A circuit judge has ruled Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner didn't defame former county commissioner Brian Blair during the 2008 county commission race.
"Beckner did not act recklessly by relying on statements from media sources," Circuit Court Judge Bernard Silver stated in his ruling Wednesday. "No evidence has been presented to show that Beckner made the statements at issue with knowledge of their falsity or recklessly disregarded the truth."
Blair had filed a lawsuit in March 2009 claiming Beckner had damaged his reputation during their 2008 contentious campaign for county commissioner.
Beckner made statements on campaign literature attacking Blair.
Some statements included that Blair opposed a pay freeze, wanted to cut money "to shelters that help women and children" and voted in support of spending tax money to "clean up the lake behind his house."
Beckner provided newspaper and county commission transcripts as his sources, according to the court ruling.
"Beckner made the statements against his political rival during a campaign to advance himself in the eyes of the public," Silver wrote. "The freedom of exchange of ideas on divisive political issues is the cornerstone of our democracy, and constitutes speech that is guaranteed by the First Amendment."
Beckner said he was pleased with the ruling.
"I think it's a great ruling for the people and democracy," Beckner said. "It's exactly what I anticipated.
"Everything we stated was about Mr. Blair's service record. We expected the courts to recognize freedom of speech and this was an election," Beckner said.
Blair didn't return a call for comment. He is a candidate for the state's District 47 House race. The district includes Carrollwood, Northdale and the northwest corner of Hillsborough County.
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