Is Rob Hardwick running scared against St. Johns Sheriff challenger Jim Priester?

St. Johns County incumbent Sheriff Rob Hardwick.

St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick is using fear and intimidation against his opponent in the final weeks before Tuesday’s election.

The General Counsel for the incumbent Sheriff last week sent a letter to Hardwick’s challenger, Jim Priester, wrongly informing him that he was in violation of state statute prohibiting the unlawful use of a badge or other official insignia.

Perhaps worse, in December, Hardwick refused to accept Priester’s retirement if Priester was planning to run against him.

The most recent issue, regarding the letter, pertains to Priester’s 27-year career as a deputy for the St. Johns Sheriff’s Office (SJSO) and use of images from his tenure, serving in uniform.

The letter, from General Counsel Matthew Cline — former undersheriff to David Shoar, who is now running for Senate — cites Florida State Statute 843.085, which deems it “unlawful for any person … to wear or display any authorized indicia of authority, including any badge, insignia, emblem, identification card, or uniform … with the intent to mislead or cause another person to believe that he or she is a member of that agency.”

The Hardwick campaign appears to be taking issue with images of Priester in uniform used in various campaign messaging, all of which indicate that he served honorably for 27 years with SJSO, emphasis on the past tense. Retired law enforcement officers running for office often use official photographs from their time in service to highlight their past resumes.

In a response to Cline, an attorney for Priester’s campaign, Robert Fernandez, noted that the cited state statute “is to prevent civilian citizens from pretending to be sworn law enforcement officers” and that “none of the campaign materials that I am aware of try to confuse and/or mislead the electors of St. Johns County that candidate Jim Priester is the ‘current’ Sheriff or still is an ‘active-duty’ Lieutenant in the SJSO.”

He further notes that the letter sent to Priester was not on official SJSO letterhead and begs the question, “are you truly speaking on behalf of the SJSO or on behalf of the Robert A. Hardwick Campaign for Sheriff of St. Johns County?”

Further, Hardwick in December refused to accept Priester’s retirement, specifically mentioning rumors that Priester planned to run against him for Sheriff. The conversation occurred in person, but text messages from Hardwick to Priester obtained by Florida Politics corroborate Priester’s version of events.

In the text, Hardwick summarizes the conversation, noting that he asked twice if Priester was running for Sheriff and stating, “I do not accept your letter of resignation.”

This all comes as Hardwick himself has come under fire for violating St. Johns County Schools policy restricting campaign solicitation of students on public school campuses.

Last month, a staffer from Priester’s campaign filed a complaint with the St. Johns County School District alleging a violation after campaign workers from Hardwick’s campaign went to Nease High School in plain clothes to obtain signatures of support from students on the campus. District Attorney Frank Upchurch upheld the complaint, finding the campaign did in fact violate school district policy.

Meanwhile, sources tell Florida Politics that Hardwick has been using his official office for the benefit of his political campaign, activity that violates not only state election law, but also the federal Hatch Act, which prohibits certain federal, state and local government employees from engaging in political activity in their official capacity if they work in connection with federally funded programs. SJSO receives federal funding.

And emails obtained by Florida Politics corroborate the claims. Greg Suchy, the SJSO public information officer, sent an email on Aug. 9 to Peret Pass, the former PIO who is now running Hardwick’s campaign, providing a list of people in the county’s Civilian Law Enforcement Academy, but noted he had “removed four Priester referrals” from the list, indicating the information was being provided for campaign purposes.

And in a recent campaign advertisement, Hardwick appeared on screen with his command staff. Those employees are not protected and can be fired at any time. Sources with knowledge of the campaign have told Florida Politics some have been threatened with dismissal if they do not support Hardwick, including with financial contributions. Threats of unionizing the Sheriff’s Office have also reportedly arisen as a result.

It appears Hardwick is running scared, with just days before the election. Internal polling from the Priester campaign shows a steady decline in favorability for Hardwick, according to sources familiar with the polling.