A political
action committee that is fighting Florida's proposed
gay marriage ban, Amendment 2, filed a complaint with
the Florida Election Committee Tuesday alleging that
proponents of the amendment are violating state
election law.
Leaders of
Florida Red and Blue say the chairman of the campaign to
pass Amendment 2, John Stemberger, has illegally paid
for ads supporting the measure through an entity
that's funded by anonymous donors.
Derek Newton,
campaign manager for Florida Red and Blue, claims that
Stemberger funneled nearly $350,000 from Florida Family
Action to Florida4Marriage for the express purpose of
buying time for TV ads. Florida Family Action, which
can take anonymous donations, has a 501c(4) tax code
designation and is therefore prohibited from engaging in
direct advocacy or soliciting funds for the passage or
defeat of a measure. Conversely, political action
committees, such as Florida Red and Blue and
Florida4Marriage, are legally empowered to raise and
dispense money in support of political campaigns,
but they are required to disclose the names of their
donors.
Records from the
Florida State Department's Division of Elections show
that, as of October 10, Florida4Marriage had raised about
$977,000 in 2008, with approximately $698,000 of its
contributions coming from Florida Family Action.
"They're in essence running a campaign where
half of their donors are not public," said
Newton, who has run political campaigns in the Sunshine
State for the past 20 years. "This is the biggest
campaign finance violation I've ever seen in
Florida, and it is monumentally illegal. But will it
impact the vote in two weeks? I don't know."
The smoking gun
that pushed opponents of Amendment 2 to take action was a
fund-raising e-mail Stemberger circulated that listed three
organizations to which supporters of the ban
could donate, in order of preference. Florida Family
Action was listed first, with a descriptor underneath that
read "Confidential Gift with no public
disclosure." Florida4Marriage was listed
second, with the designation "Gifts ARE publicly
reported."
"It's just clear as can be, he set up this
secret anonymous entity to funnel money and keep
people secret," Newton said of the e-mail.
"The entire point of having election laws in
Florida is so that voters know who's writing
checks, they know how much money these organizations have,
and they know what they're spending it on."
Newton says
opponents of Amendment 2 are pursuing every legal option at
their disposal as quickly as they can to force
Florida4Marriage to comply with the law. They are
requesting that Stemberger disclose who
has donated to Florida Family Action, stop transferring
money between the two entities, and take down TV ads
that Newton says incorrectly state they are paid for
by Florida4Marriage.
The Advocate could not reach Stemberger for
comment, but in statements elsewhere he has refused to
discontinue the advertising and denied all allegations
of wrongdoing.
"We will ignore
all of their so-called demands because they're all
improper and illegitimate, and we will get back on message
as to why gay marriage is a bad idea for Florida,"
Stemberger told the Associated Press Tuesday. But in
the same article, he also defended the practice of
taking undisclosed donations, saying, "Some people want to
remain anonymous. It's because of the intimidation of
our opponents."
Newton was
dumbfounded by what may have been Stemberger's
unwitting admission of illegal activity. "You
could knock me over with a feather that he would say
that to the Associated Press," he said.
"Bottom line, he's going to be in a lot
of legal trouble for a long time."
Though Florida
Red and Blue lawyers were considering approaching a
circuit court judge to force the Florida4Marriage into
compliance, they were unsure how effective the move
would be now that the case has already been presented
to the Florida Elections Commission. Newton said the
commission would almost surely conduct its investigation
after Election Day.
But the political
consequence of the lawsuit is that it could very well
become a distraction for opponents of the antigay
initiative. "We have a winning political case
to make," Newton said. "If we can stay focused
on making that political case to the voters, all their
illegal stuff really is moot."
Newton's
main objective is continuing to raise money to air an ad
about a domestic-partnered straight couple, "Helene and
Wayne," who would be equally as harmed by the
measure as any same-sex couple (the amendment
prohibits recognition of all unions that resemble
marriage, whether they are between straight or gay
partners).
"That ad
scores a 52% no vote when we show it to voters. So it is
lethally effective when we only need to get to 40,"
Newton said, referring to the fact that a full 60% of
voters must approve the initiative to pass it.
"Every quarter I can find in the cushions of my
couch is going to go behind that ad."
State Division of
Elections files show that Florida Red and Blue has
raised just over $3 million as of October 10, while Fairness
For All Families, another organization fighting the
amendment, has raised an additional $592,000.
If Stemberger is
found to have violated the law, he could be held
responsible for triple damages, as could donors to Florida
Family Action, according to Florida election law. But
Florida Red and Blue's attorneys say the legal
outcome of the charges will not have any effect
retroactively on the results of the vote on Amendment 2.
"Our only
hope, of course, is that voters here see what's going
on and get to express their feelings at the ballot
box," Newton said.
