A statewide ethics board last week dismissed complaints against Key West Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez and City Manager Brian Barroso. The complaints alleged the two had used or failed to prevent the use of city resources, namely its social media accounts, “in a manner that benefited the mayor’s reelection campaign,” according to the dismissal orders issued July 29 by the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Commissioner Sam Kaufman, who is running against Henriquez in a vitriolic mayoral campaign, filed the ethics complaints in late May after a social media post on the city’s accounts promoted a Memorial Day event that was specifically sponsored by Henriquez’s political campaign.
The commission’s dismissal order states that Kaufman’s allegations “do not provide a legally sufficient basis for investigation.” In addition, the commission ruled that the accusations did not rise to the level of ethics violations, as there was no evidence that Henriquez or Barroso had created or initiated the social media post, or benefited from it.
Kaufman’s complaint also alleged that although he had been reprimanded and threatened with enforcement action by Barroso for using city resources for his own campaign by filming a commercial in the commission chambers on a day city hall was closed, the mayor had not received any comparable warnings or enforcement actions from Barroso for her own campaign activities using city resources.
The dismissal orders put the complaints and allegations to rest, as the ethics commission declined to open an investigation.
It’s the latest episode in a contentious mayoral campaign that has divided the island community. Supporters of both candidates have launched online attacks on the opposition, although both candidates emphasize those are coming from supporters, not from the campaigns or candidates themselves. Supporters of Henriquez registered a political committee with the state of Florida that has funded several direct mail materials and television attack ads targeting Kaufman.
The mayor’s race, along with two of three city commission races, will be decided on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The race for the District 4 commission seat features three candidates and will head to a November runoff if none of the three candidates receives more than 50% of the vote.
For more information about the Key West city commission and mayoral races, visit cityofkeywest-fl.gov. For information about all countywide races, including county commission, school board, mosquito control and utility board, visit votemonroeflkeys.gov.
