FAC Weekly Update 2025-06-10-Doors Will Open
Dear Members and Advocates,
Anthony Weiner, once a rising star in Congress whose career was derailed by scandal and a criminal conviction for a sex offense, is making a bid to return to public life. Recent reports have surfaced of Weiner testing the waters for a New York City Council seat — a move that is sparking a broader conversation about redemption, second chances, and the right to participate in democracy after paying one’s debt to society.
For many of us in the Florida Action Committee and those affected by registration laws and collateral consequences, this story is more than just a headline. It is a beacon of possibility. Weiner’s attempt at a comeback is a symbol of something we have long believed: people deserve the opportunity to rebuild their lives. The public’s growing willingness to consider candidates with past convictions or personal struggles speaks to a cultural shift. Redemption is not only possible, but it’s increasingly welcome.
Also this past week, Joshua J. Smith, a former federal inmate who was pardoned in 2021 for drug trafficking crimes committed more than two decades before, was appointed Deputy Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). In a memo posted on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, BOP Director William K. Marshall III wrote, “Josh brings to this role something our agency has never had before at this level, a perspective shaped by lived experience.” How about that? People in authority taking an interest in what it is really like to be on the other side of the fence from someone that has been there!
Our movement often faces steep resistance when advocating for people on the registry to have a voice in community affairs, much less politics or policy. But Weiner and Smith’s stories reminds us that change is possible when we remain engaged and refuse to be silent. Hopefully Smith will bring significant change to a horribly broken prison system. And whether or not Weiner’s campaign gains traction, the very fact that he is entering the public square again signals hope. If someone with a highly publicized (and humiliating) offense and a history like his can even begin a political conversation again, it means that doors may be creaking open for others who have lived through the stigma of registration, incarceration, and exclusion.
This is not just about Weiner or Smith. It is about all of us. It is about the father who wants to attend his child’s school meetings without shame, the woman who wants to speak at a public meeting without fear of shaming, the citizen who wants to serve their community after serving their time. We must keep pressing for reform. We must support efforts to restore rights, challenge harmful myths, and educate the public on the realities of life after conviction. And we must keep pushing to be included in the political process. The only way we can effectuate change is by getting our foot in the door.
Let’s take positive encouragement from Weiner and Smith. We don’t have to aspire for political office or work for the government. We just need the courage to put ourselves out there and try to have a seat at the table. Especially when the discussion at that table impacts our lives.
Redemption stories can change minds. They can soften hardened perceptions. They can open doors. It’s up to us to walk through them.
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
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“Let’s take positive encouragement from Weiner and Smith. We don’t have to aspire for political office or work for the government. We just need the courage to put ourselves out there and try to have a seat at the table. Especially when the discussion at that table impacts our lives.”
I became involved in a small Florida town putting great photos online and promoting the area when it was lacking any web presence 20 years ago. Quickly I got to know most of the owners of the stores and restaurants and of course all of the Chamber board and various other business marketers. It was fun and I actually built relationships with some great clients who I still work with today.
One morning when I was downtown to do some photos of a small event a friend showed me the flyer that every business on the street had stuffed in their mailbox or in the door that morning. It was my SO flyer. Most people already knew, but a few were definitely shocked. Maybe because I was bringing business into town most of the businesses rallied behind me and the person who put them out took a lot of heat. The person was a sexually abused victim and was very vocal on how much they hated me, not even knowing me. I was not the abuser, but the label was enough to place me in that person’s scope of evilness. The person endured a nightmare for sure. But it was not me who did it. Over the next years we ended up working together a little bit, but I was never “OK” in that person’s eyes, even if we were professional in our meetings.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce invited me into the Board soon after the flyer episode and I accepted. Everybody knew, so the secret was out and they needed some fresh energy on the Board. Within a couple years I became the Treasurer of the Chamber on my way to being Vice President. With the community respect also came unwanted attention from outside the business community. Eventually enough haters put pressure on the Board and I was subdued, and even though not removed from the Chamber it became obvious I did not have a great name to be a public representative for this town. I got it, and in those few years had bought a house and got married, so the volunteer time was already a burden and I left the Chamber.
My point is that it is possible to earn respect and support in a community or small town, but that label is a handicap that one needs to understand and overcome. There were some who suggested I run for City Council before I tired of the drama. I respect anyone who would have the strength and endurance to run a campaign to be elected, especially a RSO.
If I didn’t get married I might still be spending my time trying to prove a person is not how they are labeled. But that was not my purpose ever, I was promoting my town and my friends. And still do from the sidelines. 😉
Smith was charged with drug conspiracy, a trumped-up charge, reminiscent of the ’90s “War on Drugs” craze. Good that he was hired, but a significant amount of time and a pardon happened first. Even with drugs, pardons and commutations are reserved for “nonviolent” types; it sounds good, but far more people were harmed by acquiring drugs “nonviolently” than by sex crimes not associated with force. Ironically (likely purposely for the “shock and awe” effect), sex crimes get labeled “violent” in statute or sex offender registrations, whether any coercion, threats, or physical presence was involved; I’m 100% convinced that it’s to make everything look worse than it is.
It is Politics…..One person went thru a process…never served time in a Florida Correctional institution; had 6 days a week in a private office as his sentence; only spent Sundays in the Pokey; Alas, years later he Died at MDC; go figure!
The Criminal Justice system is simply a Syndrome!
-“you Gotta Know when to Hold ‘D’em, or No When to Just Walk Away!”
Great article!
After I was done with supervision, I had wanted to work with law enforcement from my perspective as a registered person. I was summarily denied. Law enforcement doesn’t want outside influence on their dogma.