Joel EngelhardtComplaint stems from text messaging campaign against Related Ross proposal to buy city land for a private school.
When text messages signed by a little-known political committee alerted West Palm Beach residents to a news story about a proposal in late March to sell 55 acres to megadeveloper Stephen Ross for a private school, Ross’ consultant Rick Asnani grew alarmed.
As a veteran campaign manager, Asnani believed that state law prohibits campaign-style text messages for issues that aren’t going before voters. He wondered who might have paid for such a campaign.
- In May, he took his concerns to the Florida Elections Commission.
Why it matters: The election complaint pits one of the state’s most well-established campaign managers, Asnani, against up-and-comer, Jennings DePriest of Bradenton. DePriest has ties to Melissa Power, wife of Florida Republican Party Chair Evan Power, and has publicly touted his text messaging prowess.
Catch up quick: Asnani, whose Cornerstone Solutions represents all West Palm Beach city commissioners, including the mayor, and has been on the receiving end of many election complaints, submitted his complaint against the Florida Committee for Accountability, DePriest’s Sarasota-based political committee that took credit for the text campaign.
What they’re saying: “I have no problem with someone who has a different opinion. At least you need to play by the rules,” Asnani told Stet News. “You can’t just drop in and pretend to be a citizen group doing the right thing and do something that could potentially be illegal.”
The text messages, signed in some cases by “Jane” or “Julie,” urged residents to contact their city commissioner and persuade them to reject the city’s land sale to Related.
- “This land deal feels rushed and hidden from the public with no transparency,” the texts said. “No open process? No thanks.”
What the complaint said: “The text messages were not for the purpose of influencing the results of an election since the sale of the land did not need to be submitted to the voters. … As a political committee, expenditures by the Florida Committee for Accountability must be for the purpose of influencing the results of an election.”
- As backup, Asnani attached Stet News’ coverage.
Zoom out: The complaint didn’t identify who bankrolled the text messaging campaign. Billionaire Jeff Greene, who owns the Greene School on South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, opposed the land sale but told Stet News he had nothing to do with the campaign.
Of note: In 2019, the elections commission fined a nonprofit run by Asnani $950 for failing to register as a political committee. The fine came after former West Palm Beach Commissioner Shanon Materio filed three complaints against Asnani, who worked for her opponent, Christina Lambert, in the March 2018 City Commission race.
What’s next: The elections commission will review the complaint to see if it’s worth investigating before making any information public.
