Broward lawmaker fails to disclose how she spent $47,994 in campaign cash. Prosecutor looking at whether she violated election law.

State Rep. Anika Omphroy, a two-term Broward Democrat, is under investigation for violating Florida election law.

The existence of the investigation was disclosed in an executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, in which he appointed Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle to handle the case.

The order, signed Wednesday by DeSantis, states “that allegations have been made against Anika Tene Omphroy for violation of the Florida Election Code” but doesn’t give any more information about what the case is about.

Omphroy said Friday she didn’t know what it was about. “I have no idea what it is,” she said in a telephone interview, adding that she planned to file a public records request to try to find out.

Rundle’s spokeswoman said via email that “We cannot comment on your query at this time and there are no records available to the public at this time.”

Incomplete records

Records posted on the state Division of Elections website show that Omphroy has never disclosed how she spent $47,994 of the campaign contributions she received in 2020 when she won her campaign for a second term.

Reports filed by Omphroy show the campaign took in $57,405 and spent $9,411.28. The last report that shows up on the Divisions of Election website includes income and spending through Aug. 13. The primary was Aug. 18. Omphroy won her second term that day because no candidate came forward to run for the seat in the November general election.

A candidate has 90 days after winning (or losing or withdrawing) to dispose of campaign money and file a termination report with the Division of Elections. On Nov. 18, Dec. 1 and Dec. 11, the Division of Elections sent “failure to file” letters to Omphroy.

Records show that from Jan. 1, 2019, though Dec. 22, 2020, the Division of Elections sent 41 failure to file letters to Omphroy for her 2020 campaign. The 13 other state representatives whose districts include territory in Broward were sent a combined total of 11 such letters for their 2020 campaigns.

On Feb. 17, she filed paperwork to begin raising money for her 2022 re-election campaign. Since then, the Division of Elections has sent her six failure to file notices and letters. She hasn’t reported raising or spending any money for that campaign.

During the Friday phone interview, Omphroy repeatedly declined to say why she hadn’t filed the reports. Each time she was asked why, she responded by saying, “It’s not filed.” Although she said she didn’t know what the potential violation was about, she said she was certain it had nothing to do with her failure to file campaign reports.

Unusual election

The way Omphroy, of Lauderdale Lakes, first arrived in the state Legislature in 2018 was stunning.

She had never held public office before, though she had run and lost a primary for the post in 2016.

Her predecessor, state Rep. Barrington Russell of Lauderdale Lakes, failed to qualify by the deadline. So Omphroy, who had been facing a tough primary election, won the seat automatically because there were no other candidates, and she went on to represent central Broward County.

State House District 95 includes all or parts of Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Margate, North Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise and Tamarac.

Omphroy’s aunt, Lauderdale Lakes Mayor Hazelle Rogers is a former state representative. She ran for mayor when term limits prevented her from running for re-election to the Florida House. Russell, who was then the mayor of Lauderdale Lakes, ran for Rogers’ seat in the House, the one that Omphroy now holds.

In 2020, Omphroy faced a primary challenge from Jasmen Rogers, a progressive grassroots activist.

Omphroy received 50.9% of the vote and Rogers received 49.1%. The difference was 444 votes out of 25,576 cast in the race. Omphroy said that contest should not be described as close. “This was not a close race. There was no recounts,” she said. Omphroy said some of the votes received by her opponent — whose name on the ballot was Rogers-Shaw — came from people who saw the same last name as her aunt.

Politically controversial

Democrats in Tallahassee view Omphroy warily, after she started building a record that included voting with Republicans on controversial measures, such as a 2020 bill to require parental consent for minors to have abortions.

Omphroy said she is representing the views of her district, which is conservative, and she described as having “tons of churches.”

“What is wrong with working across the aisle about issues you really believe in?” she asked. “President Biden talks about it all the time. We have to work across the aisle. We have to talk to people across the aisle. You want me to just go in there and be a puppet of somebody else? I got elected to office to represent my district, not to be a mimic of every other Democrat or every other Republican.”

She said her troubles with other Democrats began in 2019, after a dispute with state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando at a Democratic Party event. She complained to the House speaker at the time that Smith “approached me in an aggressive and threatening manner” and “pounded his hand and lashed out at me with a barrage of offensive verbal assaults.” She also stated he blocked her from leaving and was “bullying.”

“I am actually a victim in a certain regard ... all the Democrats turned against me because I spoke out. Whenever victims speak out there are consequences,” she said Friday. “Me filing a complaint against a loved Democrat is where all this foolishness started in the first place.”

An investigator hired by the Florida House cleared Smith of harassing Omphroy, but she then complained that the investigator — former state Rep. Jim Waldman of Broward — had a conflict of interest because he and Smith had previously served together, Smith had previous worked as a legislative aide, and Waldman has a history in Broward politics and with people connected to her.

More recently, House Democratic Leader Bobby DuBose of Fort Lauderdale hinted that that DeSantis might appoint Omphroy to the Broward County Commission. A vacancy is expected because County Commissioner Dale Holness is running for Congress, and Florida law requires current elected officials running for another job to resign in order to run. Omphroy said there is no truth to that notion.

Omphroy said other factors might be motivating internal party critics. “Some of these wary Democrats happen to be people who have an issue with my aunt, who has been an elected official for 26 years and the first Caribbean American elected official in Broward County. Not everyone is fond of the work that has taken place to move immigrants forward.”

Case transferred

DeSantis’ appointment of Rundle was routine after Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor voluntarily disqualified himself to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest. He notified the governor’s office that he and Omphroy were on the campaign trail at the same time, and she contributed to his campaign for state attorney.

Information from Sun Sentinel archives was used in this report.

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @browardpolitics