Check out Mark Bunker's campaign launch video as he takes on Scientology in Clearwater again!
Wise Beard Man sent over his campaign launch video, and we asked him for a few words…
I am excited to be running once again for Clearwater’s City Council at a very critical moment for the city. I was elected in 2020 largely because I was willing to stand up to Scientology. When I was on the council, we took bold moves to redevelop downtown despite Scientology. We turned Coachman Park into a beautiful destination spot with the addition of The Sound amphitheater. We hired a successful New York developer to construct 400 apartments on the bluffs with contract stipulations they would not be able to sell it, even in decades to come, to Scientology. A boutique hotel we recruited is currently under construction next to the amphitheater and these new properties will have built-in retail space not controlled by Scientology.
That’s why many are calling 2020-2024 the “Golden Age of the Clearwater City Council.” At least I think they do. Anyone? Anyone? Well, never mind. It’s unimportant. Then came that bleak day in Clearwater when I lost reelection to a young man named Ryan Cotton and the sun stopped shining. David Miscavige got what he said he wanted when he cut off communication with the city back in 2017. That council didn’t do what Slappy wanted and he said, “I’ll wait for the next council”
Well, I caused a four year bump in the road for Miscavige but in 2024, he gained two council members he can rely upon to pass his agenda. Both Ryan Cotton and Mike Mannino are fully behind Miscavige’s plan to seize total control of our downtown. Ryan in particular believes the proposed L. Ron Hubbard Hall and adjacent L. Ron Hubbard Park are going to be beautiful assets for the city and has expressed his delight that citizens will be able to enjoy the beautiful park...and it won’t cost the city a penny in upkeep. Scientology is picking up the tab!
Not cost the city a penny? It’s going to be yet another nail in the coffin of downtown Clearwater. People don’t come downtown now because of Scientology. Constructing a new gateway to the downtown extolling the virtues of the conman who brought Scientology to Clearwater and then attempted to take over the city does not strike me as what you would call “a smart move.” It seems unlikely citizens will flock to the park, eager to learn more about Hubbard’s “Way to Happiness.” I believe this will be the first time Hubbard’s name will be emblazoned on a Clearwater property — and right on the busiest street everyone uses to reach Clearwater Beach.
I didn’t expect to run again. My win in 2020 caused the city to change the very way Clearwater does elections. Fellow Councilmember Hoyt Hamilton felt it unfair that in a five party race I won with something like 38 percent of the vote and he felt we needed run-offs. If Hoyt’s preferred candidate won by that same percentage, I think it’s likely he wouldn’t have felt it quite as necessary. In debate from the dais, I argued that I would have preferred to have run unopposed as he had done in the past, but I had four other challengers. The council voted and the citizens approved run-offs starting in 2026.
Runoffs are expensive. They favor the establishment, the good-old-boys with the power and the money. If a scrappy kid like me got that same 38 percent in a five way race today, I will still have to immediately mount another full expensive campaign at a steep cost. That puts a very wealthy thumb on the scale for the establishment. With that in mind, I felt it would be pretty futile to mount a campaign. Apparently so did most everyone else because the crowded field of candidates was suddenly gone, leaving Scientology backing two clones of Ryan Cotton for seats 4 and 5.
Seeing that Miscavige was on the way to complete control of the council, I decided I needed to run again. Maybe I’ll be tilting at windmills but I know it will be worth it. Thankfully I am hearing from people, even many who work for the city, who are happy I am running and they are rooting and voting for me.
I am not just running against the establishment. I am running against candidates connected to some of the biggest names in Florida politics with close ties to Scientology and Scientology’s money. In my race is a young staffer for Anna Paulina Luna named Sam Wilson who has previously worked for people like Lauren Boebert. You should see the excitement this is creating among Scientologists.
Sam is on Scientology's side, as is the candidate for Seat 4, who is a member of the scandal-ridden Latvala political dynasty. Bianca Latvala is married to Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala seen here speaking at a Narconon opening. He was thrilled at the prospect of attending Narconon graduation ceremonies and thought we were lucky to have Narconon in our community.
