COMING TO A MAIL BOX NEAR YOU: PAC Has Devolved from Cyber-attacks to Snail Mail in Support of Mayor Danise Henriquez
Hi-tech approach backfires; Shadow PAC resorts to U.S. Post Office.
KEY WEST — If you are one of hundreds of Key West voters pissed off about getting unsolicited text messages bashing Mayor Danise Henriquez’ competition (despite asking them to STOP multiple times) get ready for more — whether you like it or not.
Slick, four-color glossy mailers are headed to your mailbox courtesy of Families & Friends for the Keys.
The PAC founded and chaired by Niles — an ardent supporter of incumbent Mayor Danise Henriquez — is escalating its smear campaign against District II City Commissioner and mayoral challenger Sam Kaufman from texts to professionally produced direct mail, a move that signals significantly more money being pumped into the shady effort to bolster Henriquez’ re-election.
Above the Fold first reported the connection between the Niles-controlled PAC and the derogatory text messages that flooded voters’ phones across the Island City last week.
Our original reporting revealed that Historic Tours of America, owned by Ed Swift and partner Chris Belland, bankrolled the PAC with an initial $10,000 contribution — accounting for more than 95% of its total receipts at the time.
Since then, the donor list has grown.
Campaign finance filings show additional contributions from Hollywood-based real estate developer Jeffery Cornfeld ($10,000), Stock Island restauranteur Bobby Mongelli ($250), Marathon resident Denise Holland-Schmitt ($520) and Planning Board member Michael Browning ($500).
Cornfeld’s five-figure donation raises its own questions. The developer was behind the Peary Court deal in which a former City Commission handed him $12.5 million to purchase the property with promises to create affordable housing and expand the project by 44 units — promises that never came to fruition.
Henriquez has still not disavowed the smear campaign aimed at her opponent — while Kaufman took to social media to assure voters that he was not stooping to that level.
The mailers will also test whether the PAC’s campaign finance reports reflect the actual spending. Despite collecting more than $21,000 in contributions to date, Families & Friends for the Keys has reported only $21.10 in expenditures — a payment to ABETON, an online donation-processing service.
Professional four-color glossy mailers, including design, printing and bulk postage, typically cost thousands of dollars, and any such expenditures must be disclosed in future filings with the Florida Division of Elections.
Under Florida Statute 106.19, any campaign treasurer or PAC officer who knowingly and willfully fails to report expenditures commits a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine per count, plus a civil penalty of three times the amount of the unreported spending.
Voters head to the polls Aug. 18.
This is an evolving story. Watch this space.
Ed. Note: This content is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by or produced on behalf of any candidate, campaign or political committee in Monroe County.