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State records show late filing, incomplete reports, an unsuccessful appeal, and eventual referral for debt collection

Palm Bay City Councilman Chandler Langevin is facing a state-imposed campaign finance penalty after Florida election officials found he failed to timely file a required campaign treasurer’s report and submitted other incomplete campaign filings. Documents reviewed by The Space Coast Rocket show the matter escalated from warning letters in 2024 to a final order by the Florida Elections Commission and, eventually, a referral for debt collection in 2026. The records tie the enforcement action to Langevin’s campaign account for state representative, District 33.

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The paper trail began with a September 11, 2024 notice from the Florida Division of Elections informing Langevin that one or more campaign reports were incomplete. The state gave him seven days to file amended reports or provide missing explanations. Attached records identified multiple reporting issues, including petty cash spent without a reported petty cash withdrawal, expenditures needing written explanations, an incorrectly reported refund, business names entered in the wrong fields, and refund transactions in the termination report listed under the wrong expenditure code. The attached petty cash record also showed a negative $40 balance carrying forward across multiple reports.

A second notice dated October 11, 2024 warned Langevin again that his campaign treasurer’s reports remained incomplete and advised that if he failed to comply, the Division would forward the matter to the Florida Elections Commission for further action. That letter also cited state law authorizing civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.

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Separate from those reporting deficiencies, the state also penalized Langevin for filing a campaign treasurer’s report months after the deadline. According to a December 19, 2024 notice from the Division of Elections, a report due on December 26, 2023 was not filed until August 30, 2024. Because of that delay, the state automatically assessed a late fine of $1,306.97. The notice also made clear that, for a candidate, the fine could not be paid using campaign funds and had to be paid from personal funds.

In an appeal letter stamped received January 21, 2025, Langevin did not explain why the report was filed late. Instead, he argued that the matter had already been reported to the Florida Elections Commission and said he wanted to avoid being forced to pay the same fine twice to two different agencies.

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That argument did not carry the day. In a final order entered after a December 3, 2025 hearing, the Florida Elections Commission found that Langevin failed to file the report by the designated due date and that the late-filed report disclosed 17 expenditures totaling $6,577.86. The Commission further found that his appeal “did not justify” the failure to timely file the report. It also determined the original fine had been calculated incorrectly and corrected the amount upward to $1,644.47, which the order states equals 25 percent of the total expenditures for that reporting period pursuant to Florida Statutes §106.07. The order also notes that Langevin did not even sho up for the hearing.

By February 10, 2026, the matter had escalated further. A Division of Elections referral for debt collection states that Langevin had not paid the fine imposed by the Division and upheld by the Florida Elections Commission, and that repeated attempts to collect the money had been unsuccessful. That referral lists the amount owed as $1,644.47.

Langevin has not posted about the late filing, the fine, the appeal, the Commission’s Final Order, or the debt collection referral on his very active X account (@ChandlerForPB).

The violations stand in notable contrast to Langevin’s public positioning as a hardline “law and order” conservative. He has repeatedly demanded uncompromising enforcement of laws—particularly immigration statutes—with no excuses, even for claimed “law-abiding” violators or minor breaches. In March 2026 posts, he sarcastically dismissed defenses of illegal immigrants by writing, “He’s just here for a better life Sheriff. His kids are in school. He only broke the law a little bit Sheriff!” He has argued that a single illegal entry “proved they were willing to break the law once” and that “for the safety of our community they all have to go.” He has also criticized sheriffs for any suggestion of pathways for “law-abiding” illegal aliens, stating it is a sheriff’s role to “ENFORCE the law” and declaring Palm Bay a “Law and Order City” in the context of aggressive enforcement.

Campaign finance reports are how the public tracks who is funding a candidate, how campaign money is being spent, and whether officeholders are following the transparency laws they are sworn to uphold. In Langevin’s case, state election officials documented not only a late filing but also multiple deficiencies in the reports themselves. He is still facing additional campaign finance investigations.

Langevin has also emphasized fiscal restraint and taxpayer protection in his posts, criticizing government waste, national debt, property taxes, and remittances that he argues harm American interests and raise inflation. One March 2026 post stated simply, “I only want my taxes going to one mission.” Yet the unpaid $1,644.47 fine assessed for his own campaign’s late and incomplete reporting has now required state resources for collection efforts.

For a sitting city councilman who campaigns on conservative principles of personal responsibility, strict law enforcement, and limited government, the episode raises questions about consistency. With the penalty now in collections and no public comment from Langevin addressing the matter, the case underscores the importance of elected officials adhering to the same standards they advocate for others.

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