CIVICS SCORECARD

Home › Candidates › FL Senate — District 24 › Mackenson 'Mack' Bernard

DEM Survey: Responded

Mackenson 'Mack' Bernard

FL Senate — District 24
West Palm Beach area
Incumbent
★★★☆☆
109 / 165 points
Integrity & Legal Record
Professional & Business Transparency
Policy & Platform Consistency
Community Engagement & Character
Campaign Transparency
Issue-Based Positions

Incumbent (born 3/4/1976, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; moved to Florida in 1986; lives in Boynton Beach; lawyer and business executive; BA Political Science/Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 1997; JD, University of Florida, 2002; LL.M. Taxation, FSU, 2003; Florida House of Representatives, District 27, 2009–2012; Palm Beach County Commission, District 7, 2016–2024; elected to the Florida Senate in a June 2024 special election as the sole filed candidate to succeed Bobby Powell, took office 11/5/2024; running for re-election against Jackie Green)

Last updated: 2026-09-09

Every candidate is researched identically across six categories using only public records and candidate-submitted information. No candidate is endorsed. Read the full methodology.

Integrity & Legal Record 19 / 25

Criminal History

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Mack Bernard" arrested OR convicted OR indicted — 2026-08-14]`. No adverse findings.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches

Civil Court History

(Updated 2026-09-09 with operator-supplied primary reporting; see Sources.) As a Palm Beach County Commissioner, Bernard is an individually-named defendant in a civil lawsuit brought by Robling Architecture Construction, Inc., a losing bidder challenging the county's March 22, 2022 award (4-3 commission vote) of a multimillion-dollar fire-station-construction-oversight contract to Core Construction Services of Florida — despite the county's own purchasing agent finding Core had been improperly credited with a Palm Beach County business presence. As litigation progressed, Robling's legal team obtained internal Core Construction emails that expanded the case's scope: Robling alleges an aide to Commissioner Bernard pressured Core Construction into making a sizable financial contribution to the Hometown Housing Trust, a nonprofit that was actively campaigning for a $200 million affordable-housing bond referendum on the November 2022 ballot — a specific pay-to-play mechanism (contribution funneled to a third-party political cause rather than directly to Bernard) beyond the previously-documented $5,000 figure. Citing these emails, Robling's lawyers petitioned to add individual defendants; in May 2024, Circuit Court Judge Joseph Curley ruled Bernard could be individually sued over his specific role in routing the contract, while denying the same request as to former Commissioner Dave Kerner, who had also voted for Core. The judge's ruling was strictly procedural (who can be sued), not a ruling on the merits. Palm Beach County may be required to provide or pay for separate, independent legal counsel for Bernard, since his individual defense diverges from the Board of County Commissioners' general defense. As of the most recent available reporting, the case remains in pre-trial/discovery, with no ruling on the merits of the pay-to-play allegations. This is a PBC Circuit Civil matter (Case No. 50-2022-CA-005540-XXXX-MB) and would ordinarily be checkable via PBC Clerk of Courts eCaseView, but that tool has remained blocked by a persistent reCAPTCHA/bot-detection issue throughout this project; a direct docket check still has not been performed, though the Trellis Law case-docket aggregator (see Sources) independently corroborates the case's active status.

Sources:
  • Yahoo News / AOL — "County Commissioner Mack Bernard added as individual defendant in pay to play lawsuit" — 2026-08-14
  • AOL — "Lawsuit: Two county commissioners pressured builder into making political contribution" — 2026-08-14
  • AllSides — "Lawsuit: Two county commissioners pressured builder into making political contribution" (4/17/2024) — 2026-09-09, operator-supplied
  • Palm Beach Post — "Lawsuit: Two Palm Beach County commissioners pressured contractor" (4/17/2024) — 2026-09-09, operator-supplied
  • Palm Beach Post — "Mack Bernard added as defendant in Palm Beach County pay-to-play lawsuit: Robling/Core Construction" (5/14/2024) — 2026-09-09, operator-supplied
  • Trellis Law — case docket, Robling Architecture Construction Inc. v. County of Palm Beach FL, No. 50-2022-CA-005540-XXXX-MB — 2026-09-09, operator-supplied
  • Nationwide news search — re-checked 2026-08-15 — no update found beyond the individual-defendant ruling
🔴 PRIORITY — A specific, court-tested pay-to-play allegation (an aide pressuring a contractor into funding a nonprofit's bond-referendum campaign, in exchange for steering a multimillion-dollar public contract) survived a motion to dismiss Bernard as an individual defendant, and Palm Beach County may owe him separate legal counsel as a result — both significant integrity/cost-to-taxpayers signals. No final resolution on the merits has been found as of the most recent available reporting (through May 2024 coverage). Direct PBC Clerk of Courts docket confirmation is still recommended to check for any more recent filings beyond what secondary reporting has covered, but the case's active, individually-named-defendant status is now corroborated by primary Palm Beach Post reporting and an independent case-docket aggregator, not just wire-service syndication.

