Naples has 'taken a slanderous turn': Politics in mayoral race gets ugly, some blame PACs

Political messaging for the mayoral race in Naples is confusing and upsetting voters.

It's picked up steam in recent weeks as the city's general election, scheduled for March 19, gets closer, and it isn't pretty.

The three candidates for mayor are blaming political action committees for the hostility and misinformation.

"Our city has taken a slanderous turn," said Mayor Teresa Heitmann, who's running for reelection.

She feels under attack by four PACs. She accuses her opponents of working with these groups to "hide behind the curtain of their anonymity and smear tactics."

"These PACs spread incendiary information often considered too negative for a traditional campaign," she said.

One of the PACs, Win America, out of Gainesville, circulated information about her feelings on abortion.

"I have never shared my personal opinion on this issue, ever. This private issue has no place in our city governance," Heitmann lamented.

The flyer states in oversized letters that she's "Proudly Anti-Abortion," and that she won't rest until "abortion is OUTLAWED here in Naples." She's pictured with Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying she supports his "anti-abortion agenda," although she's never taken a photo with him.

"It appears to me that they have targeted purely Democrats, which is very disappointing because our city elections are nonpartisan, the way it should be in the city," Heitmann said.

Text creates confusion

One of the mayor's opponents, former councilman Gary Price, has also been targeted by PACs, including Win America.

One text, in particular, led to more than a dozen complaints to the Collier County Supervisor of Elections office.

The first line of that message from Win America thanked the voter for "requesting a mail ballot," and appeared to come from Price, himself, if you didn't read it closely.

The text suggested Price and his slate of candidates wanted to "Build Naples Bigger," and they'd support builders and developers, reduce police funding and raise taxes if elected into office.

Some voters who received the message told the elections office they never asked for an absentee ballot, so it took them by surprise.

Melissa Blazier, the county's Supervisor of Elections, said the text stirred up fear of voter fraud.

"That's alarming to us. Now, I have voters calling and emailing and they're upset. They are thinking that someone has made a vote-by-mail request on their behalf," she said.

It only adds to the mistrust that is already out there for the 2024 presidential elections, she said, so she had a big problem with it.

Her office took to social media to ensure voters it was in no way involved in spreading disinformation, and to point the finger at the PAC behind it.

"I had one voter who I'm guessing didn't read through the whole message and thought that the message was sent directly through the Gary Price team," Blazier said.

Another text from the Win America group sent to voters stated Democrats are "rallying together" to support Price, and that no one had been a stronger opponent to Gov. DeSantis than him, although he identifies as a Republican.

Of course, Price isn't happy about the misinformation, either, which he's now working to dispel.

"What makes me most concerned is that it confuses people, then they lose even more trust in the election process," he said.

'Washington, D.C.-type tactics in Naples'

While this isn't the first time he's run for office in Naples, Price said he's never seen so much incivility and hostility, as he has this time around.

"I never thought we would see Washington, D.C.-type tactics in Naples, and I've been doing this for a long time," he said.

Voters only reported receiving one message from Win America referencing absentee ballots, but the elections office has received additional complaints about derogatory letters, emails and other texts that appear to be coming from the group.

The messaging stirred up controversy in the ranks of Win America itself, leading to the abrupt resignations of its treasurer William Stafford Jones and its registered agent and general counsel Richard Coates.

"We don't condone the actions that apparently happened, and we walked away from the organization," Jones said in a text message sent to the Daily News, when asked about the situation.

He added they had no idea that Win America's chairman and CEO had "engaged in that election," until he got an angry call from Collier County's supervisor of elections.

The PAC, he said, was set up by "some young people," and when they "got in trouble with it" a few years ago, he and Coates "dug them out." He noted that he served as a volunteer to the organization, founded by students at the University of Florida.

In a letter emailed to the chairman of the Collier County Republican Executive Committee and several others, Jones stated he was "blindsided" when Win America got involved in the election through Matt Hurley, a local consultant for city councilman Ted Blankenship, who is also running for mayor. He wrote that information went out without proper disclosures, and with the wrong addresses, and in a method that's not allowed by an outside group in a political campaign.

Further, Jones said he talked to Hurley, who denied being a consultant for Blankenship, despite being listed as a payee on the councilman's campaign reports.

In that conversation, Hurley also denied being involved in sending out the information, but Jones said he had proof otherwise.

