Grade: F

DAYTONA BEACH -- Tony Ledbetter has proven himself to be an abysmal failure since taking the reigns of the Republican Party of Volusia County from Stan Escudero following the 2012 elections.

Ledbetter's also proven himself to be divisive, polarizing and downright mean-spirited and even bigoted. He's alienated members of the media, the voting public and even people in his own party.

His alienation of Republicans running in primaries in this election cycle include District 3 School Board incumbent Stan Schmidt, District 5 County Council candidate Fred Lowry and District 3 candidate David Machuga. He did this by orchestrating  a vote of the executive committee in supporting their party rivals, which is proof of his utter idiocy.

Since then, Ledbetter has shown himself to be stubborn, arrogant and ignorant.

He began his tenure as chairman of the GOP executive committee in January 2013, with three Republicans taking seats on the County Council, including Chairman Jason Davis of Edgewater, District 1 Councilman Pat Patterson of DeLand and Councilwoman Deb Denys of New Smyrna Beach.

Last and most significant, Ledbetter's demonstrated through his deeds that he's a hypocrite. Ledbetter was outspoken and demonstrative in fighting a "World History" textbook taught in Volusia County high schools that has an extensive section on Islam. And while it's understandable that Ledbetter would question the fairness and balance of the subject matter, the hypocrisy comes in his adulation of campaign contributions from Mori Hosseini, the owner of ICI Homes and a Shiite Muslim.

Ledbetter, who calls himself a "Patriot" has no problem kissing up to Hosseini, who along with Hyatt Brown, owner of Brown & Brown Insurance and another influential campaign contributor, who both serve on the board of International Speedway Corp. with Lesa France Kennedy, a vice president of NASCAR and the CEO of the umbrella company that owns Daytona International Speedway and a dozen other tracks.

And let's be real about this: Ledbetter's party has little, if any influence, even over its own office holders. While he and Escudero put up millions in suggested cuts for the county budget last year, Patterson (a Republican supported by Ledbetter) and Davis voted with the Democrats. And Denys, although, voting against increases, didn't speak up and support a single penny of the cuts put on the table by Ledbetter and Escudero. In fact, despite her loud vote, playing to the media. She provided not one alternative or cost cutting proposal to the budget.

In fact, neither the Republicans nor Democrats call the shots any more in Volusia County politics. That became abundantly obvious with the $24.5 million the Speedway got from the Daytona Beach City Commission and from the County Council in taxpayer monies for its big projects a couple months back. They voted un unison to spend your tax dollars to support the ISC private profit-making interests.

Both parties have long since acquiesced to the real power brokers in Lesa France Kennedy, Hosseini and Brown. Look at the voting bloc on the council that is controlled by the Speedway trio: Two Democrats in District 4 Councilman Doug Daniels of Ormond Beach and District 5 Councilwoman Patricia Northey and two Republicans in Patterson and Denys. We here at HeadlineSurfer.com call them the Gang of Four.

Chairman Davis and Ledbetter don't see eye to eye and Denys has shown herself to be as divisive and mean-spirited as Ledbetter. It's no wonder District 3 School Board member Stan Schmidt wants nothing to do with Ledbetter. And who could blame him?

After all, Ledbetter decided to go against the policies of the Florida Republican Party and have his executive committee "endorse" candidates in primary races involving multiple Republican candidates instead of waiting for the results of the primary and then endorsing a single party member in a given race.

Republican contributors should take notice and question Ledbetter on how he is using their funds. These races should receive no support from the County Repurblcian Committee until the primary is over and a clear Republican candidate in produced. But then Ledbetter is, for instance in District 3, tied directly, through Stand Escudero, to Deb Denys regardless of her lack of taxpayer focus and ties to special interest groups.

But Ledbetter thinks he's above reproach, even of his own party at the state level. He could care less that party funds will not be forthcoming since he led the vote to endorse select Republicans at the expense of other party candidates. This lack of state level money is desigend to hurt the challengers with less money than Deb Denys who has had her campaign warchest filled by the likes of Hosseini, Brown in Daytona and Ormond and still others from New Smyrna Beach who just want their own interests taken care of at the expense of the taxpayer.

Ledbetter's actions stunned the party faithful and created unnecessary animosity. A candidate like Rich Gailey who paid his dues in coming up short in his 2012 run for the District 5 County Council seat to Pat Northey was well positioned to win the race this time, especially with no incumbent (term-limited Northey instead is trying to unseat at-large Councilwoman Joyce Cusack in a thee-way primary that includes Republican Webster Barnaby).

But by receiving the endorsement of Ledbetter and company, Gailey could end up becoming a sacrificial lamb to the Republican Ledbetter disrespected in Lowry, a minister. Lowry has been on the warpath since, firing up the base and his church following to get out the vote.

Should Gailey lose as a result, he can look to Ledbetter as the root cause.

The same goes for Denys in a three-way battle with Democrat Justin Kennedy of Edgewater and the Republican that Ledbetter and his executive committee dissed as well, in David Machuga of New Smyrna Beach.

In doing so, Ledbetter he has made many staunch Republicans question his leadership and tactics as well as set the stage for his demise, along with his mentor Escudero, who should have been gone from Volusia politics a long time ago. His style of special interest group-focused politics is not needed in Volusia County.

The bottom line is it's Ledbetter, along with Escudero, who needs to be jettisoned from the Republican Party for his boorish behavior and lack of loyalty to his party's faithful who are working hard to gain election. The GOP desperately needs to be led better and Tony Ledbetter is not the answer.