The race for Broward County School Board District 6 has escalated into a legal battle after School Board member Adam Cervera filed a defamation lawsuit against political consultant Michael Worley, alleging false campaign messages and a political website wrongly accused him of using taxpayer funds to support a Democratic Party event.
The lawsuit, filed in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit Court, names Worley and the political committee he chairs, Making Democracy Work, as defendants. According to the complaint, the defendants knowingly published false statements designed to damage Cervera’s reputation and influence voters ahead of the 2026 election.
Cervera is seeking compensatory damages, attorney’s fees, court costs and injunctive relief requiring the removal of the disputed statements while preventing their republication.
Text Messages and Website at Center of Lawsuit
According to the complaint, thousands of Broward County voters received campaign text messages alleging Cervera used taxpayer dollars to fund an advertisement in a partisan Democratic publication.
The lawsuit also challenges statements published on the website AdamCervera.org, which alleges the Republican School Board member “used your tax dollars to support the Democratic Party.”
Cervera denies those allegations, maintaining he never used taxpayer funds to purchase political advertising and that the claims are false.
His attorneys argue the statements constitute defamation per se because they accuse a public official of misconduct in office.
As an elected official, Cervera must also prove “actual malice” to prevail in court, meaning the defendants either knew the statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for whether they were true.
Advertisement Remains Under State Review
The dispute stems from an advertisement promoting the Broward Democratic Party’s Obama Roosevelt Legacy Dinner, which featured several Broward School Board members alongside the district’s official logo despite School Board elections being nonpartisan.
Earlier this year, Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas confirmed that the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General opened a formal investigation after Broward School Board Chair Sarah Leonardi acknowledged a district purchasing card had been used to purchase her $150 ticket to the event without her authorization.
Cervera has maintained that his appearance in the advertisement resulted from an administrative error or internal miscommunication and that he neither authorized nor used taxpayer funds to pay for the advertisement.
Campaign Dispute Moves Into Court
The lawsuit also highlights Worley’s role in the District 6 campaign.
According to the complaint, Worley serves as campaign consultant to Jessie Bastos, one of four candidates challenging Cervera for the School Board seat. Cervera argues that relationship provided political motivation to publish the disputed statements during an active election campaign.
“Michael Worley isn’t just a bystander; he’s my political opponent’s political consultant and the person running the political committee supporting her campaign,” Cervera said in a statement.
“It raises serious questions about the kind of campaign she’s running and the people she’s surrounding herself with.”
Worley Rejects the Claims
Worley denied the allegations and defended the campaign materials.
He said Cervera’s image appeared in a partisan advertisement that multiple news organizations reported was connected to public expenditures and argued the political committee’s website relied on publicly reported information while displaying the advertisement itself.
Worley characterized the lawsuit as an attempt to avoid political accountability and said he expects the case to be dismissed.
Why It Matters
The lawsuit adds another layer of controversy to one of Broward County’s most closely watched School Board races while a separate state investigation into the Democratic Party gala remains ongoing.
Whether the case is resolved before voters cast their ballots remains uncertain. Regardless of the outcome, the litigation is likely to keep questions surrounding campaign conduct, political messaging and the use of public resources at the forefront of the District 6 election.
Related Coverage
- Florida Elections 2026: Candidates, Races, Ballot Measures & Election News
- Latest Broward County Politics
- Florida Education News
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Source: Based on court filings and reporting by Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics, with additional reporting, editing and analysis by The Florida Pundit.
