A.G. Gancarski
In his first month as a filed candidate for the Florida House, Jacksonville City Council member Garrett Dennis raised more than $40,000 between his campaign and political committee.
Dennis, a Democrat in his second term on the Council, is running for House District 13, a seat currently drawn to favor Democrats. Incumbent Rep. Tracie Davis is running for Florida Senate.
Dennis raised $14,793 to his campaign account in November from 73 contributions, many of them as small as $1. More sizable donations came from Jacksonville land use lobbyist Steve Diebenow, former City Council candidate Sunny Gettinger, and the Committee for Economic Development, chaired by another Jacksonville lobbyist, T.R. Hainline.
Dennis’ political committee, Forward Progress, hauled in $26,100 in November. Donors often associated with Republican candidates, such as Ambassador John Rood and the Vestcor Companies, were listed on the committee’s debut filing.
Dennis is in House District 12 in both proposed maps under consideration, a district that could span the St. Johns River and that would be inhospitable to a Democrat in the general election. His address is worth watching in the coming months.
Mincy Pollock, a former candidate for the Jacksonville City Council, is also in the race.
Pollock does not live in HD 13 currently. But new maps under consideration in the Florida House put him within the district under one configuration and in HD 17 in the other. A source close to his campaign suggests Pollock will move to either HD 13 or 14, whichever doesn’t include Rep. Angie Nixon when maps are finalized. Nixon currently represents HD 14.
Pollock raised $10,391 to his campaign account in November. Perhaps the most interesting donation, for $250, came from Aaron Bowman.
Bowman, a Republican colleague of Dennis’ on the City Council, has often mocked Dennis for being on the losing end of 18-1 votes. He generally does not get involved in Democratic primaries.
Pollock’s political committee, All Things Common, has a little more than $5,000 in it after three months of activity. It raised $1,535 in November.
A third Democrat, Iris Hinton, is also running in HD 13. She hasn’t reported any fundraising yet. Hinton lives in HD 13 in one draft map under consideration by the House, but is in HD 14 in the other.
A Republican has also filed in HD 13. Jordan Wells opened his campaign account earlier this month. His first report will be available next month.
