At its April meeting, the Florida Ethics Commission will formally agree to a stipulation publicly censuring and fining former St. Petersburg City Councilmember Jamie Bennett for his role in distributing city tickets to Tampa Bay Rays baseball games in an attempt to gain influence over neighborhood leaders. Specifically, the Florida Ethics Commission found that Bennett:
While ostensibly distributing the tickets in accordance with City policy by handing them out to heads of neighborhood associations, preliminary evidence indicates that Respondent’s primary purpose for distributing at least some of the tickets was for garnering political support for his mayoral campaign.
For violating Florida Statutes and misusing his public office for personal gain, Bennett will be fined $2,000 and publicly censured.
