Legal

Privacy Policy

Plain language, because you should be able to tell what happens to your information without a law degree.

Last updated 8 September 2026

This policy explains what John Bruce for Melbourne City Council, District 4 (“the campaign,” “we”) does with information collected through votejohnbruce.com and through our text message program. If anything here is unclear, email hello@johnbruce.me and I will answer you myself.

  1. What we collect
  2. Cookies and analytics
  3. How we use it
  4. Text messages
  5. Who sees your information
  6. Public records
  7. How long we keep it
  8. Security
  9. Children
  10. Your choices
  11. Other websites
  12. Changes
  13. Contact

1. What we collect

Information you give us

The volunteer form on this site asks for your name and email address, and optionally your phone number, ZIP code, how you would like to help, and a message. Only the name and email are required. You choose everything else.

We also keep whatever you send us directly, such as an email, a text reply, a voicemail, or a note handed over at a door or an event.

Information collected automatically

Like most websites, this one records basic technical details when you visit: which pages you looked at, roughly where you are based on your IP address, what browser and device you used, and which site sent you here. This comes from Google Analytics and is reported to us in aggregate. We do not use it to identify individual visitors.

The typefaces on this site are served by Google Fonts, which means Google receives your IP address when a page loads.

What we do not collect

This site does not ask for or store payment card numbers, bank details, Social Security numbers, or date of birth. There is no login and no user account. Donations are handled on ActBlue’s site rather than this one, so your card details are entered there and never touch votejohnbruce.com.

2. Cookies and analytics

Google Analytics sets cookies in your browser to tell repeat visits apart from new ones and to measure which pages people actually read. That is the only tracking on this site. There are no advertising pixels, no retargeting tags, and no data brokers.

You can block or delete these cookies in your browser settings at any time, or install Google’s official opt-out browser add-on. Nothing on this site stops working if you do.

3. How we use it

  • To reply to you when you get in touch.
  • To coordinate volunteering, schedule a yard sign delivery, or follow up on something you flagged in your neighborhood.
  • To send campaign updates by email or text, if you asked for them.
  • To understand which parts of the platform people are reading, so the campaign talks about what matters to Melbourne.
  • To meet obligations under Florida election law.

We do not use your information to build advertising profiles, and we do not run automated decision-making of any kind.

4. Text messages

If you opt in to John Bruce Campaign Alerts, we use your phone number to send campaign-related text messages (SMS/MMS). Full program terms are on our Terms of Service page. In short:

  • You only receive texts if you affirmatively opt in, by ticking the box on the volunteer form or by texting us first.
  • Message frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply.
  • Reply STOP at any time to stop receiving messages. Reply HELP for help.
  • Consent to receive texts is never a condition of volunteering, contributing, or getting help from this campaign.
  • Your phone number will never be sold, rented, or shared for anyone else’s marketing. It is not shared with other campaigns, committees, or vendors for their own use.

We keep a record of when and how you opted in, and of any opt-out, because federal rules require us to be able to show that consent existed.

5. Who sees your information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your information. Ever.

A small number of service providers necessarily handle it in order for the site to work:

  • DreamHost hosts this website and the mailbox that volunteer form submissions are delivered to.
  • Google Analytics and Google Fonts receive the technical visit data described above.
  • A text message provider delivers messages if you opted in to texts. They send on our instructions and may not use your number for anything else.
  • ActBlue processes online donations. The Donate button hands you off to ActBlue’s own site, where you enter your payment details and where they stay, under ActBlue’s privacy policy. What comes back to the campaign is the contributor information Florida law requires us to report — your name, address, occupation, employer, and the amount — never your card number.

We may also disclose information where the law requires it, such as a valid subpoena or court order, or where it is necessary to protect someone’s safety.

6. Public records

This one deserves its own heading, because people are often surprised by it.

Florida law requires campaigns to report contributions, and those reports name the contributor and are public. If you give money to this campaign, your name and the other details required by law become a public record that anyone can look up. That is true of every campaign in Florida, not just this one, and it is outside our control.

Volunteering, subscribing to updates, or simply reading this website does not create a public record.

7. How long we keep it

  • Volunteer and contact details: through the current election cycle and for a reasonable wind-down period afterward, unless you ask us to delete them sooner.
  • Text message consent and opt-out records: at least four years, as federal rules require.
  • Records that Florida election law requires us to keep: for as long as that law specifies.
  • Google Analytics data: on Google’s own retention schedule, in aggregate form.

8. Security

The site is served over HTTPS, form submissions are delivered to a password-protected mailbox, and the backup file of volunteer signups is stored outside the public web directory so it cannot be downloaded from the internet. Access is limited to the candidate and any staff or volunteers who genuinely need it.

No system is perfectly secure, and we will not pretend otherwise. If we ever learn of a breach affecting your information, we will tell affected people promptly.

9. Children

This site is meant for adults interested in a municipal election and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect their information. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, email hello@johnbruce.me and we will delete it.

Nothing here stops a 16 or 17 year old from volunteering. We welcome it.

10. Your choices

  • See what we have. Email us and we will tell you what information the campaign holds about you.
  • Correct it. Tell us what is wrong and we will fix it.
  • Delete it. Ask and we will remove you, except for records we are legally required to retain.
  • Stop emails. Reply to any campaign email and say so.
  • Stop texts. Reply STOP to any campaign text.
  • Turn off analytics. Use your browser’s cookie controls or Google’s opt-out add-on.

There is no form to fill in and no waiting period. Email hello@johnbruce.me or call 772-913-4080.

11. Other websites

This site links to places we do not control, including ActBlue, the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections, and social media pages. Once you follow a link, that site’s own privacy policy applies. We are not responsible for how they handle your information.

12. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted here with a new date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use information you already gave us, we will make a reasonable effort to tell you directly.

13. Contact

John Bruce for Melbourne City Council, District 4
Melbourne, Florida
Email: hello@johnbruce.me
Phone: 772-913-4080

See also our Terms of Service.