This septuagenarian transplant from western MA knew nothing of this history. Thank you for this important public service to all voters and residents. In this case, the inclusion of the profane and vile threats were necessary to put the full record before the people.
The last time that dangerous fool ran for County Commissioner, volunteers from the Vineyard and Outer Cape sent 3,000 hand written postcards to voters for Mark Forest and Sheila Lyons. Why on earth is he still allowed to run?
In 1993–94, a few short years after Ron Beaty Jr. was writing those outrageous letters, he was sending nasty homophobic letters to area newspapers, including the Martha's Vineyard Times, for which I was then working. The paper's editor at the time chose to publish them. Around the same time, two Oak Bluffs town fathers tried to get two of the first gay/lesbian-friendly kids' books banned from the school library. The bile that issued forth from these fathers and their supporters, on top of Beaty's vitriolic letters and that editor's obliviousness, woke some of us up. I wish I were more surprised by Beaty's success at the ballot box in subsequent decades. In retrospect it seems like a harbinger of things to come on the national level.
Thank you Seth. I'd forgotten about him. Mark Forest and Sheila Lyons are experienced, responsible people who are doing a good job for us already and will continue.
He is mentally ill. And unpredictable.
“In Defense of Redemption: The Case for Ron Beaty’s Candidacy” – By Ronald Beaty
https://barnstablecounty.wordpress.com/2024/10/11/in-defense-of-redemption-the-case-for-ron-beatys-candidacy-by-ronald-beaty/
Thank you for reporting on this important story, Seth.
"That is a serious failure of local journalism". understatement of the year. Thanks for your reporting. Jeez, what a scary guy.
This septuagenarian transplant from western MA knew nothing of this history. Thank you for this important public service to all voters and residents. In this case, the inclusion of the profane and vile threats were necessary to put the full record before the people.
I've known for 30+ years what this guy was up to, but I'm still shocked by this revelation.
What scares me is that over 9,000 people voted for him in the primaries!!!! And they want us to take them seriously?
The last time that dangerous fool ran for County Commissioner, volunteers from the Vineyard and Outer Cape sent 3,000 hand written postcards to voters for Mark Forest and Sheila Lyons. Why on earth is he still allowed to run?
In 1993–94, a few short years after Ron Beaty Jr. was writing those outrageous letters, he was sending nasty homophobic letters to area newspapers, including the Martha's Vineyard Times, for which I was then working. The paper's editor at the time chose to publish them. Around the same time, two Oak Bluffs town fathers tried to get two of the first gay/lesbian-friendly kids' books banned from the school library. The bile that issued forth from these fathers and their supporters, on top of Beaty's vitriolic letters and that editor's obliviousness, woke some of us up. I wish I were more surprised by Beaty's success at the ballot box in subsequent decades. In retrospect it seems like a harbinger of things to come on the national level.
Thank you Seth. I'd forgotten about him. Mark Forest and Sheila Lyons are experienced, responsible people who are doing a good job for us already and will continue.