Ethics Violations

No formal ethics complaint distinct from the civil litigation above was found.

Sources:
  • Florida Commission on Ethics — https://ethics.state.fl.us/Complaints/Complaints.aspx — 2026-08-14 — no separate complaint found
None beyond the Civil Court History flag above.

Campaign Finance Violations

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Mack Bernard" campaign finance FEC violation Florida Elections Commission — 2026-08-14]`. No violation records found. The $5,000 Core Construction contribution described above is alleged as part of a pay-to-play scheme rather than documented as a reporting/disclosure violation per se; it is addressed under Civil Court History to avoid double-counting.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no separate violation records found
None beyond the Civil Court History flag above.

Residency Confirmed

Documented resident of Boynton Beach, FL (Palm Beach County, within SD-24), consistent with his County Commission and legislative service in the area.

Sources:
  • Wikipedia; Ballotpedia — 2026-08-14
  • 🔴 PRIORITY: Unresolved pay-to-play lawsuit (Robling Architecture Construction v. Palm Beach County, Case No. 50-2022-CA-005540-XXXX-MB, with Bernard individually named) alleging an aide pressured a contractor into funding a nonprofit's ($200M affordable-housing bond referendum) political campaign in exchange for steering a county construction contract. Updated 2026-09-09: operator-supplied Palm Beach Post/Trellis Law sourcing confirms Bernard remains an active individual defendant (Judge Curley's May 2024 ruling; a parallel request to individually add former Commissioner Dave Kerner was denied), that PBC may owe him separate counsel, and that no merits ruling has issued — case still in pre-trial/discovery. Direct PBC Clerk of Courts docket confirmation for any post-May-2024 developments remains recommended.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass despite his "Responded" survey status on the roster — recommend cross-referencing his actual survey answers in a follow-up pass.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be fully completed this pass — the CIVICS Disclosure Survey PDF answers have not yet been extracted/indexed per-candidate in general.

Professional & Business Transparency 15 / 25

Business Ownership

A direct Sunbiz Officer/Registered Agent search (completed 2026-08-27, after the original 2026-08-21 attempt was blocked) identifies at least 38 distinct Florida business entities under Mackenson Bernard's name — an unusually large and diversified portfolio for a sitting state senator. The most notable pattern is a heavy concentration in real estate, title insurance, and mortgage/settlement services (at least 12 entities), including Bernard Title Guaranty Agency, Inc. and TRS Mortgage Services, Inc. registered under his own name, alongside numerous real-estate investment LLCs (B.A. Investments, Excelsior Investments, Fides Investment Group, Nord Real Estate Investments Group, Bacayou Investments, Globe Realty, Century Development Holdings, Jumas Real Estate Investments, Atlantic Mortgage Corporation, Seacrest Title & Abstract, PGA Direct Financial Services, Excellent Investments Group, EPP Investments). Additional entities span legal services (The Legal Corner, Inc.; Chung DeCambre Stroman, P.A.), healthcare/home care (Americare Home Health LLC, South Florida Medical Enterprise Inc., ABC Homecare Agency Inc.), general commerce (Auto Parts Max Corporation, R&J Trucking Services Inc., Radio Renaissance LLC, J17 Entertainment Inc., Unis-Vers Cinema Production Inc.), and community/nonprofit work (Center for Education, Training, and Holistic Approaches, Inc. — consistent with his documented Haitian-American community-education leadership).

Sources:
  • Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz.org) — Officer/Registered Agent search, "Bernard, Mackenson" — direct database search, 2026-08-27
  • Wikipedia; Ballotpedia — biographical entries — 2026-08-21
🔴 PRIORITY — This is a genuine, primary-source-confirmed business portfolio, not merely an unverified allegation. Given the existing Category 1 PRIORITY pay-to-play allegation (soliciting a campaign contribution from a county contractor in exchange for steering a construction contract award), the concentration in real estate/title/mortgage/settlement services — an industry sector with direct regulatory and land-use touchpoints to county and state government — warrants closer scrutiny. This is presented factually: the scale and thematic concentration of the portfolio does not itself prove any wrongdoing, but it is a materially different picture than "no business identified," and it should inform how the Robling allegation is weighed.

