UPDATED 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2
The race to replace the outgoing supervisor of elections in the Florida Keys features a Democratic former state representative and a Republican candidate who is one of two top county GOP leaders under investigation for election fraud during the primary election.
The contest to fill the job of Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Joyce Griffin pits Democrat Ron Saunders against Republican candidate Sherri Hodies. Griffin is retiring after first taking office in 2012.
WLRN reached out to Saunders and Hodies to speak about their platforms. Both sat down for interviews on primary election day, but only Saunders was reachable for a follow-up ahead of the general race.
The investigation, triggered by complaint by a Republican party member, focuses on county party chair Rhonda Rebman-Lopez and Hodies, who is the county party treasurer. At issue is a vote taken last April by county Republicans to endorse Hodies in the primary over former Key West City Commissioner Margaret Romero and authorize a contribution of $20,000 to Hodies' campaign.
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Ron Saunders
Saunders is a 5th-generation Keys native, known as a conch, and former Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives. Saunders said his experience with election training sets him apart from his opponent.
“I signed up for the 2022 primary and general elections. I did the training sessions, it was early voting and vote by mail, [and I] worked a poll election day,” he said. “I’m the only candidate running that actually went through all that.”
Saunders pulled in bipartisan support, finding an early across-the-aisle supporter in Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay, a Republican.
“People want somebody that's going to be nonpartisan,” Saunders said. “[Someone] that will call them as they see them, not just because what political party a candidate may be, but whoever gets the most votes wins and just makes sure we have safe and secure elections.”
Sherri Hodies
Hodies grew up in Ohio, and moved to the Florida Keys in the early 2000s.
She holds a Masters degree in Business Administration and a certificate in paralegal studies and has previously worked as a business administrative coordinator for Honda of America.
“With the Supervisor of Elections job, it is an administration job,” Hodies told WLRN spoke in August on primary election night. “Not a politician’s job. So I threw my hat in the ring because I am not a politician and I wanted to do whatever is best for the Monroe County voters.”
Hodies currently serves as the Treasurer of the Monroe County Republican Party, President of the Southernmost Republican Club and Chair of the Monroe County GOP Voter Registration Education and Outreach Committee.
The investigation
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order in late September appointing State Attorney Amira Fox to oversee the investigation of a complaint alleging election fraud and unlawful disbursement of funds by Rebman-Lopez and Hodies. Fox is the state attorney for Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.
In the executive order, DeSantis writes that Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward requested another prosecutor be assigned to the case to avoid any conflict of interest because he is "a primary witness."
The investigation centers on an endorsement and campaign contribution Hodies received from the Republican Executive Committee of Monroe County, of which she serves as sitting treasurer.
The endorsement to favor Hodies over Republican candidate Margaret Romero in the primary race was allegedly tied to a $20,000 campaign contribution.
The endorsement and donation stemmed from an April vote by the Republican Executive Committee of Monroe County, which was first reported by the Key West Citizen, where 38 of the committee’s 63 members were present with 20 voting in favor of the endorsement and 18 opposed to the motion.
The complaint that spurred the investigation against Rebman-Lopez and Hodies was lodged in July by Phyllis May, a Key West Republican. The probe focuses on whether the GOP vote last April and subsequent disbursement of funds were lawful or if it lacked a simple majority of the committee’s 63 members.
Hodies had agreed to three interviews with WLRN but canceled them. She did not respond to initial questions sent via text about the investigation.
Following publication of this story on Wednesday on WLRN’s website, Hodies wrote Saturday in a text message to WLRN that “the vote for the $20,000 was a simple majority vote.” She also slammed the complaint as “frivolous and full of hearsay.”
“As my attorney said, this will be dealt with and dismissed in due time,” she told WLRN via text.
Hodies also posted a response to the allegations on her Facebook and campaign website.
“Because I currently serve as the treasurer of the REC, I recused myself from the distribution of funds,” she wrote in an Oct. 17 Facebook post. “Our Executive Board President wrote and signed the check to complete the contribution that our membership voted to award.”
Saunders said the ongoing investigation is a serious matter.
" I doubt it'd be resolved before the election Nov. 5," Saunders said. "But I do think that's a big issue when you're running for supervisor of elections and you're accused of felony election fraud. That's probably something that voters are concerned about."
CLARIFICATION: This story was updated 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, to include Sherri Hodies’ comments sent via text on Saturday to WLRN following the original publication. The story was also updated to clarify that Gov. Ron DeSantis did not order the investigation of Hodies and Monroe County Republican Party Chair Rhonda Rebman-Lopez, but signed an executive order appointing a state attorney outside Monroe County to lead the probe of allegations of election fraud and unlawful disbursement of funds by Rebman-Lopez and Hodies.
