Delray Beach political group’s secrecy demands explanation

For weeks, edgy and pricey-looking mail pieces filled Delray Beach mailboxes in the run-up to the race for mayor, the most expensive contest in city history.

At least 16 separate pieces that reached city voters in January and February attacked Mayor Shelly Petrolia for “fiscal mismanagement,” being “divisive and vindictive,” and a litany of other charges. All that mail cost money — as much as $100,000, according to one estimate.

But who paid for it all remains a mystery. The political committee whose disclaimer appears on those paid messages, Progress for Delray Beach, has not yet reported one dime of contributions or expenditures during the two months when they were produced and mailed. The group’s reports show only zeroes across the board.

This unsolved mystery will draw the attention of the Florida Elections Commission. Chris Davey, a Petrolia supporter and chairman of the city zoning board, filed two complaints accusing the committee of breaking the law. In a second complaint filed March 17, Davey asks: “How did Progress for Delray Beach contract to send all the mail, robocalls, texts, etc.? If that PAC didn’t pay for it, then who is really paying the bills?”

This is the potential election fraud that Florida legislators should be worried about — not whether a remote drop box was always under human surveillance.

Petrolia won re-election March 9, narrowly defeating challenger Tracy Caruso. Progress for Delray Beach supported Caruso’s candidacy, but she has said she had no involvement with the committee. Which Caruso supporters bankrolled Progress for Delray Beach? It’s a secret. It shouldn’t be.

Progress for Delray Beach registered with the state as a political committee in January, making it subject to state campaign finance laws. That includes Florida Statute 106.11, which prohibits a committee’s treasurer from authorizing any expenses unless sufficient funds are in the bank to pay for them, “and to meet all expenses previously authorized but not yet paid.” A violation is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine by the Florida Elections Commission.

The political committee’s treasurer and registered agent is Mike Ridenour, 28, who lives in St. Petersburg. He did not respond to phone and email messages, but he earlier told Sun Sentinel reporter Wells Dusenbury that he formed the PAC because Petrolia showed “gross negligence” with drinking water issues in Delray.

A political committee has every right to influence voters. But the point of the campaign finance laws is to tell the public who’s paying to exert that influence. It’s known as “who gave it and who got it.” Voters have a right to know that. No political committee should hide behind a veil of secrecy and leave the public in the dark about who’s financing a political effort for or against any candidate.

That’s why the Florida Elections Commission needs to get to the bottom of this mystery. If it doesn’t, there’s nothing stopping other committees in races across the state from doing the same thing and treating Florida voters like fools.

A second political committee, People for Coastal Common Sense, based at a PNC Bank branch in Jensen Beach, also produced anti-Petrolia messages. That committee disclosed its contributions and expenses.

Before Davey filed his second complaint, he said he called Ashley Davis, an attorney at the state Division of Elections, about Progress for Delray Beach’s lack of transparency. A spokesman for Davis, Mark Ard, told us that Davis told Davey that suspected violations of campaign laws should be reported to the Florida Elections Commission.

“Any money contributed or expended should be reported,” Ard said, paraphrasing what he said Davis told Davey in their phone conversation. “Every dollar spent has to be reported.”

The committee’s next report is due April 10. It could wait until then to open its books, but that delay would frustrate the public’s right to know and violate the spirit of the law, which requires timely reporting of transactions.

Progress for Delray Beach gets a big, fat zero for lack of transparency. The group’s secrecy demands a full explanation.