Residents and commissioners criticize outside campaign mailers; mayor denies involvement

Several residents at the City of Lake Wales commission meeting urged voters to scrutinize outside-funded campaign materials and accused a political action committee of influencing the upcoming mayoral election.

The criticisms began during the public-comment period when Charlene Bennett said the sitting mayor had tried to limit public comments after taking office and "wanted to keep folks from Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ from speaking in this free public venue," a claim she said she had documented in videos and articles. She also alleged the mayor appointed many people from his church to city boards and called the mayor’s rhetoric and alliances evidence of a broader political agenda.

The complaints matter because several speakers said professionally produced mailers and other communications have flooded local mailboxes and phones in recent weeks. "I have received seven huge glossy postcard mailings and six sophisticated, alarming texts," Juanita Schwartig said, calling the period before the election "the shameful season." Becky Weincoop said the mailers cost $2,030,000 and asked, "What in the world is the pack looking for in return?" All three identified the group Floridians for Senior Care as the source of at least some of the communications.

Commissioner Margaret Gillespie (Commissioner) and others on the dais also raised concerns about the scale and influence of outside money in the race. Gillespie said the volume and cost of recent mailings and texts stacked the deck against local, small-dollar campaigns and said the American Association of University Women (AAUW) would host a candidates forum on March 20; so far, she said, Curtis Gibson was the only candidate confirmed to attend.

Mayor (name in record varied during the meeting) responded from the dais and denied involvement with the mailers. "My campaign finances are public record," the mayor said, adding that he had not received money from Floridians for Senior Care and that he did not know who was behind the mailings. The mayor also said he had not changed the city's proclamation policy and invited residents to view his sermon videos: "I do want to thank you for continuing to promote my sermon videos. I would ask anyone, please go watch them and you can see what I talk about." The mayor said he had not asked the PAC to stop and that he did not know whom to contact to make them stop.

Other commissioners commented on local political engagement and the importance of voter participation. Commissioner Thompson encouraged citizens to contact their state representatives about proposed legislation that commissioners see as reducing local control; Deputy Mayor Gibson and others emphasized that defending the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) was a priority.

No formal action was taken by the commission at the meeting on any of the campaign allegations or the mailings. Several speakers asked for public transparency and for candidates to condemn outside-funded communications; the mayor declined to state that he had asked any outside group to stop distributing mailings.

The public comments and commissioners' remarks occurred during the meeting’s comments-and-petitions segment and again in commission comment time; the commission later proceeded to routine business and several unanimous votes on consent and transportation-related resolutions.

Community groups and voters who said they were concerned included AAUW and residents who said the mailings included allegations about opponents that they described as unproven and inflammatory. Speakers seeking follow-up asked for more public explanation about who paid for the mailings and whether any city action was possible to limit outside spending in municipal races.