For Immediate Release

September 6, 2024

Nicole Wilson the current Orange County Commissioner for District 1, and a 2024 candidate for re-election, has a third-party group electioneering on her behalf, breaking campaign finance laws. This group has spent more than $20,000 on Facebook ads touting Wilson’s candidacy and relentlessly attacking Austin Arthur. Florida Elections Committee was notified through an official complaint on Sept 3rd, 2024.

 

The group went as far to create several deepfake AI audios of Arthur to manufacture accusations against him, as well as releasing articles with false narratives, lies and outlandish conspiracy theories about his personal life and candidacy.

 

“Nicole hired this group once before and has deployed them to do her dirty work again,” said Zander Arthur, brother to candidate Austin Arthur. She’s a lawyer who obviously doesn’t care that she’s skirting the law and an elected official who doesn’t care she’s violating the public’s trust. This is a shady group and Wilson needs to come clean and quit breaking the law.”

 

The Facebook groups responsible are called "Neighborhood Watch, District 1” and "Rural Settlement Re-Elect Nicole Wilson” which contains a disclaimer stating that they are sponsored by and paid for by "Quickwood, LLC.” Quickwood, LLC lists as its sole manager on the Florida Division of Corporations' Sunbiz website. RoseAnna Malherbe contributed $1,000 on February 22, 2024 to Wilson’s 2024 Campaign and was also listed as a vendor on Wilson’s 2020 Campaign reports. The Malherbe's are not listed as vendors providing any services to the 2024 Wilson Campaign for re-election.

 

Each of the paid ads being run by Neighborhood Watch/Quickwood LLC contain express advocacy, asking viewers to elect or vote for Nicole Wilson, which is a clear violation of campaign finance laws.

 

“Neighborhood Watch” and/or "Quickwood” is operating as a political committee by possibly collecting funds and purchasing thousands of dollars in political advertising on behalf of Nicole Wilson. Section 106.03, Florida Statutes, requires such a group to register as a political committee and report its contribution and expenditure activity. See also, s. 106.011, F.S.

 

Additionally, the ads are not disclaimed as independent expenditures which cannot be coordinated with a candidate. Ads over $500 containing express advocacy that is coordinated with a candidate should be treated as an in-kind contribution to that candidate. Wilson has not reported any of the ads described above as contributions on her campaign reports. If there is coordination between Wilson and the Malherbe’s on these and other ads, Wilson has accepted in- kind contributions in excess of the contribution limits of section 106.08, Florida Statutes.

 

Neither Neighborhood Watch, Quickwood nor Rural Settlement are registered as a political committee with the state Division of Elections or with the Orange County Supervisor of Elections.

 

“This lack of registration and reporting makes it difficult for citizens to ‘follow the money’ and determine the extent to which these Malherbe entities are accepting contributions, making contributions to candidates or making expenditures for political advertisements,” said Zander Arthur. "Wilson could stop this tomorrow if she wanted. She had the chance to call them out at the last debate, when all the people involved in these antics were in the same room, but she chose not to.” said Zander Arthur