Northeast Florida political elite to helm Travis Hutson committee fundraiser

For those interested in Jacksonville area political sightings, the tony River Club will be the place to be Tuesday evening.

Sen. Travis Hutson will be supported at a fundraising reception for his First Coast Business Foundation, and Mayor Lenny Curry will be the special guest at an event heavy on names of prominent politicos, donors, and lobbyists.

Event chairs include Marty Fiorentino, former Congressional candidate Hans Tanzler (endorsed by Hutson in 2016), JEA Board member Husein Cumber, Jaguars’ lobbyist and all-around problem solver Paul Harden, and bestbet’s Jamie Shelton.

Among the standout names on the host committee: charter school impresario Gary Chartrand and the Jax Chamber mainstay Daniel Davis.

A similar group of players came together last May for a fundraiser in support of future House Speaker Paul Renner, whose political committee had a $261,000 month because of it.

Hutson is pursuing the Senate Presidency in 2022, and fundraisers like this for his political committees will fuel the work to secure support for his bid.

In April, his Sunshine State Conservatives political committee got a boost reflective of similar support from different players.

The committee brought in $155,000 in April, with much of that money coming from other committees.

The “Free Speech PAC” and “Citizens First,” both of “5730 Corporate Way Suite 214” in West Palm Beach ponied up $40,000 each.

“Florida Jobs Alliance” and “Conservative Choice,” each of which share an address with Sunshine State Conservatives, were in for another $25,000.

These committees all appear to be passthrough committees, with money coming from other committees, and so on.

The Sunshine State Conservatives committee doled out $10,050 in April, including contributions to campaigns of Sen. Kelli Stargel, and Rep. Joe Gruters.

Bigger spending could be found in March for the committee, which gave $50,000 to the FRSCC, to help with fundraising efforts. Donations were also made to the campaigns of Sens. Dana Young, Dennis Baxley, Kathleen Passidomo, George Gainer, and Doug Broxson.