Former Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard was right to file an ethics complaint against his former colleague, Clearwater City Council member Kathleen Beckman. He accused Beckman of using her official job as a Council member to aid her campaign for Mayor.
To be clear, it is a move pulled straight from the politicking 101 handbook. Ethics complaints are a tool campaigns often employ to draw attention to questionable decisions that opponents or their teams make.
But sometimes, and this is certainly the case here, the complaints have merit beyond partisan grudge matches.
When Beckman used a voter database used by the Democratic National Committee — VoteBuilder — she knew, or at least should have known, that it is a campaign tool. The fact that she sent a letter, on official city letterhead, to just 139 residents, all but one being women, also raises significant red flags. It smacks of a targeted mail campaign, not a city official disseminating information to constituents.
But the biggest red flag is this: If Beckman were merely acting as an officer of the city, why would she pay for the letters to be mailed herself, rather than sending them on the city dime? This lone fact points to Beckman having direct knowledge that her targeted mail blitz crossed the line between city business and campaign electioneering.
At issue are letters Beckman sent to residents in north Clearwater Beach regarding city efforts to mitigate flooding. A series of emails sets the scene.
Beckman emailed City Manager Jennifer Poirrier on Jan. 3, telling Poirrier that she had "canvassed North Beach yesterday for about four hours," during which time she said constituents told her that her opponent, Bruce Rector, "shared information with North Beach residents about $60 million in funds from 'planning' … being allocated to address infrastructure needs on North Beach."
The email also asks for information pertaining to flooding precautions and a city pump. Later, Beckman shared a draft letter she planned to send to residents in the north beach area and said that Assistant City Manager Daniel Slaughter helped her compose it.
After receiving the email, Poirrier cautioned Beckman about the need to separate city business from campaign-related activity.
Later, Beckman had City Council Executive Assistant Tammy Cummings print copies of the finalized letter on city letterhead. Cummings also provided envelopes.
That Beckman then paid to mail the letters herself is enough evidence to reasonably believe Hibbard's concern that Beckman had used city resources for campaign activity.
It's up to voters to decide whether that transgression is a deal breaker in this race. And an ethics investigation, if there is one, likely won't be resolved until well after voters have cast their ballots.
But what is perhaps more troubling is how Beckman has responded to the mistake itself (I'm giving Beckman the benefit of the doubt by calling it a mistake). Instead of owning up and apologizing, Beckman went on the defensive, calling out Rector for dirty campaigning and Hibbard for dirty politics.
To be clear, Hibbard has endorsed Rector for Mayor, and he's been highly critical of Beckman, accusing her of calling Republicans "evil" and of supporting a $90 million City Hall project that prompted his own sudden resignation as Mayor in protest. Obviously, Hibbard might not have been so vocal about Beckman's transgression had he not had a horse in the race.
But Hibbard's support for Beckman's opponent does not negate her own actions, and pointing fingers doesn't suddenly right her wrongs.
Clearwater voters have two choices for Mayor this year, and they break largely on party lines. Democrats are lining up behind Beckman while Republicans have rallied around Rector. Partisan voters are likely not going to be swayed to one side or the other based on this issue alone.
But there are thousands of voters who are either not registered to a party, or who don't consider themselves particularly political even if they are registered to a major party. All voters, whether partisan or not, deserve elected officials who will be honest with them and accept responsibilities when they beef it.
Beckman has yet to do that, and voters deserve to know.
Beckman has a lot of support from elected officials and community leaders, and those are certainly notable. But what is also notable is that none of the elected officials who have offered their support are colleagues on the Clearwater City Council.
Meanwhile, interim Mayor Brian Aungst Sr. and City Council member David Allbritton have endorsed Rector. Council members Mark Bunker and Lina Teixeira have not endorsed.
While it's not surprising that Aungst and Allbritton are backing Rector — they are both Republicans — it is troubling that the remaining two Council members have remained silent in the race, and that none of them are backing Beckman.
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