After much anticipation, the host committee for the Tampa Republican National Convention posted its financial report with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday night. Thursday morning, the two top officials associated with the local committee — Ken Jones and Al Austin — fielded questions from reporters outside the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
The report details the fundraising and expenditures of the Host Committee, but is not a comprehensive report on all of the spending that occurred in the Bay area during the RNC. Jones says an economic benefit study is being assembled now and will come out sometime in 2013.
When asked if he believed there will be an economic benefit of approximately $180 million (as predicted before the convention), Jones replied “Yes we do.”
Among the bold-faced names listed as contributors to the convention were notorious GOP money men and their super PACS; people like casino magnate Sheldon Adelson (good for $5 million) and David Koch of the famed (or infamous to liberals) Koch brothers.
"We're going to ask anybody for money," Jones said of his strategy to raise the $55 million plus.
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2012.