Rivals seek investigation of Fla. House candidate Jon Albert's mailers, campaign funds
Fellow candidates have raised questions about the campaign finance activity of Jon Albert, one of six Republican candidates for an open seat in Florida House District 48.
Three Republican candidates signed a petition sent Thursday to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit. The candidates — Jerry Carter, Chad Davis and Benny Valentin — suggested that Albert may have violated state law by ordering campaign mailers when his campaign account lacked sufficient funds to cover the costs.
According to the petition, Albert’s campaign sent five campaign mailers between approximately June 20 and July 10, all bearing the printed disclaimer, “Paid by Jon Albert, Republican, for State Representative, District 48.” Campaign mailers to likely Republican primary voters in the district typically cost $6,000 to $8,000 each, the candidates wrote.
As of Friday, Albert had reported $10,785 in campaign contributions and $4,312 in expenditures. That left him with $6,473 in campaign funds.
The petition cites a state law covering campaign expenses. It says that a candidate or campaign manager may not authorize any expenses “unless there are sufficient funds on deposit in the primary depository account of the candidate or political committee to pay the full amount of the authorized expense.”
Violation of the law is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Albert, who is the mayor of Frostproof, shared a screenshot Thursday night with the other candidates showing a $50,000 check he had recently deposited. In an email Friday, Albert told The Ledger that he loaned his campaign $50,000 to pay for the mailers.
“I cut the check in early July and I believe it was received at the end of last week, so it should show up on this (next) report,” he said. “The money came from me, as I loaned it. I pay expenses as they come in, just as we’re required to do. I pay the bills as I get them, which will also be reflected on this report — which is the law.”
Six Republicans are running in the Aug. 20 primary election for the District 48 seat, which is open because Rep. Sam Killebrew, R-Winter Haven, faces term limits. The other two Republican candidates in the race, Debbie Owens and Amilee Stuckey, are not listed as signing the petition. The race includes one Democrat, John Hill of Poinciana.
The district covers much of southeast Polk County, including Winter Haven, Lake Wales and Frostproof. The primary winner will face the lone Democrat in the race, John Hill of Poinciana.
State complaints filed
Albert filed a financial disclosure form on June 7 that listed $3,800 in a personal bank account and about $68,000 in a business account. He also listed assets of $1.1 million for a business, ILove Productions LLC, and $310,000 for his home in Frostproof.
He listed four sources of income: about $65,000 from TMS International, $38,000 from Titan Building Supply Holdings, $2,500 from White Sign Company and $6,000 from his salary as mayor of Frostproof.
Albert’s campaign has reported a series of expenditures to three recipients, including a qualifying fee of $1,781.82 to the Division of Elections. The other expenses have been paid to Strategic Image Management, a Republican-aligned consulting group in Tampa known as SIMWins, and to Anedot, a donation platform based in New Orleans.
The payments to Anedot, ranging from $1.30 to $50.90, are all described as “service fee.” The report did not include any expenses for printing, production, postage or any costs related to the dissemination of campaign mailers, the petition said. The most recent expenditure was dated July 8.
Albert said that a complaint against him “was submitted by a political consultant who lives in Tallahassee and represents one of my opponents — so this is absolutely 100% just a political trick with no merit.”
Davis said that Mark Zubaly, a consultant to his campaign, filed complaints with the Florida Elections Commission and with the Office of Election Crimes and Security.
"My client plays by the rules, and I did not want my client to have an election stolen from him by someone who is cheating,” Zubaly said by email.
Scott Wilder, a spokesperson for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, acknowledged receiving the petition but said the agency is not investigating. He said that state agencies investigate potential violations of election laws. Lori Edwards, Polk County’s supervisor of elections, said the Florida Elections Commission is responsible for enforcing the statute cited in the petition.
Jacob Orr, a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office, said he had no comment.
