David Straz continues onslaught of negative attacks against Jane Castor based on a debunked claim

Joel Shults (left), a consultant David Straz's campaign hired to corroborate claims against Jane Castor, says the campaign has not paid him.

The hits just keep on coming.

David Straz released another ad Tuesday clinging to his claim that Jane Castor manipulated crime stats when she was Chief of Police to make it look like crime rates were lower than they actually were.

Straz’s claims have been debunked in a 2007 state audit and by a local criminology expert. But voters won’t know that from watching the 30-second television spot.

“Jane Castor is not an honest person. She is a liar. She is not trustworthy,” the ad begins.

It features retired Tampa Police Captain Jack Diaz and shows clips from a longer six-minute video the Straz campaign posted last week describing Castor as a “terrible chief” who “did not have any respect as a true leader.”

“The officers that are there now, they won’t come out and say it, but they don’t want her back,” Diaz says in the ad.

Diaz was the third former Tampa Police officer to come out with accusations of crime data manipulation. The claims are based on the department’s transition in 2006 to Uniform Crime Report methods that allow agencies to bundle certain cases into one report.

Castor was not Chief of Police at the time, but as a Major, she did participate in the decision-making process.

The Straz campaign initially offered no proof of its allegations and then later provided a doctored copy of a state audit showing just one paragraph from the 14-page report.

That paragraph explains that “prior to 2006, multiple crimes that occurred at the same location were counted as individual crimes.” The report ads, “this change reduced the number of selected offenses such as vehicle burglaries that are reported.”

What the Straz campaign ignored and is not sharing in its messaging is that the agency updated its policies to better align with UCR standards required among all law enforcement agencies.

The 2007 audit acknowledged those changes, but found the agency’s reporting “significantly correct” and did not identify any intentional misreporting or under-reporting.

Still, the Straz campaign is blasting its message to voters in a recent onslaught of ads featuring the three accusers. Straz personally declared triumph last week during a televised debate on Bay News 9 saying he had proof even though the report does not fully support his claims.

The overall tone in Tampa’s mayoral race has been increasingly negative. Since the March 5 municipal election, Straz has run a host of negative television ads and sent out mailers going so far as to tie Castor to Donald Trump because her partner, lobbyist Ana Cruz, works for a lobbying firm with ties to the White House.

The Castor campaign declined to comment on the latest allegation when it surfaced last week noting the issue had already been addressed.

During last week’s forum, Castor said Straz “has no idea what he’s talking about” and dismissed the allegations. She’s called on Straz to focus on the issues rather than baseless claims.

Straz is fighting against the clock to come back from a major deficit in the polls. Two polls out Tuesday put Castor well above Straz. A University of North Florida poll showed Castor winning by a 36 point margin. Another St. Pete Polls survey gave Castor a 23 point lead.

Voting in the race is already well underway. As of Tuesday morning voter turnout had already exceeded 12 percent, which is just 8 percent less than total turnout in the March election.

Early voting continues at seven Tampa polling places through Saturday. Election Day is Tuesday.