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Michelle Ertel, the wife of former Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel, is a political commentator, former community newspaper founder, former journalist, and communications specialist.
Mike Ertel became the focal point of controversy after he resigned as Florida’s new Secretary of State when a local newspaper published photos it says show him in blackface “posing as a Hurricane Katrina victim” at a Halloween party. You can see the disturbing pictures later in this article.
The photos were published by the Tallahassee Democrat on January 24, 2019. You can read the newspaper’s article and see the photos it published in full here. Ertel was appointed Secretary of State by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. His wife is a powerhouse in her own right.
Michael Ertel’s LinkedIn page says he served as Seminole County Supervisor of Elections for 14 years. Before that, he was a public relations consultant in private practice for three years and a public relations officer for CIBC Marketplace Bank for two years. He also served as a public relations officer for Quest, Inc., and for Seminole County and Orange County government.
Here’s what you need to know about Michelle Ertel:
1. Michelle Ertel Has Worked for a Business Group in Central Florida & Shoots Clay Pigeons
Michelle Ertel named BusinessForce committee director t.co/RCK8IMA30n #FlaPol
Michelle Ertel was once dubbed a “straight-shooting Republican analyst” and she took a video blogger to shoot clay pigeons.
FloridaPolitics.com described Michelle Ertel as “a political commentator and government affairs consultant” who “has been named committee director for BusinessForce, a group that is an independent, pro-business public voice of Central Florida.”
The website quoted Michelle Ertel as saying, “When government’s focus is on the well-being of its business community, citizens prosper. Candidates who value a warm business climate have long looked to BusinessForce for guidance and I am elated to now be part of the process.”
According to the article, Michelle “Ertel has been a political analyst and government relations consultant and frequent commentator appearing in Central Florida media including Spectrum News 13, WOFL Fox 35, 90.7 WMFE and the Orlando Sentinel.”
Her LinkedIn page lists her as a committee director for Business Force; a political analyst for News 13 Orlando as a Republican; and a government relations and communications strategist for Florida Strategist Advisors, Inc.
2. Michelle & Michael Ertel Have Two Children & He Refers to Michelle as His ‘Earthly Lodestar’
Just 15 minutes away from Live #FloridaPrimary coverage on @MyNews13 with @MichelleErtel and @jeremiahjaspon
According to the biography of Michael Ertel, the couple has two adult children and two dogs. “In his spare time, Mike is an active member of the VFW, enjoys racquetball, American electoral history, the music of the Rat Pack and tinkering with his collection of antique radios,” the bio reads.
On his website, Ertel says his wife is his “lodestar.” You can see Michelle Ertel’s website here.
“I think without exception, the number one priority in my life is making my wife happy, and helping our children to experience their own American Dream,” he wrote. “Michelle is more than my spouse and more than a life partner — she’s my earthly lodestar.”
3. Michelle Once Started a Community Newspaper & Worked as a Journalist
We did “Voting Classic” by voting at our polling place? Me and @MichelleErtel rocking the stickers! http://t.co/jJN2ciUEtb
Michelle Ertel’s website says that she is “a government relations and communications specialist as well as a Republican political analyst for News 13 in Orlando. She is a regular contributor to the Orlando Sentinel’s Central Florida 100 and can frequently be heard on the Ed Dean Radio Show and on 90.7 WMFE.”
The website includes a quote from Margaret Thatcher that reads, “If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.”
The website describes how Michelle Ertel got her start in journalism. “Michelle set the wheels in motion to help start a community newspaper for Oviedo and Winter Springs called the Seminole Chronicle. The newspaper quickly took root and was purchased in 2008 by newspaper conglomerate, Gannett, Inc.,” the website says. “Under the new owner, Michelle continued as the newspaper’s editor and took on the role as faculty adviser for the Gannett-owned student newspaper for the second largest university in the country, the University of Central Florida.”
The website says that Michelle Ertel has also worked for Post-Newsweek Media and “studied journalism at a community college in Pennsylvania before continuing on to Penn State University.”
“Michelle is a communicator who can just as easily interact with the President of the United States (and she has) as she can with the deli-worker at a local supermarket,” the website adds.
