Setting the Record Straight

Please see the below which was submitted as a letter to the editor to local news sources.

This letter is intended to “set the record straight” regarding the Indian River Neighborhood’s (IRNA) position on the contentious sale of the City of Vero Beach electric utility, now owned by Florida Power and Light.

IRNA never took a position against the sale of the utility, as is being alleged in connection with the candidacy of a long time chairman of the IRNA, now a candidate for City Council. In fact, a straw poll taken of our Executive Committee in 2014 resulted in a positive vote for the sale and a letter to the editor pertaining to IRNA’s position appeared in the April 13, 2014 issue of the Press Journal.

The focus of the IRNA is to advocate for quality growth and protection of the natural resources of Indian River County. We have two working committees: Land Use and Water & Lagoon. For 16 years our organization has made positive contributions to our communities and we continue on that path with new leadership.

We recognize and bemoan the fact that politics is a nasty business with misinformation and personal attacks, even at the local level. I guess we can consider this allegation more “fake news.”

Jean Catchpole, Interim Chair Indian River Neighborhood Association

Link to the 2014 Letter to the Editor, written by our then vice chair, who was a proponent of the selling of Vero Electric to FPL.