He said Hurley's deal with Win America seemed to be 'let me use your name, and I'll pay you $500 per mail piece."

"There were no contributions to the political committee from donors, so that the political committee could pay for the work," Jones said. "There was no valid funding mechanism in place to legally pay for the work. The political committee has received no invoices for what was put out in its name."

In an email to the Daily News, Hurley said he had no involvement with Win America.

"You would have to ask their folks about specifics on their outreach and campaign tactics," he said.

He acknowledged his firm has "provided services to the Ted Blankenship campaign," without elaborating.

"He is a great leader and will represent Naples well as mayor," Hurley said.

PAC defends its actions

In a statement, the Win America PAC said it had "in no way misled any voters in Naples."

"Quite the contrary," the group said. "Win America is committed to informing and educating ALL Naples residents on ... Gary Price and his record of tax hikes, mask mandates, and deceit."

Further, the group accused Price and his "friends" of telling "significant lies" about his two opponents and reiterated its "fully committed to telling the truth about Gary Price" in a statement to the Daily News.

It added: "Win America is firmly committed to supporting and recognizing the work of proven conservatives and patriots. Gary Price as mayor would be a disaster for the city of Naples and all of its residents."

As for Jones and Coates, the group said they had "zero authority to speak on its behalf, nor any knowledge of outreach, past, present, or future."

Win America's texts about Price have included a link to a website called TeamNaples.co, which carries the headline "Putting Residents Last," and casts Price, and his slate of candidates, in a bad light, individually. The site states his campaign is funded "exclusively by developers and builders," and he's accused of approving "dozens of over-development projects during his decades in elected office, causing massive increases in traffic and crime," among other listed faults.

"They use this word 'overdevelopment', which nobody I've ever met in my whole life wants," Price said. "I certainly don't want overdevelopment. I want smart development. I want to protect what we have."

The suggestion that all of his donations have come from developers and builders is an outright lie, he said, used to benefit his opponents, who have also exaggerated those numbers in political forums.

Price said: "They are making up lies." He has campaigned on the need to go on a different path, with different leadership. His mayoral goals center around enhancing public safety, preserving property rights, and creating a better working environment for city staff.

He's vociferously criticized the current council for what he sees as an attack on private property rights, through its attempts to adopt more land use restrictions, in the name of protecting the city's small-town charm and vision.

Negative campaigning 'unproductive'

Councilman Ted Blankenship said he's not familiar with Win America, and he's not behind its controversial and confusing messages, although it supports him.

"My entire campaign has been based on my record and my plans for the mayor’s office," he said. "I have sent no messages of any kind disparaging my opponents. I find negative campaigning to be unproductive and frankly I believe the voters do not like it."

He said he's running "a largely self-funded campaign with some support from grassroots citizens who are ready for change in 2024."

"I have also been endorsed by the local Republican Party," he noted.

Blankenship described Hurley as a "great supporter" of his campaign – but nothing more.

At a recent forum, the councilman held up a mailer that accused he and Heitmann of raising taxes. It showed them as cartoonish characters, with dollar signs in their eyes. Blankenship is seen throwing dollar bills in the air, although he didn't support raising taxes this year.

"These have been sent not only to my home, but to thousands of others throughout the city. They are wrong," he said.

As part of his campaign, Blankenship has raised concerns about "overdevelopment," too, saying as mayor he'll fight to protect the small-town charm of Naples "that we all know and love."

He's pledged to get the city "back on track," by increasing funding for police, not raising taxes, defending home rule and protecting the environment, including beaches and waterways.

Other PACs in the game

Messaging similar to Win America's about Gary Price has come from Citizens Awake Now, a political action committee founded and led by farmer and businessman Alfie Oakes, one of the most influential Republican figures in Collier County. However, he said it has no affiliation with, or ties to Win America.

His group has also endorsed Blankenship for mayor. Asked why, Oakes said mostly because he was the "only candidate running that is not a flip-flopping, pay for play politician."

"He's got great morals," he said. "He's very principled, which I think is going to be incredibly important, with what we are going to be facing here in the next six to eight months. I think we are going to see some things that we've never seen before in this country."

One text message from Citizens Awake Now shared with the Daily News by a voter started out by thanking him for "signing up to be on the Naples Growth & Development Team," making it appear as if it might be coming from Price, or his campaign.

