Sheriff accused of pressuring candidate to drop race

Titusville, Florida (AP) — Third The candidate's office has revealed that a sheriff on Florida's Space Coast offered help to get a job in exchange for leaving the constituency to support the candidate he favored.

Brevard County Assistant State Attorney Kimberly Musselman was voted down and upheld by Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey to run for county judge, according to Florida Today. He said he was asked to endorse the candidate. he. In exchange, the sheriff said he could use his influence to help her become the district's chief prosecutor, she said. Musselman later told Florida Today that Ivey urged some of her biggest donors to stop helping.

"My donors were gone very quickly," said Musselmann.

"We have no comment at this time," Brevard County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Todd Goodyear said in an email to an inquiry Wednesday.

Two of his other candidates for office have made similar allegations against Florida Today.

Cocoa Beach police officer Chris Hattaway said that the Republican sheriff had told him to sue him for another candidate in the county commission race, former state legislator Tom Goodson. He said he asked him to resign. Former school resource officer Sean Overdorf told a similar story about his race for the school board. Florida Today reported.

In an interview with Florida Today, Mr. Goodson denied any involvement in efforts to pressure candidates to keep them out of the election, and said that Ivy would not hire anyone. said he had never spoken to him.

Ivey has gained national attention in recent years with its weekly "Wheel of Fugitive" video featuring a sheriff spinning a wheel with pictures of the county's 10 most wanted .

"Everybody's watching. Even fugitives are watching it," said Mr. Ivey, who was elected sheriff in 2012, to see who would be "Fugitive of the Week." .