The “vaccinegate” scandal involving Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh is progressing after months of silence.
The Florida Commission on Ethics Dec. 3 found probable cause that Baugh violated state ethics by coordinating a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic for two affluent ZIP codes in her district and putting herself and four others at the top of the list, according to a Dec. 8 news release. The release states, “Probable cause was found to believe Ms. Baugh violated the constitutional amendment prohibiting the abuse of office to obtain a disproportionate benefit by placing her own name at the top of Manatee County’s randomly selected list of recipients to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
“In addition, probable cause was found to believe Ms. Baugh misused her position of public resources to assign vaccine distribution priority to serve specific individuals and zip codes, contrary to Manatee County’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.”
The release also states, “A finding of probable cause is not a determination that a violation has occurred. Such a determination is made only after a full evidentiary hearing on the allegations.”
Background
In January, county commissioners voted to establish a lottery system to distribute the then-limited supply of vaccines via random selection from a pool of registered applicants.
However, Baugh coordinated a pop-up clinic Feb. 17-19 at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch that narrowed the pool to registrants residing in the 34202 and 34211 ZIP codes.
Baugh lives and owns a business in 34202, which also is predominantly white and has an average median income of over $100,000.
At the time, she also emailed public safety director Jacob Saur a list of five names, those of political allies and donors — Robert Keehn, Marie Keehn, Rex Jensen and Lawrence Jensen — as well as her own to ensure they received the vaccine at the clinic.
Baugh received a slew of backlash for the clinic, including national media attention, public protests, a dismissed criminal complaint and a failed motion from a county commissioner to unseat her as chair.
Now, only the ethics complaint remains and, nine months after its submission to the FCE, it is moving forward.
Moving forward
FCE clerk Millie Fulford told The Islander Dec. 9 that the ethics case can move forward in two ways depending on the respondent.
Respondents can work with the state attorney general’s office to create terms for a stipulation of agreement — a sort of settlement between the parties — or they can allow the case to move forward to an evidentiary hearing.
There is no time frame for this step in the process, according to Fulford.
She added that attorney Elizabeth Miller from the Florida Attorney General’s Office will serve as “advocate,” or the FCE’s prosecutor, if the case goes forward to a hearing.
If the FCE board moves forward with a hearing and finds Baugh in violation of state ethics laws, it can recommend several penalties, including impeachment and/or removal from office, suspension, public censure, reprimand and a fine of up to $10,000.
There are no criminal penalties for violating the state code of ethics.
The FCE’s recommendation would then go to the governor, who coordinated the pop-up clinic with Baugh, for approval via executive order.
Fulford said the governor can reject or ignore the FCE’s recommendations.
Baugh’s attorney, George Levesque, wrote in a Dec. 9 email to The Islander, “The commission’s decision to find probable cause is not an adjudication of guilt, but simply a decision to allow the matter to proceed to the next phase. It was by no means a unanimous decision, which speaks to the real concerns as to whether any law was violated and the complex nature of these types of cases.”
He continued, “Some commissioners noted the clear political nature of the attacks, expressing significant reservations with moving forward. We look forward to this next phase of the proceedings to bring truth and perspective to the allegation and to demonstrate that Commissioner Baugh did not violate any law and did not violate any of her ethical obligation to her constituents.”
Since the matter was discussed during a closed session, The Islander was not able to verify Levesque’s comments.
Levesque did not respond to a Dec. 10 email from The Islander asking if Baugh wants to move forward to an evidentiary hearing.