Aimee Sachs
With less than three weeks before the Primary Election, Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey filed complaints with the Florida Elections Commission accusing his opponent, Leon County Commissioner Kristin Dozier, of “shady and improper tactics” in coordination with “dark money” political committees.
At a news conference in front of the Florida Elections Commission building in downtown Tallahassee, Dailey raised an issue with mailers sent out by a Jacksonville-based group called “Save Our City,” which he says doesn’t exist. However, a political committee called “Saving Our City PC” was formed on July 12 but has not disclosed contributions and expenditures.
Dailey said the Dozier campaign coordinated with the group by using images from the same photo shoot as her official campaign photos and that her campaign accepted donations “well above the legal limit” as she and the committee failed to report the expenditures.
The Mayor said he was troubled by a “clear and consistent pattern of unethical and illegal activity by Kristin Dozier.”
“I am prepared to hold every candidate accountable to follow the laws when you run for office,” Dailey said. “How can you expect to properly serve in office if you do not follow the law when you’re running for office?”
Dailey’s attorney, Glenn Burhans of the Stearns Weaver Miller law firm, said the same vendor paid for the postage for both the Dozier campaign mailer and the committee’s mailer.
“What’s going on here is it appears the Dozier campaign is using this committee to do some of its dirty work by launching a negative campaign using the same vendor,” Burhans said. “It’s fine to use the same vendor if they’re not engaging in independent expenditures, but the problem is they didn’t properly disclose the identity of the committee and nobody reported the contributions or the expenditures.”
Dozier called the accusations a “non-issue” and a “waste of time.”
“It’s clear John Dailey is so desperate to hang on to his seat that he would compromise his integrity by lying to our community about my record,” Dozier said. “It’s shameful. It’s why most of us have asked what happened to the John Dailey we knew.”
Dozier entered the race in March and has been critical of Dailey’s support of the $27 million Doak Campbell Stadium Blueprint funding.
“He’s worried, and this is what politicians do when they’re worried and desperate,” she said. “They lash out and they attack their opponents. And that is so disappointing.”
