Lake Wales commissioners split over volunteer ‘clean campaign’ pledge as residents urge action on campaign mailers

Deputy Mayor Curtis Gibson told the commission he drafted a voluntary "clean campaign" pledge and urged the body to make it available for any candidate to sign.

"I did," Gibson said when asked who authored the pledge during public comment, adding that the document could be offered to candidates as an optional step to discourage negative attacks in local races.

Supporters in the audience and on the dais said big outside "packs" and independent political groups can outspend local candidates and spread misleading material. Catherine Price, a member of the public, said she reviewed state records and alleged transfers and large inflows into local political packs, calling the problem "not just" Lake Wales' but statewide. "When you went out to the other pack that that money came from, they never listed that $25,000 as a contribution," she said.

Why it matters: Commissioners said they want cleaner local campaigns but disagreed on the pledge's utility and limits. Commissioner Gillespie said a pledge would be "more than what we have without it" and pledged to reintroduce the vice mayor's document to the commission. "If you can't solve a problem, you can at least do something," Gillespie said about the pledge's value as a symbolic step.

Opponents stressed enforceability and unintended consequences. Several commissioners, including one who drafted the pledge originally, said they withdrew it after a work session discussion because they concluded a pledge could be subjective or weaponized. One commissioner said state law and the courts limit what a city can do about PACs and independent expenditures and warned that a local pledge would not stop outside groups. "The reason there is nothing in the pledge about PACs is because they're lawful," one commissioner said.

What commissioners said: The debate included multiple points of emphasis. Supporters argued that local candidates without large budgets cannot effectively rebut misleading mailers and that a pledge would be a statement of local norms. Skeptics noted the pledge would not change court precedent or federal and state law governing independent expenditures and warned it might be used against candidates.

Next steps: Commissioner Gillespie said she will seek to put the pledge back on a future agenda so commissioners can reconsider it after hearing tonight's public comments and the earlier work-session debate. Several commissioners asked staff to provide clearer drafting and enforcement language before any reintroduction.

Ending: The commission did not adopt any ordinance or resolution related to campaign finance during this meeting; the discussion concluded as part of commissioner comment and the meeting proceeded to other business.