School Board member Chris Cowart says an opponent in the superintendent’s race is attempting to smear his name rather than address issues.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Levy County School Board member Chris Cowart denied allegations Wednesday made by one of his rivals in the superintendent’s race that he hasn’t lived in his district for many years and has falsely claimed a Homestead Exemption on a home he abandoned in Cedar Key.
Superintendent candidate Jerry Lawrence filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics on March 10 alleging Cowart claimed Homestead on a vacant house he no longer occupies at 773 5th St. Cedar Key and used the Homestead Exemption to avoid paying property taxes.
The Ethics Commission dismissed the complaint saying the allegations made by Lawrence weren’t violations of ethics commission rules and regulations and suggested he take his claim to the Levy County School Board to air his grievances.
Lawrence asked Superintendent Jeff Edison in a July 6 letter to place him on the July 14 school board agenda but he said Edison denied his request verbally. Lawrence then wrote a letter to the superintendent and board on July 23 citing the same allegations he made in the Ethics Commission complaint regarding alleged violations of residency requirements by Cowart.
Cowart, who said he has been dogged by continuous false allegations by Lawrence, made a 9-minute statement at Wednesday’s special meeting of the school board refuting Lawrence’s allegations. Cowart wasn’t on the agenda but was allowed by Chairwoman Paige Brookins to speak in the public comment segment of the meeting.
“Mr. Lawrence has made a mockery of this board and the Commission on Ethics. Neither is the place to deal with these false allegations even if they did have merit, which they absolutely do not,” Cowart said. “This is a blatant attempt to smear my reputation and take part in the liberal politics that belong in places like D.C., Chicago and Seattle, not Levy County.”
Cowart is challenging Edison in the Aug. 18 Republican primary. The winner will meet Lawrence, who has no party affiliation, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Lawrence claims Cowart hasn’t lived at 773 5th St. Cedar Key, which is part of District 2, for “a number of years.” Using a “what if” example, Lawrence said if Cowart had wrongfully claimed a $25,000 Homestead Exemption on the 5th St. property since 2012, a good faith estimate is that Cowart might have avoided paying $7,600 in property taxes.
Lawrence said when he brought the Homestead issue to the attention of Property Appraiser Osborne “Oz” Barker, he said Barker said, “our office had actually erred in this situation and not removed the homestead from Chris as we should have…”
Lawrence alleges in his complaint that Cowart has been living at 13950 NE 80th Ave., a Newberry address in Levy County School Board District 4. Lawrence doesn’t explain that the address belongs to Jac-Pac Distributors, a company Cowart’s parents founded and that he operates now off Levy County Road 337 near the Alachua County line. Cowart said he doesn’t live at the business address but has spent many nights there caring for his ailing elderly parents. His mother has passed away. Cowart said he lives at 10251 SW State Road 24, a Cedar Key address in District 2.
“An officeholder or candidate is not required to be present at the residence seven days a week,” Cowart said. “Through the past several years, I have been aiding in the care of my two aging parents, one of which passed away. In late 2016, my father started having heart issues and as a result underwent four open-heart surgeries over the next 18 months. Then in August of 2018, my parents had a major car accident that left both of them hospitalized with major medical issues.”
As for the 5th St. address in Cedar Key, Cowart said when he and his wife divorced in 2011 they continued to co-own the home. He said he lived there through 2016 and his former wife lived there as best she can recollect through early 2019.
“In regards to Mr. Lawrence’s false claims about non-payment of homestead tax, he has completely failed to acknowledge the fact that my co-owner of the 5th St. residence has resided there and to the best of my former wife’s recollection, she was living in the house as recently as early 2019.The statutory exemption was still properly claimed due to her living there,” Cowart said. “Issues and facts such as these involving the terms of my marital settlement agreement, my parents’ health issues, my former wife’s location, and anything concerning my family have no place in the politics of this school district.”
Cowart said he has thus far not tried to enforce his right to seek reimbursement for the cost of defending Lawrence’s complaint with the Ethics Commission and has not enforced his legal right to seek costs and damages and attorney’s fees for what he describes as Lawrence’s “false allegations.”
“However, I cannot assure that I will not seek a remedy for any future frivolous actions. Mr. Lawrence seems determined to make this election about anything except the issues that concern and benefit the students and families in Levy County,” Cowart said.
Cowart said if Lawrence cares to participate in any legitimate debate regarding pertinent issues to the election, he will “happily take part.”
“However if Mr. Lawrence continues to waste more time, resources, and efforts on non-issues including my residence, juvenile name-calling, selective video editing or other fake news, he will receive no response from myself,” Cowart said. “I suggest the board follow the suit of the Commission on Ethics and ignore Mr. Lawrence’s fake news, alt-left type politics and if he continues to not deal with the issues of the school district and solutions required to move forward, I suggest the voters of Levy County ignore him as well.”
——————-
School Board of Levy County Emergency Meeting July 29, 2020; Posted July 30, 2020
