A.G. GancarskiIt can’t be stressed enough how safe Jay Fant is in his HD 15 seat. The Jacksonville Republican should feel even safer after January’s big money haul.
About $19,000 of January money, raised on Jan. 11 and 12, pushes Fant’s total near $70,000.
Contributors include Build Something That Lasts, the Lenny Curry PAC, along with Foley and Lardner and many of the usual suspects.
The eye-popping donation was $5,000 in $1,000 installments, from a Buffalo, New York, address associated with gaming concerns, including table games, slots, and greyhound racing.
Wheeling Island has several locations throughout the eastern part of the United States, including the Daytona Beach Kennel and Poker Room.
Willingness to take $5,000 from an out-of-state gambling concern may surprise some Jacksonville locals, who will note that when it came time to sponsor a local bill regarding a zoning variance for a liquor-serving restaurant in the Avondale area, it was left to Reggie Fullwood to push the bill for the business in Fant’s district.
For Fant, one might deduce, the ethically questionable activities of dog racing and table gambling are an easier sell than a restaurant that his friends and neighbors could walk to, eat and have a few drinks, and then walk home.
