A current county commissioner and candidate for Polk County Property Appraiser has launched a social media attack on his opponent that has raised eyebrows at the State Attorney’s Office.
Polk County Commissioner Neil Combee took to social media last week to say his opponent, former Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields, had visited the Property Appraiser’s Office at the urging of the current constitutional officer in direct violation of a Florida election statute. That law passed last year and is similar to the federal Hatch Act, which prohibits a county officer from using their official authority to interfere with an election or influence another person’s vote, especially employees of the office.
The posts to Combee's Facebook page have State Attorney Brian Hass now deciding whether an investigation is warranted and current Property Appraiser Martha Faux defending her actions.
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“It is illegal in Florida for an elected official to use their official position or office to benefit a preferred political candidate and has been for a long time,” Combee said in his initial post to Facebook. “It is against the law for several simple reasons but all equally valid and important.
“First of all, government buildings belong to the tax payers, not the office holder, and use of the offices in direct conflict with the interests of some tax payers cannot be tolerated,” Combee wrote.
Combee has posted three times to his Facebook page about possible violations of Florida's version of the Hatch Act, starting with the first one on Aug. 7. He also went on a tirade during the last Polk County Commission meeting about possible violations.
On Sunday, he went a step further and posted a video of Fields saying Faux had asked him to consider running for the office and to meet with her at the Property Appraiser’s Office.
'His factual account is incorrect'
When reached by phone last week, Fields countered the accusations.
“His factual account is incorrect,” Fields said of Combee's accusations.
“When I visited her office, it was nearly two months before I made a decision to run,” he said. “And even his description of me going around the office to see the different areas is inaccurate.”
Fields said most of his meeting with Faux was conducted inside her own office within the facility and he was there to learn about the structure of the organization.
Fields said he told Faux that while many employees of the Property Appraiser’s Office knew him, he did not want them to be misled by his presence.
He did go around to learn the functions of the different areas in the office, he said.
“I got some information from her on the operation,” he said. He said he learned how it was organized and staffed and the different branch locations and how many people were working remotely and how many days per week that typically was.
“But most of that was discussed in her office with her alone," Fields said.
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On Facebook, Combee said violations of the new state statute are a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, one-year of county probation and a fine of up to $1,000. And he argued that Faux had violated the election statute.
"Our current Property Appraiser did just that,” he wrote. “The State Attorney has rightly opened a criminal investigation. This should not take long."
But in an email on Monday, the State Attorney’s Office said, “There is no active investigation, however, we have received a complaint regarding the current Property Appraiser.
“We will work this week to determine what, if any, action is appropriate,” said Jacob Orr, chief assistant state attorney. “We have not received any allegations of wrongdoing by Mr. Fields.”
'Mr. Combee likes to create controversy'
In a recent email, Faux gave a timeline that supported Fields' version of events prior to his joining the race. She said that on Aug. 25, 2022, she had “visited Gow at his office to ask him to consider running as my replacement; that I was 95% sure I was not seeking re-election.”
Fields then visited the Property Appraiser’s Office to meet with her on Jan. 26, 2023, she said, adding: “He was not a candidate at this time.”
Fields filed his candidate paperwork to run for property appraiser on March 20, 2023.
“Gow has NOT been back to our office since 1/26/23. 1.5 years ago!” Faux wrote. “Mr. Combee likes to create controversy and twist things,” she added. “Example: Filing an Ethics Complaint at the State against fellow Commissioner George Lindsey. Mr. Lindsey was Cleared .”
Still, Combee had more to say on Facebook. He added, “A claim of ignorance, while not an excuse, is certainly believable with this duo. While ignorance may be an element, this is more about 'Hubris' and the feeling too many long time elected officials have that they actually 'own the office' rather than the taxpayers.
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“As I have repeatedly pointed out, the Property Appraiser for Polk County has been an inside job for at least 92 years going back to 1932 when John White was elected,” he said.
“I have been told that Commissioner George Lindsey recruited Gow Fields and our current P.A. liked the idea,” Combee said. “Since no current employee seemed interested or willing to seek the office, she could mold an insider.”
It was then that Combee said he thinks many of the 125 employees were introduced to Fields. He added, “there will be sworn statements regarding this and more.”
Despite Combee's attacks on Facebook, a check of Fields’ campaign page on Facebook says he beat Combee in two recent straw polls at the Northeast Polk Chamber of Commerce 42nd annual Pig Roast and Political Mingle in Davenport and the Polk Politics Candidate Rally and Forum at the Bartow Civic Center.
Correction
The State of Florida adopted the federal Hatch Act by assent into its own statutes. Therefore, Candidate Neil Combee' alleged his challenger for the Property Appraiser's Office had violated Florida Statute 104.31 and not the federal election law as stated in a report today.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Election foul? Neil Combee says Gow Fields' visit with Property Appraiser violated the law
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