We’ve just received a copy of flyers that Nathan White, candidate for Palm Bay City Council is hading out intentionally misleading voters. The race for Palm Bay City Council is a non-partisan race, which means that candidates are not allowed to disclose their party affiliation in their campaign materials or their disclaimer.
In the flyer that White, who is a registered Republican, is hading out to voters, states in his disclaimer that he is a “non-partisan candidate” meaning not affiliated with any party. No such language is permitted under Florida Campaign Finance law. In partisan races, the candidate must disclose their political party in the disclaimer for their advertisements. When there’s a non-partisan race, that portion of the disclaimer where party affiliation would normally go, must remain absent. Ironically, these illegal disclaimers are under his “restore trust” slogan.
The statute is very clear and states this:
Except as noted below, any political advertisement that is paid for by a candidate (except a
write-in candidate) and that is published, displayed, or circulated before, or on the day of,
any election must prominently state:
“Political advertisement paid for and approved by (name of candidate), (party affiliation), for
(office sought)” or “Paid by (name of candidate), (party affiliation), for (office sought).”