SOCIAL MEDIA EXCHANGE PROMPTS RESIGNATION
Vice chair calls Army veteran a traitor on Facebook, apologizes.
The vice chairwoman of a little-known environmental panel resigned Wednesday after she came under fire for cursing at an Army veteran, calling him a traitor and speaking ill of fallen veterans in a Facebook chat earlier this month.
Patricia “Pat” Edmonson, who served on the Palm Beach Soil & Water Conservation District until Wednesday afternoon, and Army veteran James Plowman, who lives in North Carolina, didn’t know each other before they met in cyberspace through a discussion on Facebook on July 16.
But their conversation turned extremely ugly — and has gone viral.
The two sparred over a post by another user regarding President Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin. After Plowman mentioned the years he spent in combat, Edmonson wrote, using an expletive, “—— you, traitor.”
Edmonson then launched into a vitriolic tirade of posts. “Do your dead brothers ever visit your dreams and ask you why you’ve turned your back on them?” she wrote. She also asked, “Do you smell the rotting flesh of those you’ve betrayed?”
Reached on Wednesday, Plowman said he isn’t concerned about being called a traitor. That’s comical to him, he said. But the comments she made about soldiers killed in battle “just can’t be forgiven,” Plowman said.
“That’s just something I’m not going to even look at forgiving. It’s just not a place she should have ever went,” he said.
The posts have not gone unnoticed and have circulated through Palm Beach County and beyond.
Michael Barnett, the chairman of the Palm Beach County GOP, has publicly called for Edmonson, a Democrat, to resign from the conservation district’s governing board. Rob Long, who sat on the board with Edmonson, also called for her resignation. Long said her seat will be filled either through an appointment or a special election.
On Plowman’s Facebook page, Edmonson wrote that she appreciated Plowman’s service to the country and apologized for “the inappropriate choice of language” by calling him a “traitor.”
“My words were spoken as a private citizen, not in any
veterans and the military; which they do not. My comments have been politicized by others to further their own professional or public agendas. Do my foolish and capacity a nd should be highly regrettable comments treated accordingly,” she rise to the level of receiving wrote. She also added her death threats, does the pun- role in the exchange wasn’t ishment fit the crime? I will “her finest hour” and she leave that question to wiser “let my Trump hate get the minds than mine. I made a best of me and said some terrible mistake; I apologized truly hurtful things.” to the person I wronged.”
In an email to The Post, Edmonson was elected to Edmonson said: “Given the the Palm Beach Soil & Water enormity of the reaction to Conservation District in 2016 my indefensible Facebook and won a new term in June comments to CSM Plowman, when she ran again unop- I am submitting my resignaposed. tion as Vice Chair of the PB The Palm Beach Soil & Soil & Water Conservation Water Conservation District, District. It has been an honor based in Royal Palm Beach, to serve with my colleagues is a state government divi- on the District and to serve sion. It does not have taxthe people of Palm Beach ing authority, nor does it County. However, I cannot levy bonds or enforce landallow collateral damage from use laws. my actions to harm the DisIts mission is to work with trict, its employees, or the “local businesses and agenoutstanding work done by cies to provide conservation the District. services throughout Palm
I have personally apolo- Beach County.” It is governed gized to CSM Plowman for by an elected, five-member my highly offensive remarks. I board of supervisors that have no defense for the com- serve without pay. ments made to one person The district addressed on a social media platform at Edmonson’s comments on a specific point in time. My its Facebook page Tuesday comments have been global- and said views expressed by ized to assert that they repmembers of the governing resent my feelings towards board in “ABSOLUTELY NO WAY” reflect that of the rest of the board or the employees. But the fallout continued. A consulting company that lists Edmonson as an officer has received $39,000 from Jim Bonfiglio’s Democratic campaign for state House District 89, according to Florida Division of Elections reports. Bonfiglio took to Facebook on Tuesday to announce that his campaign has severed ties with Edmonson.
“Ms. Edmonson’s words do not reflect my views or the views of my campaign. She exhibited a severe lapse in judgment, to say the least. Although I count her as a friend, Pat is no longer associated with my campaign in any way,” he wrote.
Jupiter resident Cathy Yonkers emailed Palm Beach County commissioners asking them to remove Edmonson from office. However, Commissioner Paulette Burdick responded to Yonkers that she and her colleagues have no authority over Edmonson and only Gov. Rick Scott could remove her from office.