In a surprise turn of affairs, Tim Parker endorses opponent at start of Waldo County District 3 Commissioner's forum
UNITY — A District 3 Waldo County Commissioners' forum was held at Unity Library Oct. 10, which was recorded in its entirety by J-sun Bailey, who attended the event.
Waldo County Sheriff Trundy said that the forum was run like most others, with a moderator asking written questions, before giving each candidate a specified amount of time to respond. There was also a question and answer section at the conclusion of the forum.
Despite being similar to other forums, this one didn’t unfold as one would expect. Trundy said the first candidate, Tim Parker, took the stage only briefly, with a short introduction, followed by an endorsement for his competitor, Elise Brown. The endorsement was repeated several times during Parker’s speech.
“He stated that [Brown] was the best candidate and encouraged everyone to vote for her,” Trundy wrote of the event.
Parker elaborated on his decision to endorse his opponent, saying that his child currently resides 90 minutes away, and that if he were to be elected, he would have to resign, to allow him to move out of Waldo County to be closer to his child.
Despite these sentiments, Trudy said Parker has yet to file the official paperwork to withdraw from the race.
The forum is available to view in its entirety.
*Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Tim Parker had officially withdrawn from the race for District 3 Waldo County Commissioner, however the official paperwork to withdraw from the race has not been filed.