Jesse Scheckner
A new attack video in the race for Palm Beach County Sheriff is claiming Republican candidate Michael Gauger lied about serving in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
Gauger calls it a “smear.” His campaign told Florida Politics that he has filed an Internal Affairs complaint with the Sheriff’s Office over its release of personal information without his consent.
The ad — paid for by the Palm Beach County PBA Justice PAC, which is chaired by Palm Beach Police Benevolent Association President John Kazanjian — opens with a clip of Gauger introducing himself at an event as an Army draftee. He says he moved to Florida in 1969, after he “served (his) time” in the military. But while he presented himself as a former soldier, the ad says, “The truth is that Gauger never served in the Army at all.”
An Army document appears on-screen, with a bright red arrow pointing to a line noting that Gauger was discharged for “not meeting medical fitness standards at the time of induction.”
“Mike just went through initial processing and was dismissed without basic training or any service in the Army, and Gauger has been misleading Palm Beach County voters for months about his military service,” a voiceover says.
“Stop it, Mr. Gauger. You’re not just lying about your service; you’re dishonoring the service of those who really did serve their country.”
Gauger is demanding an apology from the PBA, which he said purposely deceived voters about his military involvement. He was drafted and intended to serve in Vietnam, he said, but he was honorably discharged just a month and a half into boot camp at Fort Leonard Wood Army Garrison in Missouri after he was hospitalized for an allergic reaction to pain medication the Army gave him.
There’s evidence to back that assertion up in the ad. The document, a DD 214 discharge form Gauger says he did not consent to being made public, clearly shows that Gauger was drafted on June 29, 1967, and discharged Aug. 16, 1967. It labels his discharge as “honorable.”
“The intent of this text and video is to smear my character and good name in a desperate attempt to assist (my Primary opponent) Lauro Diaz with his campaign. I want the PBA to apologize for their false remarks and cease and desist spreading any additional lies or misinformation,” he said in a statement.
“Veteran status is not conferred based on length of service (and) I challenge them to produce a single video where I said I served in Vietnam.”
Florida Politics has contacted the U.S. Army for clarification on the matter. According to the U.S. Code, basic training is considered active duty for training, or ADT, and service members who were honorably discharged during ADT due to a service-connected injury or illness can meet the Department Veterans Affairs’ definition of a veteran.
The Palm Beach County PBA Justice PAC has donated funds to two Sheriff candidates this election cycle. One is incumbent Democratic Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, to whom the organization has given campaign cash for the past two decades.
The other is Diaz, a retired Bartow Police captain who spent 27 years at the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) and also served with the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.
Bradshaw received $306 from the PAC last year, the smallest sum he’s gotten from it since 2004. The PAC also gave $1,000 to Diaz, who also accepted the same sum from four other regional law enforcement groups and the Florida Police PBA Law & Order PAC.
Diaz ran unsuccessfully against Bradshaw in 2020.
Gauger, an ex-PBSO Chief Deputy with 47 years of experience at the agency, is seeking the job of his former boss. The Palm Beach PBA hopes to stop him from succeeding, said Kazanjian, a lieutenant at the PBSO.
“We do not want to see (Gauger) become Sheriff,” Kazanjian told the Palm Beach Post this week. “And (we) will do all we can to prevent that from happening.”
The Post noted the PBA’s donation to Diaz marked the first time in recent years that a county union has contributed to a Republican Sheriff candidate’s Primary effort.
Gauger said the ad is an indication Bradshaw and the PBA are nervous about his candidacy.
“It is obvious that Bradshaw does not want to face me in the General Election,” he said. “The PBA gets whatever it wants (from him) so they want four more years of Bradshaw.”
Bradshaw faces a Primary challenge from Alex Freeman, Deputy Chief of the Jupiter Inlet Police Department and a former Chief of the Midway Police Department in Gadsden County. Freeman, 50, is the youngest of the four candidates. This election marks his third consecutive attempt to unseat Bradshaw, who at 76 is the same age as Gauger. Diaz is 62.
Gauger made national headlines last week when he called Diaz “a fucking asshole” during a virtual candidates forum. He told Florida Politics he thought he was on mute at the time.
The Primary Election is on Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5.
