Janelle Irwin Taylor
Dick Greco Jr.’s political committee, 4 Tampa, is almost exclusively funded by one of the city’s most monied developers: Edward DeBartolo Jr.
The founder of DeBartolo Holdings contributed $150,000 to Greco’s 4 Tampa committee at the end of January.
The committee has just one other contribution, $1,000 from Joseph Williams, president of Kimmins Corp.
DeBartolo Holdings has more than 4,000 multi-family units under development or construction nationwide as well as 1.6 million square feet of retail space, 175 hotel units and 1.5 million square feet of industrial space.
Forbes ranked DeBartolo Tampa’s richest man in 2016 with an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion.
While the contribution is the type that leaves a bad taste in some voters mouths – no doubt the modern political mantra about special interests buying influence will be leveled – the Greco family has a long history with the DeBartolos.
“Our relationship is so close that the DeBartolo family consider me and my son Dick, “Dickie,” as family. Eddie truly wanted to help my son’s campaign and made a generous contribution,” Dick Greco Sr. said. “Anytime either of us have needed anything over the years, we have always been there for each other. We are very fortunate to have the DeBartolo family residing in Tampa.”
Greco Sr., left his second term as mayor in the early 1970s to work for the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. Greco spent 21 years working for the elder DeBartolo.
Greco left the company to serve a third term as mayor in the 90s, but returned to the company again in 2003, according to a profile in the Tampa Bay Business Journal from the time about the two families’ relationship.
It was then that the elder Greco convinced the elder DeBartolo to move to Tampa instead of Orlando after he sold his stake in the San Francisco 49ers.
So with or without the fiscal campaign boost, Greco already had strong ties to the powerful development group.
Greco isn’t the only candidate enjoying financial support from deep-pocketed entities.
Former Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor has been criticized for accepting $50,000 into her Tampa Strong Political Committee as well as another $10,000 from Domain Homes and $25,000 from LEMA Construction President Jonathan Stanton.
Real estate developer Martin Garcia infused $20,000 into Ed Turanchik’s Tampa 2020 committee along with another $15,000 from the Ybor City development group Ybor Varadero.
Even City Council member Harry Cohen was attacked in a mass text message for accepting $225,000 in real estate money into his Tampa Together committee, but that money came from Cohen’s father.
Only two candidates are publicly criticizing opponents for special interest contributions: Topher Morrison and David Straz.
As the underdog in the race, Morrison wasn’t likely to be able to attract those sort of high dollar contributions and he’s the only candidate without a political committee or similar affiliated campaign arm.
Straz has what’s known as an Electioneering Communications Organization, similar to a political committee, but slightly more limited. However, Straz’s campaign claims the wealthy philanthropist is self-funding that organization just as he is his own campaign.
In fact, it’s Straz’s self-funding that is pushing Tampa’s mayoral race into historic fundraising levels. He’s pumped $2.4 million of his own money into his campaign as of February 15.
Voters won’t know how much more he shelled out into his campaign until late Friday or early Saturday when financial reports are due and they won’t know how much money he’s putting into the campaign’s affiliated ECO until mid-March, after the election has been decided.
