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Former Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard was proper to file an ethics complaint towards his former colleague, Clearwater Metropolis Council member Kathleen Beckman. He accused Beckman of utilizing her official job as a Council member to help her marketing campaign for Mayor.
To be clear, it’s a transfer pulled straight from the politicking 101 handbook. Ethics complaints are a software campaigns usually make use of to attract consideration to questionable selections that opponents or their groups make.
However typically, and that is actually the case right here, the complaints have advantage past partisan grudge matches.
When Beckman used a voter database utilized by the Democratic Nationwide Committee — VoteBuilder — she knew, or at the least ought to have identified, that it’s a marketing campaign software. The truth that she despatched a letter, on official metropolis letterhead, to simply 139 residents, all however one being ladies, additionally raises vital crimson flags. It smacks of a focused mail marketing campaign, not a metropolis official disseminating info to constituents.
However the greatest crimson flag is that this: If Beckman have been merely performing as an officer of town, why would she pay for the letters to be mailed herself, fairly than sending them on town dime? This lone reality factors to Beckman having direct data that her focused mail blitz crossed the road between metropolis enterprise and marketing campaign electioneering.
At concern are letters Beckman despatched to residents in north Clearwater Seashore relating to metropolis efforts to mitigate flooding. A sequence of emails units the scene.
Beckman emailed Metropolis Supervisor Jennifer Poirrier on Jan. 3, telling Poirrier that she had “canvassed North Seashore yesterday for about 4 hours,” throughout which era she mentioned constituents instructed her that her opponent, Bruce Rector, “shared info with North Seashore residents about $60 million in funds from ‘planning’ … being allotted to deal with infrastructure wants on North Seashore.”
The e-mail additionally asks for info pertaining to flooding precautions and a metropolis pump. Later, Beckman shared a draft letter she deliberate to ship to residents within the north seashore space and mentioned that Assistant Metropolis Supervisor Daniel Slaughter helped her compose it.
After receiving the e-mail, Poirrier cautioned Beckman about the necessity to separate metropolis enterprise from campaign-related exercise.
Later, Beckman had Metropolis Council Govt Assistant Tammy Cummings print copies of the finalized letter on metropolis letterhead. Cummings additionally offered envelopes.
That Beckman then paid to mail the letters herself is sufficient proof to moderately imagine Hibbard’s concern that Beckman had used metropolis sources for marketing campaign exercise.
It’s as much as voters to resolve whether or not that transgression is a deal breaker on this race. And an ethics investigation, if there’s one, seemingly gained’t be resolved till nicely after voters have solid their ballots.
However what is probably extra troubling is how Beckman has responded to the error itself (I’m giving Beckman the good thing about the doubt by calling it a mistake). As a substitute of proudly owning up and apologizing, Beckman went on the defensive, calling out Rector for dirty campaigning and Hibbard for soiled politics.
To be clear, Hibbard has endorsed Rector for Mayor, and he’s been extremely crucial of Beckman, accusing her of calling Republicans “evil” and of supporting a $90 million Metropolis Corridor venture that prompted his personal sudden resignation as Mayor in protest. Clearly, Hibbard may not have been so vocal about Beckman’s transgression had he not had a horse within the race.
However Hibbard’s assist for Beckman’s opponent doesn’t negate her personal actions, and pointing fingers doesn’t out of the blue proper her wrongs.
Clearwater voters have two decisions for Mayor this yr, they usually break largely on get together strains. Democrats are lining up behind Beckman whereas Republicans have rallied round Rector. Partisan voters are seemingly not going to be swayed to at least one aspect or the opposite based mostly on this concern alone.
However there are literally thousands of voters who’re both not registered to a celebration, or who don’t think about themselves notably political even when they’re registered to a serious get together. All voters, whether or not partisan or not, deserve elected officers who shall be sincere with them and settle for duties after they beef it.
Beckman has but to do this, and voters need to know.
Beckman has a lot of support from elected officers and group leaders, and people are actually notable. However what can also be notable is that not one of the elected officers who’ve supplied their assist are colleagues on the Clearwater City Council.
In the meantime, interim Mayor Brian Aungst Sr. and Metropolis Council member David Allbritton have endorsed Rector. Council members Mark Bunker and Lina Teixeira haven’t endorsed.
Whereas it’s not shocking that Aungst and Allbritton are backing Rector — they’re each Republicans — it’s troubling that the remaining two Council members have remained silent within the race, and that none of them are backing Beckman.
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