By Mary Hladky
The Florida Elections Commission has found that Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke did not act improperly or illegally when she sent an email to residents announcing her candidate endorsements in last year’s city election.
The commission closed its investigation after finding the complaint against O’Rourke, filed by Boca Raton resident Dario Gristina, to be “legally insufficient.”
The complaint, filed on March 1, 2021, contended that O’Rourke’s endorsement email interfered with the election or coerced voters.
“By sending the attached email in her official capacity shortly before a city election, Deputy Mayor O’Rourke is using her official influence to influence residents’ votes,” Gristina wrote.
In her Feb. 28, 2021, email, O’Rourke endorsed incumbents Yvette Drucker for City Council Seat C and Monica Mayotte for Seat D. Mayor Scott Singer also endorsed Drucker and Mayotte, and Mayotte endorsed Drucker.
Drucker and Mayotte easily defeated their opponents in the March 9 election.
Florida Elections Commission Executive Director Tim Vaccaro notified Gristina in a Dec. 8, 2021, letter that O’Rourke had done nothing wrong, saying “the language in the email is not coercive and there is no indication that it was sent for a corrupt purpose.”
He also said that Florida law does not prohibit public employees from expressing their opinions on candidates or issues, or from participating in a political campaign during off-duty hours, and noted that the email was sent at 5:45 a.m.
“My biggest disappointment in this whole thing is I was one of a majority of City Council members that endorsed people running for office and for some reason I was picked out to file a complaint against,” said O’Rourke, who does not know Gristina. Endorsements “are something that is done all the time.”
Gristina’s complaint was notarized by Kim LeeBove, campaign treasurer for former Deputy Mayor Constance Scott, who was defeated by Drucker in her bid to return to the council.
The City Council on March 22 was expected to vote on a resolution to reimburse O’Rourke the $1,625 she had spent to retain an attorney to respond to the allegations.
But the resolution was removed from the agenda after City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser asked for a delay so that she could seek an opinion from the Florida Commission on Ethics on whether council members can vote on it.
While she thinks the vote would be proper, Frieser said she wanted confirmation in writing since three council members made endorsements. Council members unanimously gave her the go-ahead to seek the opinion and the matter will come back to the council after the opinion is received.
Florida law allows elected officials to be reimbursed for legal defense costs that arise out of their performance of official duties when they are found innocent or there is a finding of legal insufficiency. Ú
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