Former Manatee official files lawsuits after 2024 election defeat. Does he have a case?

A former Manatee County commissioner is suing the creators of a political cartoon and other critics after losing his reelection bid in August.

In a recently filed lawsuit, former District 3 Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge accuses former Manatee County Commissioner Betsy Benac and political action committee Take Back Manatee of defaming him in mailers sent out during the 2024 election season.

In a separate lawsuit, Van Ostenbridge accuses Hawke Cates, an alleged resident of Manatee County, and other unknown “Doe Defendants” of publishing and promoting political satire videos that he claims unlawfully used his name and likeness to make the creators a profit. The lawsuit also accuses the Bradenton Times, a local news outlet, of “conspiracy” with Cates and the unknown video creators to promote the cartoons. Van Ostenbridge’s political consultant, Anthony Pedicini, is also a plaintiff in the suit.

But according to an open government advocate and intellectual property rights lawyers, Van Ostenbridge faces an uphill battle in proving that his rights were violated as a public official.

The First Amendment has well-established legal precedent for protecting political satire and commentary, even if the satire is used to make a commercial profit.

“If you’re an elected official, or even appointed, you’re a public official,” said Michael Barfield, Sarasota-based paralegal and director of public access for the Florida Center for Government Accountability. “He’s got a very, very high standard he’s got to prove that knowingly false information was published about him.”

The animated videos feature a fictional blue puppet with a crude sense of humor named Kevin-Kyle Kaczynski Von Oswold, also known as “the real KVO.” The videos mocked commissioners and criticized the board’s decisions on various issues. Cartoon versions of all seven county commissioners, including Van Ostenbridge, appeared throughout the series, which released sporadically on YouTube and social media during the election season.

“The videos maintain a consistent theme, painting Mr. Van Ostenbridge and Mr. Pedicini as corrupt public figures, and insinuating that they and others engaged in obscene sexual acts,” the lawsuit says.

Reached for comment, Van Ostenbridge declined to comment on the lawsuits.

Van Ostenbridge sues after primary election defeat

Van Ostenbridge was elected to the District 3 seat on the Board of County Commissioners in 2020. He served as chairman for much of his term in office.

As 2024’s election season progressed, Van Ostenbridge made a surprise move in his reelection campaign, switching from the District 3 race to the District 7 race in an effort to oust political rival and fellow Republican George Kruse.

But the tactic was unsuccessful, and voters reelected Kruse with a nearly 7,000-vote margin in the August primary election.

Now Van Ostenbridge is seeking financial damages against some of his most outspoken critics during the election.

Lawsuit targets creator of satire videos and local news outlet

At the root of the lawsuit over the satirical videos is a claim that the creators used the name and likeness of Van Ostenbridge and Pedicini to make a profit.

The lawsuit alleges that the creators used the videos to promote and sell merchandise from an online store advertised on TheRealKVO.com. The lawsuit claims that payments on the store were linked to a PayPal account owned by Cates.

At time of publication, the online store is no longer linked on TheRealKVO.com. An archived version of the store from May 2024 shows three $30 T-shirts for sale branded with TheRealKVO.com. Though no longer linked on the website, the shop is still active with the same items for sale. Two of the shirts feature the blue puppet character, but none of them feature a likeness of Van Ostenbridge.

The Bradenton Herald was unable to identify or contact a person by the name of Hawke Cates in Manatee County. A summons filed in Manatee County court gives a Clearwater address for Cates.

The lawsuit seeks over $50,000 in damages from Cates and the other defendants for the loss of “royalties or equivalent compensation for social media uses of name and likeness” and “diminishment in value” of Van Ostenbridge’s and Pedicini’s “efforts in public service” and “personal business ventures.”

Bradenton Times owner responds to lawsuit claims

The defendants include The Bradenton Times, which the lawsuit claims was “enlisted” by Cates and the Doe Defendants to promote the videos.

While The Bradenton Times sometimes posted articles about the satire show, the outlet’s publisher said claims that they were working together are untrue.

“The complaint has no merit,” said Joe McClash, former Manatee County Commissioner and publisher of The Bradenton Times. “We have never known the identity of the person that did the videos, just like other people. We researched and couldn’t find out who it was. We felt it was newsworthy to publish it since it was relevant to the community and the election.”

“There’s statute that provides exemptions for what we do as a news organization,” McClash added.

McClash said he believes Van Ostenbridge would have lost the election with or without “the blue puppet.”

“The video itself provided certainly reinforcement as to why he’s not been elected, but I don’t believe it was a deciding factor,” McClash said.

Second lawsuit aims at Manatee County political group

Van Ostenbridge’s other lawsuit focuses on a political mailer sent to Manatee County residents in August that he claims “made multiple false statements of fact” about his first term in office.

The mailer listed “8 things Kevin Van Ostenbridge doesn’t want you to know,” according to a photo filed in court records. The points on the mailer included claims that the county’s budget and debt had doubled under Van Ostenbridge’s watch, as well as that he “tried to stop a veteran housing project,” “silenced public comment,” “weaponized government agencies,” “destroyed wetlands” and “championed corrupt staff.”

The lawsuit seeks over $50,000 in damages and a retraction of the statements in the mailer.

But Benac, the former Manatee County commissioner who started the Take Back Manatee PAC, stands by the statements in the mailer.

“I think it’s shameful that a former commissioner wants to stop free speech,” Benac said.

“I don’t understand the basis for his lawsuit,” Benac added. “The items that were cited were factual actions by the Board of County Commissioners during the time period during which he was commissioner.”

Van Ostenbridge’s lawsuit isn’t the first legal action over political mailers in Manatee County this election cycle.

In July, Van Ostenbridge’s political consultant Pedicini received a cease and desist on behalf of District 3 commission candidate Tal Siddique over mailers that included false information.

Pedicini’s political consulting firm Strategic Image Management (SIMWINS), which was used by Van Ostenbridge in both of his election efforts, has built a reputation for its controversial attack ads.

In the 2024 election cycle, they included a mailer that claimed Van Ostenbridge’s opponent, George Kruse, was “Manatee County’s most liberal politician” and a “fake Republican.”

“He had no problem saying all kinds of things that were very questionable,” Benac said of Van Ostenbridge’s campaign.

Do former commissioner’s lawsuits have merit?

Barfield said he would not be surprised if both lawsuits are dismissed.

“There’s a thing called the First Amendment. I see no merit to either of those cases,” Barfield said. “(Van Ostenbridge) was a public figure at the time and arguably still is.”

Legal experts agree that the use of a public official’s likeness for political commentary is typically protected by First Amendment rights. That can include making and selling merchandise like T-shirts, as long as the products don’t claim endorsement from the official or violate trademarks.

“Selling T-shirts is a commercial activity, which may be viewed differently than purely political or artistic expression,” wrote Bao Tran, a California-based intellectual property lawyer on legal website Justia’s “Ask a Lawyer” forum. “However, courts have often protected the sale of politically-themed merchandise under free speech principles.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 5:50 AM.