An excerpt from the text reads: "Over the past few decades, Naples Mayoral Candidate Gary Price has led the fight to build Naples BIGGER and support our builders and developers. Our momentum and message is growing. Soon our city will be, too!"

Oakes said he's actually not against development, but he likes it to be "fair for everybody."

"Gary is just going to be another pay to play actor," he said. "So that these developers can get what they want done in the city."

He said he stands behind everything his group has put out about Price.

In response to Price's criticisms about the group's messaging and strategy, he said: "Gary needs to put on his big boy pants. It's politics."

Citizens Awake Now has also campaigned heavily against mayor Heitmann, making pointed attacks.

In his view, Oakes said she has done a "marginal job," and created "division on both sides."

"Everyone thinks I'm a big Republican. I actually despise the Republican Party. They're a bunch of sellouts," he said.

"There is only a handful of people out there that are trying to do the right thing, so we always try to get behind the people that have that kind of mindset," Oakes added.

He said Blankenship's integrity is "rock solid," and "to me that trumps everybody else."

Mailers 'outrageous'

The messaging by Citizens Awake Now has sickened Heitmann. She said the group has distributed "an outrageous mailer alleging that I have marched against our police and they have made disgusting comments saying I support drag shows for minors."

In running for a second term, Heitmann's key concerns include overdevelopment and water runoff, and upholding Naples' ethical values.

In case you missed it: Mayor Heitmann announces reelection campaign in Naples in race that's heating up

The mayor said she's also under attack by two other political action committees that back Price, Patriots with Principles and Collier Citizens for Responsible Government that are "funded by developers and special interests."

"Follow the money," she said.

A representative for Patriots with Principles said it hasn't sent out any derogatory mailers or messages about Heitmann or Blankenship.

The chairman of Collier Citizens for Responsible Government couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Heitmann said the group has "distributed baseless allegations by a disgruntled employee made against me almost four years ago."

"The individual also filed a lawsuit against the city. The court found in favor of the city," she said.

The group's mailers have also referenced a lingering ethics complaint against the mayor, brought by the same employee.

In December, the Florida Commission on Ethics found evidence that the mayor misused her power, but she's described the charges as "ridiculous," and she's fighting them.

It's sad to see this kind of ugly campaigning by PACs going on in the beautiful city of Naples, Heitmann said.

"My family and I are deeply hurt and I am hurt for our wonderful residents," she said.

Voter questions fairness

In a critical letter sent to the mayor, council and others, Joseph Karaganis, a 20-plus-year resident of Naples, accused developers and their "friends" of trying to buy city council, suggesting it appears to be "for sale." He pointed to Patriots with Principles, in particular, saying they're the same "mega-millionaire donors" who tried to "rescue" former mayor Bill Barnett's reelection campaign in 2020.

Heitmann said she saw the letter, but had nothing to do with it.

In it, Karaganis backs Heitmann.

Campaign finance reports show Patriots with Principles has raised nearly $80,000 from a dozen donors and spent nearly $24,000 of it in support of Price.

PACs can bypass the $1,000 campaign contribution limit governing city council elections. A solicitation letter by Patriots with Principles suggested a contribution of up to $25,000 per person, which seems to fly in the face of city rules, Karaganis said.

"A fair election is under assault," he said. "It's outrageous."

He was integrally involved in the referendum that brought new ethics measures to the city in 2020. It created a new ethics commission, and office.

"Any complaints regarding campaign financing would be an issue for the Florida Elections Commission. We have not received any such complaints," said Michael Murawski, executive director of the city's Commission on Ethics and Governmental Integrity.

From our archives: Ethics referendum passes with 62% support from voters in city of Naples

The city’s motto is "Ethics Above All Else," Karaganis emphasized in a phone interview. He questioned whether that's possible if Price and his three candidates are elected, giving them the majority vote on council, with the backing of the building industry, including developers, Realtors and architects, who have so much at stake.

In his defense, Price called it a "red herring, saying even if he added every dollar from his campaign coming from builders and developers and 100% of the PAC donations, "it’s still 40% of the total donations" he's received, which number in the hundreds.

"I actually have a great record of representing Naples for 20 years and the residents of this city recognize that," he said. "I have always made the best decision for the city of Naples, not for any special interest group."

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: PACs accused of confusing voters in Naples with misleading messages