Campaign funding: Where did it all go?
SPENDING RECAP
Posted: September 3, 2016 - 9:32pm | Updated: September 4, 2016 - 6:42am
By JAKE MARTIN
jake.martin@staugustine.com
Money may not buy an election but it does have a way, throughout the life of campaigns big and small, of getting spent. By the time candidates learn whether their time and effort have paid off, many of those who helped their campaigns cross the finish line have already cashed in their checks.
According to campaign financing documents on the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections website, hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised and spent for five county offices up for grabs in Tuesday’s primary election.
In each of those races, the candidate boasting the larger war chest received considerable support from Jacksonville-based developers, investment firms, attorneys and lobbyists, whereas their opponents received little to no support.
Almost as telling as where the money comes from in the first place is where it goes. While consultants in Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Tampa reeled in the big payouts, several local businesses fared quite well, too, particularly through the proliferation of campaign gear.
Candidates making it onto the ballot for clerk of the circuit court and comptroller, sheriff, and three county commission seats spent anywhere from $8,227.38 to $208,200.10 — with mixed results.
SPENDING RECAP
In the race for clerk of the circuit court and comptroller, incumbent Hunter Conrad raised $100,944.96 and spent $98,633.46 in a winning effort against fellow Republican George Lareau, who raised $42,170 and spent $41,158.21.
Conrad, a Gov. Rick Scott appointee now poised to serve his first full term, spent the bulk of his money on consulting. Majority Strategies, a Jacksonville-based limited liability company that worked on Scott’s campaign as well as presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney, John McCain and George W. Bush, received more than $36,000 from Conrad.
Slover Consulting, a Jacksonville-based LLC marketing itself as a full-service advertising agency on its website, received $25,500. Momentum Strategy Group, a Tampa-based LLC that worked on a successful re-election campaign for St. Johns County Commissioner Jay Morris of District 4, received about $6,600. According to its website, Momentum Strategy Group was founded by Jacksonville native Brock Mikosky in 2010.
St. Augustine-based David Dobbs Enterprises Inc. received more than $5,700 for a variety of campaign paraphernalia. The St. Augustine Record received $830 for advertising.
Lareau, a former chief deputy clerk for the county, focused his monies on advertising, with $5,606.10 going to Comcast Spotlight in Jacksonville, $4,000 to Historic City News in St. Augustine, $3,765 to Local Community News Inc. in Jacksonville and $3,741 to The St. Augustine Record. He also spent more than $12,000 on a variety of mail processing services at Dispatch Depot in St. Augustine.
In the sheriff’s race, incumbent David Shoar raised $249,575 and spent $208,200, sparing no expense in a winning effort against fellow Republican Debra Maynard, who raised $9,852.02 and spent $8,757.63.
Shoar spent the most of any candidate for a county office this election season. Majority Strategies took in $56,053.01 for campaign consulting services. The sheriff bought $75,077.95 in television advertising from Comcast on June 10, but the full amount was refunded his campaign on July 28. The St. Augustine Record received $21,958 for advertising.
Shoar also spent more than $44,000 on a variety of campaign supplies and services from Hybrid Design in St. Augustine. SeaSpire Communications, a St. Augustine-based LLC, received about $8,600 for social media consulting and services. Owen and Associates in St. Augustine received $10,000 for consulting work as well.
As the campaign drew to a close, Shoar spent thousands of dollars on food and party supplies from various establishments in St. Augustine, including $3,109.50 at St. Johns Food and $626.48 at Sonny’s BBQ.
Maynard, a former St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office deputy, spent most of her money locally, particularly on campaign equipment and advertising. Quick Signs received nearly $3,000 and Horizon Design Services received about $1,130. Both businesses are located in St. Augustine. Historic City News also received just south of $800 in advertising money.
In the race for the District 1 seat on the county commission, incumbent Jimmy Johns raised $102,300 and spent $81,059.93 in a successful campaign against fellow Republican Al Abbatiello, who raised $8,895 and spent $8,277.38.
Johns, a Scott appointee who has now won election to his first full term, put the majority of his money in the care of Creative Direct, a Republican direct mail and political consulting firm out of Richmond, Va.
He spent $51,682.71 on advertisements with the LLC. According to Creative Direct’s website, it has helped put hundreds of Republicans in office across the United States, including senators, governors, attorneys general and members of congress.
Vox Populi Communications, a Jacksonville-based LLC, received more than $12,600 from Johns’ campaign for petitions, advertising and consulting. Rounding out the big expenditures, Tallahassee-based Cherry Communications received $2,450 for consulting while Kessler Creative, a direct mail marketing firm in Jacksonville, took in about $6,330.
Outside of the $4,220.28 qualifying fee he paid to the Supervisor of Elections Office, Abbatiello, head of the William Bartram Scenic & Historic Highway Management Group, spent most of his campaign money ($2,484.50) on signs, fliers and shirts from Ocean Air Graphics in Jacksonville. He also spent $873 with Local Community News and $305 with The Florida Times-Union on advertising.
In the race for the District 5 seat on the county commission, Henry Dean raised $137,731 and spent $119,778.05 in a winning effort against fellow Republican Dottie Acosta, who raised $13,805.61 and spent $12,703.51.
Dean, former head of the St. Johns River Water Management District, spent the lion’s share of his monies on consulting services and campaign gear with Momentum Strategy Group — to the tune of $106,667.04. An additional $2,000 went to Mikosky for consultant fees.
Acosta, a former top official at the St. Johns County Property Appraiser’s Office, deployed a more local strategy on a smaller scale. She spent $3,732.64 with David Dobbs Enterprises for signs and $1,200 with Avid Design Group in St. Augustine for website design and upkeep. Another $2,000 went to Elizabeth Amato of St. Augustine for campaign consulting.
Having the bigger campaign coffer doesn’t always translate into victory, however.
In the race for the District 3 seat on the county commission, Jerry Cameron’s $159,575 raised and $130,200.63 spent wasn’t enough to beat fellow Republican Paul Waldron, who raised $65,719 and spent $64,860.20. Waldron, who came out ahead by nine votes on election night, emerged victorious by just seven votes in a recount on Thursday.
Cameron, a former assistant county administrator, paid $72,100.78 to Tallahassee-based Front Line Strategies Inc. for the whole gamut of campaign services and products.
According to its website, the company’s founder and president, Brett Doster, first served as special assistant to former Gov. Jeb Bush in his first gubernatorial campaign in 1993. The website said Doster and his team, in 2014, had helped guide every one of their state and regional political clients to victory, including the re-election campaigns of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
Cameron’s second biggest expense was repayment in full of a $25,000 loan he had made to his own campaign. Local expenditures included about $9,160 to David Dobbs Enterprises for signs and shirts and $2,648.96 to Historic City News for advertisements.
Waldron, a St. Augustine businessman, didn’t spend particularly small, but did keep it more local than many of his counterparts.
He paid Kathleen McCarthy of St. Augustine $28,900 for campaign consulting services and about $13,275 at My Time Designs in St. Augustine for signs, stickers and other campaign gear.
Other expenses included a little under $9,000 to Dispatch Depot for mailing services and about $3,375 to The Print Shop in St. Augustine for printing services. The St. Augustine Record received $955 for advertising.
There are many restrictions on what can be done with unspent campaign money. The final financial reports are yet to be filed with the Supervisor of Elections Office. Most campaigns prorate and return the unspent money to contributors while others donate funds to charitable organizations or nonprofits.
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