As Middle Keys voters prepare for an election that could seat up to three new faces on the Marathon City Council, concerns over Sunshine Law violations are limiting candidate engagement with voters.
From late August through early October, three candidate forums and meet-and-greets – put on by the Middle Keys Republican Club, the Florida Keys Contractors Association (FKCA) and the Keys Weekly/Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce – were set to bring all seven candidates in the 2025 election under the same roof.
At press time, only one stands to proceed with a full slate.
Established in 1967, Florida’s Sunshine Law preserves the public’s access to most government proceedings, setting guidelines for notice of, and records from, those meetings. Under the law, elected officials are prohibited from discussing issues that may require a vote with other members of their same governing body outside of announced meetings.
According to Florida’s own Government-in-the-Sunshine manual, “a ‘candidates’ night’ sponsored by a private organization at which candidates … will speak about their political philosophies … is not subject to the Sunshine Law unless the council members discuss issues coming before the council among themselves.”
But more recent court rulings have muddied the waters in a county riddled with recent scrutiny of elected officials.
A 2005 Broward County case ruled that city commissioners violated the Sunshine Law in a private breakfast meeting, during which they individually questioned the county sheriff, but not each other. A 2017 case in Bradenton Beach determined that members of a city planning and zoning commission violated the law by “participat(ing) in discussions at meetings of a community improvement organization which involved planning and zoning matters.”
On Aug. 22, a memo sent by Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies to Marathon officials and forum hosts confirmed requirements for any meeting where more than one incumbent would be present. According to the memo, forums must be open to all members of the public, not a select group or members of a private organization; must be announced in a public notice; and must have minutes taken and available to the public for later inspection.
Of particular significance: The responsibility to attend only forums that meet Sunshine Law requirements falls on the elected officials, not the forum organizers.
Reminders of the requirements spelled the end for an Aug. 27 forum by the Middle Keys Republican Club, which originally published a notice inviting all registered voters to attend.
“Inviting all political party affiliates was an honest attempt to open conversations and share the wants and needs we all have in common,” said Bettye Chaplin, the event’s co-organizer, who noted that the initial response to her event after two advertisements was “terrific.”
“The forum was for all registered voters, all party affiliations who live, work, play and pay taxes and vote in the city of Marathon,” she added. “This was my third organized candidates’ forum, so (I’m) not new at this. It’s the first time any form of the Sunshine Law has ever interfered.”
A Florida Keys Contractors Association (FKCA) lunch on Sept. 5 proceeded with new council candidates Gerrit Hale, Debra Struyf, Dave Perry and Greg Robinson, who were each afforded equal time for a short speech to attendees.
The lack of interaction between contractors and incumbents comes at a critical juncture, as tensions between FKCA members and city staff and council members have made their way to recent council meetings.
In June, FKCA president Armand Messina requested a workshop for contractors to voice ongoing concerns directly to council members, similar to a session held a year prior to address permitting delays.
Councilman Jeff Smith and Mayor Lynn Landry said they preferred a list of concerns emailed to staff with council members copied, and that scheduling a forum would only lengthen delays to resolve issues.
Messina referenced the June request in an address to contractors at the close of the Sept. 5 lunch, clarifying that he spoke as an individual, not on behalf of the organization.
“They asked me to put (the concerns) in an email, which is kind of funny, because nobody returns emails,” Messina said. “I probably told them I’d be putting it on my ballot (in November) and sending it to them.”
Further frustrating event organizers is the fact that Sunshine Law concerns haven’t played a role in campaign events for recent Marathon elections. The last time more than one incumbent appeared on a Marathon council ballot was 2019, when three members were returned to the dais. But as the Florida Keys have seen a mounting pile of lawsuits over the last three years over the conduct of local governments, elected officials and staffers, the issue is under the microscope today more than ever.
This January, State Attorney Dennis Ward investigated the sudden resignation of former Islamorada Village Manager Rob Cole, with concerns raised over whether the village’s council members may have coordinated his departure or severance package.
And in April, three Key West city officials were arrested as part of a still-unraveling corruption probe into official misconduct in City Hall. That investigation included text messages holding a preemptive discussion of a vote to fire then-City Manager Al Childress before candidates running unopposed had taken office.
Speaking to the Weekly on Sept. 9, Smith and Landry said they would have attended forums that met legal requirements. Councilwoman Robyn Still said that Sunshine Law violations were a prominent topic in a recent ethics training attended by council members, with candidate forums including other incumbents posed as a “high risk.”
“I know not attending may have given the impression that I was avoiding these forums. This is not the case,” she said. “Our city deserves candidates who demonstrate ethics, transparency and integrity, even when doing so calls for hard decisions. I would be happy to meet with anyone who attended these events and answer any questions they may have.”
Asked whether he told incumbents not to attend the FKCA and Republican Club forums, Marathon City Attorney Steve Williams told the Weekly he had agreed with Hodies’ memo. He advised seated council members that it would only be safe for one of them to attend each event, and that penalties for violations would be the responsibility of the candidates, not the forums.
Questioned as to why these restrictions had never played such a prominent role in previous elections, Williams responded:
“Political and legal climates have evolved and changed to where people are now more acutely aware of the Sunshine Law.”
A final forum open to the public, sponsored by the Keys Weekly and Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce, is set to include all seven Marathon City Council candidates on Wednesday, Oct. 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the BOCC chambers of the Marathon Government Center. The meeting will be broadcast live and available to view in its entirety online.
