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A top aide to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is upsetting some of his Tallahassee neighbors with his sidewalk campaign against Amendment 4 – the proposed constitutional amendment to invalidate the state’s current six-week abortion ban.
Anastasios Kamoutsas, a deputy chief of staff for DeSantis, lives in the Killearn Estates neighborhood, which is famed for a homeowner’s association that strictly enforces its covenants and restrictions, especially a prohibition on political signs.
This week, DeSantis stepped up his campaign against Amendment 4 with a campaign-style rally in Miami-Dade County with doctors opposed to the initiative and ended with a prayer from the archbishop of Miami and the lieutenant governor asking people not to vote like atheists.
At about the same time, six “Vote No on 4” signs sprouted along the sidewalk in front of Kamoutsas’ home, according to neighbors.
That number of signs tripled over what provoked a letter of violation from the Killearn Estates Homeowners Association in August. On Wednesday, they could be seen by drivers, joggers, and walkers as they passed by Kamoutsas’ residence.
Kamoutsas is a seasoned government lawyer whose portfolio includes law enforcement, corrections, and gaming enforcement, according to the last available organizational chart for the Executive Office of the Governor. He found a way to game the homeowners’ rules for his neighborhood, neighbors told the USA TODAY Network – Florida.
Here’s how: Florida law forbids homeowner associations from levying a sanction if the homeowner corrects the violation before the meeting in which the sanction will be imposed.
Email exchanges shared with a reporter show that the Killearn Homes Association was prepared in September to impose several hundreds of dollars in fines for violating the restriction on political signage, but Kamoutsas exploited a loophole to escape the penalty.
He removed the signs before the KHA September meeting and escaped the financial penalty. The next day the signs reappeared, according to neighbors. They represented a new violation, which requires a board meeting to impose a fine or other sanction.
This week, with the election less than two weeks away, four more signs were added, according to Stephen Krieder, a Killearn Estates resident.
“It just stinks,” said one resident in a spirited Facebook discussion about Kamoutsas’ maneuvers. “He thinks he’s above the rules,” commented another. Kamoutsas was not home when a reporter visited the home Wednesday; a request for comment has been sent to the governor’s office and is pending.
“It sucks that one person feels they can violate the rules while the rest of us don’t push the boundaries and actually take fines and restrictions and that kind of stuff more seriously,” said Stephen Krieder, one neighbor who agreed to speak with a reporter.
Krieder said he’s “no HOA-type-person” and he supports the First Amendment but he also likes living in a sign-free neighborhood.
“I find it really refreshing to … not have to see (signs) in your own neighborhood. I don’t think that’s stifling people’s free speech at all,” Krieder said.
The homeowner’s association next meeting is Nov. 5 – also Election Day – at which time it could decide whether to address Kamoutsas’ latest signs.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.