Drew Wilson
Cocoa Mayor Henry Parrish’s April fundraising report shows him surging past Republican rival Tyler Sirois in the race to succeed termed-out House District 51 Rep. Tom Goodson.
Parrish showed $24,380 raised in his new report, including 11 checks for $1,000. The April haul pushed his campaign account well past the $50,000 mark in total fundraising, and thanks to his low burn rate he has $52,332 banked.
That makes for three five-figure months in a row and an on-hand total that puts him atop the Republican Primary field.
Sirois, the executive director of the State Attorney’s office in the 18th circuit, had been the cash on hand since the start of his campaign in April 2017. He reported $25,000 raised in his inaugural report, and while he’s hit five figures in a couple months since, his reports have been largely ho-hum.
He still holds the overall fundraising crown with $74,165 raised, but he ceded a lot of ground after posting just $3,175 raised in April. All but $60 of that cash went out the door as it was raised, with the bulk than half of paying for “refreshments” at restaurants in Rockledge and Merritt Island.
He started May with $45,515 in the bank.
Also running for the Brevard-based seat are Republican Thomas O’Neill, Democrat Michael Blake and unaffiliated candidate Shain Honkone, all of whom have been rather lifeless when it comes to fundraising – O’Neill tacked on $435 in April and has $5,400 banked, most of it loans; Blake added $800 and has $2,960, also mainly due to loans; and Blake filed a waiver in lieu of a finance report.
HD 51 covers part of northern Brevard, including Cape Canaveral, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, Rockledge and Sharpes. It’s a safe Republican seat that Goodson has had little trouble holding onto – he won his final term with a 60-40 drubbing of Democrat Mike Blake.
