Saturday, September 26, 2015

Property Appraiser Halts (Some) Improper Website Electioneering

Longtime Property Appraiser Sharon Outland (R-) has ceased improper, illegal website electioneering for her employee, Len Ortagus, who is running to succeed her -- his photo was for months on every single page on the website, including search results.  Ortagus' photo remains on the main page, the only employee so honored.
Thank you for your (partial) compliance).

However, this still looks like electioneering to me:

Announcements
Welcome to the new and improved St. Johns County Property Appraiser's website!
It has been my pleasure to serve you for the past 25 years in the Property Appraiser's Office. I appreciate the feedback you have provided and have listened to your website requests and suggestions. The new site uses a mobile-first design, allowing easy navigation on a wide range of browsers and devices. The HTML5 viewer of our mapping site now has many of the tools and features that were previously only available on the Silverlight version, meaning that you can now do more advanced mapping from your mobile device.
Over the next several months, we will work on phasing out the Silverlight version as we complete the migration to HTML5. Please let me know how we can make this site better for you through our feedback page.
Sincerely,
Len Ortagus
Len Ortagus, CFE
Director of IT

What do y'all reckon?

While it took a while, it only took one (1) letter to inspire (partial) compliance.  See my July 23 2015 letter, here:

Improper Electioneering for Len Ortagus on Every Single Page of St. Johns County Property Appraiser Website -- Letter to Sharon Outland, Property Appraiser

Dear Ms. Outland:
1. Please remove the photograph of our Property Appraiser IT Director, Mr. Len Ortagus, appearing on every single page of the Supervisor of Elections website, even search results pages.
2. Mr. Len Ortagus is the only declared candidate for the position that you currently occupy. http://www.votesjc.com/Candidate-Information/Candidate-List-Reports-Profiles
3. It appears to violate state law to endorse and to electioneer for Mr. Ortagus using every single page of your website.
4. No other employees are so honored on your website other than you -- this is tantamount to an electoral endorsement, and appears to be illegal.
5. Please remove the Len Ortagus photo and cease and desist using county property for electioneering purposes.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
904-377-4998


Contacts & Links
Contacts & Office Locations

Email Address: sjcpa@sjcpa.us

Main Office at the County Service Center
4030 Lewis Speedway, Suite 203
Saint Augustine, Florida 32084
Phone: (904) 827-5500 Fax: (904) 827-5580
Hours: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM; Monday – Friday



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