Tampa City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak said, ‘We need affordable housing in downtown.’ Credit: Dave Decker

A legal team representing a Tampa neighborhood association is taking legal action over a mailer attacking a city councilwoman.

The propaganda hit the mailboxes of Tampa residents earlier this month, making egregious claims about Lynn Hurtak, who represents District 3 and is running for election against Janet Cruz and others.

The mailer, sent from Jason Blank’s Comite Politico in Ft. Lauderdale, pulls on a right-wing talking point, claiming that Hurtak has a “radical agenda.” It calls the councilwoman “lying Lynn Hurtak” and accuses her of “sowing chaos and division” in Tampa since she was appointed to her seat last April after the contentious exit of John Dingfelder.

Among other claims about Hurtak, the mailer says that, “Lying Lynn voted to support a massive hotel development then switched her vote after she was paid off by the opposition.”

Blank and committees associated with him have been major donors to Cruz’s past campaigns, her PAC and current city council race, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Blank and Comite Politico’s claim is in regard to an ongoing battle between Harbour Island’s South Neighborhood Association (SNA) and developer Punit Shah, who is in the process of suing Tampa because city council voted against his proposed hotel. Campaign finance records show that Shah has also donated $1,000 to Cruz’ current city council race.
In response to the mailer, SNA has advised Comite Politico of potential claims for damages.

“The claims include potential causes of action for defamation and libel related to the attached documentation,” a letter from Appleton Reiss PLLC, which included a copy of the anti-Hurtak mailer, reads.

The law firm wrote that the mailer “falsely and maliciously” suggests that Hurtak took bribes from their organizations to turn down a proposed hotel from Shah.

Appleton and Reiss demanded that Comite Politico retain all documentation that might be potentially relevant to the claims that the mailer made against SNA and Hurtak, with details on what is wanted and how to preserve it.

In May, Tampa City Council shot down Liberty’s proposal for the 12-story hotel in a 4-2 vote, with Hurtak voting yes for the hotel.

The plan was proposed by Liberty Group, also known as Liberty Hospitality Group, where Shah is the CEO. The group wanted to construct the hotel at 800 S Harbour Island Blvd., just feet away from the residential community’s entrance gates.

After Shah was first denied the hotel, he then threatened to sue the city for $6.6 million dollars, and city council was forced to vote again on the project. Shah made some compromises, too, like reducing the hotel to 10 stories.

Last December, with the threat of a lawsuit from Shah hanging over the city, residents of Harbour Island once again lined up at city hall to air their grievances with the project. This time, after hearing the constituents speak, Hurtak voted against it, and the project failed on the floor 4-3. Shah has now revived his lawsuit against the city.

Today, Hurtak said she couldn’t speak to the specifics of the votes on the hotel because of ongoing litigation from Shah. But she did say that she believes her opponent is behind the mailers, because of Cruz’ longtime connection to and support from Blank.

“Defamation is not protected political speech,” Hurtak said. “It’s unfortunate that my opponent has to stoop to this level. But it’s a testament to what I’ve accomplished on Tampa City Council that she is unable to address me on the merits of my record.”

Ashley Bauman, who is running communications for the Cruz campaign, told CL that no one involved with Cruz’ election has made any contributions to Comite Politico this election season, but denied responding to Hurtak’s statement.

Without providing specifics—and unwilling to stand behind the mailer’s claims—Bauman said, “Lynn’s votes and finance reports speak for themselves.”

SNA President Larry Premak told CL that it’s a completely fraudulent claim that Hurtak took any kind of payment to influence her vote on the hotel.

“The mailer stepped over the line implying that 4,000 registered voters on Harbour Island bribed a City Council member,” Premak wrote in an email. “It’s a flat out lie. We have called on Mayor Castor and Ana Cruz to condemn this false claim against our citizens but the silence has been deafening.”