Follow The Money
At Truth and Accuracy Matter, we recently uncovered key information regarding our Town’s 2025 Commissioner races. There were a lot of unanswered questions associated with Bruce Larson’s campaign expenditures that we were anxious to verify. However, final campaign reports were not due until the first week of February. All candidates’ campaign reports are now available through a public records request, aka: FOIA.
Bruce Larson, who suffered a substantial defeat, self-funded the majority of his campaign at a total of $11,200—almost three times the amount of the two victorious candidates. Terry Cronin and Sherri Quarrie, both successful in their bids, raised campaign funds through local contributions totaling $4,866 and $4,478 respectively. This disparity illustrates that large financial backing does not guarantee success in local elections. Genuine community support is what truly matters. Steve Walters, the other losing candidate, also lacked community support and vastly self-funded his campaign at $4,990.
Contrary to the accusations made by Kenneth Lebrato and a few other misinformed neighbors on Nextdoor, Truth and Accuracy Matter did not fund the campaigns of Cronin and Quarrie beyond a single contribution of $1,000 to the Sherri Quarrie campaign. Ironically, her final campaign treasurer report indicates that $1,015.63 was ultimately donated back to the community (MBVFD $500, Second Harvest Food Bank $319.25 and Toys for Tots $196.38).
These final campaign reports often reveal hidden truths that are kept from constituents until after Election Day is over. Throughout his campaign, Mr. Larson consistently claimed he did not hire or involve the influential Tallahassee political consulting firm, Front Line Agency Inc., yet his final campaign reports disclosed payments exceeding $8,000 made directly to them. Learn more about Front Line Agency by clicking here: www.thefrontlineagency.com.
On October 30th, Truth and Accuracy Matter exposed the connection to the high-priced political consulting firm and Bruce Larson. Click here to see the article: Hoodwinked X2. The question remains, WHY would Bruce Larson spend such substantial sums of money for a small-town race? Our town deserves clear answers. What was his real agenda?
Let’s keep in mind that over the past two years, Larson also attempted to secure an appointment to our Town Commission on two separate occasions— without success. This time around he attempted to secure a seat by spending over $11k in his campaign for Commissioner. What, or Who drives him? Is it genuine service to our community or personal ambition?
Currently, Bruce Larson is the chairperson for the newly formed Technical Advisory Board (TAB). This Board was literally formed at his persistence in the summer of 2025 . Not many of us understand the true purpose of this Advisory Board. At the last five Town Commission meetings, Larson has presented pages upon pages of overview with lengthy and often disjointed remarks regarding cybersecurity. Mr. Larson’s comments—sometimes lasting up to 48 minutes— reference ambiguous findings from his committee. He has repeatedly asserted that the Town is out of compliance with cybersecurity measures despite reassurances from former Town Manager Elizabeth Mascaro and interim Town Manager Lisa Frazier that those claims are unfounded.
What is Mr. Larson's endgame with these persistent demands?
Truth and Accuracy Matter has now discovered that repeated requests were made from TAB for confidential information from Town staff related to these issues. In an email on January 30, 2026, Town Attorney Ryan Knight advised against their requests stating, “The information the Technical Advisory Board is requesting should not be disseminated to an advisory board due to the confidential nature of the information requested. If the TAB has concerns about the Town’s compliance with Cybersecurity laws, then the Commission can authorize a representative from Computer Experts to explain that the Town is in compliance with Cybersecurity laws.” (Computer Experts is the Town’s contracted vendor for computer services.)
On February 2, 2026, Interim Manager, Lisa Frazier, addressed Mr. Larson directly in an email stating, “The TAB request would expose the Town to Cybersecurity risk.” All Town Commission members were copied on the email, including the mayor.
This leads us into considering the similarities between Mayor Dennington and Bruce Larson. Both have largely self-funded their races without contributions from residents — with Dennington spending around $12,000 on her campaign in 2023. Both make unreasonable demands of Town staff. Both are self-serving, appearing to be tenacious — masked under an illusion of trust and concern. Both are very long-winded with no real solutions. Many residents in town now recognize these similarities in both their personalities and their ambition, as well as their connection to Tallahassee.
The key to our future as a viable, well-functioning community will be to break that cycle. We have seen the visible dysfunction with our current mayor—including painfully long meetings, lawsuits against the very municipality she leads, delays to important projects like the Basin One repairs—as well as the numerous documented instances of harassment toward staff members and even some residents. The last thing we need is a similar mayor when her tenure ends this November.
As we approach the upcoming election season for selecting a new mayor, it is imperative that we seek potential candidates who will prioritize community service over personal gain or hidden agendas. We cannot afford another mayor like Dennington!
Despite the challenges posed by our current mayor, many of us feel optimistic about our future. Newly elected commissioners— Terry Cronin and Sherri Quarrie—along with Anna Butler, are progressing toward getting things done to improve our quality of life in the Town of Melbourne Beach. We are thankful for their leadership. Together, we must stand in unity for the good of all. Let’s find a leader with common sense and a vision for a bright future to be our next mayor — to preserve our little slice of paradise! We do not need or want any outside influence from Tallahassee.
For News and Updates from Truth and Accuracy Matter, CLICK HERE.