Political mailers sent to thousands of Seminole County homes this month calling Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson “crooked” and tying him to disgraced tax collector Joel Greenberg are linked to a Tampa GOP consultant known for mudslinging.
Anderson, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019 and re-elected a year later, faces School Board member Amy Pennock in the county’s Republican primary on Tuesday.
Typically, races for the office of Supervisor of Elections are low-key contests. But this race — in a predominantly Republican county — has turned into a heated battle over the past several weeks.
The mailers — paid for by the newly-formed “The Committee to Expose Crooked Republicans” — do not mention Pennock.
But it’s clear they attempt to brand her opponent as corrupt. And the committee’s chair is Anthony Pedicini, a longtime political operative with experience in bare-knuckle campaigning.
One of the mailers shows Greenberg’s mug shot from his February 2021 arrest in the background, with a photo of Anderson in the foreground and a dark picture of what appears to be people rioting.
“Crooked Chris Anderson’s close connection to Joel Greenberg should frighten Seminole County Republicans,” the mailer reads in dark and red lettering.
Another reads: “Joel Greenberg and Crooked Chris Anderson are too close for comfort.”
Greenberg, who was Seminole’s tax collector from 2017 until resigning in mid-2020, is now serving an 11-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to six federal charges that included identity theft and sex trafficking of a minor.
Anderson, a former deputy sheriff and police officer, was hired by Greenberg to work as chief investigations officer for the tax collector’s office before being tapped for his current post by DeSantis in 2019.
But Anderson has never been charged or even tied to any of Greenberg’s crimes.
Anderson did not respond to requests to comment on the mailers. But he’s repeatedly said he never committed any crimes and complains he has long been the victim of unfair negative attacks from opponents.
Pennock said Friday her campaign had no connection to the mailers. She had not seen or learned about the campaign flyers “until they landed in my mailbox.”
Pennock said she was familiar with Pedicini, but she had not hired nor paid him and had never heard of his committee.
Even so, some voters in Seminole were not happy the countywide race has grown nasty.
Chris Willenbring, a lifelong Republican from Altamonte Springs, said he was so angry he removed his Pennock sign from his front yard after receiving the mailers on Aug. 10.
“I definitely feel it’s dirty politics,” Willenbring, 47, said. “It irritated me so much. Why are a bunch of people out of Tampa caring about the Supervisor of Elections race in Seminole County?”
Barbara Rankin, of Altamonte Springs, said she was a Republican “for decades” until changing her party affiliation a few years ago. The mailers were another example of why she was angry.
“I’m now registered as an NPA [no party affiliation] because I frankly became sick and tired of it all,” she said.
The Committee to Expose Crooked Republicans was formed on June 18 by Pedicini and Wendy White, both of Tampa, according to state records. Messages left for Pedicini and White were not returned.
As a campaign consultant who often works with Republican candidates, Pedicini is known for conducting aggressive door-to-door efforts, posting extensively on social media, and sending a plethora of mailers into registered voters’ mailboxes that some say are filled with inaccuracies and misinformation.
His work is powered by millions of dollars funneled from political action committees that he controls and are often difficult to track.
Between June 28 through Aug. 2, The Committee to Expose Fake Republicans has raised $319,500 and spent $283,374, according to state records. Its largest contribution was $160,000 from the political action committee Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy, also operated by Pedicini.
In turn, Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economyraised $193,485 between July 27 and Aug. 1, including a $10,000 contribution from WastePro. The Longwood-based company, which handles waste collection for a large portion of the county, often contributes to Republican candidates in Seminole, including $500 to Pennock’s campaign last January.
Typically, political action committees pass funds through other committees and mask the original source of the donations. That creates a complex and shady web that makes it almost impossible to track where contributions are coming from.
Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy is not new to Seminole politics. In 2017, the group sent mailers falsely claiming three Longwood commission candidates supported bringing “Las Vegas style” casino gambling into the city.
The candidates — Abby Shoemaker, Richard Drummond and Matt Morgan, who all were elected — blasted the mailers as dirty politics. Morgan called it “disgusting.”
Seminole resident H. Alexander Duncan said the current Anderson mailers “are really pulling at straws trying to connect him to Joel Greenberg.”
“But you know what they say: ‘Negative campaigning sometimes works,’” he said.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Deborah Poulalion in the Nov. 5 general election.
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