John Willoughby
reporter2@greenepublishing.com
A dossier of information regarding Madison Mayor Rayne Cooks' residency has been sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) by an advocacy group, Save Southern Heritage Florida (SSH FL), who is asking the state agency to launch an official investigation.
On Tuesday, July 14, the Madison City Commissioners met in regular session where they voted 3-2 to remove the Confederate monument from Four Freedoms Park. Mayor Cooks was one of the approving votes, and a spokesperson for SSH FL says that if she does not live within the City of Madison, her vote was not legal.
Announced on Wednesday, Sept. 2, the request alleges 10 violations of state law, and local city and county ordinances, all relating to Mayor Cooks' address and the question as to whether she lives in the City of Madison as her current position on the Madison City Commission requires, or outside of the city limits.
The call for investigation from SSH FL alleges that Cooks resides along NE Gooseberry Avenue, in Lee. The said address and numerics for Cooks provided was reported to be located between two specific vacant parcels along NE Gooseberry Avenue, of which were successfully located by Greene Publishing, Inc. via the Madison County Property Appraiser's website. A parcel sits between the specifically-listed vacant parcels with "no data found," meaning no information regarding the address or numerics, nor the owner, was found. A representative from the Madison County Property Appraisers office informed Greene Publishing, Inc. that a confidential form had been filed for that parcel.
"Documentation provided to the FDLE suggests that Ms. Cooks has a history of making false statements to the State of Florida for the purpose of shielding her true residential address from the public," said SSH FL spokesman David McCallister. "This is of concern to us because we assert that Ms. Cooks has no authority to serve as an elected member of the Commission of the City of Madison. If she does not, she was not legally able to cast the deciding vote to take down the historic Madison soldier's memorial in the City's historic district."
SSH FL listed numerous suspected law violations, which include the following:
A suspected violation of FS 119.017 (3 counts) – suspected false eligiblity for protected address to Madison County Property Appraiser; suspect is a private funeral home operator – not an eligible category
A suspected violation of FS 97.051 – suspected false voter's registration application. Address provided is a commercial business, not a residence.
A suspected violation of FS 322.08(2)(a) – suspected false driver's license application and residence documentation. Suspect provided commercial business address and documentation, not an actual residential address.
A suspected violation of FS 322.19(2) – suspected failure to change driver's license address. Suspect has resided at residential address and has not "made the change" within 30 days.
A suspected violation of City of Madison Code Section 11 – suspected false residency requirements of city commission members.
A suspected violation of FS 99.021 – suspected of false statement on candidate oath provided to Madison County Supervisor of Elections and/or Madison City Clerk. Address provided is a commercial business, not a residence.
A suspected violation of Madison County Ordinance No. 89 V(c) – suspected violation of street number display ordinance. No street number is displayed.
A suspected violation of Madison County Ordinance No. 89 IV(I)(2) – suspected violation of long road/private drive street number display ordinance. No street number displayed on long/private drive.
As required by the City of Madison, stated in Section 11 of Madison's Code of Ordinances, members of the commission shall be residents of the city and have the qualifications of electors therein. One document forwarded to FDLE was a candidate oath for non-partisan office, which lists 162 SW Third Ave., in Madison, as her address, which is Cooks & Cooper Funeral Home.
Other official documents that list the same Cooks & Cooper Funeral Home address as her current address comes from a Florida Highway Patrol 2018 crash report, which listed Rayne Cooks' address, the owner of the vehicle involved, as 162 SW Third Ave., in Madison.
Greene Publishing, Inc. made contact with the FDLE to inquire as to whether or not an investigation has been launched since their possible receipt of the information provided by SSH FL. As of press time, FDLE has not confirmed.
SSH FL said in a press release, detailing the summary of information submitted to the FDLE, that Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to attack government corruption during his administration, adding that several elected officials have been removed from office.
Recently, Sweetwater, Fla., Commissioner Sophia Lacayo resigned and pled guilty to one count of perjury after falsely saying she lived in the city during her election campaign. The release continued to report that Lacayo had sworn she lived at an address on SW Seventh Street, near 18th Avenue, in Sweetwater, Miami, Fla., when in fact she lived at a different address in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
Mayor Cooks has been serving as a Madison City Commissioner since March of 2012.