Jacksonville, FL — Jacksonville City Councilwoman and Mayoral candidate Anna Lopez Brosche is now facing an investigation by the Florida Commission on Ethics, following a complaint filed by a Jacksonville attorney.
The complaint says Brosche filed inaccurate financial disclosures four times, by failing to list a Florida Retirement System account. Brosche, a Republican, has been on the City Council since 2015, and the complaint says she has contributed more than $5,300 to the account in that time.
Ryan Wiggins, a spokeswoman for Brosche’s mayoral campaign, says Brosche was unaware prior to this complaint that she was even contributing to an FRS account. Because of that, and because she is not yet vested in the account, Wiggins says Brosche was not aware she had to disclose it.
“Anna would never intentionally withhold financial information from the citizens, as she is a firm believer that the citizens are entitled to know and understand the official assets and interests of those in office and on the ballot,” Wiggins says.
She further says Brosche has been in contact with Jacksonville’s Director of Ethics in order to “remedy the situation”.
Generally, complaints filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics are not public record until the Commission has made a ruling- either a finding of probable cause or a dismissal- or the person who the complaint is filed against waives the confidentiality. Until that time, the Commission will not even confirm if a complaint exists. There is no set timeline for when the Commission makes a ruling on whether they believe a violation may have occurred.
In this case, the attorney behind the complaint came forward with it, and Brosche’s campaign confirmed its existence.
Brosche is running for Jacksonville Mayor against Republican incumbent Mayor Lenny Curry, as well as NPA candidate Omega Allen, and write-in candidates Johnny Sparks and Brian Griffin.
