Get the Facts: Ad makes claims against Seminole County commissioner
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. ā
A Seminole County commissioner is being attacked in a new television ad that’s aimed at stopping his bid for re-election.
The ad shows a highly-doctored photo of Seminole County commissioner Lee Constantine wafting from a toilet.
It calls Constantine a liberal, however he is a lifetime Republican.
The ad is sponsored by Sunshine State Rising.
Campaign finance records for the political action committee show a dark money trail with untraceable donors.
Constantine says he believes he knows who is behind the ads. He says it is a former Republican state lawmaker who is behind one of the most controversial proposed developments in Seminole County history.
“If that’s kept a secret, I think that’s the worst kept secret in Seminole County,” Constantine said.
He’s certain the man behind the ad is lobbyist, developer and former Republican state lawmaker, Chris Dorworth.
Constantine and other commissioners twice voted down Dorworth’s proposed “River Cross” project, near the Econ River.
Dorworth is currently suing the county.
The attack claims, “Constantine raised our taxes by $2 billion.”
The number is misleading. There’s no financial analysis cited for the three bills listed.
Constantine voted for them while in the State Senate. One was the first budget passed in 2009 after the recession.
Another was a surcharge on cigarettes equivalent to $1, and the third raised motor vehicle title fees.
Dorworth voted for all three bills as well when he was a lawmaker.
The ad claims Constantine “tried to force us to pay for mandatory septic tank inspections.”
That was a fact. Constantine was behind passage of a bill that would have mandated septic system inspections every five years.
However, Dorworth and other Republicans repealed the measure two years later.
How did that go? In 2018, blue green algae threatened Florida shores and health.
Gov. Ron DeSantis commissioned a task force, which “recommended a septic system inspection and monitoring program” to protect us from the threat.
“I was ten years ahead of the game in saying that we needed to inspect septic tanks, to stop the pollution of our waters,” Constantine said.
The ad also claimed he attacked President Donald Trump in the Orlando Sentinel.
That is true. Constantine wrote an opinion piece that said “Republicans have lost their way but not their firm foundation”
However, Constantine did not attack President Trump. President Trump was never mentioned in the article.
Dorworth declined an on-camera interview, saying “I’m evaluating and plan to pursue legal action against commissioners Dallari and Constantine and their campaign consultants for their libelous and defamatory attacks on me and my real estate development.”
“You know, it’s not slander if you’re telling the truth,” Constantine said.
