Local Candidates Post Questionable Comments On Social Media

 

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

 

Partisan politics is prohibited in campaigns for judge. 

At least two Broward candidates for judge are posting highly partisan comments on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. 

A fan of Chris Brown, who is running for Broward Circuit Court, posted on June 30 the candidate’s endorsement by the Broward GOP Executive Committee. It remains on the Facebook site, which is presumably under Brown’s control.

 

 

Brown’s Facebook account also has partisan attack on the Democratic administration. The comment was made before Brown was officially running for judge, and never removed.

 

 

 

The Twitter account for Gary Farmer, a state senator running for the Broward Circuit Court,  is filled with partisan comments. Just two are at the end of this post.

Brown and Farmer are longtime attorneys who know that comments on “any political issue” is forbidden in a judicial campaign by the Florida Supreme Court.

Breaking that taboo can result in an investigation by the Judicial Qualifications Committee. The JQC can recommend to Supreme Court a punishment, which range from a reprimand to removal from office.

The law is treated seriously by most judicial candidates. That’s why when appearing at a political club they leave the room before partisan issues are discussed. That’s why candidates for judge refuse to discuss their views on gun control or abortion or any other political hot button issue. 

So why do these two candidates allow partisan comments on their social media sites?

I don’t know if allowing partisan comments on your social media platform violates the ethics rules. But surely these comments are not in the spirit of the rules.

 

\

 XXXXX

 

 

 

 

 

  



5 Responses to “Local Candidates Post Questionable Comments On Social Media”

  1. Lygia says:

    … and for this sole reason, neither should be elected and they both should be investigated.

  2. FTL Voter says:

    Comments by supporters on Facebook are not comments by the judicial candidates. Those comments you referenced
    for example are by Ms. Wallace Castro and Mr. Reed, and posted in their own names. Not sure there is any JQC issue.

  3. Cheating Cris Brown says:

    Not the first time Brown has violated the cannons.

    https://youtu.be/5Rz_E-7je2Y

    https://youtu.be/fBA0aKaXPxo

    He mentioned his wife is a judge multiple times in these videos. The Sentinel interviewer said Brown put it in his application that his wife was a Judge.

    After seeing Judge Kollra get a reprimand for a minor transgression what Brown has done will most likely lead to a reprimand for himself and his wife (since under Cannons, she is responsible for how her husband campaigns )

  4. anan says:

    Chris Brown is a fine, qualified man who is being slandered. He did nothing wrong except stay out of politics until he ran for judge. His opponent Michael Ahearn is a DEMOCRATIC political operative who has been investigated many times. Don’t believe what you read here about Chris Brown.

  5. Cheating Chris Brown says:

    ok what part is a lie? It was on his FB that he was responsible for. All he had to do was delete the msg instead he attempted to cheat by leaving it for all to see.