MANATEE COUNTY — Across Manatee County, voters (particularly those registered as Republicans) are being inundated with electioneering materials. While some districts are seeing an overwhelming number of mail pieces and texts paid for by candidate campaigns, countywide, voters are also receiving numerous mailings and texts paid for by Political Action Committees (PACs).
In basic terms, a political action committee is an organization formed by one or more individuals or a group to receive contributions and expend funds in support of, or opposition to, a candidate or ballot proposition.
In past local elections, including in 2020 and 2022, as well as this election cycle, Manatee County voters received mail pieces and texts that displayed a disclaimer informing them that the communication was “sponsored by” or “paid for by” a PAC.
In the current election cycle, the PAC that has so far sponsored or paid for the majority of the electioneering materials delivered to area voters is named The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans.
Political committees are required to register with the Department of State's Elections Division and submit certain filings, including financial disclosures.
When political committees are formed and registered with the state, its registering agents sometimes select a PAC name that gives a nod to a specific issue or candidate the committee will be used to support or oppose. Other times, the names chosen are ones that—when appearing in recipients’ mailboxes—can be misleading as to who is funding or running the PAC.
PACs can receive contributions and spend them on electioneering materials or political advertisements that support or oppose a candidate, a referendum, a levy, or other ballot measure. Political action committees can also contribute to other political committees and make campaign donations to candidates.
Unlike the state’s limitations on contribution amounts that an individual, organization, business, or other entity can give to a candidate’s campaign, no limit exists on the amount that can be contributed to a PAC.
For more information about Florida’s limitations on political campaign or committee contributions, read Florida Statute, Section 106.08.
At first glance, voters who receive PAC mail pieces may believe that they are receiving a communication of a candidate’s official campaign. Under closer inspection, voters can locate the legally required disclaimer that reveals whether a mail piece, text, or email was paid for by a candidate’s campaign or a PAC.
Below is a photo gallery with a sampling of political mailers delivered to registered voters in Manatee County’s District 3 by The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans.
Click through the images below, the disclaimers have been highlighted.
The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans
The images above are just a sampling of the mailers sent by The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans to the voters in District 3 in recent weeks. In total, between emails, texts, and mail pieces, the PAC has funded nearly two dozen political communications within D3—with the majority being negative attacks on other candidates.
Fortunately for voters, state registration and reporting requirements mean that some information about the PACs that send electioneering materials is publicly accessible online.
Voters can utilize the State Division of Elections database to research committees. The database allows users to look up PACs and other committees by name, registered agent, or affiliates.
Once a user has located the PAC of interest, registration documents, and finance activity reports can be reviewed.
According to the Division of Elections database, The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans is chaired by Anthony Pedicini. Its treasurer and registered agent is Wendy White.
The address of the PAC—which is the same Tampa address included in each disclaimer appearing on the electioneering materials—is 1509 East 9th Avenue, Tampa, Florida.
Pedicini is a political consultant whose campaign marketing firm, Strategic Image Management (SIMWINS)—shares the same Tampa address as the PAC.
Pedicini’s clients include several candidates running in local Manatee County races, including commission candidates Kevin Van Ostenbridge, April Culbreath, Ray Turner, Steve Metallo, Manatee School Board candidates Jon Lynch and Alex Garner, and Supervisor of Elections candidate James Satcher.
Each of the above candidate’s election filing documents is available for review on the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website here. Among the available documents are the forms filed showing who the candidate has appointed as their campaign treasurer.
Wendy White—the registered agent and treasurer for The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans—has also been appointed as campaign treasurer by every single one of the local candidates listed above. Each of the appointment forms shows that White reports her address as 1509 East 9th Avenue, Tampa—the same address associated with the PAC and SIMWINS.
Not surprisingly, the mailers and text messages that have been sent to voters by The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans have included attack ads against opponents of Pedicini’s clients or, in some instances, political ads promoting Pedicini’s clients.
Over the years, TBT has published numerous reports that include information regarding Pedicini and his role in Manatee County politics and its governance. Many of these previous stories can be found here and here.
In the last three local election cycles, Manatee County candidates represented by Pedicini have run campaigns heavily focused on hot-button national issues—like gun rights or immigration—even though local policymakers often find themselves preempted by state and federal laws when it comes to such matters.
In the 2024 primary, it appears Pedicini is investing a lot of time and money in labeling his clients’ opponents—who are also Republicans—as not “real Republicans.”
