Florida’s youngest mayor has been accused of assaulting one of his rival supporters with a campaign sign — an allegation he is dismissing as “totally unfounded political” mud-slinging.
Edgewater mayor Diezel Depew, 22, allegedly clipped a woman with the sign outside a New Smyrna Beach polling site late Friday – moments before early voting for the mayoral primary kicked off, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
It’s just the latest controversy for Depew, who was just 18 when he was elected mayor in 2022 on the slogan that “Edgewater runs on Diezel.” He has previously been accused of underage drinking and using the N-word while rapping along to songs.
The latest incident came as veteran Donna McDavid — who has ALS — and another man were not happy the nonpartisan mayor was at the public library because it is being used as an early voting site. The mayor then called cops when one of his signs was moved.
Depew put the sign in another spot – right near McDavid — and she has claimed it struck the tip of her nose and her chest, Fox35 reported.
“He chose to put it against me,” McDavid, who is supporting Depew’s rival Wayne McCloskey’s campaign, told the Daytona Beach News Journal.
“He knows me personally. … He was pushing that sign into me.”
The responding cop couldn’t confirm if the woman was struck — even though she claimed she was “battered” by the sign, according to a New Smyrna Beach police report seen by WKMG.
McDavid submitted a battery report, but no charges have been filed. Depew has not been arrested and he described the complaint as a “false police report.”
“This did not occur,” Depew, who campaigned on a platform to “Make Edgewater Great Again” ahead of his first term, told Fox35.
“She moved toward me. I’ve never been accused of being aggressive in my life. This is just a baseless character attack.”
“This is a totally unfounded political attack,” he told WESH.
Depew, whose interest in politics developed when he was a teen, is running for re-election on a tagline that “Edgewater runs on Diezel” and he’s vowing to reduce utility costs for the city’s 24,000 residents.
He became the youngest-ever elected official in Florida history following his November 2022 victory at age 18.
But he came under criticism less than two years into his term amid videos that appeared to show him drinking at a bar underage, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
Video also appeared to show him rap the lyrics to the Hydracoque & Nigpro track “N—as in My Butthole.”
“I need alcohol,” he reportedly cried out in the video.
It’s not the first time he has been involved in sign-related disputes.
Depew’s opponent in the 2022 mayoral race, Mike Ignasiak – the formerl mayor – was charged with petit theft after allegedly stealing the ex-student’s signs.
The case was dropped in February 2023 following a prosecution agreement, WKMG reported
Ignasiak paid $20 to Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida, $50 to the state attorney’s office, and $50 to Edgewater police.
He was given the option of completing 25 hours of community service or donate $250 to charity.
