Ethics Commission rejects Karen Perez complaint over Cuban ambassador visit to Tampa

William March
September 22, 2024
6 min

The staff recommended rejecting another part of the complaint concerning Perez's trip to Cuba, and the Commission followed that recommendation.
Despite a staff recommendation for a finding of probable cause, the Florida Commission on Ethics rejected a complaint against Hillsborough County School Board Chair Karen Perez regarding a controversial dinner with the Cuban ambassador in Tampa last year.

The staff recommended rejecting another part of the complaint concerning Perez’s trip to Cuba, and the Commission followed that recommendation.

In another action, the Commission rejected a complaint against St. Petersburg City Council member Deborah Figgs-Sanders after staff analysis found it didn’t include allegations that would violate state ethics laws.

The complaint against Figgs-Sanders, filed by occasional Council critic Bradlee McCoy, alleged that Figgs-Sanders violated ethics laws by casting council votes that benefitted individuals or organizations that had given her campaign contributions. Among them were donors connected with the Historic Gas Plant project and the Woodson African American History Museum, which had given her son a scholarship.

. . .

The dinner involving Perez occurred during a visit to Tampa by Cuban Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera in March 2023.

Three local elected officials – Perez, Tampa City Council member Guido Maniscalco and Hillsborough Clerk of Court Cindy Stuart — attended a dinner for her at an upscale restaurant organized by attorney and lobbyist Ron Christaldi.

Anti-Castro Cubans, who said they happened to be eating at the restaurant at the same time, staged a protest inside the restaurant and later publicized a video of the protest.

Several state legislators later held a news conference blasting the event and officials who attended; state Sen. Jay Collins, a Tampa Republican, introduced a condemnation resolution that failed to pass.

. . .

The complaint also alleges that Perez took a trip to Cuba in 2019, which the complainant said may have been a gift given as part of the Cuban government’s attempt to influence U.S. public opinion.

More:
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/697018-ethics-commission-rejects-karen-perez-complaint-over-cuban-ambassador-visit-to-tampa/