Sturges drops forum after Minshew smear campaign story

Vice Mayor David Sturges said he will not participate in Monday's Observer city commission candidate forum just hours following the publication of a story about a smear campaign against his opponent Genece Minshew.

"After careful consideration, I have lost faith in the process hosted by the Observer," Sturges said on his Facebook re-election campaign page. "At one time, the Observer was a balanced publication."

On Friday, the Observer published a story about dark money and smear tactics emerging in the Fernandina Beach City Commission Seat 2 election after voters received a campaign mailer positioning Minshew as a pro-development candidate.

The mailer was sent out by a powerful GOP-linked political attack operative who has run more than 40 political action committees.

Sturges, who owns a residential construction contracting business, would not comment on whether his campaign had any involvement with or knowledge of the mailer.

According to the mailer sent out by the Political Action Committee (PAC) Holding Developers Accountable of Gainesville, Florida, Minshew is portrayed as "a rubber stamp for developers?"

The claim is the complete opposite of Minshew's stated position on limiting density in the city and opposing any changes to Fernandina's Land Development Code (LDC) or Comprehensive Plan that would allow for more residential development.

During his four-year term, Sturges has sought to amend the LDC to allow for more residential parcels. He voted to lower stormwater/wastewater new construction impact fees charged to developers and ignored provisions of the LDC while voting to approve construction of townhomes on the Tringali property.

His campaign contribution reports show donations from developers and real estate interests.

In his announcement, Sturges said the Observer "stories are often unbalanced, without context, and based on unverified or inaccurate sources and information."

In September, Sturges refused to participate in a candidate forum hosted by Citizens of Fernandina Beach.

The Observer was able to report that the smear campaign mailer against Minshew was produced by a PAC headed by William Stafford Jones of Tallahassee.

Wikipedia said of Jones:

"Jones is known for creating dozens of political action committees that have spent millions of dollars in Florida state elections. In 2021, the nonpartisan watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reported that two of Jones' organizations falsely reported on their tax returns that they engaged in no political activities and failed to disclose more than $1 million in political contributions. Florida Democrats have complained that Jones' organizations have funded spoiler candidates and used deceptive tactics."

Jones is also connected to Data Targeting Inc., one of Florida's top influential Republican consulting groups. In 2016, Jones was linked to more than 40 PACs in Florida.

"Who is so afraid of me and of my election to the city commission that they would spend thousands of dollars on a smear campaign?" Minshew said. "This is a new low for the people who are so afraid of me and my campaign that they would put out such blatant misinformation.  Remember, a vote for me is a vote for a citizen, not a political party or a politician."

Observer editor Mike Phillips said, "David Sturges can't imagine that any statement he disagrees with springs from anything but bias. As the Observer editor, I want Fernandina Beach to know that we do not hate David. We do feel sorry for him and hope that someday he can be at peace with himself."