Flagler County Commission candidate Mark Richter drops out of District 1 race

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Flagler County Commission candidate Mark Richter has dropped out of the race for the District 1 seat, saying in his formal letter of withdrawal to interim Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart that he is preparing to move out of the county.

The District 1 seat is now held by Commissioner Charlie Ericksen.

Richter, along with ex-elections supervisor Kimberle Weeks (who is now facing multiple felony charges) and Ronald Reagan Republican Assembly members Dennis McDonald and John Ruffalo, was the source of a slew of official complaints against county officials. Hearings in those cases have repeatedly cleared the officials.

Richter ran unsuccessfully for the District 4 seat against incumbent County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin in 2014. He also made the news for sending the local media an obscene email depicting Osama bin Laden having sex with a camel, and for hassling the editor of the local online news source FlaglerLive.com after FlaglerLive discovered and reported during the 2014 race that although Richter portrayed himself as a military veteran, he had in fact never completed basic training.

Richter reported only $300 in campaign funds for his 2016 run, all from his own money.

Only one other person, Daniel Potter, has so far filed forms with the Elections Office to run of the District 1 seat.

Ericksen has spoken about the possibility of running again, but has not made a formal announcement or filed the official paperwork.