A.G. Gancarski
House District 14 candidate Mincy Pollock, who qualified for the ballot Monday, continues to face difficulties in his latest campaign.
May fundraising proved slow yet again, with Pollock adding just $3,211 in May to his campaign account. Pollock has roughly $25,000 on hand in that account of the approximately $43,000 raised thus far.
His political committee, called All Things Common, has likewise gone dormant.
The largest donation, from Republican entrepreneur John Baker, was $5,000 last year. The largest contribution to the committee this year was $2,500 from the Jacksonville Kennel Club. That donation was in January. That account has a little more than $8,000 on hand.
Meanwhile, as Pollock struggles ahead of the stretch run of the campaign, a longtime associate is swept up in another scandal.
Siottis Jackson was arrested over the weekend for identity theft to secure six-figure bank loans. Jackson and Pollock were among the names in former Rep. Corrine Brown‘s One Door for Education scheme.
Back then, Pollock gave Jackson two checks from his business totaling over $10,000 for what the checks termed “consulting.”
This year, Jackson was identified as a “consultant” in an email with the Pollock campaign logo, suggesting the relationship that made headlines last decade is ongoing.
Florida Politics reached out to Pollock Sunday to ask about the developments involving Jackson; Pollock downplayed the arrest and Jackson’s role in his campaign.
“My campaign was built and maintained off of strong relationships and volunteerism. Siottis was no different. When we met during the CBCI Political Boot Camp, we stayed in touch, and when I told him I was interested in running, he offered to serve as an adviser and volunteer consultant,” Pollock asserted.
“He’s a remarkably talented young man that I was surprised to have been accused of such recent actions. I’m praying for him and his family and hope that as the courts and parties involved sort through the issues (and) that innocence is on the other side,” Pollock added.
Jackson offered a statement also.
“This situation has absolutely NOTHING to do with anyone I am connected with and I ask the public to treat it as such. I ask that the public not allow this matter to negatively reflect on others. There is much work to do and those who I was connected with will continue to do the work our community needs,” it read in part.
Some say Jackson was central to the Pollock campaign, and whether that was the case, he likely won’t be much help during the stretch run.
Jacksonville City Council member Garrett Dennis is also in the mix, and the second-term Democrat likewise has a heavy burn rate, having spent more than $24,000 in the campaign. His campaign account has a little more than $13,000 on hand.
Dennis struggled to fundraise again in May for the campaign account, raising a little more than $3,500. But his fundraising report at least was populated by familiar names, including the Florida Dental Association Political Action Committee, AFSCME, and former state Rep. Kathleen Edwards-Walpole.
Dennis spent more than $8,200. Campaign manager Taryn Roberts invoiced $3,500 a month and did so also in May. Roberts has made $14,000 in her role so far, which is more than half the $24,000 the candidate spent through the end of last month.
Dennis’ political committee, Forward Progress, saw more action in May, with $12,500 from development interests. That committee has roughly $50,000 on hand.
A third candidate, Iris Hinton, opened a campaign account last year, but it has yet to record campaign activity.
Rep. Angie Nixon, who moved to HD 13 in the new legislative map, currently represents HD 14, so the new district is an open seat. Republicans have not filed a candidate yet, which means this could be an open primary, in which the qualifying candidates make their case to all voters ahead of a decisive August election.