Chris' dad Jack Latvalla resigned from his statewide post after accusations of sexual harassment by his staffers and a two-year affair with a lobbyist. Chris's mom Susan Latvala was one of the first politicians successfully wooed by Scientology.
So, yeah...Miscavige is heading for the council of his dreams. And because of run-offs, Bianca is so far running unopposed and will potentially just walk into the position just as the good-old-boys planned
Here's my launch video which was created by the talented Brooks Gibbs who did a terrific job. We all have so much to thank him for.
I don’t have a website just yet and we aren’t collecting donations right now but I will let everyone know when that is soon up and running. We will definitely be needing your help to win this race but we can win, even against all odds. Stay tuned. It’s going to be a fascinating race.
See you on the campaign trail!
— Mark Bunker
Hi, I’m Mark Bunker. I served on the Clearwater City Council from 2020 to 2024. And many of you here in Clearwater voted for me because I was willing to stand up to Scientology and its leader David Miscavige. And I’ve been doing that for 30 years.
Miscavige says he wants to be a partner to the city, but he has repeatedly stabbed us in the back. In 2017, for example, he sabotaged the aquarium’s plan to move downtown, which was our best hope for revitalizing the area. And then Miscavige had the gall to demand that property for himself. And when he didn’t get it, that’s when he stabbed us in the back.
He cut off all communications with the city and then started secretly buying all the available downtown property at two, four, or even six times the market value, all in cash, purposely keeping those buildings empty for years to hold our downtown hostage. And this scheme was discovered by the Tampa Bay Times several years later.
And when it happened, Miscavige lied about having any connection to it. only to later confess that this was his grand plan all along. You should care about who is on the city council because Miscavige certainly does. If the current council doesn’t do his bidding, he says, “All right, I’ll wait for the next council.”
Well, in 2020, he got me, an outspoken critic, unafraid to take him on. My mantra was always in any deal with Miscavige, he had to come through first with his part of the bargain.
And when I ran in 2020, people thought I only cared about Scientology. But the truth is, I care about Clearwater. In my four years on the council, I proved that I was more than just an outspoken critic of Scientology. I showed that I cared about public safety, affordable living, making sure students were safe going to and from school. And in those four years, more of you started to understand that.
And after my first term, I was proud to receive the endorsement of both the Clearwater Fraternity of Police and the Clearwater Firefighters, which meant the world to me. I also had the support of actress Leah Remini.
So, who’s running against me? A young man named Sam Wilson with connections to some of the biggest names in Florida politics with the deepest pockets.
Oh, and Scientologists are giddy with excitement at the thought of him being on the council. And that should tell you everything you need to know. We cannot allow David Miscavige to have complete control of the city council. Not now, not ever. And this is going to be a tough battle. A lot of money is going to be thrown at this race, especially with two candidates backed by the deep pockets of the Good Old Boys Network and Miscavige.
I ask you for your support in this race. I do think this is a crucial election for the city and as tough as this race is going to be, we can and we will win and we can stop this Scientology takeover of Clearwater.
Mark your calendars
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Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
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Criticizing Mr Bunker during his first term of service because all he seemingly cared about was Scientology is like criticizing a fire fighter because they’re spending all their time stopping the house from burning down and not spending time rearranging the rockery in front of the shrubs.
You won’t have a city if you don’t stop Scientology from metaphorically burning down the house. There’s barely anyone in Scientology anyway. They’re used to empty places and empty spaces. If the downtown becomes a ghost town forever, that suits them just fine, it’s a massive open air stage with which they can drop the whales into and Truman Show them into thinking it’s becoming a Scientology world out there when it absolutely is not.
They want Clearwater to create essentially a Scientology Theme Park. Like Westworld, they want it to be nothing but robots and cowboys as far as the eye can see.
Scientologists run drills for long periods of time which they believe will give them the power to affect change in the real world.
Non-Scientologists do this all the time with far less effort and mean spirited shitheadism involved, it’s called voting.
If I lived there, Bunker would be my guy.
Good luck Mark, you are more than an anti-$cieno candidate. Working on the day to day issues that affect Clearwater is what makes the electorate take notice. Whacking the Florida money machine and its attending corruption is a fight that most Floridians can get behind.