FBI inquiry a distraction for Gillum
Dems’ nominee for governor faces tough scrutiny
The Democrat’s campaign for governor is under greater scutiny because of the probe, officials say.
TALLAHASSEE — Andrew Gillum’s stunning victory in the Democratic primary for governor has drawn greater attention to his record as mayor of Tallahassee, especially a mysterious, lingering FBI probe of corruption in the city that even supporters say has affected his work as mayor.
“I don’t think anybody expected Mayor Gillum to be the nominee, but now he is, and all of this stuff is going to come under really close scrutiny,” Ben Wilcox, research director for the watchdog group Integrity Florida, told the New York Times last week. “And it’s not going to look good for our city.”
The investigation began in August 2015, when undercover officers posing as Georgia-based developers began meeting with city officials. Gillum met with FBI officials last year and says he has cooperated in their investigation and has been told he is not the target of the probe.
Court documents inadvertently made public and reported in the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper indicate investigators are looking into the dealings of Scott Maddox, a Tallahassee city commissioner and former Florida Democratic Party chairman who has maintained his innocence.
Still, the investigation has unearthed details of Gillum’s cozy relationship with a lobbyist who set up meetings between him and the undercover agents, including on trips to New York City, Las Vegas and Costa Rica.
Adam Corey, a lobbyist and friend of
Gillum’s who served as his campaign treasurer during his 2014 mayoral run, set up some of the meetings with the undercover agents.
Gillum’s campaign suffered an initial setback when the investigation became public in June 2017 as the Tallahassee Democrat reported on subpoenas issued for city and community redevelopment board records dating back five years. But his Democratic opponents did not attack him on the investigation, helping smooth his way to victory.
U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, Gillum’s Republican rival for the governor’s mansion, is already slamming him about the probe, however.
“This guy can’t even run the city of Tallahassee,” DeSantis told Fox News last week. “There is no way Florida voters can entrust him with our entire state.”
Gillum has stressed he has called for greater transparency, including for the 197,000 documents involved in the probe to be posted online. DeSantis’ record of running lockstep with President Donald Trump leaves little room for him to criticize Gillum, his campaign argues.
“The Gillum campaign is not going to take ethics lectures from Congressman Ron DeSantis, who is marching in lockstep with the most morally, ethically and legally challenged president in American history,” Gillum spokesman Geoff Burgan said.
Even though Gillum has not been implicated in the investigation, it is still affecting the City Commission’s work and the perception of the city as a whole, Commissioner Gil Ziffer says.
The investigation so far has not resulted in any indictments, and it is unclear whether there will be any more developments in the case before the Nov. 6 general election.
Receipts for Gillum’s 2016 trips to Costa Rica and New York were released by his campaign Tuesday, but the records leave unanswered questions.
Gillum paid for two nights in the Ameritania hotel during the New York trip and stayed at his brother’s hotel another night. No other receipts from the trip have been released, and it is not known who paid his other expenses. He also says he received tickets to see “Hamilton” from his brother, Marcus, who Gillum said received them from Corey, his lobbyist friend.
But Corey’s lawyer, Christopher Kise, told the Associated Press that Corey did not buy “Hamilton” tickets.