The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) has officially taken aim at Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, filing a formal complaint with the Florida Elections Commission over the timing of her campaign kickoff.
The move, announced Friday, centers on allegations that the Mayor’s team played fast and loose with campaign finance laws before she even officially entered the race.
At the heart of the dispute is a high-quality, multi-minute campaign video released just hours after Deegan filed her re-election paperwork on Thursday, April 16. The RPOF argues that the polished production—featuring various locations, news clips, and footage from her downtown office—could not have been produced in the short window between her filing and the video’s debut.
Under Chapter 106 of the Florida Statutes, candidates are prohibited from making expenditures or accepting in-kind contributions before they have formally opened a campaign account.
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“Donna Deegan started her re-election campaign the same way she’s failed to lead Jacksonville – lawless, reckless, and completely out of touch,” stated Evan Power, Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. He further alleged that the Mayor has a “pattern” of treating the law as optional, citing her stances on immigration and a gun registry.
The complaint specifically requests that the state investigate whether the campaign authorized expenses or used political committee funds improperly before a legal campaign existed. The GOP’s logic is straightforward: a production of this scale requires planning and funding that, by law, must be documented through an active campaign bank account.
The RPOF is pushing for a full investigation into whether the Deegan campaign incurred obligations to pay for the media before the paperwork was dry.
Power noted that while the Mayor’s team was busy filming, Jacksonville residents were facing “a bloated city budget, rising property taxes, doubled garbage fees, and rising utility rates.”
As of now, the Florida Elections Commission will need to determine if the “lights and camera” of the Deegan campaign were rolling before the law allowed.
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