Jesse Scheckner
Delray Beach Commissioner Rob Long added more than $35,000 last quarter in his currently unopposed campaign to succeed fellow Democrat Joe Casello in House District 90, with significant donations from the real estate industry buoying his bid.
After spending about $11,400, he had $41,100 left heading into July.
Nine real estate, development and construction professionals and companies contributed to Long between April 1 and June 30, accounting for nearly two-thirds of his gains.
He also got $3,000 from Bounce Delray Beach, a sports bar venue located in the former Delray Beach Market.
Long’s biggest check was for $10,000. It came from 3 Sleepy Elliot, a real estate limited liability company linked to Delray Beach lawyer Joseph E. White III, a founding shareholder of Boca Raton-based law firm Saxena White.
Other real estate-related contributions — all locally sourced — included $5,000 from the investment company of lawyer and real estate investor James Batmasian; $2,000 apiece from The Knight Group, Benlee Asset Management and Lee Cohen LLC; and $1,000 each from Pirtle Construction Co. and Miskel Backman LLP, a real estate services law firm.
He also received $1,500 from lobbyist Ron Book’s eponymous firm and about 20 personal checks ranging from $10 to $1,000.
The preponderance of Long’s Q2 spending covered consulting. He paid $5,000 to Andrew Dolberg’s Plantation-based Sunshine Strategies, $2,273 to Michael Worley’s Plantation-based MDW Communications for website service, $1,500 to Yolanda Brown’s Fort Lauderdale-based Brown Financial and Consulting Services Group, and $1,000 to 1176 Inc., a Wilton Manors campaign consulting firm in Wilton Manors run by Mercury partner Eric Johnson.
Since he launched his campaign in February, Long has raised $52,520 between his campaign account and political committee, Long Lasting Progress PC.
Long has lived in Delray Beach for more than a decade and has an educational background in civil engineering and business administration. He has several day jobs in addition to his work at City Hall, including as founder and CEO of Door 2 Door Strategies, a marketing and political consulting firm, and senior loss control engineer at Risk Logic.
His community involvements include a six-year stint on the Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation District, where he helped build the Ambassadors to the Everglades program for high schoolers, and his current service on the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency Governing Board, where he has prioritized critical transportation investments in the region.
In 2022, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies honored him with a local public service award.
He has also served on various Delray Beach advisory boards, the Verona Woods HOA Board of Directors, Habitat Young Professionals Executive Committee, Executive Board of the Friends of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
In a partisan capacity, Long has served as President of the Palm Beach Young Democrats and as a delegate for Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention.
HD 90 spans a coastal portion of Palm Beach County, including Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and part of Highland Beach.
Casello has represented the district since 2018 and faces term limits next year. He’s now running for a seat on the Palm Beach County Commission.
He has also named Long as his preferred successor. Others who have endorsed Long include Sens. Lori Berman and Tina Polsky; Reps. Tae Edmonds, Kelly Skidmore and Debra Tendrich; former Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg; and Joseph Abruzzo, before he took his current job as Palm Beach County Administrator.
The 2026 Primary is on Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.
Candidates faced a Thursday deadline to report all campaign finance activity through June 30.
