Congressional candidate John Ward: Keep Puerto Rican evacuees from voting

May 22--Republican Congressional candidate John Ward's recent assertion that Puerto Rican evacuees living in Florida shouldn't be allowed to register to vote is being denounced from both sides of the political spectrum.

The comments by Ward, who is running for Florida's 6th District, were captured in a YouTube video making the rounds Tuesday.

"I don't think they should be allowed to register to vote," Ward said of Puerto Ricans who moved to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Maria. "It's not lost on me that I think the Democrat Party is really hoping they can change the voting registers and I don't think they should be allowed to do that."

His comments came in response to a question about government's role in helping Puerto Rico following the hurricane that nearly destroyed the island last fall. The video was posted on YouTube by the campaign of Fred Costello, a fellow Republican who along with Michael Waltz is battling Ward in the 6th District primary. It was shot on April 23 at a debate in Lake County, according to Vic Baker, Costello's campaign manager.

In the video, Ward later also said he believes the situation is improving in Puerto Rico.

"We should be looking to put the Puerto Ricans back in their homes, right? The idea that they can come to the mainland United States, I don't necessarily have a problem with that, but I think we should be thinking about it in terms of getting them back home. And providing the capital and resources to rebuild Puerto Rico, which is, I honestly think, where they belong."

Dolores Guzman, president of the Volusia County chapter of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida, said Ward demonstrates ignorance in his comments.

"I am so upset at the fact that people treat the Puerto Ricans like they are second-class citizens. We are U.S. citizens. We were given that right in 1917," Guzman said. "How dare you say if we move here, especially from a disaster area, that we don't have the right to vote."

The Division of Elections states any citizen residing in Florida has the right to vote.

Guzman said every candidate, Democrat or Republican, should denounce Ward for his comments.

A Republican state lawmaker, Rep. Bob Cortes of Altamonte Springs, did just that in endorsing Costello.

"This is an outrage," Cortes said in a written endorsement. "No candidate for office in this great country should be so woefully ignorant of the Constitution and the rights it protects for American citizens. Electing a candidate like that is dangerous and would be a disservice, not just to the Puerto Rican Americans he would disenfranchise, but to all freedom-loving Americans."

In contrast to Ward, Costello answered the question at the forum by saying: "I absolutely disagree. Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States of America. They have a right to go anywhere in the United States."

He continued, saying he doesn't want Puerto Ricans who have moved to Florida to register as Democrats.

"I want them to understand they moved here for opportunity," Costello said. "They moved to Florida because they wanted to take care of their families, and if they want individual liberty and personal responsibility and equal opportunity, we, the Republican Party, need to show they why we're the party that they need to gravitate to."

On Tuesday, Costello said the video speaks for itself.

Waltz does not appear in the video, which was shot toward the end of a forum hosted by the Country Club of Mount Dora Republican Club, said Don Marx, president.

Following Ward and Costello in the video, a woman audience member introduces herself as an attorney who studied in Puerto Rico, and offered a rebuttal.

"The fact that people from Puerto Rico are citizens of the United States and have been forbidden from voting for the president is one of the basic problems of Puerto Rico. We are put in our little hole there. We are told what to do," she said. "... For you to tell me, to come here, and not be able to vote as an American citizen ... we have to talk."

Marx, who declined to name the woman, said other than her response, there didn't seem to be much chatter about Ward's comments as club members left that evening. "I didn't pick up on any buzz about what was going on," he said.

Three Democrats are also vying for the 6th District seat currently held by gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis: Nancy Soderberg, John Upchurch and Stephen Sevigny.

Here are some of their comments on the Ward video.

--Soderberg: "John Ward's shameful and out-of-touch admission is not only stunning, but dangerous. He is advocating that American citizens should not be allowed to vote in an American election. That is an affront to our democracy."

--Upchurch: "Puerto Ricans are American citizens and those who have made their home in Florida have endured unbelievable hardship. They have the right to vote in this country, period. ... John Ward's comments were inflammatory towards Americans who deserve our assistance and compassion."

--DeSantis: "Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and any suggestion that they should be treated differently than other Americans is beyond the pale. Hurricane Maria has caused unprecedented damage on the island, necessitating some to establish residency on the mainland, including in Florida. These are our fellow Americans and candidates running for office as Republicans need to be committed to equal treatment under the law for all of our citizens."

Congressional District 6 is comprised of Volusia and Flagler counties and parts of St. Johns and Lake counties. Ward, a Ponte Vedra Beach investor, lives outside of the district boundaries, more than 100 miles away from Guzman's city, Deltona, in Volusia County.

"It's shameful," Guzman said. "We have 2,000 residents (from Puerto Rico post Maria) here in Volusia County. They're working and doing the best they can."

Ward responded to the criticism in a prepared statement he provided The News-Journal.

"I stand by what I said. I do not believe the Democrat Party should be able to take advantage of Puerto Rican evacuees fleeing a natural disaster, here on a temporary basis, in order to manipulate voter registration rolls in the run up to the 2018 elections," it reads. "I would welcome any Puerto Rican who wants to permanently resettle in Florida to register to vote here. We're all American citizens together."

Ward reiterated his belief that the "state and nation" should provide resources and capital to help American citizens return to Puerto Rico.

"Home is where we all want to go, that is why home is called home," Ward said. "There is a difference between coming here temporarily, displaced by a natural disaster, and making a permanent life here on the mainland. Again, I welcome any Puerto Rican who wants to resettle here permanently and I want to do the work necessary to allow Puerto Ricans, that want to do so, to return home safely."

In a final note, misspelling Cortes' name, Ward added: "I wish Representative Cortez had called me to talk this through before issuing his statement."

___

(c)2018 The News-Journal, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Visit The News-Journal, Daytona Beach, Fla. at www.news-journalonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.