Texts suggest Miami Beach staffers helped draft David Suarez complaints later tossed by state

State agencies recently dismissed a pair of complaints against Miami Beach Commissioner David Suarez. Newly revealed text messages raise concerns that the grievances may have gotten a boost from City Hall staffers.

Screenshots Florida Politics obtained show resident-activist Jo Manning, who filed the complaints against Suarez in September, telling a person identified only as “Jorge” that staffers for Commissioner Laura Dominguez — a rival of Suarez’s and a key figure in the complaints  — helped her prepare the documents during business hours.

Manning confirmed the texts’ authenticity, but said she exaggerated the lengths to which Miami Beach employees assisted her.

In one exchange, Jorge asked Manning whether Dominguez’s aides helped her draft the complaints, to which she replied, “Yes, they did.”

In another, she wrote, “They helped me fill out the forms.”

“She is very agreeable! Wants to help everyone,” Manning added, encouraging Jorge to ask Dominguez’s “very helpful” staffers to assist him in drafting a separate complaint he claimed to be putting together against Mayor Steven Meiner.

Suarez called the texts “deeply disturbing.”

“If taxpayer-funded government staff were used to help orchestrate a political complaint against a sitting Commissioner, that represents a shocking abuse of public resources,” he said. “My complaint was dismissed. But the more serious question is why government resources appear to have been involved in initiating it in the first place.”

Manning, 85, initially told Florida Politics by phone Monday that Dominguez’s staff assisted her with formatting and procedural guidance to ensure the complaint met agency requirements. She stressed that the complaint originated entirely from her own concerns and was not directed by Dominguez or anyone else.

“I had no idea how to do it, and I know the state can be funny about things like that. They just gave me guidance, so I was doing it the right way,” said Manning, who describes Dominguez as a “friend.”

“I just thought it was the right thing to do. Politics is so rotten in the city, and it’s getting worse. I felt (Suarez) has been very nasty to (Dominguez) on the dais. It really bothered me.”

Notably, Manning’s complaints focused on an email and social media posts Suarez published criticizing Dominguez’s voting record and campaign fundraising from developers while she was running for re-election. Manning’s filings cited Suarez’s use of the city seal and the words “Office of the Mayor and Commission,” among other things, as legally and ethically questionable.

Florida Politics spoke by text with Dominguez, 54, who won re-election in November with 61% of the vote. She said her Office did not help Manning and instead directed her “to contact appropriate individuals to guide her as my office could not be involved.”

In a follow-up conversation, Manning said she “misspoke” and that all Dominguez’s staff did was provide her with addresses for where to send the complaints.

“I don’t even think I had a form,” she said. “It was just an address, and I just wrote down something on a piece of paper.”

Florida Politics also spoke by text with Jorge, who declined to reveal his last name. He said he shared his texts with “people from the Democratic team” — one of whom, presumably, then shared them with Suarez or someone associated with him.

It is not inherently illegal for City Hall staff to help a resident file a complaint about a city official. Doing so can be considered lawful constituent services when it’s neutral, administrative help — pointing the constituent to the right agency, explaining where to sign, providing formatting guidance — and not tied to politics or personal retaliation.

But it can cross into illegal or sanctionable conduct if staff “corruptly use or attempt to use” their official positions or city resources to secure a special benefit for someone, including advancing a political or personal objective.

It can also become illegal if a city official or employee uses their government authority to interfere with an election or affect votes, especially if the assistance is campaign-related and done on duty.

The Miami Beach City Attorney’s Office has also warned that city employees, including Commissioners’ aides, may not engage in political activity while on duty or use city resources — employee time, computers, stationery — to support political efforts. Aides may respond to constituent inquiries, but not prepare advocacy or campaign materials “while on duty.”

Legal uncertainty can arise when assistance described as simple “formatting” help is, in practice, tied to a targeted political effort, along with selective guidance, coordinated timing, or possible retaliatory motives. In those situations, legality can depend on the purpose of the assistance, whether it occurred on city time or used public resources, and whether the same help would be available to any resident.

Complaints deemed “legally insufficient”

The text message revelations come weeks after state agencies dismissed two complaints Manning filed against Suarez.

Manning, a Democrat like Dominguez, argued that Suarez’s email and social media posts were intended to influence voters and create the impression the messages were government-sanctioned.

She also alleged that the money he spent on emails and social media posts could violate Florida’s campaign finance rules, since he was not filed as a candidate.

The Florida Commission on Ethics tossed one of Manning’s complaints Jan. 28, finding it was “legally insufficient” to show Suarez misused his public office or resources. The agency concluded that even if Manning’s accusations were true, they did not show Suarez corruptly used his public positions for personal benefit or to secure a special privilege.

Separately, the Florida Elections Commission found an elections-law complaint Manning filed also lacking. The agency’s Executive Director, Tim Vaccaro, wrote that Suarez’s email and Facebook posts did not violate state election law because Suarez personally paid to sponsor the social media posts, was not running for office and did not reference any future campaign.

Suarez, a 41-year-old with no party affiliation, hailed the dismissals as proof his actions were above-board and the complaints were “a political attack, not a legitimate ethics concern.”

“The ethics (complaints) filed against me (were) dismissed because (they) never had merit to begin with,” he said in a statement. “The ethics process exists to protect integrity, not to be weaponized for political purposes. Residents should be outraged at the idea that City Hall may have been used as a hub for political retaliation.”