be elected.”
The Brevard County Commission District 2 seat is currently held by Jim Barfield who announced last year he would not run for a second term.
“Constituents deserve to have a commissioner with integrity, not one who will blatantly lie to them,” said Lober. “My opponent’s desperation led to his fabrication of invented news.”
Space Coast Daily reached out to Nelson for his comments about Lober’s lawsuit but he has not responded as of press time.
Candidates running in District 2 include Republicans Lober and Nelson, and Democrats Jack Smink and Victoria J. Mitchner.
The 2018 Primary Election will be held on August 28 and the 2018 General Election will be held on November 6.
Brevard County’s District 2 includes Merritt Island, Port Canaveral, Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Avon by the Sea, Kennedy Space Center, Rockledge, Snug Harbor and Patrick Air Force Base.
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