Financial Conflicts of Interest

This category directly cross-references Category 1's PRIORITY finding: as a Palm Beach County Commissioner, Bernard is individually named in an active lawsuit (Robling Architecture Construction, Inc. v. Palm Beach County, with Bernard added as an individual defendant) alleging he solicited and obtained a $5,000 campaign contribution from Core Construction Services in exchange for steering a multimillion-dollar county fire-station-construction contract to that company. A Circuit Court judge ruled the suit against him individually may proceed. No update on the case's final resolution was found via a refreshed search this pass (CourtListener's coverage of Palm Beach County Circuit Civil matters is limited, and the case is not indexed there). This is, by definition, a direct financial-conflict-of-interest allegation — a campaign contribution allegedly exchanged for an official contract-award vote.

Sources:
  • See Category 1 § Civil Court History for full sourcing — 2026-08-14, re-checked 2026-08-15
  • CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — search "Robling" "Bernard" — 2026-08-21 — no relevant results (case not indexed)
🔴 PRIORITY — Cross-referenced from Category 1; this is the most serious pending finding in this candidate's file and should be weighted accordingly in this category as well as Category 1.

Bankruptcy History

`[NOT FOUND]`. No personal or business bankruptcy filings located.

Sources:
  • CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — search "Mack Bernard" "Palm Beach" bankruptcy — 2026-08-21 — 0 results

Tax Liens

`[NOT FOUND]`. No federal or state tax lien records located. Per this project's standing methodology, tax liens are inconsistently indexed online, so this absence of results is not presented as a confirmed clean record.

Sources:
  • CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — search "Mack Bernard" "Palm Beach" tax lien — 2026-08-21 — 0 results

Board Memberships

No independent nonprofit/corporate board membership (distinct from officer roles already captured under Business Ownership) was identified. Spouse Sunbiz check now RESOLVED (2026-08-27): a direct search for "Bernard, Shawn" identifies Shawntoyia N. Bernard (plausibly the formal name behind "Shawn Bernard" per Wikipedia) as a co-officer with Mackenson Bernard on Bacayou Investments, LLC (entity L06000004287 — the identical entity number appears under both spouses' Sunbiz records) and as the sole listed officer of a separate entity, Bernard Investments, LLC (L15000033786).

Sources:
  • Wikipedia — Mack Bernard, spouse Shawn Bernard — 2026-08-21
  • Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz.org) — Officer/Registered Agent search, "Bernard, Shawn" — direct database search, 2026-08-27
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG RESOLVED — the spouse Sunbiz check is complete; it confirms shared real-estate investment activity (Bacayou Investments LLC) between the candidate and his spouse, plus a spouse-only entity (Bernard Investments LLC), reinforcing the real-estate concentration already documented under Business Ownership.
  • 🔴 PRIORITY RESOLVED (2026-08-27): the Sunbiz block was overcome; a direct search now confirms 38+ business entities under his name with a heavy real-estate/title/mortgage/settlement-services concentration, including a title insurance agency and mortgage company under his own name. This is a materially different and more complete picture than the original "fully blocked" status; Business Ownership score revised from 3/5 to 2/5 accordingly.
  • 🔴 PRIORITY: Cross-referenced from Category 1 — the Robling Architecture Construction pay-to-play lawsuit remains unresolved with no update found. The newly-confirmed real-estate/title/mortgage business concentration is relevant context for weighing this allegation, though it does not itself constitute new evidence of wrongdoing.
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG RESOLVED (2026-08-27): Spouse (Shawntoyia "Shawn" Bernard) Sunbiz check completed — confirms a shared real-estate LLC (Bacayou Investments) and a spouse-only entity (Bernard Investments LLC).
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass despite his "Responded" survey status on the roster.

Policy & Platform Consistency 20 / 20

Voting Record

Bernard has an extensive, 15+ year public-office record: Florida House District 27 (2009–2012, President of the Palm Beach County Caucus of Black Elected Officials, legislative focus on job creation, women's healthcare/equality protections, and public education funding); Palm Beach County Commission District 7 (2016–2024, including terms as County Mayor and Vice Mayor, Chair/Vice Chair of the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County, Chair of the PBC Homeless Advisory Board); and Florida Senate SD-24 (since 11/2024), where he sits on the Agriculture, Criminal Justice, Finance and Tax, and Fiscal Policy Committees, and serves as Vice Chair of the Ethics and Elections Committee.

Sources:
  • Ballotpedia — "Mack Bernard" — 2026-08-21
  • LegiStorm — "Florida State Sen. Mack Bernard - Biography" — 2026-08-21

Position Consistency

Bernard's documented priorities (job creation, public education funding, healthcare/equality protections, solid-waste/homelessness administration) have been consistent across his House, County Commission, and Senate tenures. `[No documented reversal identified — searched: nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21]`.

Sources:
  • Ballotpedia — "Mack Bernard" — 2026-08-21

Flip-Flops

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Mack Bernard" flip-flop reversed changed position — 2026-08-21]`. No documented instance of Bernard reversing a stated position was identified.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no matches

Endorsements

Received: AFSCME Florida; Florida AFL-CIO; and, notably, Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) — a business-advocacy organization — reflecting a documented cross-ideological coalition (both organized labor and business-industry backing) for a Democratic incumbent. `[Endorsements given — NOT FOUND — 2026-08-21]`.

