Ponzi schemes, office rentals, party ties draw scrutiny on Margaret Good campaign

State Rep. Margaret Good is taking on Vern Buchanan.

A new attack ad against Margaret Good questions her law firm’s client list. A state party ad supporting her raised eyebrows for noting a history of voting against the party. And critics want to know why Good’s campaign rents office space from property she owns.

It’s all more scrutiny on the Sarasota Democrat’s effort to deny Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan an eighth term representing Florida’s 16^th Congressional District.

The most pointed attack comes from Buchanan’s campaign, who went live with a negative ad slamming the professional credentials of the Sarasota attorney.

“Margaret Good has a secret. She doesn’t want you to know that she works for a white collar law firm that defends scam artists and con men,” a narrator explains. “Dozens of ordinary people in Sarasota were defrauded out of their retirement and education savings in a Ponzi scheme.”

Newspaper clippings in the ad reference a case against Sarasota advertising executive Gary Todd Smith. The campaign said the firm Good works for, Eastmoore, Crauwels & DuBose, defended the convicted schemer.

It’s a somewhat familiar attack. Good faced the same criticism when she ran against Buchanan’s son James in a statehouse Special Election in February 2018. Good’s campaign at the time dismissed the messaging as “lies” and “funded by special interests groups and insiders who want to continue business as usual.”

Good’s law firm accepted federal assistance this year through the Payroll Protection Program. Good has criticized Buchanan-tied businesses for accepting money through the same program. The latter part of the ad criticizes Good for leveling such a criticism while her own job was potentially preserved by the federal program.

“Margaret Good’s  shameless hypocrisy will backfire because voters hate politicians who say one thing and do another,” said Buchanan campaign manager Max Goodman. “She attacks Vern over PPP yet secretly hides the fact that her high-priced law firm – Eastmoore Crauwels & DuBose – also received federal PPP funds.

“This is the same law firm that defends Ponzi schemers and con artists accused of ripping off senior citizens and other people in our community. Margaret needs to explain why protecting scam artists who rip off seniors merits public aid from the very taxpayers who were the victims of these crimes. While she’s at it she can also explain if her husband’s employer – Southern Air Systems –  will be returning the money it applied for and received under the same program.”

Good’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

But the ad comes as questions arise about whether Good’s Congressional campaign is bailing her out as well. Campaign finance reports show she has paid more than $2,100 for office space that went straight to the candidate. Good reported most payments for $170.97, and they date back to September of last year.

Some of those payments go toward an Oakmont Place house in Sarasota, that notably was advertised for rent a month prior to Good’s campaign at an amount of $3,295. Other payments are for Good’s own home on Homasassa Road.

Another advertisement supporting Good still raised eyebrows, particularly among liberal voters in the district. The Florida Democratic Party funded mailers touting Good’s record, one that regularly flouted the party.

“Margaret Good voted against her own party in favor of expanding scholarships for hardworking students,” the ad reads. “She stood with Republicans to ensure Southwest Florida families were able to afford college.”

While it’s unclear exactly which vote in the Florida Legislature the ad references, it caught supporters and opponents of Florida school choice vouchers by surprise.

“Education Freedom is great for everyone. It’s great to see the Florida Democrats agree,” tweeted Skylar Zander, state director of the center-right Americans for Prosperity-Florida. “I’m sure this will make it much easier for other Democratic members in the House who opposed these bills in their races this November.”

Some Democratic voters in the district said this in fact was the second mailer presenting Good as a party-bucker that had been sent to Democratic super-voters by the Florida Democratic Party.

Tracy Pratt, chair of the Manatee County Democratic Party, had not received the piece, and said she was surprised it was funded by the FDP. That said, it could help shore up Good’s reputation as a centrist, something important in a district with more than 43,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats and with more than 150,000 independents.

“She has been endorsed by the Blue Dog Democrats,” Pratt noted. “She is definitely a moderate.”

Neither the state party nor Good responded to requests about the mailer, her reported office expenditures, or the newest Buchanan attack ad.