BRADENTON BEACH – Bradenton Beach City Commission candidate Tjet Martin recently mailed a campaign letter to 246 city voters that does not include a political disclaimer required by state law.
Martin self-reported the potential campaign violation and is now trying to rectify the matter.
According to Florida Statute 106.143: “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).’”
State law also says, “Any person who willfully violates any provision of this section is subject to the civil penalties prescribed in statute 106.265.”
These state laws apply to campaign signs and print advertisements as well.
Martin is familiar with state election laws, having previously run for a commission seat in 2014. She also assisted her significant other, former mayor Bill Shearon, with his past campaigns.
In her campaign letter, she wrote: “I have the desire to make sure things are done correctly and promptly.”
When The Sun contacted her about the potential campaign violation on Friday, Martin said, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will be contacting the Supervisor of Elections to see if I can correct this.”
On Saturday, Martin emailed Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett and Deputy Chief Sharon Stief.
“I was advised October 5th that the campaign letter I sent did not contain the required disclosure ‘paid political advertisement paid by.’ The campaign letter was mailed October 2nd to 246 absentee voters. I request your assistance and direction to correct this unintended oversight,” she wrote.
Martin sent the same email to Florida Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews.
To the best of The Sun’s knowledge, no complaint has been filed with the Florida Elections Commission regarding the omitted political disclaimer.
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