Another complaint filed against Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has been dismissed by the state’s ethics commission.
Another complaint filed against Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has been dismissed by the state's ethics commission.
In a report released Wednesday, the State of Florida Commission on Ethics dismissed the complaint that had been filed against Suarez last year.
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The complaint, filed by activist Thomas Kennedy, centered around Suarez's attendance at major spporting events including Formula 1 races and the World Cup in Qatar.
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Kennedy questioned who paid for the mayor's attendance at the events and claimed whether the mayor complied with Florida ethics laws requiring the disclosure of the source of gifts.
But in its report, the ethics commission found there was no probable cause that Suarez violated state statutes "by accepting a thing of value given to influence a vote or other action in which the Respondent was expected to participate in an official capacity."
"There was an accounting for all the tickets," Suarez told NBC6 Wednesday. "I understand that there's a process for legitimate complaints, I think the process is often abused. I think in this particular case it was abused because we were very transparent."
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Suarez also reacted to the decision in a post on X Wednesday afternoon.
"Today's bipartisan and unanimous exoneration provides irrefutable proof that the vicious and politically motivated attacks on Mayor Suarez's character are completely inaccurate and without merit," the post read. "This malicious complaint was made by a Democratic activist with no evidence besides inaccurate news stories published by The Miami Herald and represents a significant reprimand of their reporting. Instead of letting this political matter distract him, Mayor Suarez remains committed to the people of Miami where his leadership has helped produce the lowest unemployment, lowest taxes, and lowest homicide rates in recent Miami history."
Kennedy disagreed with the board's decision.
"Well, the mayor is a liar," he told NBC6 in a video interview. "I never had much faith in the system but I live in this community, I am invested in, you know, ethics and good governance."
In January, the ethics commission dismissed a separate complaint filed by Kennedy that claimed the mayor misused public resources by having a security detail from the Miami Police Department accompany him during his presidential campaign.
