Smith v. Crawford, 94-3240

• Decision Date: 26 October 1994
• Docket Number: No. 94-3240,94-3240
• Citation: 645 So.2d 513
• Parties: 19 Fla. L. Weekly D2286 Jim SMITH, Individually, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. Bob CRAWFORD, Appellee/Cross-Appellant, and The Democratic Party of Florida, the Republican Party of Florida, Jim Smith, as Secretary of State, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 513

645 So.2d 513

19 Fla. L. Weekly D2286

Jim SMITH, Individually, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. Bob CRAWFORD, Appellee/Cross-Appellant, and The Democratic Party of Florida, the Republican Party of

Florida, Jim Smith, as Secretary of State, Appellees.

No. 94-3240.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,

First District.

Oct. 26, 1994.

Barry Richard of Greenberg, Traurig, Hoffman, Lipoff, Rosen & Quentel, Tallahassee, for appellant/cross-appellee Jim Smith.

Karen Gievers of Karen A. Gievers, P.A., Miami, for appellee/cross-appellant.

John French of Pennington & Haben, P.A., Tallahassee, for appellee the Democratic Party of Florida.

No appearance for the Republican Party of Florida and Jim Smith, as Secretary of State.

ZEHMER, Chief Judge.

Jim Smith, defendant in the proceeding below, appeals in his individual capacity the Partial Final Order Declaring Rights Relating to Campaign Contributions and Campaign Financing entered by the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit on October 5, 1994. Bob Crawford, plaintiff in the proceeding below, cross appeals the Partial Final Order Declaring Rights on the Issue of Qualification for Office entered by the circuit court on September 22, 1994. The Democratic Party of Florida, an intervenor in the proceedings below, joins with Appellee Crawford in opposing the Smith appeal and seeking reversal of the September 22 order. The Republican Party of Florida, an intervenor in the proceedings below, and Jim Smith, named as a defendant in his capacity as Secretary of State in the proceedings below, have not filed an appearance in this appeal. ¹ The notices of appeal in this action were filed on October 7, 1994. On that same day, this Court held a case management conference with counsel to consider the parties' motions to expedite appellate proceedings and entered an agreed order that expedited the briefing schedule and oral argument date. Having heard oral argument on October 12, 1994, presented by counsel for Smith, Crawford, and the Democratic Party, on October 13, 1994, we rendered a summary order wherein the trial court's September 22 order was affirmed and its October 5 order was reversed. The order recited that this opinion would follow shortly to explain the rationale for our decision. A copy of our October 13, 1994, order is attached as Appendix A.

The issues addressed in this appeal and cross appeal are:

(1) Did the trial court err in determining that Jim Smith was qualified to be nominated by the Republican Party to fill a vacancy in the Republican nomination for the office of Commissioner of Agriculture?

(2) Did the trial court err in ruling that Jim Smith was not qualified to receive public campaign financing in his present campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture because he had received public campaign financing in his race for Governor of Florida and his campaign expenditures in that race exceeded $2,000,000?

(3) Did the trial Court err in ruling that Jim Smith was required by the Florida Election Campaign Financing Act, sections 106.30 through 106.36, Florida Statutes (1993) (the "Act"), to repay the Election Campaign Financing Trust Fund (the "Trust Fund") an amount equal to the public campaign funds that he received with respect to expenditures made in his gubernatorial campaign in excess of the $2,000,000 spending limit applicable to candidates for a cabinet office?

(4) Did the trial court err in ruling that Bob Crawford is entitled by section 106.355 of the Act to obtain matching funds from the Trust Fund as a result of campaign contributions that Jim Smith received in his campaign for Governor?

(5) Did the trial court err in ruling that Jim Smith must return campaign contributions received in his campaign for Governor from any contributors affiliated with food outlet or convenience store businesses that are restricted in their contributions to candidates for Commissioner of Agriculture by section 106.082, Florida Statutes (1993), to the extent that those contributions exceed a total of $100 for the entire election year?

We answer the first issue in the negative and the remainder of the issues in the affirmative.

I.

