Conspicuous by his absence, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum won’t say why he was a no-show at the Florida Democratic Party’s County Chair Association meeting this weekend, but some are raising their eyebrows, saying the mayor skipped out due to an ongoing scandal surrounding his government use of an email server for campaign purposes.
Gillum failed to appear to address his fellow party members in St. Petersburg. Instead, he sent a video message to attendees, despite being scheduled to show.
Other possible gubernatorial hopefuls like Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and former congresswoman Gwen Graham made their pitches to rub shoulders with the Dems, but Gillum did not appear despite earlier reports saying he would attend the meeting. Orlando businessman Chris King, who has filed to run and is expected to hold his campaign kickoff on Tuesday, also made his pitch via video.
Even U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson came in from Washington to make an appearance at the meeting, flanked by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
Gillum's communications director, Geoff Burgan, told Sunshine State News the mayor had been invited to the meeting, but simply "was not able" to attend.
"It was a misunderstanding," Burgan said of previous reports indicating Gillum would show up at the meeting. "He had other responsibilities."
On Saturday, Burgan told Sunshine State News Gillum was officiating the city's annual Springtime Tallahassee parade, an event which brings thousands of people to the city's downtown area for a parade and celebration.
Later Saturday evening, Burgan said Gillum attended a Florida A&M University Hall of Fame awards ceremony, where he was recognized by the historically black college for his contributions to the community.
That wasn't all Gillum did Saturday evening. He also attended a local debutante ball, an event Burgan did not mention in his conversation with SSN.
Sources began sending SSN photos of Gillum around town at both events Sunday evening.
The next day, Gillum's schedule was significantly less busy, however, leaving many DCCA attendees scratching their heads, wondering why he had not at least attended in the morning.
When asked what, exactly, had prohibited Gillum from attending the meeting on Sunday, Burgan paused.
"We don't put out his public schedule every single day," he said.
Sources told SSN the mayor was busy raising money at a campaign fundraiser Sunday afternoon following the DCCA meeting.
When asked about the fundraiser, Burgan instead focused on moving on with the campaign.
"We are excited to be in this race and we will be out on this trail plenty," he said.
Some say Gillum's absence was intentional, the result of an ongoing email scandal which has hounded him since day one of his campaign.
Last week, the Tallahassee Democrat reported the surfacing of another very political email sent from Gillum's city office, inviting people to Tallahassee for a fundraiser for the Florida Democratic Party at former chair Allison Tant's house.
Tickets for the event cost anywhere from $50 to $1,000 per head.
Last month the city handed over 60 emails sent using the NGP VAN software, which Democrats often use to circulate emails to voters.
Gillum's office handed over another 46 new campaign emails sent using city email last week.
The Republican Governors Association was quick to pounce on the story, saying Gillum avoided the weekend meeting due to the ongoing scandal.
"It is clear that the Tallahassee mayor's growing controversy is becoming a major drag on his candidacy," the RGA wrote. "Facing the possibility of indictment just weeks into his campaign, Andrew Gillum's chances of becoming Florida's next governor continue to diminish by the day."
Gillum's office acknowledged the mistake as "human error" and reimbursed the city nearly $7,000 for the software.
The case is now being investigated by the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
Burgan scoffed at the RGA's comments.
"The RGA has been throwing this on the campaign since the beginning and they’ve proven there’s no sign of them letting up," he told SSN, later acknowledging he had not seen the RGA's latest email blast.
Leon County GOP chair Evan Power agreed with the RGA and said Gillum's absence was suspicious.
"Could Andrew Gillum's absence have anything to do with the fact he hid 46 emails that were finally released Thursday?" he asked. "Looks like he's showing the same level of leadership at FDP as he does in Tallahassee."
Meanwhile, Gillum's camp said he wasn't planning on going away anytime soon, explaining they were trying to turn over a new leaf despite ditching the FDP meeting this weekend.
"We look forward to seeing various party chairs and Democratic county chairs [in the future,]" he said. "If folks want to drill down a month into the campaign, we’ve held public events in Broward County and Sarasota. The mayor has been very active. We look forward to seeing everyone on the campaign trail."
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
