Elections always elicit accusations, aspersions and innuendo — but those attacks typically come from opposing political parties.
Such is not the case these days in the Florida Keys, where a Republican voter filed a formal complaint against two leaders of the county’s Republican Executive Committee, alleging “election fraud and unlawful disbursement of funds” by treasurer Sherri Hodies and chairwoman Rhonda Rebman Lopez. Hodies is currently the Republican candidate for the county’s supervisor of elections, running against Democrat Ron Saunders.
Key West resident Phyllis May, a registered Republican, filed the complaint on July 26 with Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward, who is also a Republican and a member of the REC. (May is not a member of the executive committee.)
May opposed the Republican Executive Committee’s endorsement of its treasurer, Hodies, for the office of supervisor of elections. The endorsement, which came with a $20,000 campaign donation to Hodies, was done without the necessary number of votes, according to the committee’s bylaws, May wrote to Dennis Ward.
Endorsements require approval of at least 60% of the executive committee members present and voting, May wrote,
“At the time of the vote there were 63 members of the REC. A majority of the full committee would have been 32 members voting to endorse.The vote was 20 to endorse; 18 not to endorse. The vote fell short by 12 to endorse,” the complaint states.
When asked by the Keys Weekly about the votes not meeting the required threshold, and some REC members’ complaints about the endorsement, Rebman Lopez said, “The vote tallies and total were taken to the highest levels of the Republican Party of Florida by me and they told me that as chair, to make the call, and I did.”
May’s July complaint further states, “There was no mention that there was also another qualified Republican candidate in the race. It was not a vote to decide which candidate to endorse. The vote was to endorse Ms. Hodies or not.”
Given Ward’s membership in the REC — and his subsequent personal support for Hodies’ Republican primary opponent, Margaret Romero — Ward recused himself from investigating May’s complaint, to avoid a conflict of interest. As is protocol, Ward notified the governor’s office of the complaint and requested that it be reassigned to another state attorney in Florida to investigate.
That reassignment occurred this week when Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sept. 20 signed Executive Order 24-203, sending the matter to “the Honorable Amira D. Fox, state attorney for theTwentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida, who agreed to accept an executive assignment in this matter.”
“All residents of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit (Monroe County) are requested, and all public officials are directed, to cooperate and render whatever assistance is necessary to the Assigned State Attorney, so that justice may be served,” the executive order states.
In response to the complaint that was filed, and to Ward’s request that the governor reassign it for investigation, Rebman Lopez told the Keys Weekly on Sept. 24: “Dennis Ward is doing exactly what the Democrats are doing to Trump — trying to use the courts to interfere with an election. Ward’s complaint is that the Republican Party is trying to help a Republican get elected. This is how desperately the Democrats want to control the elections department in Monroe County, that they stoop to these desperate and frivolous complaints.”
When the Keys Weekly reminded Lopez that Ward is a Republican and a member of the REC, she said, “He’s a RINO,” (meaning Republican in Name Only).
“The Democrats are trying to take Sherri Hodies off the ballot the same way they tried to take Trump off the ballot, and we cannot allow the corrupt Democrats to take control of our elections,” Lopez said. “Sherri Hodies, the real Republican candidate for supervisor of elections, won the primary by more than 20%. The Republican voters of Monroe County have clearly spoken. The frivolous allegations of election fraud center around the local party’s endorsement process, which was voted upon by a majority of all members present and subsequently approved by the Republican Party of Florida. This complaint is meritless and will be dismissed in due time,” Lopez said.
Hodies was asked for a comment about the complaint, and said she would make a statement, but had not gotten back to the Keys Weekly as of press time on Sept. 25.
