The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) announced Friday they intend on filing a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission against Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, alleging she violated state election laws in the launch of her re-election campaign.
Deegan filed paperwork on Thursday to begin her re-election bid.
“Donna Deegan started her re-election campaign the same way she’s failed to lead Jacksonville – lawless, reckless, and completely out of touch,” Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power said in a release.
The RPOF claims Deegan committed several violations of Chapter 106 in the Florida Statutes, including “accepting in-kind contributions, making expenditures, and/or authorizing campaign expenditures prior to opening a campaign account and authorizing expenditures without sufficient funds on deposit in a campaign account.”
As part of her campaign launch, Deegan released a two-minute video featuring footage of herself, some filmed in her office, along with testimonials and edited news clips.
The RPOF alleges production of the campaign video violates Florida law, saying candidates must file their campaign paperwork and open a campaign account before making or authorizing any campaign expenses.
“Based on the timing, she or someone authorized on behalf of her campaign either accepted an in-kind contribution before they were legally allowed to, spent money before they were legally allowed to, or approved a high-end campaign video to be produced knowing it would require payment without having her campaign account open and campaign funds in the bank. Either way – it’s a violation of Florida law,” the RPOF said.
The party added that it is now requesting the Florida Elections Commission to initiate an investigation into whether Deegan made or authorized expenditures prior to filling out her campaign paperwork and establishing a legal campaign account. It is also asking the commission to determine whether Deegan improperly used political committee funds to support campaign activity.
Deegan’s campaign advisor Ashley Walker released the following statement to First Coast News in response to the RPOF’s allegations:
“Everything was done by the book and is a common practice. Nothing was filmed at City Hall. While Mayor Deegan is delivering real results for Jacksonville families, they’re distracting from that progress with partisan stunts and political distractions. We’ve already seen these desperate, manufactured controversies and can only expect more of them as election season approaches. Mayor Deegan will keep getting things done for the people of Jacksonville. Politically motivated smear campaigns won’t stop her.”