A Villager is stepping down as head of The Villages Republican Club after the “fake candidates” fiasco earlier this year.
Jerry Prince’s two-year reign as the head of the GOP club will largely be remembered for his write-in candidacy in the Sumter County Commission District 5 race. Prince entered the race in an attempt to block Democrats and Independents from casting ballots in the race. Prince was trying to protect incumbent Steve Printz who was facing challenges from fellow Republican candidates Oren Miller and Daniel Myslakowski, both Villagers.
Printz was on the ropes due to a 25 percent tax increase unanimously approved in September 2019 by the commission. The tax increase was seen as a sweetheart deal for the Developer of The Villages.
At one point, Prince had promised to explain his write-in candidacy, but the forum at which Prince was to make his explanation was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It was never rescheduled.
Prince also orchestrated a Republican endorsement for Printz and fellow incumbents Al Butler and Don Burgess. The endorsement was given despite the local Republicans’ bylaws which forbid such preferential treatment within party ranks. The incumbents each also pocketed $5,000 donations from the local Republican organization.
Despite all of Prince’s efforts, Printz was handily defeated by Miller. Once Printz was defeated, Prince withdrew his write-in candidacy. Villager Pete Wahl, who had filed as a write-in in a similar effort to bolster the re-election effort of Burgess, similarly withdrew when Burgess was defeated by challenger Craig Estep.
Prince will be succeeded as head of The Villages Republican Club by Andrew Bilardello of the Village of Fenney.