Thousands will soon be voting for a new mayor in St. Cloud. But where voters can exercise that right is in question.
- St. Cloud mayoral race
- 1 of the polling places is Cornerstone Church, run by mayoral candidate Pastor Nathan Blackwell
- Church will remain a polling place
Specifically, whether voters should be casting their ballots in a candidate's church.
“It’s almost like a bad script from a sitcom you know? Where the pastor is running against a bar owner,” said Nathan Blackwell, the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church, who is also running for mayor this year. “The fact that I am a pastor and the fact that he is a bar owner should not preclude either one of us.”
While Jeff Rinehart’s bar is not a polling place, Blackwell’s church is. Both are running for mayor of St. Cloud.
Cornerstone Church on Canoe Creek Road has been a poll since 2010. Some residents say moving it could be confusing for voters.
But for others like Andrew Stakelum, it's a matter of ethics.
“I don’t have a preference for one candidate or the other. I am just calling for a fair election and I want the integrity of the electoral process to be maintained,” Stakelum said.
The office of Mary Jane Arrington, the supervisor of elections, told us there are no other viable facilities located within the area that would accommodate the number of voters assigned to Cornerstone Church.
“I will not be here on this property," Blackwell said, referring to Election Day. "Even though I can be within 100 feet of any polling place, but I made the decision not to be here just to eliminate any appearance of impropriety.”
The Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Office said they received more phone calls requesting the polling location be maintained than relocated. We’re told the location for precinct 507 and 521 will remain the same.
“There’s no integrity in this election as it’s moving forward and I am just calling for a change,” Stakelum added.
We reached out to the other candidate, Jeff Rinehart and he had no comment regarding the matter.