Ryan Nicol
State Sen. Daphne Campbell announced Monday that she had earned four new endorsements from South Florida commissioners in her run for re-election.
Now, it appears one of those endorsements was sent out in error.
Aventura Commissioner Robert Shelley says he is not backing Campbell’s re-election in Senate District 38, but is instead supporting her opponent, Miami attorney Jason Pizzo.
After Florida Politics reported on Campbell’s announcement Monday, the Pizzo campaign produced a signed letter that showed, in fact, Shelley had endorsed Pizzo’s campaign back in April.
We reached out to the Campbell campaign to get a response, and it turns out they too had a signed letter from Commissioner Shelley from June indicating his support for her SD 38 bid.
Shelley spoke to Florida Politics to clear up the confusion, saying his letter of support to the Campbell campaign was likely sent out due to some sort of miscommunication between the two offices.
“I’m not sure how it happened,” said Shelley, noting he is currently out of the country on a trip to London. Asked if he had sent an endorsement letter to the Campbell campaign, he said, “No, absolutely not.”
Shelley says Campbell isn’t to blame, instead it was likely a mistake by his office. “I think it was just a misunderstanding.”
Nevertheless, he says he stands behind his support of Pizzo.
Pizzo is challenging Campbell in the Democratic primary for SD 38 for the second time, after she defeated him and four other challengers back in 2016. The 2018 primary election will be held Aug. 28.
