A.G. Gancarski
With final 2014 figures in for all Duval County candidates for public office, Lenny Curry seems to be lapping the mayoral field in terms of December numbers.
His campaign treasurer’s report summary reports $46,370 in cash and checks received for December – a number not too far off from his campaign’s $46,596.01 in expenditures for the month. Contributions ran the gamut, from small donations from individual citizens, to four figure donations from the Fiorentino Group, Taxpayers in Action, Piedmont Farms and Piedmont Dairies, and the Florida on the Move PAC.
Curry’s Together for a Greater Jacksonville PAC, meanwhile, had another big month. $10,000 from the Jacksonville Kennel Club, $20,000 from the Petway family, $10,000 from Peter Rummell, $5,000 from Fidelity National Financial, and $10,000 from Jack Hanania’s Orange Park Mitsubishi were highlights of the $146,300 raised by Curry’s potent PAC in December.
Mayor Alvin Brown, meanwhile, had an interesting month of his own. His individual filing to the Duval SOE listed just $4,700 in cash and checks for December, with over $8,000 in in-kind contributions – including $5,750 in “consulting/research” from the Florida Democratic Party. His “Taking Jacksonville to the Next Level” PAC, meanwhile, raised $55,000 from three donors – including $25,000 each from personal injury lawyer Wayne Hogan and contractor J.B. Coxwell, the latter an early financial supporter of the Curry PAC, and previous Mike Hogan supporter.
The Bill Bishop campaign, meanwhile, raised $5,410 this month. A noteworthy name in his donation list: Jackie Cornelius, the principal of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, one of the most influential and respected educators in Duval County. Bishop spent what he raised and then some, with $5,589 in December expenditures, the bulk of which went to the RLS Group, a local ad agency doing work for his campaign.
Looking at City Council races, meanwhile, newcomer Anna Brosche, a University of North Florida graduate, is lapping the field in At Large District 1 against the controversial incumbent Democrat, Kim Daniels, and the scandal-tarred David Taylor, a Republican who lost last time. Brosche has raised over $150,000 so far and already was endorsed by JAXBIZ, a political organization affiliated with the powerful JAX Chamber.
David Barron in At Large District 2 has the JAXBIZ nod and a sizable fundraising advantage over iconoclastic incumbent Democrat John Crescimbeni – over $115,000, as compared to the incumbent’s $17,800. At Large Group 3, meanwhile, sees former Democratic Mayor Tommy Hazouri in a dogfight with Geoff Youngblood, who is running from the right. Thus far, Hazouri has raised over $103,000, and Youngblood, just over $91k. Hazouri has scored the JAXBIZ nod.
Not a lot of surprises throughout many of the other Council races, with incumbents generally amassing prohibitive fundraising advantages. An interesting name to watch is newly-announced District 3 candidate Aaron Bowman, touted by JAXBIZ as “senior vice President of JAXUSA Partnership”, a man with the “economic development knowledge and leadership experience in the U.S. Navy, particularly as Commanding Officer of NS Mayport that would be valuable assets to the City Council”.
Meanwhile, cash rules everything around the Sheriff’s race, as a number of well-funded candidates vie to replace John Rutherford. 6 of the 8 candidates have raised over $100K total, with Jay Farhat, Jimmy Holderfield, and Mike Williams in the $200,000 club.
