A nonprofit affiliated with Tampa mayoral hopeful Gary Hartfieldsent emails to recipients familiar with the group\u2019s work last week announcinghis candidacy and inviting their support.<\/p>\n
The emails could run afoul of federal tax laws.<\/p>\n
Hartfield, a businessman who filed his paperwork to run for mayor last week, is the founder and chief executive of the All Hart Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity aimed at empowering communities of color through trainings, fundraising, workforce development, networking and other programming.It distributed the emails, which listed some of Hartfield\u2019s priorities and included a link to the campaign website.<\/p>\n
Tax-exempt organizations such as churches, schools and foundations cannot participate or intervene in political campaigns on behalf, or in opposition to, a candidate for public office, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That includes endorsing, opposing and donating to campaigns.<\/p>\n
And it includes making campaign announcements, said Steven Willis, a professor at the University of Florida\u2019s Levin College of Law.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t do that,\u201d Willis said in a phone call to the Tampa Bay Times.<\/p>\n
In an emailed statement to the Times, Hartfield said \u201cthe distribution of the announcement email from the Foundation\u2019s email was an error.\u201d Hartfield was not involved with the distribution and \u201ctook immediate steps to ensure there is a clear and appropriate separation between the Foundation and my campaign moving forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201dI\u2019ve always led with integrity in both my nonprofit work and in this campaign, and that standard matters to me,” he said.<\/p>\n
The emails said Hartfield\u2019s priorities included small business growth, sustainable workforce housing, transportation and transparency. The messagesdid not directly endorse Hartfield or ask for campaign donations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough his work with the foundation, many of you have experienced Gary\u2019s commitment to service, leadership, and creating meaningful opportunities for others,\u201d an email read. \u201cHis decision to run reflects a continued dedication to strengthening our community and expanding that impact across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
The emails invited readers to visit Hartfield\u2019s campaign website to \u201clearn more, support the campaign, or follow along.\u201d<\/p>\n
An email from the foundation on Monday clarified that the announcement was \u201cnot intended to advocate for or promote any political campaign or activity,\u201d and that the foundation is committed to following guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize the importance of maintaining a clear delineation between nonprofit mission and any political activity,\u201d it read, \u201cand we have taken steps to ensure that all future communications fully reflect that standard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willis said the message announcing Hartfield\u2019s campaign \u201cis political activity\u201d and that there are a range of potential consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organization could lose its exempt status, but typically that results from a pattern of political activity, not a single instance,\u201d he said in a text message to the Times.<\/p>\n
Anthony Pedicini, a Tampa-based political strategist, said foundations, churches and other tax-exempt organizations can encourage members to engage in the political process.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut they can\u2019t say, \u2018Hey, by the way, exercise your right to vote and go vote for Anthony Pedicini,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In announcing his campaign, Hartfield joined eight other candidates in the race to replace Mayor Jane Castor, who must leave office due to term limits. More are expected to join soon.<\/p>\n
Hartfield launched a political committee called Innovate Tampa in July. The committee raised more than $38,000 as of Dec. 31, including $10,000 from Hartfield\u2019s company, Serenity Village Holdings LLC. He also loaned the committee $30,000 in September.<\/p>\n
He is the founder and chief executive of Serenity Village Insurance and Consulting, an insurance agency. He is also the chief executive of several assisted living facilities across the state.<\/p>\n
In a campaign news release last week, Hartfield said he is \u201cstepping forward because I believe Tampa deserves leadership that is present, accountable, and deeply connected to the people it serves.\u201d<\/p>\n
He previously served as vice chairperson of the Hillsborough Transit Authority, but resigned in January amid residency questions.<\/p>\n
Hartfield, who joined the board in 2023 and represented Hillsborough County, was required to live in the unincorporated county. He owns a home in Lithia, where he claims a homestead exemption. But he told the Times that he has been renting a North Tampa residence since last year, in part because he was \u201ceyeing and planning to run for mayor in 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayoral candidates must live in Tampa for one year before the start of their term. The next term begins on May 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
Hartfield said he was not aware of the rule about living in the unincorporated county when he joined the Transit Authority board.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A nonprofit affiliated with Tampa mayoral hopeful Gary Hartfieldsent emails to recipients familiar with the group\u2019s work last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[98027,98024,98023,98025,94051,98026,98022,135,19880,137,136],"class_list":["post-214877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-campaign-announcements","tag-campaign-website","tag-gary-hartfieldsent","tag-hart-foundation","tag-hartfield","tag-political-activity","tag-steven-willis","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-times","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}