Polk Property Appraiser did not violate election laws

An investigation into whether Florida’s Hatch Act election laws were violated by Polk County real estate appraiser Marsha Faux found no violations.

The allegations were made ahead of the August primary election in which Faux, who decided not to seek re-election, was set to be replaced by County Commissioner Neil Combee, who was running against Gow Fields, a former Lakeland mayor.

Combee won the election.

Documents recently released by District Attorney Brian Haas indicate that investigators found no evidence of election law violations by Faux.

“It is clear that public employees, including elected officials, enjoy First Amendment protections,” Haas wrote in a Sept. 20 memo. “There is no evidence of threats, coercion or interference from Property Appraiser Faux or other employees in her office.

“Furthermore, there is no evidence that public funds or resources were used to promote any candidate,” Haas wrote. “There is no evidence that Real Estate Appraiser Faux or Candidate Gow Fields engaged in any activity that violates Florida Statute 104.31 or any other applicable Florida law.”

Faux could not be reached for comment on the results on Friday. Neither could Combee.

Shortly after making the allegations, Combee won election as Polk County Property Appraiser. He had aired his allegations in several posts on his Facebook page and in interviews with a Ledger reporter, saying he had contacted Haas’ office about possible violations and that an investigation was urgently needed.

In Combee’s social media posts, he said Fields visited the property assessor’s office at the urging of the current constitutional officer, in direct violation of a Florida election law.

That law, which Haas cited in his memo, was passed last year and is similar to the federal Hatch Act, which prohibits a county official from using his or her official authority to interfere with an election or the vote of another person, particularly office employees. to influence.

“First and foremost, government buildings belong to the taxpayers, not the incumbent, and use of the offices that directly conflicts with the interests of some taxpayers cannot be tolerated,” Combee wrote.

But ultimately Haas disagreed with Combee’s interpretation of the laws.

“A simple interpretation of the law without the interpretation of relevant court decisions, the opinions of the Florida Attorney General and other relevant statutes may result in an unduly broad interpretation of the law,” Haas wrote in the memo to his chief prosecutor, Jacob Orr.

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“Florida Statute 104.31, as applied and interpreted by Florida and federal jurisprudence, requires a more limited interpretation of the provision,” he wrote. “It is clear that public employees, including elected officials, have First Amendment protections.”

Prosecutors also released an investigator’s report and three transcripts of interviews with Combee and two district employees that he texted about Faux and Fields’ activities.

“On August 7, 2024, Neil Combee, Polk County Commissioner and candidate for Polk County Property Assessor, reported to the Attorney General’s Office that he believed that current Polk County Property Assessor Marsha Faux was violating election laws during the 2024 election cycle “I violated Florida law,” the investigator wrote. “In his complaint, Combee alleged that Faux brought Gow Fields into her office and introduced him to employees during work hours.

“Combee provided a fifty-six (56) second video clip from a political forum hosted by several nonpartisan groups in Lakeland, Florida on July 30, 2024. In the clip, Fields discussed how he was thinking about running for public office and promised Faux he would visit her office and “meet her people” before making a decision.

“Combee further alleged that Faux made strategy and fundraising calls for Fields from her office,” the investigator wrote

The transcripts included interviews with employees of the property appraiser’s office, including one who had known Combee since he was a child.

The now-retired employee said Combee told her the staff would be fired if Fields lost the election, the minutes said. She also said, only that Combee said this and Faux didn’t say it.

She added that Faux told her that Commissioner George Lindsey and she were looking for her replacement. And she didn’t know why, but Faux was “not very happy” and “mad” at Combee.

She said Fields visited the office and the employee gave him an organizational chart of the real estate appraiser’s office with the names of employees and information about funding the office received from the state.

When the allegations emerged in August, Fields insisted Combee’s account was factually incorrect.

“When I visited her office, it took me almost two months to make the decision to run,” he previously told The Ledger. “And even his description of me walking around the office to see the different areas is inaccurate.”

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