Seminole Republicans: Racism claims are ‘baseless’

A day after Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson wrote a letter to state and national Republican Party leaders asking for an investigation into racial discrimination he says he has faced since his first day on the job nearly five years ago, two Seminole County Republicans named in Anderson’s letter have responded calling the claims “baseless” and accusing him of playing “the race card.”

Bruce Cherry, who is also Black, and Kelly Shilson, chair and vice chair respectively of the Seminole County Republican Committee, both penned letters Tuesday responding to Anderson’s latest accusations of racist treatment in Seminole.

In video, Seminole elections chief says ‘so much racism’ in county

In his letter to party leaders Monday morning, Anderson described a meeting planned by Seminole County Commissioner Amy Lockhart in August. He said the meeting was to cover topics related to county elections but he was excluded. When he insisted he be allowed to attend, the meeting was canceled. He said he felt Lockhart excluded him because he is Black, at the time the latest example of racial discrimination levied by fellow Republican county leaders. He also Shilson of discrimination when she also insisted he not attend the meeting.

Anderson’s letter went on to say that Cherry had also faced discrimination from Lockhart since he was elected chair of the Seminole County Republican Committee. Anderson wrote that Cherry shared his own story about discrimination in a conversation in August and said Lockhart and Shilson also attempted to exclude him from the meeting. Cherry told the Sentinel on Monday that he did not know the letter had been written or sent and denounced the claims of racism.

In a letter sent to the Seminole County Board of Commissioners Tuesday afternoon, Cherry addressed Anderson’s letter again.

“I would like to make it very clear: I have never claimed or felt that Seminole County’s Republican Executive Committee Board have practiced racism against me or anyone else,” he said. “The fact I am an African American man and was elected in with a very large majority from the Executive Committee body would suggest just the opposite of racism.”

He went on to confirm that he did speak with Anderson in August but said Anderson misrepresented their conversation.

“Supervisor Anderson asked me how I was faring with my newly elected position,” Cherry wrote. “I explained that I was facing some opposition but that it was just part of the process, the way our Republic is supposed to work.  At no time did I ever claim there was anything racial involved. Neither towards Vice Chair Kelly Shilson nor (Board of County Commissioners) Chair Amy Lockhart. I was shocked and saddened by the news that: A. I had been dragged into this fantasy. B. That someone who I thought was a fellow Republican would play the race card as a means of leveraging power for personal gain or retribution.”

Shilson also sent a letter Monday evening to Seminole County commissioners calling Anderson’s claims “libelous allegations unsupported by evidence.”

“While differences of opinion are a natural part of any democratic process, Mr. Anderson’s predisposition to perceive every situation through a distorted racial lens is not only unproductive, but also a gross misrepresentation of our committee’s values and intentions,” Shilson wrote. “Mr. Anderson’s incessant accusations of racism against several elected officials without actual evidence of discriminatory intent begs the question of ‘who is the one actually exhibiting prejudice based on race’?”

Shilson is also a member of Moms for Liberty, which the Southern Poverty Law Centers recently deemed an extremist anti-government group alongside others like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, who were blamed for planning the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

According to the SPLC, the rise in influence Moms for Liberty has seen in recent years contributed to a rise in the number of hate and anti-government groups in Florida and across the nation.

In his letter to state and national Republican Party leaders, Anderson said it was imperative to investigate his claims because “the Republican Party has long been plagued by the stigma of racism in the GOP.”

Cherry also disagreed with that framing.

“I will unequivocally deny that I have experienced racism from the Republican Party of Seminole County Florida,” Cherry wrote. “I am blessed to serve as its Chairman and I work tirelessly every day to share with the world, Republicans are not racist, and America is not a racist country. Anyone who pushes a narrative to the opposite is just trying to divide and conquer.”

Lockhart did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, she wrote a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis calling Anderson’s behavior “erratic” and requesting that the governor’s office investigate Anderson. The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on whether any such investigation was underway. Anderson did not respond to a request for comment.

Anderson was appointed by DeSantis to the supervisor of elections post in 2019. He was reelected in 2020 to a four-year term, and has said he plans to seek reelection in 2024.