Sources:
  • AFSCME Florida — "2026 Midterm Endorsements" — 2026-08-21
  • Florida AFL-CIO — "Florida AFL-CIO Releases First Slate of Candidate Endorsements for Labor 2026" — 2026-08-21
  • AIF — "AIF Announces Endorsements for 2026 Legislative Races" — 2026-08-21
  • This category does not re-litigate the Category 1/Category 2 PRIORITY Robling Architecture Construction pay-to-play allegation, which remains this candidate's dominant unresolved issue.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass despite his "Responded" survey status.

Community Engagement & Character 16 / 25

Community Involvement

Bernard has a sustained, documented record of engagement with the Haitian-American community and civic leadership organizations predating and continuing through his current term: he received the 2022–2023 Leadership Award and a Community Champion Award from the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON), an Appreciation Award from the Haitian Evangelical Crusade Association, Inc., and is a member of Leadership Florida, a statewide civic-leadership organization. This is layered on top of his extensive elected-service record (FL House 2009–2012, PBC Commission 2016–2024, FL Senate since 2024).

Sources:
  • National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals (NAAHP) — "Mack Bernard" profile — 2026-08-24
  • Leadership Florida — "Mack Bernard" contact profile — 2026-08-24

Veteran / First Responder Service

`[NOT FOUND — no military or first-responder service background documented — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Mack Bernard" military veteran — 2026-08-24]`. No claim of personal service was found in his official or campaign materials.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no matches

Faith-Based Involvement (scored on character consistency)

A specific, documented faith-community connection: an Appreciation Award from the Haitian Evangelical Crusade Association, Inc. (already noted above). `[His specific personal congregation was not independently confirmed — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Mack Bernard" church faith — 2026-08-24]`. On character consistency: his sustained community-leadership recognition across multiple Haitian-American civic and faith-connected organizations is consistent with his documented public-service record; no contradictions identified.

Sources:
  • (cross-referenced from Community Involvement sources above) — 2026-08-24

Debates / Town Halls

`[No documented debate/town hall invitations or appearances for the 2026 general election against Green were found this pass — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Mack Bernard" SD-24 debate 2026 — 2026-08-24]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no matches
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — No debate coverage found; recommend a follow-up closer to November.

Social Media Presence & Consistency

Active official/campaign presence consistent with his role as a sitting state senator (LinkedIn, mackbernard.com). `[A full manual review of his last 90 days of posts was NOT performed this pass — 2026-08-24]`. No inflammatory personal-tone content was surfaced in general search.

Sources:
  • LinkedIn — "Mack Bernard - Florida Senator" — 2026-08-24
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — Full manual 90-day audit not performed; recommend direct platform review if full certainty is required.
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: No debate coverage or full social-media audit completed this pass; recommend follow-up closer to November.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass despite his "Responded" survey status.

Campaign Transparency 15 / 25

Top Donors / Donor Composition

Since June 2023, Bernard has raised more than $271,000 cumulatively for the SD-24 seat (per 2024 special-election-cycle reporting). `[Current 2026 re-election-cycle-specific totals and donor composition NOT FOUND — searched: Florida Division of Elections, OpenSecrets — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Florida Politics — "Mack Bernard stacks up $150K for Senate run" — 2026-08-26
None — data gap, not adverse.

PAC / LLC / Funneling Structures

`[NOT FOUND — searched: Florida Division of Elections, nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Advertising Spend

`[NOT FOUND — searched: Florida Division of Elections expenditure reports — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Grassroots Engagement

`[No documented door-knocking, phone-banking, or in-person voter-contact ground game located — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Mack Bernard" SD-24 campaign volunteer 2026 — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Donations to Political Figures

`[NOT FOUND — searched: Florida Division of Elections, nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
  • Current-cycle campaign-finance dollar figures were not locatable this session; recommend a follow-up Florida Division of Elections direct-record check.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass.

Issue-Based Positions 24 / 40

2A Rights Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: NRA, GOA, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Pro-Life / Pro-Family Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: SBA Pro-Life America, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Fiscal Conservatism Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: AFP, Club for Growth, CATO, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Parental Rights Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: Moms for Liberty, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Election Integrity Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: campaign website, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Housing / Insurance Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: campaign website, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Education / School Choice Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: Parents Defending Education, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Environment / Everglades Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: campaign website, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
  • All eight metrics scored neutral (3) per the No Stated Position protocol; no detailed national-issues platform was located for this legislator, consistent with a low public campaign-communications profile relative to his tenure.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.

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