Bemoaning outside influence
"Over the last few months, I have gotten to know Jon Albert,” Davis said in an email. “He seems like a nice guy who got some bad advice from his consultant. I wish it did not come to this, but we owe it to the voters to protect the integrity of this election."
Davis is a lawyer for Polk County Public Schools and a former assistant to Florida Sen. Kelli Stargel of Lakeland.
Stuckey, the state committeewoman for the Polk County Republican Party, lamented the influence of an outside political committee on the election.
“The voters prefer a local candidate that is funded by local money,” she said by email. “Anyone can look at my reports and see exactly where my money comes from. They are just regular everyday people, most of whom cannot even afford to give $1,000, which is the maximum allowed by law for an individual or a business.
“We should not let outside influences buy our local elections. Especially when the money comes from a PAC, where it is hard to determine who owns it and that does not have to disclose where their money comes from.”
Albert, 44, has served on the Frostproof City Commission since 2016. He graduated from Fort Meade High School in 1997 and attended Polk State College before joining the U.S. Marine Corps, according to a campaign news release.
Albert filed to enter the race on Feb. 26, according to records with the Florida Division of Elections. As Frostproof’s mayor, he was required to submit an irrevocable letter of resignation at least 10 days before the start of the qualifying period in June. Albert said that he did so, and he is listed as a qualified candidate on the Division of Elections website.
Voters in Florida House District 48 have also received at least two mailers promoting Albert that are labeled as paid for by Make America Great Again, a political-action committee formed in 2018 and based in Venice. Randy Krise, a Fort Myers real estate broker, is listed as the PAC’s chairperson, but Krise told a reporter he hasn’t been involved with the PAC for years.
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Krise said the committee was created by Anthony Pedicini, founder of Strategic Image Management. Pedicini did not respond to a voicemail left Thursday.
The MAGA committee has received $2.1 million in contributions since 2018, according to Florida Division of Elections records. It has received much of its money from other conservative political committees, including Save Our Quality of Life, Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy (chaired by Pedicini), Rebuild Florida, Freedom First Committee and Friends of Randy Fine — a state House member running for the Florida Senate.
Albert originally listed his wife, Anna Albert, as his campaign treasurer. In a letter submitted to the Division of Elections on Feb. 29, Anna announced her resignation and wrote that Wendy White would serve as Jon Albert’s campaign treasurer.
White, who has served the same role for many Republican candidates, lists the same office address as Strategic Image Management in Tampa. She is also listed as chair of the Save Our Quality of Life PAC.
Mailers and texts
The Ledger obtained an image of one mailer identified as paid for by Albert. It stated: “Jon Albert will use any and all means necessary to protect Florida from Biden’s Border invasion.” The mailer includes the dubious claim that 9.2 million “illegal aliens have entered the U.S since Biden took office.” The figure apparently refers to all encounters at the southern border, and the Department of Homeland Security says that most unauthorized migrants are captured and expelled.
Of the mailers identified as paid for by the Making America Great Again PAC, one features a large photo of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and a much smaller photo of Albert. The mailer, describing Albert as a conservative, small-town mayor, says that he “supports Governor DeSantis’ plan to make Florida the last place illegal aliens want to come.”
Another declares, “Jon Albert will sue the Biden administration so Florida can be reimbursed for tax dollars spent on costs associated with the Biden Border invasion.” Florida legislators do not have the authority to sue the federal government, though Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed various legal actions against the Biden Administration.
The Ledger asked DeSantis’ political office if he had given permission to the MAGA committee to use his image in the campaign mailer. The office had not responded as of Friday afternoon.
Text messages supporting Albert’s campaign have also been sent to voters. One states, “Paid for by Keep Florida Winning.” That committee lists the same Venice address as the Make America Great Again PAC. Its registered agent is Jennings DePriest.
As of Friday, Keep Florida Winning had reported $1,656 in contributions, including $1,000 on July 16 from Making A Better Tomorrow, another committee with the same Venice address.
Gary White can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: In Polk state House race, rivals question candidate's mailers, funds
