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Complaint Filed Over Election

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

kknight@tampatrib.com

Published: October 15, 2008

CORY LAKE ISLES - State elections officials are looking into a Lakeland political consultant's complaint about three candidates vying for seats on the Cory Lake Isles Community Development District board.

David Shepp, a consultant and lobbyist who maintained he has no ties to Cory Lake Isles, filed the complaint in August. It asserts that David Burman, Edmund Morford and Kerri Ringhof violated state election laws relating to campaign literature and reporting of expenditures and sources of support.

"My interest in this matter is if you run for office, you need to follow the law," Shepp said.

The three Cory Lake Isles residents are running against two incumbents and a community newcomer for a slate of seats on the community's taxing authority board.
Burman and Morford said they had responded to the state elections commission and are confident they and Ringhof will be cleared.

"We don't believe there is any basis for his complaint," Burman said.
Morford agreed, saying he considered Shepp's complaint was meant to serve as a distraction.

"We have done nothing wrong," Morford said.

"I don't know who Mr. Shepp is. Somebody is playing hardball politics."

Ringhof, a vocal critic of the current CDD board, will square off in the general election against David Pardue, a former division president for Avatar Homes, who moved to Cory Lake Isles earlier this year. They qualified to run for a seat being vacated by Cory Lake Isles developer Gene Thomason.

Ringhof declined comment about the allegations, citing a confidentiality clause in paperwork from the Florida Elections Commission.
Burman is challenging incumbent district supervisor Roger Brown for a spot on the board. Morford will face incumbent Suzanne Manzi for the third supervisor's post.

Ringhof, Burman and Morford sought appointments to the CDD board earlier this year. However, they failed to win spots on a board whose appointees always have been handpicked by Thomason. Manzi and Brown face elections for the first time Nov. 4.

Shepp said he learned about the election allegations through a friend who lives in Cory Lake Isles. Shepp declined to name the resident, saying his friend was "concerned about experiencing the raft of his neighbors" if he filed the complaint.

Shepp contends the candidates violated state election laws when they failed to report all costs or in-kind contributions associated with a campaign Web site - www.november4home owners.com - the three residents launched in August. He said they used a Web site that offered free service for 30 days and had not reported it on their individual campaign finance statements before he filed the complaint.

He also said the candidates did not post proper disclaimers on campaign signs and literature and failed to report expenditures for them on their treasury reports.

The Florida Elections Commission launched formal investigations and notified the three candidates, records show.

Shepp's complaint is the latest salvo in a spate of contentious exchanges as Cory Lakes Isles transitions from a developer-controlled community to one led by homeowners. Ringhof and Morford are among 20 homeowners suing the community's property owners association to view records maintained by Thomason.

Shepp said he consider filing the complaint an act of civic duty. He contends the candidates still have yard signs and are distributing reception invitations that don't include proper campaign disclaimers.

"I'm still sending information to the state," Shepp said.

Shepp said he doesn't know Burman, Morford or Ringhof and never has been to Cory Lake Isles.

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842. Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842.

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