Campaign Staffer Sends Profane Email

A profane e-mail nearly cost a campaign staffer his job.

Heather Beaven is running for the District 7 congressional seat currently held by John Mica.

Four of the six counties in District 7 have unemployment rates higher than Florida's 11.8%. That includes Flagler County which at 16.9% has the highest unemployment rate in the state.

The subject line of a campaign e-mail that was sent Tuesday and electronically signed by Beaven reads "We're #1. WTF?" (WTF stands for What The F***) The body of the email included another poor choice of words by the campaign staffer. "Unfortunately, Flagler County has the highest unemployment rate of any county in Florida. This begs the question: what the hell is Mica up to in Washington?"

A few hours later, Beaven's camp e-mailed an apology saying "an impassioned staffer reacted too quickly to the horrific unemployment situation in Florida."

Beaven said the campaign staffer submitted his resignation, but she chose not to accept it saying "I believe in him."

"I speak for everyone on this campaign when I ask that you find forgiveness for our offensive subject line. We will make every effort to display our frustration in more appropriate ways. Our team has learned a lesson today and I hope that you can forgive our passion and stand by us despite our mistake."

Copy of apology letter
Dear Friends & Supporters:

Please accept this as my sincerest apology for the email subject line that hit your inbox earlier today.

I am surrounded by people who share my love for this district, this state and this country. Together, we are working 24/7 to turn this district around. So when the newest unemployment numbers came out for this district, it angered us. What you saw in your subject line was a reflection of an impassioned staffer who reacted too quickly to the horrific unemployment situation in Florida. That was clearly a mistake that should have never happened.

He has subsequently submitted his resignation to me because he believes in this campaign.

I have chosen not to accept his resignation because I believe in him.

This is my campaign and I should have personally asked what the subject line for the weekly email was going to be. I did not and I accept full responsible for offending you.

I speak for everyone on this campaign when I ask that you find forgiveness for our offensive subject line. We will make every effort to display our frustration in more appropriate ways. Our team has learned a lesson today and I hope that you can forgive our passion and stand by us despite our mistake.

Sincerely,
Heather Beaven