One of Tampa Bay's most influential political consultants, The Mallard Group, had a bad day on Tuesday.
State records show the Mallards (owned by Jack Hebert) were paid more than $819,000 by their Republican clients during the 2005-2006 campaign season for consulting, production and media buying. Here is what those candidates got for their money:
- Losses. Mallard clients Frank Farkas, Robert "Bo" Michael, Nancy Riley, Randy Johnson, Rod Jones, Ken Peluso and Bruce Cotton all lost their primary races.
- A lawsuit. Mallard client Bo Michael was sued for defamation by the man who beat him, Jack Day, after direct mail brochures painted him as a tax cheat.
Just a little Wednesday morning quarterbacking from a former political consultant who discloses that, yes, he ran plenty of races against the Mallards.
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2006.