Yolanda Brown out as Ken Welch PC agent, but what the heck took so long?

Adrienne Bogen, the Chair for St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch’s political committee,, has filed paperwork with Florida’s Division of Elections (DOE) naming herself as the committee’s new registered agent.

That role previously belonged to Yolanda Brown, who also previously served as Treasurer for the PC and who is accused by its officials of stealing $207,500 through unauthorized fund distributions to a business she owns, O’Reilly Business LLC.

Bogen made the change last Wednesday, the same day — and just hours after — I mentioned Brown curiously still being listed as the committee’s registered agent.

“A letter to state election officials notes that the committee has ‘demanded the return of funds’ but ‘the funds have yet to be returned,’” I wrote last week, adding an important question. “OK, so why oh why have you not removed Brown as the registered agent?”

Given the timing of the change, it’s a reasonable hypothesis that Brown’s continued status as registered agent up until Wednesday afternoon was an oversight.

Oops.

It boggles the mind to think such an oversight could have happened. The PC, The Pelican Political Action Committee, removed Brown as its Treasurer on Jan. 8, according to documents filed with DOE. And records show that on Jan. 12, the committee filed an amended third-quarter report, which covers financial activity from July through September. In a letter explaining the amended report, Bogen wrote that “immediately upon discovering these improper transactions, we terminated our contract with our former treasurer and appointed a new treasurer.”

Ok, so let’s check this timeline, shall we.

The first transaction the committee flagged as unauthorized occurred on Aug. 6. But the committee, according to publicly filed documents with DOE, either didn’t know about it or didn’t report it (or both) until Jan. 8, when a new Treasurer was installed.

An amended report was filed Jan. 12. But it wasn’t until Jan. 28 — after a media report sounded alarm bells — that anyone bothered to remove Brown as the committee’s registered agent. The person in that position, by the way, would still have access to the committee.

After it became clear Welch’s committee had more than $200,000 taken from it, I begged the question, “Is Ken Welch a victim, or just incompetent,” following that up with a reminder that two things can be true at the same time.

I have no doubt those working on the political committee benefiting his re-election bid — which Welch is expected to officially kick off Monday by filing paperwork with the City Clerk — have had their hands full. Anyone who has ever worked in any capacity for a political campaign knows that something like this — losing a giant amount of money donors entrusted you with — is a colossal f-up. There’s no doubt that damage control has been underway since before anyone else even learned there was an issue.

But that’s just it, damage control. Welch is already smarting — even if he won’t admit it himself — from this political nightmare. The rumor mill is churning, including among those who either no longer have faith, or those whose faith is shaking, in Welch’s ability to earn another term from voters. So to overlook the continued presence of a person you have described as a thief in an official political committee capacity is beyond malfeasance at this point.

Florida Politics asked the Welch campaign why it took so long to remove Brown from all of her capacities within the operation and did not receive a response as of publication.

At some point, voters will have to ask themselves: Has Ken Welch been a victim of unfortunate circumstance, or is this a headache of his own making by trusting the wrong people? There is already evidence of the latter.

Meanwhile, the campaign has said it was “in the process of notifying the appropriate state and federal authorities” regarding the missing funds, but committee officials have declined to elaborate further. Florida Politics has filed inquiries with the St. Petersburg Police Department, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI seeking any complaint that has been filed. The local Police Department and Sheriff’s Office had no records responsive to that request. The FBI said it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of such a complaint, citing confidentiality requirements.

Public statements regarding what the campaign continues to classify as a theft seem to imply the campaign will eventually recoup the lost funds.

“We demanded the return of the funds from our former treasurer. While we were assured the funds would be returned and our former treasurer provided us a transaction receipt for a wire transfer of the funds back to the committee, the funds have yet to be returned,” the Jan. 12 letter to DOE reads.

But it’s becoming increasingly clear the funds will not be recouped. Worse, those working on Welch’s PC continue to step in it. While Welch no doubt has staunch allies who will stand by him through this rough patch — and cut checks to his campaign — the troubles paint a troubling picture for any other would-be donors about Welch’s ability to safeguard their investment.