Pedicini is known statewide for helping his candidates win elections by utilizing a strategy that includes targeting uninformed voters with an aggressive campaign of highly negative opposition attacks. Many argue that these attacks are often based on half-truths or outright lies. Over the years, some of his clients' opponents have brought lawsuits alleging defamation.
In keeping with the same strategy, the attack ads put out by his Committee to Expose Fake Republicans include “spin” on factual information, misleading by the intentional omission of details, false information, and even personal attacks.
For example, The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans has told voters that District 7 Republican incumbent George Kruse has “voted to raise utility rates” but the truth is, the commission as a body voted to raise the rates—including Van Ostenbridge, Kruse’s opponent and Pedicini’s client.
There are seven seats on the Manatee County Commission. The vote on raising rates passed 6-1, because not having done so would have had significant negative impacts on the department’s budget and infrastructure projects.
The PAC mailers also allege Kruse voted to “fund Planned Parenthood.” This is patently false. The BOCC never held a vote on whether or not the county should “fund Planned Parenthood.”
The PAC’s mailers have alleged Kruse “sided with Soros” and “voted against Second Amendment rights,” also dubious and disingenuous claims.
Pedicini’s PAC has also attacked District 3 candidate Tal Siddique and Siddique’s wife. Siddique is the primary election opponent of April Culbreath, a client of Pedicini.
On July 29, an attorney representing Siddique’s wife sent Pedicini’s PAC a cease and desist letter, arguing that The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans was printing falsehoods.
The PAC’s mailers include statements that allege the Siddiques only recently moved to Manatee County and that Siddique’s wife is “a Democrat” with ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton. All claims that Siddique’s wife asserts are untrue.
In addition, some of the mailers sent by Pedicini’s PAC attacking Siddique and his wife include photoshopped images superimposing the Clintons standing with the candidate and his wife.
Pedicini’s attorney responded to the cease and desist, doubling down—a response that has played out in similar situations over the years when other opponents of Pedicini’s clients have initiated similar legal actions.
Financial records for The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans show the PAC has so far reported receiving just seven contributions, totaling $159,500.
Of the seven contributions received by the PAC, two have Manatee County addresses. One of the local contributions was $55,000 from West Coast Tomato LLC, which has ties to Bob Spencer, publisher of an online pro-development blog called the Manatee Herald.
Other contributions include $85,000 from a PAC named Building a Brighter Future for Florida and $10,000 from a resort development entity.
The Building a Brighter Future for Florida PAC is chaired by Thomas Piccolo (a business partner of Pedicini’s at SIMWINS), and its treasurer is Micheal Millner. Pedicini and Millner appear together on at least one other PAC—the Citizens Alliance for Florida's Economy—which is chaired by Pedicini with Millner as its treasurer.
Political attacks are not all that The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans has been up to either.
In a mass text message to Manatee County voters, Pedicini’s PAC shared a website link and a “voters guide” of “MAGA-endorsed candidates.”
The text message told voters to refer to the Make America Great Again PAC website and its “Official Voter Guide.”
The text message was not the first time that the Make American Great Again PAC has entered the local political landscape.
Make America Great Again
In the 2020 local election cycle, the Make America Great Again PAC produced numerous negative campaign fliers attacking opponents of Pedicini’s clients who were running in multiple county commissioner races. Each of the four commission candidates who hired Pedicini’s SIMWINS in 2020—Vanessa Baugh, Van Ostenbridge, James Satcher (who is a current candidate for SOE), and Kruse—won their elections.
George Kruse is the only candidate of the four who has since publicly parted ways with Pedicini. Kruse has not retained the services of Pedicini or SIMWINS in his bid for re-election this year.
Other local clients of Pedicini’s include current Commissioners Amanda Ballard, Mike Rahn, and Jason Bearden. When they ran for office in 2022, the Make America Great Again PAC also funded attack mailers against their Republican opponents.
In 2022, the MAGA PAC even created a website to attack former District 4 incumbent Republican Misty Servia. Like the attack ads being funded by Pedicini’s Committee to Expose Fake Republicans PAC this election cycle, the MAGA PAC in 2022 was labeling opponents of Pedicini’s clients as “liberals” and “fake Republicans.”
Reporting by our publication in 2022, took a closer look at the Make America Great Again PAC, its activities and donors, as well as other PACs at play in the District 4 race that election cycle.
According to records available through the Division of Elections website, the MAGA PAC is located in Venice, Florida, and Eric Robinson is its treasurer and registered agent.
