No separation of church and state in Indiantown
Is the Catholic Church taking control of Indiantown’s election?
Holy Cross Catholic Church in Indiantown is boldly ignoring Internal Revenue Service rules that prohibit churches from engaging in political campaigning. To do so jeopardizes their vital nonprofit status.
Apparently, Juan Carlos Lasso, the church’s religious education director who ministers to their large Hispanic flock, feels he’s immune to any repercussions for his actions. He is the de facto campaign manager for Village Councilwoman Janet Hernandez.
The daughter of Guatemalan immigrants seeking reelection August 20 for Seat 2 on the Village Council, Hernandez is an office manager/accountant for the church, working alongside Lasso.
Many Indiantown residents draw parallels between Hernandez’s re-election campaign this year and her 2020 campaign, replete with election law violations, outright lies spread on social media platforms, and calls for racial divisiveness.
Hernandez manages to distance herself from the fray, heaping blame on others for questionable election practices as she did in 2020 when Hernandez campaigned with former-councilman Guyton Stone and political operative Robert Burns, who did the “dirty” work then.
Burns is awaiting an administrative judge’s ruling on 63 counts of alleged election law violations in Indiantown and Brevard County after standing trial in April. The charges stem from a three-year investigation of Indiantown developer Brian West, who will soon stand trial on 8 counts of allegedly bribing Brevard County elected officials.
According to Burns’ sworn deposition, West paid Burns $7,000 to interfere in Indiantown’s 2020 election.
Now, with Burns sidelined and Stone no longer living in Indiantown, Hernandez is allowing Lasso to do the dirty work.
His illegal $120 cash contribution to Hernandez’s campaign last month defies state law limiting cash contributions to $50. After two previous elections, Hernandez knows the law, and with only two contributors through June 15, there’s no excuse.
Still, an illegal campaign contribution is minor compared to Lasso’s other campaign tactics.
He misrepresents to Holy Cross parishioners the facts about Hernandez’s governing record over the past six years, even over just the last few months. He pretends the church was awarded a permit for its annual Easter processional (because the village allowed him to use the sidewalks rather than the streets) in order to protect Hernandez’s image after she failed to file the application in time.
Hernandez admitted publicly that she’d never had to follow the rules previously (that she helped write) when former Village Manager Howard W. Brown Jr. was in charge. Hernandez’s propensity for giving special favors hit a roadblock this year, though, when Indiantown’s mayor, Susan Gibbs Thomas, insisted that village rules apply equally to all groups, even the Catholic Church.
Lasso continues to tell parishioners they will lose their representation on the village council should Hernandez not be re-elected, stirring deep anxiety among Hispanic residents. Lasso ignores the presence of Councilwoman Angelina Perez, the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants and a lifelong resident of Indiantown, likely because she does not belong to the Holy Cross Church.
Lasso urged the Black community to get involved “to bring equilibrium” to the council in an election campaign with three Black women at that moment vying for two council seats. It was a laughable faux pas, but his reasoning followed Brown’s concocted conspiracy that (white) outsiders are seeking control of Indiantown; thus, it’s up to the Catholic church to “save” Hernandez and her seat.
He and Hernandez, who also calls for Hispanics “to stick together,” are following Brown’s racially divisive playbook, pressuring anyone Lasso even suspects may not support Hernandez into compliance.
Parishioners are complaining about Lasso’s campaign tactics during church services and events, but quietly, so as not to jeopardize the church’s nonprofit status. They may not be able to keep it quiet much longer as complaints continue to build.
If Indiantown residents pay attention over the next month, they’ll see for themselves how Hernandez’s council decisions are about to come full circle. The village council announced that it will discuss on July 25 — not whether or not to raise property taxes — but how MUCH to raise taxes.
This need for a tax hike can be traced to the original decisions made by Hernandez, who pays no property taxes, who lost sight of true village priorities over the past six years, overspent taxpayer money, and put Indiantown squarely on its current path to higher taxes.
Indiantown residents, especially members of Holy Cross, should plan to attend the July 25 budget workshop at 5:30 pm at village hall, 15516 SW Osceola Street, Suite C. The village staff and Village Finance Director Mike Florio will present a comprehensive explanation for the situation that has Indiantown’s back against a wall.
None of the staff was at Indiantown when Hernandez made her fateful decisions, but most residents will remember. They will make the connection between Hernandez then and higher taxes now. Perhaps the parishioners of Holy Cross — including Juan Carlos Lasso — will then be far less fearful about “losing” Janet Hernandez.
