Wes Wolfe
House District 15 candidate and Duval County Republican Party Chairman Dean Black has posted solid fundraising numbers recently to go along with consolidating GOP establishment support in the Nassau County portion of the district.
Between his campaign account and his True Conservatives political committee, Black has raised more than $403,000 overall. True Conservatives added $17,000 to the bank in April from three contributions — $9,000 from Jacksonville’s Gerald Daniels, $4,000 from U.S. Rep. John Rutherford’s Strengthening the American Republic PAC, and $4,000 from Florida Conservatives United, the PAC of Republican Party of Florida Chairman and state Sen. Joe Gruters.
The campaign account added another $14,295 in April, though the numbers weren’t immediately available from the state database. Those dollars reportedly include contributions from former Duval County Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell and Jacksonville Beach City Councilman Cory Nichols.
Last week, Black’s campaign announced a May 21 fundraiser at the Amelia Island residence of Buddy and Lorelei Jacobs, the host committee of which included Sheriff Bill Leeper, Clerk of Court John Crawford, Tax Collector John Drew and Property Appraiser Mike Hickox, all from Nassau County. Hosts from the City of Fernandina Beach include Mayor Mike Lednovich, Vice Mayor Len Kreger and Commissioners Bradley Bean and David Sturges.
Two days later, he received the endorsement of the local district of the Fraternal Order of Police.
“A safe community is a prosperous community and defending our first responders will be a critical priority of mine in the Legislature,” Black said in a statement following the endorsement. “I have always been proud to ‘back the blue’ and to have the ‘blue’ back me with this endorsement is a true honor.”
