A.G. Gancarski
March fundraising numbers for Jacksonville campaigns show surprises in the mayoral race and PAC accounts. Though the most interesting narrative is that of Alvin Brown‘s fundraising, there are other strands worth mentioning.
The big story for some observers, such as David Bauerlein with the The Florida Times-Union, was Shad Khan dropping $100K into Brown’s Taking Jacksonville to the Next Level PC. In a statement, Khan said that as “someone who is committed to Jacksonville, as a citizen, businessperson and owner of the Jaguars, I am going to be active in the political process here.”
A couple of points bear mentioning. Half of the money Khan gave came from his personal account; the other half, from Regent Consultancy, his Illinois corporation that notably gave money to the Next Generation Leaders Trust, a ECO that only Khan, Lee Ann Rummell, and W.W. Gay have given money to. If we take Khan’s filing literally and consider that $50K as being “outside money,” it is part of a larger trend in the $244K that Brown’s PAC has raised.
The Taking Jacksonville to the Next Level PC contribution sheet is dominated by outside addresses. Of the 45 discrete contributors, 33 of them are from outside the Jacksonville metro area. Those contributions include $4,000 from Miami Heat owner Micki Arison and his wife (a number that, given Arison’s net worth, could easily increase at will without a second thought) and $5,000 from the Waste Management PAC, as well as money from reliable Democratic contributors from across the country. Brown has spent decades building a nationwide network, and the fundraising reports from April and May likely will reveal outreach to those influential, deep-pockets contributors.
Brown’s personal campaign account is more interesting for expenditures than contributions, with money flowing to Block by Block for its canvassing services, as well as almost $8,300 to Switchboard Communications in D.C. for “Live Calls” leading up to the first election. The whopping $20 contribution from former COJ General Counsel Cindy Laquidara to the mayor is probably the biggest laugh line on any fundraising report for March.
On the Lenny Curry side, the PAC spent more than it took in in March, with contributions from Thomas Petway III, Hernan Chang, and Robin Sorensen of Firehouse Subs fame highlighting its fundraising efforts. Chang also featured on the personal campaign account side, along with multiples from Petways and Michael Munz. Money from both the PAC and the campaign account went to Data Targeting, as has been the case throughout the Curry campaign.
Looking down the ticket, some interesting narratives emerge.
In the sheriff’s race, Republican Mike Williams has amassed a significant fundraising advantage over Ken Jefferson. As of the end of March, Williams was just north of $296K raised, which almost doubles Jefferson, who came in at under $165K raised. The general trend in contributions sees active and retired JSO officers donating to Williams, whereas Jefferson’s money is coming from people outside of JSO. Will the Jimmy Holderfield endorsement of Jefferson change that trajectory in April? That will be a big story to watch.
In council races, some points are worth mentioning also. Fundraising for Incumbent Group 1 CM Kim Daniels seems to be nonexistent at this point, with Anna Brosche still raising money from a diverse coalition of supporters, including members of the business community and PACs ranging from JAXBIZ to the NE FL LGBT Leadership PAC. Brosche has raised more than $210K, nearly doubling the Reverend Daniels, who may need more T-U ads from the Next Generation Leaders Trust to get her message out to the secular community.
In Group 3, Tommy Hazouri continues his lead over Republican Geoff Youngblood, who has family money to lean on if needed.
The district races also have some interesting narrative points. The District 2 race between Democrat Lisa King and Republican Al Ferraro sees King with a commanding fundraising lead and momentum, an interesting trend in what most expect to be a Republican district. King has out-raised Ferraro, $123K to $100K; however, Ferraro has more money on hand. He’s also been seen at events recently with former council candidate and council aide James Nealis, who may be taking a more active advisory role in this campaign down the stretch.
In District 7 and District 8, George Spencer and Pat Lockett-Felder maintain their advantages of about 2-to-1 over their opponents. Spencer is Corrine Brown‘s candidate in 7; in District 8, meanwhile, Katrina Brown was the Quick Pick. A story to watch out of District 8 will be what outgoing Councilmember Denise Lee has to say about the race. If she takes a side, it may provide a counterbalance to Corrine Brown’s influence, which Lee has decried throughout this election cycle.