The website also lists a host of prominent affiliations for Michelle Ertel, saying, “Michelle is a 2015 graduate of the Central Florida Political Leadership Institute, has served on the board of directors for the Oviedo-Winter Springs Optimist Club, Oviedo-Winter Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Private Business Association of Seminole (PBAS) and the Rural Heritage Center of Geneva and the Christian Sharing Center. She is a founding member of Seminole County Republicans in Action, the executive director of Community Leaders and Elected Officials (CLEO), serves on the Seminole County Planning and Zoning Board, the South Seminole Hospital Women’s Advisory Council, the Suburban Republican Women’s Club and on the 18th Circuit Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee.”
Photos on the website show her shooting a gun, with her family, on television sets, and at events.
4. The Blackface Photos Were Taken Two Months After the Hurricane Katrina Tragedy, the Newspaper Reports
Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigns after Halloween blackface photos emerge t.co/7pQcXPeE7P
The Tallahassee Democrat reports that the photos date to 2005. Michael Ertel, who is 49, says on his website that he didn’t meet his wife until his 40s.
The newspaper reported that it texted the photos to Ertel before running the story, and he “identified himself as the white man in blackface and red lipstick, wearing earrings and a New Orleans Saints bandanna, and falsies under a purple T-shirt that had ‘Katrina Victim’ written on it.”
Here’s another photo that the newspaper ran:
Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigns after photo from Halloween party in 2005 shows him in blackface with red lipstick, earrings, and a shirt that says “Katrina Victim” – TLH Democrat
“There’s nothing I can say,” the newspaper reported that he said.
Read the first graph of the story…It gets worse than the headline t.co/URQYBtV8GC
Ertel was already Seminole County supervisor of elections at the time, according to the newspaper. Ertel is 49-years-old and is a Republican. An old biography of Ertel on eac.gov reports that he previously “has been awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. award by the City of Longwood.”
5. Michael Ertel Describes Wife As Having an ‘Infectious’ Smile That ‘Melts My Heart’
@SeminoleChamber Good Morning Seminole w/ @CarmodyJr @DickJBatchelor @MichelleErtel talking campaigns—local and beyond. #SeminoleCounty
Mike Ertel waxed on about his wife on his website, saying he was lonely when she wasn’t there.
“In my field, there are plenty of opportunities to be in rooms full of people, yet for me, if Shelly isn’t there, I’m lonely,” he wrote. “Her smile is infectious, and everything about her melts my heart. She also an amazing mom to our kids. You can learn more about this dynamo at MichelleErtel.com.”
He said they didn’t meet until they were in their 40s. “While I hadn’t met Shelly until we were in our 40’s, back in 1993 and ’96 she gave birth to my kids. Formal adoption paperwork did nothing but put into the official record books what we already knew — we’re a family.”
He said that both of their children “are pursuing their own American Dreams. Each graduated from the University of Central Florida, and they have struck their own career paths. I couldn’t be more proud of the choices they’ve made.”
Both Mike Ertel and Michelle Ertel have deleted their Twitter accounts.
Ertel’s career was forged in election supervision.
Under education, his LinkedIn page lists American University, the Center for Democracy and Election Management, and a mini-MBA from Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. He also states that he went to Defense Information School for journalism, to University of Maryland University College, and to West Virginia University, for fundamentals of Forensic Questioned Documents.
Ertel’s website states the following: “I haven’t always been an elections administrator. Those who knew me at 18 never would have guessed the path I took. But part of what makes me such a dedicated defender of our privilege of voting is knowing that throughout the trials of my life, there’s been one constant earthly asset always with me: the power of my one vote. It is the freedom of that gift by our forefathers that drives my passion to protect it for you, your family, and our shared future.”
According to the Miami Herald, DeSantis appointed Ertel to the secretary of state position, which oversees elections and “also includes the Division of Corporations, the Division of Cultural Affairs, the Division of Historical Resources and the Division of Library and Information Services.”
When he was appointed as secretary of state, Ertel wrote on Facebook, “Governor-Elect Ron DeSantis has a bold vision for Florida. I am proud to be a part of his team!” He was only named secretary of state on December 28, 2018. His Facebook page was deleted shortly after the blackface story broke.
According to Ertel’s LinkedIn page, he served in public affairs for the U.S. Army for eight years. He was on active duty from April 1990 through November 1996, and he also served for a year in the Florida National Guard. On Linkedin, he says that he also worked as “a radio personality and an award-winning writer and journalist.”