Anne Geggis
The race to fill the newly drawn House District 91 in Palm Beach County pitting a Boca Raton Councilman against a Highland Beach Town Commissioner continues to draw in big money with more than $440,000 sunk into the campaigns.
Boca Raton Councilman Andy Thomson, running as a Democrat, raised a total of $51,585 in April. Meanwhile, Highland Beach Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman, running as a Republican, added $95,050 in April, which included a $90,000 loan she made to her campaign.
HD 91’s boundaries were reshuffled in the decennial redistricting process, so now the district encompasses Boca Raton, parts of Highland Beach and part of West Boca. With no incumbent in the race, the seat is up for grabs.
Thomson’s April haul brings the overall total Thomson has collected to $210,000, including a $30,000 self-loan.
Citizens for Law, Order and Ethics, a political committee, gave Thomson his largest donation in April: $25,000. It comes on top of another $30,000 that the same West Palm Beach committee gave him through his committee, Running with Andy Thomson, in March.
Outside of that, real estate interests represented the sector contributing the most in April donations: $7,220. Attorneys and law firms were the second-largest contributors, giving him donations totaling $5,600.
Donating $1,000 to Thomson’s campaign in April were the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association; Alejandra Lippolis of Boca Raton and her husband, William Lippolis, who’s in construction; the Boca Raton law firm Baritz & Colman; CJM Communities, a Boca Raton general contractor; Boca Raton attorney Arthur D’Almeida; Boca Raton’s Weliky Car Wash; Mark Carlew, a Boca Raton real estate businessman; Marshall Grant, a Boca Raton law firm; John Whelchel, a Boca Raton real estate businessman; Wexford Real Estate Investors of West Palm Beach; NADG Florida, a West Palm Beach real estate company; Anuj Grover, a Boca Raton real estate investor; and Patricia Kilgallon, an executive at a Deerfield Beach valve company.
Gossett-Seidman added $95,050 to her campaign. Out of that, $5,050 came from donors in April and she loaned her campaign another $90,000. April’s loan brings the total she’s loaned to her campaign to $200,000. Between donors and her own money, Gossett-Seidman has added $232,000 for her bid.
The health sector accounted for Gossett-Seidman’s biggest group of donors, accounting for $2,125 of her April collections.
Donating $1,000 were Karen Goldstein, a Highland Beach retiree; Dr. Albert Cohen of Delray Beach; and Dr. Albert Cohen of Boca Raton.
Gossett-Seidman spent a total of $7,932 in April, with most of it — $5,021 — going to Simwins in Tampa for political consulting. She also spent nearly $2,300 on printing with Mark Graphics of Boca Raton. Those expenses left her with a total of $221,931 cash on hand.
Another Republican, Christina DuCasse, raised $250 in April and spent $572.
The campaigns were facing a May 10 deadline to report all financial activity.
