The Anna Maria Island Privateers’ Christmas Parade has a challenger.
Former Privateers member Rick Maddox has filed a petition with the city of Anna Maria against the special event permit issued to the Privateers for the Dec. 10 parade.
The parade is permitted in the three island cities, but apparently only Anna Maria has a provision in its permit for a protest.
The petition alleges the Privateers discriminated against Maddox by barring him from participating in the event. Maddox claims the discrimination is due to a lawsuit he brought against the organization to reclaim a trailer, which had been modified to be the Privateers Christmas sleigh.
Maddox is a Cortez resident and former Holmes Beach chief of police.
In 2012, Maddox sued the Privateers, alleging he lent the group a trailer to use as Santa’s sleigh but that the group would not return it to him.
The Privateers claimed the trailer was donated to their nonprofit more than 20 years earlier and that charges of theft did not apply due to a five-year statue of limitations.
In 2014, a judge in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court ruled in favor of Maddox. Since the lawsuit, Maddox’ requests to take part in the annual Privateers Christmas parade has been denied by the organization.
Although he has complained to the Privateers, the media and the cities in the past, this is the first year Maddox has filed a petition to oppose the permit.
“Do you think it’s right to exclude anyone from a public event that does not cause a problem?” Maddox said. “I can understand why they have animus, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the kids or the parade. This parade is about the public, not them.”
Maddox further claimed in an email, apparently speaking for himself and his wife, Annette, “We have no interest in interacting with the Privateers in any way.”
Annette Maddox complained in the past in a letter to the editor when she was denied use of a gift certificate for a “free ride” on the Privateers ship in the July 4 parade.
According to Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, Maddox’ complaint lacks any claim he is targeted for race, gender, religion or any other protected class and, therefore, the city does not consider the Privateers’ exclusion of Maddox as discrimination.
“Mr. Maddox seems to want the city to intervene on his behalf,” Murphy said. “We issue special events permits for all sorts of events, for weddings, funerals and parades, and the city is not in a position of dictating who’s allowed to go to those events and who isn’t.”
The commission is expected to hear Maddox and Murphy and to consider the merits of the complaint related to Maddox’s petition at its 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, meeting at city hall, 1005 Gulf Drive.
If they accept it, Murphy said, the result could be anything from reissuing the permit with a stipulation allowing Maddox to participate, to canceling the Anna Maria event altogether.
Murphy said he has no recollection of anyone filing a petition against a special event in the past. “To my knowledge, this is the first time this has ever happened and I can’t find anyone else who has heard of this happening.”
Privateers president John “Capt. Redbeard” Swager emailed Dec. 4, saying Maddox is not welcome because of his “poor attitude and non-Christmas and holiday spirit.”
“I was going to let him in the parade last year … and the first thing I get is a nasty Facebook message (from Maddox),” Swager said.
“I said, ‘that’s not the holiday spirit’” and we declined to have him in the parade. “We go out there to have fun and it’s for kids and the community and the island and that’s not what he’s there for. That’s the way we look at it.”
Swager added that Maddox did not contact him this year before filing the petition.
This Maddox guy, for being a former officer, is one hell of a “I matter first” piece of garbage. he is trying to threaten the entire event PERIOD because he gave them a trailer over 20 years ago to use. Sure sounds like a donation to me, but because he clearly is not a person of integrity, we will never know the truth.
What a pathetic man, putting himself in front of the all the kids the parade is actually for. If he loves Christmas so much, and is sooo concerned about the kids, than be a Mall Santa. You don’t have to force your way into the AMI event. Stop acting like a loser.
Bah Humbug! Really people, it’s a Christmas parade for children of all ages to enjoy!
Leave your petty arguments out of the islands tradition for the holiday. Take your differences in private and stop drawing attention to childlike behavior, not a good example! Nor how AMI wants to be in the news. Shame on you.