Frederick B. O’Neal  

Attorney at Law P.O. Box 842

Windermere, FL 34786 September 28, 2015 RE: Statute 106.143 – use of party label in City of Orlando elections To whom it may concern: I have reviewed Section 106.143, F.S. I have also reviewed the Division of Elections opinions interpreting the statute. To me, the most informative opinion on whether the prohibition in Section 106.143 for candidates for "nonpartisan office" applies to candidates for Mayor-Commissioner of Orlando is DE 10-02. In DE 10-02, the city attorney for the City of Coral Springs, Florida asked the Division whether a nonpartisan candidate for the City's city commission may post his or her political affiliation on their Facebook page. One key consideration to the Division of Elections in responding was determining whether the City Code of the City of Coral Springs "prohibited candidates from campaigning or qualifying for election or retention in office based upon party affiliation." The reason that was important to the Division was because the definition of "nonpartisan office" in Section 97.021 ("Definitions"), F.S., and, therefore, in106.143 uses that quoted phrase as determinative of whether a particular municipal office should be considered a "nonpartisan office" for purposes of Ch.’s 97 through 106. In the case of Coral Springs, the City had an ordinance which provided "each candidate for elected municipal office shall not campaign as a member of any political party or publicly represent or advertise himself as a member of any political party." (Emphasis supplied). Based on that ordinance, the Division concluded the office of city commissioner of Coral Springs qualified as such a defined “nonpartisan office." Using the Division's standards for determining which offices fell within the definition of "nonpartisan office," I, then, reviewed Orlando's City Charter and Chapter 21 ("Elections") of Orlando's City Code and determined Orlando does not have a prohibition similar to the one in the City Code of the City of Coral Springs. Based upon the above outlined review, it is my opinion that the restriction in Section 106.143 regarding persons seeking "nonpartisan offices “does not apply to candidates for Mayor-Commissioner of the City of Orlando.

Fred O’Neal