A political snowstorm coming to Apopka?

Opinion

By Greg Jackson, Esq.

A proverbial snowstorm is brewing in West Orange County. But if you are like me and about 75% of Apopka's residents, you have averted your gaze, ignored the weather forecast and pretended that you do not see the storm clouds building, which represent the upcoming election season. But, we know that two well-known politicians are preparing to face off. In order to protect the identity of the innocent and to maintain the charade of not knowing what the heck is getting ready to occur, I will employ a bit of literary creativity to let the other 25% of Apopkans know what is going on so that we can prepare ourselves as the battle lines are being drawn. Let's use the film, "The Hateful Eight," to help identify our main characters, who I will call Major

Marquis Warren

Marquis Warren and Chris Mannix, and the great City of Apopka will be Minnie's Haberdashery. Now, here is a warning: if you have never seen this Quentin Tarantino film,I would not recommend that you rush out and watch it because it truly bears the Tarantino trademark violence and offensive dialogue. But instead, enjoy my explanation of the brewing storm coming to Apopka as I use a pivotal scene from the film as the backdrop.

In my version of The Hateful Eight, Major Marquis Warren is an established, respected figure at Minnie's Haberdashery. Chris Mannix has been controlling the activities in Minnie's Haberdashery for quite sometime and Major Marquis Warren wants to change that. Major Marquis Warren doesn't like how Chris Mannix makes the coffee, controls the making of the stew or handles the business dealings of the establishment.

Chris Mannix

Major Marquis Warren wants to bring his years of experience from being on the battle field to help straighten out what he believes are deficiencies in running Minnie's Haberdashery. Major Marquis Warren has even convinced some of the other patrons in Minnie's Haberdashery to allow him to store his stagecoach on Its premises, making it easier for him to have a stake in the success and failures of Minnie's Haberdashery. He is a wise field commander who knows how to leverage old and new relationships to get things done.

Chris Mannix, on the other hand is relatively new to Minnie's Haberdashery, but he has put in a great deal of work learning the inner-workings of the establishment. He has also had some battles of his own and proven himself to be a worthy warrior, but for the most part, as a newcomer to Minnie's Haberdashery he is viewed as an outsider. Chris Mannix wants to bring what he considers fresh new ideas to the establishment. He has no problem letting go of some of the old machinery and products brought in by Minnie's Haberdashery's previous owners to make way for some new equipment and merchandise. Chris Mannix has no problem shaking things up a bit if it leads to new opportunities for growing the business of Minnie's Haberdashery.

Much like the characters in the movie, who actually came together at the end to dispense justice, if our version of Major Marquis Warren and Chris Mannix were to come together they could probably do some great things for Minnie's Haberdashery. But, their differences will not allow them to see eye-to-eye. This is unfortunate because the Jody Domergue Gang (i.e., unqualified, unsavory, political candidates), complete with Daisy, Pete, Grouch and Marco, are headed to Minnie's Haberdashery, and are sure to disrupt its happy, though challenged balance. While it has not been fully revealed, we know that the battle lines have been drawn for Major Marquis Warren and Chris Mannix. So no matter which side you find yourself on, there will be no talks of surrender, conditional or otherwise, as the storm approaches.

Greg Jackson is a past Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida, military veteran, current Orange County District 2 Representative on the Board of Zoning Adjustments, and General Counsel for the Community Redevelopment Agency. He has been as an active member of the Central Florida community for nearly 20 years. He was most recently a candidate for the Florida House District 45 seat.