Sean Shaw dominates fundraising in crowded Hillsborough County Commission contest

Former state Rep. Sean Shaw is by far leading all Democratic opponents in fundraising for the race for Hillsborough County Commission, District 6.

Shaw, a Democrat, has raised more than $65,000 since entering the race in January. That includes nearly $59,000 raised to his campaign and another $7,000 to his committee, Friends of Sean Shaw. Both fundraising reports cover financial activity from January through March.

While he leads Democrats in the race, a Republican, Christine Miller, has raised nearly $450,000 and is by far the top performing Republican in the race.

Among Democrats in the race, Shaw leads Mark Nash, who has raised less than $20,000, and Joseph Taylor, who has raised just $20. A fourth Democrat, Cynthia Fuentes, just joined the race this month and has not yet filed financial reports.

“I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support we’ve received since announcing our campaign for the commission,” Shaw said. “The residents of Hillsborough County deserve a commissioner who will represent our community’s shared values. Together, we will fight to reduce traffic, encourage sustainable growth, and keep Hillsborough residents safe in our homes, parks and schools.”

The candidates are running to succeed Pat Kemp on the Commission. The progressive Democrat is facing term limits and recently announced a bid for Congress, where she hopes to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee.

Shaw’s campaign brought in 212 individual contributions during the first quarter, for an average donation of about $276.

Some top names on his donor list include former Commissioner Betty Castor, who donated the maximum $1,000; former City Attorney Jim Shimberg, with $750; strip club magnate and community activist Joe Redner, also with $250; political consultant Justin Day, with $1,000; lawyer Ron Christaldi, with $250; former Florida CFO Alex Sink, with $500; Safety Harbor Mayor Joseph Ayoub, with $200; former state Rep. Ben Diamond, with $1,000; and former state Rep. Ed Narain, with $500.

His campaign spent nearly $16,000, including $7,500 to ENH Industries for political consulting; more than $2,000 to Evergreen Strategies for digital strategy; $2,000 to Conexion Political for a campaign website; $2,250 to Computare Partners for compliance and accounting services; $525 to Street sMartz Consulting; and various other miscellaneous fees and expenses.

Shaw’s committee brought in just five contributions from four individuals, including $3,000 from Dunedin lawyer Larry Bache, $1,000 from Tampa lawyer David Murray, $2,000 from Boston retiree Charles Rodgers and $1,000 from Tampa resident Stephen Barnes. The committee spent just $158, on credit card processing fees.

Nash, meanwhile, had a slow first quarter. He raised just $3,345 from 21 donors, including one maximum donation from Winthrop Retail in Apollo Beach. He didn’t post any expenditures in the three-month period, and has spent less than $113 overall.

Taylor’s $20 contribution came from himself. He only entered the race on March 20, giving him just 11 days to raise funds for that period, so his next report will be a better indication of his fundraising activity.

On the Republican side, Miller brought in 123 contributions averaging about $402 each. Some donor names that pop out include Rick Lott, the former Plant City Mayor, and his wife, who each cut checks for $1,000; political committees for state Reps. Danny Alvarez, and Traci Koster, both with $1,000 contributions; former U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, with a $100 contribution; and the candidate herself, with a $1,000 buy-in.

Miller spent just over $4,000 in the first quarter, including $2,500 to the consulting firm run by GOP strategist Anthony Pedicini for consulting services, along with another $295 for business cards.

Her committee, Friends of Christine Miller, brought in a staggering $400,000 in the first quarter, from just two donors. Conservative Florida, state Rep. Lawrence McClure’s political committee, kicked in $200,000; and Building a Brighter Future for Florida, a committee run by Pedicini’s consulting partner Thomas Piccolo, also donated $200,000.

Miller is President and CEO of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce and has already rounded up considerable conservative support for her bid, including from state Sens. Danny Burgess and Jay Collins.

Davison raised $500, including $250 from conservative activist Sharon Calvert. He spent just $105 during the period, all on administrative-related fees.

Republicans are eying an opportunity to flip District 6 red. Kemp flipped it when she was first elected. Putting the seat back into the GOP column would further increase the party’s advantage on the dais from a current 4-3 majority to a 5-2 majority. Republicans won back their majority less than two years ago with Republican candidates defeating incumbent Democrats Mariella Smith and Kimberly Overman.