FCSO Threatens Legal Action Against Danko for ‘Misleading’ Ad Implying Endorsement

Ed Danko, the current Vice Mayor of Palm Coast and a candidate for Flagler County Commission, received a cease-and-desist letter from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s general counsel for a video ad in which an endorsement from Sheriff Rick Staly was interpreted as having been implied. Staly has not endorsed Danko nor any other local candidates, and while Danko’s video doesn’t explicitly claim he has, the FCSO holds that it may mislead voters into thinking otherwise. The video is recorded by a man who is endorsing Danko: retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Oliver North. If that name sounds familiar, North is most well-known for his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair, for which he was convicted of three felonies in 1989. Those charges were dismissed by an appeals court in 1991. Since then, he’s regained prominence in conservative politics and advocacy. North opened the video, posted to Danko’s YouTube channel, by announcing his own endorsement of Danko. Nothing out of bounds there. The portion which gave way to conflict with the FCSO came when North said, ” endorsed my friend Sheriff Rick Staly and his efforts in reducing crime”. The video shows two photos of Danko and Staly. The FCSO’s Response Letter: Mr. Danko: The Sheriff’s Office is aware your campaign is running an advertisement on YouTube in which you include Lt. Col. Oliver North making a statement which either indicates you had endorsed Sheriff Staly’s campaign, or Sheriff Staly has endorsed you for your election to County Commissioner. The Sheriff’s Chief of Staff has received numerous phone calls from voters seeking clarification. Additionally, in the commercial, you use images of Sheriff Staly to imply he is supporting and/or endorsing your candidacy. As you are aware, both the statements and implications are inaccurate; you did not endorse Sheriff Staly’s campaign, nor has he endorsed you. Sheriff Staly has not endorsed any local candidate for this position. Florida Statute § 106.143(4) is crystal clear on the use of endorsements. The Statute provides the following: (4) It is unlawful for any candidate or person on behalf of a candidate to represent that any person or organization supports such candidate, unless the person or organization so represented has given specific approval in writing to the candidate to make such representation. However, this subsection does not apply to: (a) Editorial endorsement by any newspaper, radio or television station, or other recognized news medium. (b) Publication by a party committee advocating the candidacy of its nominees. While you indicate you did not write the script for the advertisement, you and/or your campaign have promoted it, providing a false narrative and misleading the voters of Flagler County. We demand both you and your campaign immediately cease and desist all uses and references to Sheriff Staly, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and/or the likeness of either in all mediums including, but not limited to, social media, mailers and commercials. You will not receive another warning letter. Failure to comply will cause this office to take any and all legal action necessary to gain compliance. Sincerely Rick Staly, Sheriff John T. LeMaster, General Counsel What Happens Next As of Saturday, the video remains publicly available on Danko’s YouTube page. Danko said Saturday that he hadn’t yet read the letter, and upon being shown its contents offered a brief response. “Go to my website and click on the ‘issues’ tab and you will see right off the bat where I state that I fully support Sheriff Staly.” he said. “To me, that’s an endorsement of him and his great department. I have also told every audience I have addressed that I endorse sheriff.” To Danko’s claim, his website does include a passage affirming his support of Sheriff Staly – but the passage does not specify that Danko was endorsing Staly’s re-election bid (he received no challengers this year, winning by default). “I fully support Sheriff Rick Staly, his outstanding deputies, and hardworking staff,” the website says. “Thanks to Sheriff, crime has no home in Flagler County.” It stands to reason that this may be interpreted as not an explicit endorsement of Staly’s campaign, as North claimed in the video, even if it’s implied. Though the distinction seems trivial, Staly’s actions as a sheriff and as a political candidate are bound to strict ethical codes, as are any elected official, barring him from blending them. Thus, Staly the sheriff and Staly the candidate function as separate entities in every effective sense. Though the FCSO couldn’t be reached for comment on Saturday, they quite likely don’t view Danko’s website posting as meeting the threshold of a written endorsement as he claims it is. As for Danko’s verbal endorsement of Sheriff Staly, that may inform voters where he stands on the election – but by the standards set forth in Florida’s election statutes, a political endorsement must be written. His verbal endorsements of Staly would not meet that requirement. Danko did not specify what actions he may take next, and said he needed to confer with his campaign manager on the issue. As of Saturday the video is still uploaded to his YouTube, and it’s unclear if the FCSO intends to escalate its claim against Danko if he leaves it up indefinitely. The letter did warn, at the very least, that legal action would be the result if they do not receive ‘compliance’ from Danko.