For those who follow local politics in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, Robinson and his PACs are not unfamiliar. Over the years, Robinson’s notoriety for managing PACs at play in Sarasota politics earned him the moniker "The Prince of Dark Money" by Cathy Antunes in a piece she wrote in 2015 for SRQ Magazine.
During the 2022 election cycle, then-commission candidate Jason Bearden appointed Michael Millner (a known associate of Pedicini’s) as his campaign treasurer, and Rahn appointed Wendy White. Amanda Ballard appointed Eric Robinson as her campaign treasurer.
The “Official Voter Guide” produced by the MAGA PAC and shared by Pedicini’s PAC, was later also disseminated by post mail to voters across the county. The mailer included the Manatee Republican Party logo as well as the Florida Republican Party logo.
The fine print at the bottom, on the opposite side of the mailer from where the logos appeared, stated, “Publication is independent of the Republican Party of Florida or any candidate.”
At the top of the mailer, in bold red and blue letters, were the words "Voter Guide." Just below were photos of Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump, as well as the words, "Make America Great Again PC is proud to have endorsed."
The "PC" after the "Make America Great Again" slogan was significantly smaller text than the rest of the header.
Of the 11 candidates promoted by the MAGA voter guide, eight are confirmed clients of Pedicini’s SIMWINS: Bill Conerly, James Satcher, Steve Metallo, April Culbreath, Ray Turner, Van Ostenbridge, Alex Garner, and Jon Lynch.
Since the release of the MAGA voter guide, many in the public have decried it as a “fake” and misleading mailer.
Critics have argued that its use of official party logos, images of DeSantis and Trump, as well as the “Make America Great Again” slogan, may give the impression that the “voter guide” is official material of the GOP or Trump and DeSantis.
On July 22, Cindy Spray posted a warning to members of the public on Facebook, informing voters that the guide was “NOT an official voter guide.”
Spray, who is a current School Board Member and was endorsed by DeSantis in 2022, also serves as the Manatee County Republican State Committeewoman and on the board of the local Republican Executive Committee.
Spray's post included, “I was not made aware of this mailer and we never endorse any candidate in the primary.”
The MAGA voter guide is also being disseminated in a handful of other Florida counties, including Sarasota, St.Lucie, Brevard, Lake, and Hillsborough.
The Chairman of the Lake County Republican Party threatened publicly in a social media post to take legal action against Robinson, Pedicini, and their PACs for producing the voter guide.
Kenny Nail, Chairman of the St.Lucie Republican Executive Committee, told the Treasure Coast Palm that his organization intends to join Republican chapters in several other counties in filing a lawsuit against the entities behind the production and dissemination of the guide.
The KVO PC (PAC)
Another PAC that has shown some activity in Manatee County this election cycle is the KVO PC PAC.
While it is not believed that this PAC has sent any electioneering materials or political ads, the PAC has made contributions to some local candidates' campaigns.
KVO PC is chaired by Manatee County Commissioner and candidate Kevin Van Ostenbridge. Its treasurer and registered agent is Wendy White. The PAC is registered with a physical address located in Jacksonville, Florida.
The PAC has reported $52,000 in contributions from four donors, each located outside of Manatee County.
The PAC reported a $30,000 contribution from Benderson Development. Hawk Parrish Lakes LLC and Hawk Curiosity Creek LLC—both share the same address as Tampa-based Metro Development Group, a donor to Van Ostenbridge’s commission campaign—have contributed a combined $17,000.
Hawk Parrish Lakes purchased more than 1,550 acres in Manatee County for a master-planned community anticipated to host more than 3,000 homes.
Hawk Curiosity Creek also has development interests in Manatee County. In 2022, Manatee County Government purchased 75 acres adjacent to Piney Point from the entity for $32 million. In a past column, TBT’s editor Mitch Maley wrote of his concerns with the purchase.
Another contribution to the KVO PC was $5,000 from a PAC whose treasurer and registered agent is Michael Millner. The PAC is named Growing Florida’s Leadership.
The expenditures reported for Van Ostenbridge’s PAC include multiple payments to SIMWINS totaling $10,825, small payments to the Bank of Tampa, and $2,000 to an individual for “door knocking.”
The KVO PC also donated maximum contributions of $1,000 each to the campaigns of fellow Pedicini clients and county commission candidates, April Culbreath and Ray Turner.