On July 18, 1994, Jim Smith, who currently serves as Florida's Secretary of State, filed his papers to qualify as a candidate for Governor pursuant to the requirements of the Florida Election Code. Candidate Jim Smith, during his campaign for Governor, participated in public election campaign financing pursuant to section 106.33 of the Act. After placing a distant second in the Republican primary for Governor, Jim Smith withdrew his candidacy for Governor. During his gubernatorial campaign to become the Republican nominee, he and his running mate for Lieutenant Governor expended a total of $2,219,859.57. The maximum expenditure limit for a candidate for Governor who requests contributions from the Trust Fund is $5,000,000 in both primary elections and the general election. Sec. 106.34, Fla. Stat. (1993). Upon withdrawal from the race for Governor, Jim Smith immediately ceased receiving any further contributions and took steps to close his campaign accounts, including earmarking for payment to the state of surplus funds in the campaign account as required by statute because he had received funds under the Act.

Bob Crawford, the incumbent Commissioner of Agriculture, qualified as a Democrat to run for reelection to another term of office. No other Democrat qualified to run against him, and he is the Democratic Party nominee for election to that cabinet position. On July 22, 1994, Frank Darden qualified as a Republican candidate to run for this same office. No other candidate qualified as a Republican to run against Mr. Darden, and he became the Republican nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture. Because both Mr. Crawford and Mr. Darden were unopposed, no primary election was held for this cabinet post.

On September 15, 1994, the Republican Party of Florida sought an opinion from the Division of Elections of the Florida Department of State as to whether a vacancy in a cabinet race could be filled by that party through the nomination of a candidate who had been defeated in or had withdrawn from the race for Governor; and, if such a former gubernatorial candidate were to be so nominated, whether expenditures by that candidate in the gubernatorial race would be required to be counted toward the $2,000,000 limit for cabinet officers under the Act. On September 16, 1994, the Division of Elections rendered, as authorized in subsection 106.23(2), Florida Statutes (1993), Advisory Opinion DE 94-17 advising that, if a present candidate for cabinet office withdrew his candidacy after September 15, the Republican Party could designate as the nominee of the party for this cabinet office a former candidate for Governor in the 1994 race who had accepted public financing pursuant to the Act, but who no longer was a gubernatorial candidate due to either defeat during the first primary election or withdrawal from the race for Governor after that election. The opinion further advised:

[T]he mere fact that candidate A [a former gubernatorial candidate] used public financing in his gubernatorial bid and subsequently commenced a bid for a cabinet office does not constitute a violation of the election laws of this state....

However, ... because candidate A received public financing in his gubernatorial bid, he is required to return all surplus funds from that campaign to the Fund and may not transfer these funds to his cabinet campaign. [Citation omitted.]

... [c]andidate A's expenditures in his gubernatorial bid will not be counted toward the $2-million limit for cabinet officers in the Act if he is designated to fill the vacancy created by candidate B's [the present Republican nominee for this cabinet position] withdrawal....

These expenditure limits are for each race and are not cumulative if a former candidate is a candidate for another office under the circumstances you have described.

On September 16, 1994, Frank Darden withdrew his candidacy thereby leaving a vacancy in the Republican nomination for Commissioner of Agriculture. The Republican Executive Committee, pursuant to party rules, then nominated Jim Smith to fill this vacancy. He accepted, filed his qualifying papers, and requested participation in public campaign financing under the Act.

II.

On September 19, 1994, Bob Crawford filed this action in the Leon County circuit court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief based on his challenge to Jim Smith's eligibility to be the Republican Party's nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture. On September 22, 1994, following a hearing held the previous day, the trial court entered a partial final order declaring that Jim Smith's candidacy for Commissioner of Agriculture was not barred by any provision of the Florida Election Code. The trial court order retained jurisdiction to resolve any issues regarding campaign financing and permitted Crawford to amend his complaint to seek declaratory relief regarding those issues.

Bob Crawford then filed a supplement to his complaint challenging Jim Smith's right to participate in public campaign financing under the Act in his campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture. Following a September 30, 1994, evidentiary hearing on the issues so raised, on October 5, 1994, the trial court issued a partial final order ruling that:

(a) all moneys expended by Jim Smith and his running mate in the gubernatorial race would be treated as having been spent in his current race for Commissioner of Agriculture;

(b) Jim Smith is not qualified to receive public campaign financing in his present campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture because the Act does not provide separate benefits for a candidate deciding to run for two different offices during the same election year;

(c) Jim Smith may proceed as a candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture who is not participating in public financing under the Act, and he is...