A Ring camera video shows a man stealing a sign supporting Clearwater City Councilman Mark Bunker. (Credit: Ring.com/WFLA/ClearwaterDaily.com)
A candidate running for re-election to Clearwater city council later this month said police confirmed his campaign signs were stolen by Scientologists who oppose his platform that takes a tougher approach on the church’s cantankerous relationship with the city, and its members’ practice of purchasing downtown real estate and leaving it largely unoccupied.
Mark Bunker, a career news reporter and editor, has embraced his reputation as an activist against Scientology, who members – normally through LLCs and other business entitles – have amassed ownership of about 200 properties downtown. Bunker has long held that the purchases are strategic and designed to form a barrier around the church’s Flag Land Base, keeping the downtown area from being developed with businesses. With no state statute forcing businesses to be occupied, Bunker has advocated the use of eminent domain in some cases rather than negotiating with the church’s controversial leader, David Miscavige.
The incident in question occurred Feb. 11, when a Ring camera installed at the home of one of Bunker’s supporters captured two suspects removing one of his campaign signs from the front lawn. First reported by the Tampa Bay Times, police tracked down the two suspects using the Ring camera video, with both men admitting ties to Scientology and that they were motivated to steal the signs because of rumors they’d heard about Bunker’s views.
Bunker, utilizing his signature dry humor, described the incident as a “mini crime wave that hit at various locations around the city.”
“They were able to actually catch the two people who were involved in this,” Bunker said. “The officer asked me if I wanted to have them charged, and I said, ‘no, not really.’ We found out who and we found out why.”
Mark Bunker (Photo: ClearwaterDaily.com)
“I talk about the Church of Scientology from time-to-time, I think some of you have noticed,” he joked.
ClearwaterDaily has declined to publish the names of the two individuals since the site has not obtained a copy of the official police report surrounding the influence, and Bunker himself did not name the two men at a council meeting Thursday night, at which he shared the story publicly. The suspected identities of the men involved were revealed, however, by Bunker supporter and ex-Scientologist Aaron Smith-Levin, a Clearwater resident whose YouTube channel attracts millions of views on a monthly basis. His channel, “Growing Up in Scientology,” which has featured well-known Scientology opponents including actress Leah Remini, quickly published a video that described an intricate web of connections between the pair and the church.
The church did not respond to a request for comment by ClearwaterDaily, but denied instructing its members to become involved in politics in a short, prepared statement issued to the Times. Scientology enjoys tax-exempt status that could be placed in jeopardy by direct political involvement.
Instances of campaign sign steeling – a seemingly juvenile, but all-too-common aspect of municipal elections nationwide – are surprisingly routine, however the suspects are rarely caught, and even when they are, charges are usually dropped by one candidate or another after the election is over. Though Bunker said such incidents had occurred throughout the city, the one in question occurred on Palmetto Street in the North Greenwood neighborhood.
Smith-Levin said three Bunker signs had been stolen from his own property in town.
“In Clearwater, Florida, Scientology has a problem,” he told his audience of 240,000 subscribers on YouTube. “And that problem is called Mark Bunker.”
“They underestimated him big time the first time he ran, and they’ve had four years to figure out how to defeat him,” he added.
Smith-Levin himself previously ran for a seat on the council, having been narrowly defeated.
Scientology’s base and the Ft. Harrison Hotel, downtown Clearwater. (Photo: ClearwaterDaily.com)
Bunker said individual Scientologists have never been the subject of his opposition to the church’s activities in the city.
“I’m not talking about Scientologists, I’m talking about the ruthless leader David Miscavige who is holding our downtown hostage,” he said at the council meeting. “The people who did this crime spree are probably good, decent people. They’ve probably never heard a single comment I said. I have problems with actions taken by the organization that primarily impact these people.”
Police, Fire & Courts
Clearwater Man Charged With Exposure After Multiple Incidents in Parking Lot