Citizens for Cleaner Government (Take Back Manatee)
The Citizens for Cleaner Government PAC is another PAC at play in this local election cycle. Former Manatee County Commissioner Betsy Benac chairs the PAC and Patsy Ugarte is the PAC’s treasurer. The PAC is registered with a Manatee County address.
Citizens for Cleaner Government PAC is the Take Back Manatee project's fundraising and political action committee.
The PAC has sent at least one political text communication and has run advertisements on Facebook. Its messaging has focused on educating voters about developer influence in Manatee County elections.
A press release issued by the organization stated, “Our coalition is driven by a diverse group of donors—yesterday alone, we accepted donations from six Republicans, three Democrats, one No-Party-Affiliated voter, and an out-of-town supporter—who all recognize the urgent need for change in our county.
"This diversity of support underscores a common sentiment: amidst a divisive national political climate, residents in Manatee County agree on one thing—the detrimental impact of special interests on our local politics has got to stop.”
Click here to read the organization’s statement in full.
According to financial reports filed with the Division of Elections, the Citizens for Cleaner Government PAC has received $14,832 as of the last reporting period.
Its contributions were received through 91 separate donations—the vast majority were small donations made by individuals.
Unlike other PACs covered in this report, of the 91 contributions received by the Citizens for Cleaner Government PAC, only one appears to have come from a donor with a non-local address.
The reported expenditures of the PAC include numerous small dollar processing fees paid to Anedot, $535 for t-shirt printing, $1,200 for texting services, and a $5,000 “deposit to new PAC” titled Take Back Manatee.
The Take Back Manatee PAC has the same officers and address as the Citizens for Cleaner Government PAC.
PACs Supporting James Satcher
Local candidate campaign finance reports are available for review on the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website under the menu option Local Candidates and Committees.
Clicking on the name of a candidate will display that candidate’s filing documents and campaign finance reports.
Candidate for Manatee County Supervisor of Elections James Satcher—a former commissioner and client of Anthony Pedicini who received the governor’s appointment to the SOE—appears to be well-liked by PACs.
In his most recent two campaign finance reports, Satcher reported receiving 51 maximum campaign donations of $1,000 each from registered political committees.
There are far too many PACs who are reported to have donated to Satcher’s campaign to list, but several of the PACs are listed as having the same physical address.
Some were unable to be located within the Division of Elections database.
Among the PACs reviewed by TBT, it appeared that each was associated with one of three individuals.
Nine of the PACs who shared the address of 113 Harbor Drive South, Venice, Florida, are affiliated with Eric Robinson. Robinson’s Make America Great Again PAC is also registered at this address.
At least five PACs shared the address of 2055 Northwest Diamond Way, Jensen Beach, Florida, and were affiliated with Micheal Millner—the same Millner who is an associate of Pedicini's.
The vast majority of the PACs who donated to Satcher’s campaign, however, are associated with an individual by the name of William “Stafford” Jones. These PACs shared a Tallahassee address of 115 East Park Avenue or a Gainesville address of 1722 Northwest 80th Boulevard.
A search of the Division of Elections political committee database for PACS with persons with the last name of “Jones” listed as the agent, treasurer, or chairperson produced tens of dozens of active and inactive PACS associated with “William S. Jones.”
Google searches for Jones’ name, as well as his name combined with the term “PACs,” produced multiple recent and past news reports from across the state.
While it is not entirely uncommon for a PAC to donate to a local candidate’s campaign, the volume of maximum donations reported on Satcher’s recent financial reports is unusual.
Since he was appointed SOE, Satcher has faced a high level of scrutiny from the public and press.
Shortly after his appointment, it was made public that he hired Commissioner Amanda Ballard’s husband to serve as SOE Chief of Staff despite his being married to a member of the board who would be tasked with approving the SOE’s budget, and despite two DUI convictions, active probation, and a revoked driver’s license.
Roughly a month after his appointment, Satcher requested an SOE budget increase of more than $800,000, which was later approved by the BOCC.
More recently, Satcher received public backlash over a controversial mail piece he ordered sent from the SOE’s office.
To view all of James Satcher’s campaign finance reports, visit the SOE website. To view PDF versions of his campaign’s two most recent finance reports, click here, and here.
For more information about political committees and rules, refer to the Florida Department of State Division of Elections Political Committee Handbook (2024 edition), or Florida Statute, Section 106.011(16).
Dawn Kitterman is a staff reporter and investigative journalist for The Bradenton Times covering local government news. She can be reached at dawn.kitterman@thebradentontimes.com.
