A.G. Gancarski
State Rep. Kim Daniels, a second-term Democrat, on Friday resolved a state ethics case dating back to her time on the Jacksonville City Council.
A stipulation in the agreement between Ethics and Daniels, which saw her admit culpability, is that the matter will be referred to House Speaker Jose Oliva for disciplinary determination.
This wraps an issue that was first floated nearly four years ago, as Daniels (a professional evangelist by trade) was running for re-election.
In 2015, a complainant charged that Daniels owned properties beyond those listed in her 2012-2014 financial disclosure forms, including mortgages for properties that belonged to her church, adding up to $1,000,000 of undeclared assets.
Indeed, her churches had multiple properties — “parsonages” — in various cities, timeshares, and over a dozen cars.
A conflation of assets between Daniels and her Spoken Word Ministries led to a confusing trail of which properties were owned by which entity. When Daniels divorced, she and her former husband divided profits from a house registered to SWM.
Also at issue: timeshares with the Daniels’ names on the deeds, along with that of the ministry, another conflation of ownership interest.
A similar complaint filed previously was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, as it was listed within 30 days of Jacksonville’s 2015 election.
Daniels was re-elected in the Democratic primary in August, defeating Duval County School Board chair Paula Wright despite the local party leaning in favor of Wright’s campaign.
As there were no GOP or NPA candidates, the open primary was decisive.
Last year, the Florida Chamber recognized Daniels as the most pro-business Democrat in state government.
Additionally, she is known for bills that many critics say blur the lines between church and state, including a 2019 proposal to require high schools to offer Bible study courses as an elective.
