Update – Following the posting of our story this morning we were forwarded this mail piece from a reader. Apparently Shawn Harrison has been caught a fourth time touting an endorsement that actually belongs to his opponent.
Original Report:
Rep. Shawn Harrison is feeling the heat. Having been drawn into a Democratic leaning seat where he must defend his voting record (98% with the Republican majority) in a district where Barack Obama gained closed to 54% of the vote, he’s begun to misrepresent his record and support. Additionally in Mark Danish, Harrison is facing a well liked Democrat with an excellent campaign team whose knowledge of the local community allowed him to cruise to the Democratic nomination despite being heavily outspent.
Last month, the Tampa Firefighters Local 754 endorsed Mark Danish’s candidacy for State House. We have found three instances of Harrison misrepresenting the endorsement of the Firefighters claiming he has received the endorsement.
Harrison Claims Firefighter Endorsement #3 is detailed below in the official complaint:
The complaint filed by local Hillsborough County Resident Sam Perrone states:
” In the September 2012 edition of Palms Magazine, an advertisement by Shawn Harrison claims that he was
Endorsed by the International Association of Firefighters. However, his opponent, Mark Danish, was endorsed
by the IAFF in August. This ad is a blatant misrepresentation of the IAFF. He is claiming to have an
endorsement that he was not given. This is a clear violation of chapter 106.143(4).”
Danish who despite being outspent heavily crushed his August Primary opponent recently named former Gov. Chiles’ Lottery Secretary Marcia Mann as his Campaign Chair. Mann served as Florida’s Secretary of the Lottery for eight of the agency’s first ten years of existence. The late Governor Lawton Chiles appointed Dr. Mann in 1991 after managing the governor’s winning Hillsborough County gubernatorial campaign. Dr. Mann was an assistant dean and full professor at the University of South Florida prior to her state government work in the Chiles Administration. Dr. Mann also chaired the Hillsborough County campaign of legendary United States Senator Bob Graham.
This sort of thing happens all the time you know. Still does not make it right. Did the Firefighters endorse Harrison in 2010?
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