A.G. Gancarski
If the Andrew Gillum campaign for Florida Governor were a ship, by now it would have taken in so much water that one could cue up the Celine Dion theme and the closing credits.
Gillum’s fundraising, described as “anemic,” is no match for the resources of the other Democrats vying for the nomination: Philip Levine and Chris King have demonstrated an ability and willingness to self-finance, and Gwen Graham is able to parlay decades of relationships built in Florida’s Democratic donor class by herself and her father.
However, despite federal investigations into Tallahassee city government, and enough oppo to overflow a landfill, the Gillum campaign continues apace — with a fundraiser in Jacksonville Tuesday evening.
The goal of the event to be held at the Beaver Street Enterprise Center is relatively modest: 100 donations of at least $100 each — not exactly Adam Putnam money.
Especially interesting in light of the shakeups at the top of the Gillum campaign: the organizer for the Jacksonville event … local political consultant Mincy Pollock.
Pollock has been on the scene for a couple of years, first as a candidate for Jacksonville City Council, then as a consultant for and asset to former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown.
In 2015, Pollock emerged in opposition to Brown’s “Quick Picks’.
Brown likened her endorsement sheet to picks at a dog track — and for whatever reason, Pollock was not Brown’s pick.
This irked Pollock: “Growing up in Jacksonville I’ve always looked up to leaders in the black community and hoped I would one day be on Corrine’s Quick Picks when the time came. When I decided to run I reached out to a number of leaders in the community and most of them responded with the question: ‘How much money have you raised?’”
Pollock’s high-minded aversion to the realities of fundraising didn’t last too long. Shortly after the 2015 election wrapped, Pollock was welcomed into Corrine Brown’s fold … after an attempt to become a “consultant” for the eventual winner of the election.
Pollock took Brown’s advice, after a meeting with the then-Congresswoman, and attended the Congressional Black Caucus Boot Camp.
“From going here,” Pollock related in 2015, “I got a bird’s-eye view of how [things] are tied together.”
That bird’s eye view of how things are tied together proved occasionally complicated for Pollock, who at one point wrote personal checks that went into the account of “One Door for Education,” a non-performing quasi-educational charity that was used by Brown and associates as a slush fund.
Brown, currently fighting a conviction on 18 of the 22 federal counts associated with that case, has a hearing for both a new trial and acquittal on Aug. 7.
However, despite the obvious issues involved in Brown’s late career, working for her clearly served as an important resume point for Pollock — and obviously gave Gillum confidence as well.
