Run for election and you're a lot more courageous than you know.
Ask Denis Neuhut. The former candidate for Bay Harbor Islands Town Council is about to find out whether he'll recover any of the money he used to fight the charge he violated the states campaign laws. And, by the way, it's a charge that was dismissed for "no probable cause" last year -- and all the accusations with it.
The Florida Elections Commission is due to rule today whether Neuhut can recoup at least $5,000 -- part of the cost of disproving the accusations that he broke three state statutes governing campaigns.
Sadly, the ordeal is an example of the trials faced by candidates who step into the realm of politics and find the landscape hostile, petty, wearying and sometimes numbingly costly. Neuhut's case -- not in the least unusual -- has dragged into its third year.
The docket for the Florida Elections Commission hearings Tuesday and Wednesday is full -- about 20 cases that run the gamut from simple fine charges to probable cause, and motion for attorney-fee cases rife with political complexity.
Many of these cases will hinge on the complaints of political rivals, the strength of their defense and a team of full-time state investigators who are not required to have legal experience when they start working the job.
Neuhut, who is named in the case along with his wife, Frances, ran for a seat on the Bay Harbor Islands Town Council, in Miami-Dade County, in 2007 and 2008. He was defeated. Incumbent Councilwoman Ileene Wallace claimed in March 2008 that he failed to include the proper political disclaimers on campaign palm cards and on his Web site. She also asserted Neuhut falsified treasurer reports and broke the law when he didn't use the word for in his campaign advertisements, between his name and the position for which he was running.
Thus the investigation was launched. It began in 2007, employed at least one of the Ethics Commission's six full-time investigators, and sometimes more than one. The decision to dismiss came on Nov. 25, 2009.
Investigators, incidentally, are paid from $35,000 to $47,800 a year; their supervisor, $62,300 a year. Clerical time is involved. Travel for interviews is involved. Scouring of records is involved. All of it paid for by the taxpayers of Florida.
And still the Neuhuts' ordeal has not ended. Their motion-for-attorney-fees case will be heard today. In it, they claim Wallace acted out of malicious intent." They want the commission to require her to pay at least $5,000 for their attorney fees and other expenses.
The fees and costs he spent are far greater than that by several multiples, said Benedict Kuehne, a Miami attorney overseeing the Neuhuts' defense.
Wallace told Sunshine State News she shouldnt have to pay the Neuhuts attorney costs. They didnt have to hire a lawyer, she said. All they had to do was abide by election law.
The lengthy, costly process the Neuhuts endured is a consequence of how the state investigates elections claims, Kuehne said. He said investigators don't look at the motivations behind "frivolous" election law complaints.
But they often dont start the job with experience in elections law.
If thats what we were looking for, we would have a very limited pool, said David Flagg, investigations manager for the commission.
The minimum requirements for investigators are four years of investigative experience in any field or a bachelors degree. Flagg said he looks for investigators who have backgrounds that show they are highly analytical. The majority come from other state agencies and law enforcement, he said.
Superintendent of Martin County Schools Nancy Kline will have to contend with the findings of this team when her case comes before the commission today.
Kline, who could not be reached for comment, is being called to the Florida Elections Commission to answer the claim that she accepted an in-kind campaign contribution that exceeds the states $500 donation limit and reported it falsely.
While Kline was stumping for the Martin County schools superintendent job in 2008, Mosley & Son Construction contributed to her campaign a crane used to suspend a two-sided campaign sign over a major Stuart roadway.
Kline reported the crane as a $500 in-kind contribution. The fiancee of Klines competition for the job claimed the crane actually cost $1,000 a week. And, after comparing the cost of renting cranes from different companies, Eric Lipman, the interim executive director of the Elections Commission, wrote in a report that the crane would actually have cost thousands of dollars.
Kline will face evidence gathered by investigators who learned the nuances of election law not in a university classroom, but on the job.
Investigations Manager Flagg, who could not comment on cases on the docket, said that new investigators are trained by going through closed cases and computer databases. Theyre often teamed up with veterans and encouraged to discuss the cases as a team. The newest investigator on staff has worked for the commission for 2 1/2 years, he said.
Keuhne said Floridas investigators are good, but they should vet complaints more thoroughly.
There needs to be some preliminary investigation, he said.
Investigators should be required to check on a complainants motivation for filing a case with the FEC, he said. The investigators could then determine if the complaint was fair or malevolent and possibly prevent the loss of time and money -- not just the individuals', but in this 14-employee office with a $957,099 budget, the taxpayers' as well.
Nancy Smith contributed to this story.
Reach Alex Tiegen at atiegen@sunshinestatenews.com or at (561) 329-5389.
