Councilman Kevin White was sitting in a McDonald's two weeks before the election, eating a sausage patty and chatting up supporters, when an assistant from one of the Bay area's most politically connected law firms strolled in.
She handed White an envelope to help finance his campaign, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, was gone.
Such is the fervor of fundraising in the last two weeks of an election that the candidates can't even grab breakfast with a reporter without escaping the dash for cash.
The 2006 election saw some changes in Tampa Bay politics, but at least one thing stayed the same — the increasing flow of millions of dollars to candidates from parties, organizations and companies who may have more on their minds than just good government. It's common and legal, if far from transparent to voters.
According to a Creative Loafing computer-assisted analysis of local campaign finance reports, $2.5 million had flowed to campaigns for judges, school board members and county commissioners in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties by Oct. 13. Of that total, $1.4 million came directly from corporations or special-interest groups. Hillsborough, with more competitive races and more new development going on, accounted for nearly three times more money than Pinellas races did.
Special-interest money, long recognized as the mother's milk of politics at the state and federal levels, has become the dominant factor in local races for county commission and school board.
"The special interests, wealthy individuals, really have a field day in finding ways to funnel their contributions to politicians," said Dan Smith, a University of Florida political science professor who studies campaign financing. "They have a lot of choices."
And according to our analysis, they are taking advantage of those many choices:
• Seffner building-products business owner and anti-tax crusader Ralph Hughes set a modern Florida record with a single donation of $1 million to a new political committee he created.
• One health care company, WellCare, gave $500 checks through no less than 19 different companies — and wound up the single biggest contributor to local races, surpassing the usual suspects: lawyers and developers.
• The phenomenon of "527" attack ads, made famous in 2004 by the Swift Boat Veterans, began showing up at the local level. Hillsborough School Board candidate Ken Allen found himself the target of a direct mail attack from one such group.
Aside from Hughes, who has made many headlines in his efforts to influence the Hillsborough County Commission and fight higher impact fees for new schools, the top local-race contributors are far from household names. And they like it that way, flying under the radar screen and generally refusing to talk with the press about their political activities. WellCare, the Ruden McClosky law firm, developer and construction magnate Bing Kearney, developer Lance Ponton and Hughes make up the top five.
Never heard of them? How about some of these deep-pocketed folks who come next on the list: Dick Mandt (a former CL board member), Steve Burton or Nick Kotaiche?
Probably not.
Florida has a $500 limit on individual campaign contributions, one of the lowest (if not the lowest) per capita amount in the U.S., Smith points out. But there are loopholes. Donors can give unlimited amounts of money directly to the political parties, which can turn around and spend them for or donate them to local candidates. Donors can also funnel unlimited contributions to third-party groups, which then can attack candidates as long as they don't explicitly advocate their defeat. Finally, the big money men bundle lots of checks (from various corporations they control, employees at those firms and other friends) into one sizable chunk, which is very hard to track in state records because of a lack of transparency. If it were easier to trace such contributions, the $1.4-million figure stated above would probably add up to a lot more.
The loopholes make Florida overripe for election reform.
"On the books, Florida is probably a seven" on a scale of 1-10 for campaign finance transparency, Smith said. "In reality, we're probably a three compared with other states."
Local activists say it's dismaying to see public officials vote in favor of development interests from whom they've received campaign contributions.
"Does development money control our commission?" said Denise Layne, a community activist and Sierra Club member. "Oh yeah. You bet."
Politicians and their consultants insist they have no choice but to be competitive in fundraising.
"The alternative to raising money for a political campaign is for the media to provide free advertising space," said Republican consultant Mark Proctor. "And that isn't going to happen. You've got to have the money."
CL spent two weeks at the end of the campaign season prying out some transparency in local contributions, analyzing 7,612 contributions from individuals, corporations and political committees. (See sidebar, "How we did it.")
The amount of money in local races pales in comparison with national campaigns, where tens of thousands of dollars can be raised in a single night. The top 10 local contributors account for only a little more than $166,000 in fundraising. But given the rising cost of TV ads, direct mail and other campaign necessities, an envelope with checks totaling, say, $3,000-$5,000, doesn't go unnoticed by candidates at the local level.
Beyond those top 10, there are dozens of lobbyists, law firms, special interest groups, labor unions and developers who contributed a few thousand dollars each to county commissioners. All told, contributors involved in growth — developers, real estate brokers, construction, engineers — contributed more than $500,000. Lawyers came in second, giving $307,000.
And, at least in the top 10, their money goes overwhelmingly to Republican candidates.
Here is a look at the top five big hitters, and the runners-up:
THE TOP FIVE
1. WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
What it does: Runs Medicare and Medicaid HMO systems for government
What it wants: A shot at running Hillsborough's indigent health care plan
2006 local campaign contributions: $ 32,000
Start with a wildly successful HMO (one that made Kiran Patel into a multimillionaire philanthropist when he sold it in 2002). Combine with a competitive government health contracts market. Add a CEO who is dynamic and apparently likes to play in politics, and you have WellCare.
A publicly traded company headquartered in Tampa, WellCare runs government Medicare and Medicaid HMO systems for more than 2 million families, children, the aged, blind and disabled in 10 states, as well as Medicare prescription drug programs. Its latest quarterly statement reported more than $1 billion in revenues.
WellCare and its affiliated companies, and CEO and Chairman Todd Farha, are major fundraisers throughout Florida. WellCare was on a recent St. Petersburg Times list of companies that gave more than $1 million in state races. And a check of federal campaign finance records show more than $100,000 coming from WellCare employees and administrators.
In Hillsborough County commission races, WellCare gave $32,000. Among the recipients: $10,000 to incumbent Jim Norman and $5,000 each to incumbent Mark Sharpe and newcomer Al Higginbotham. All three won.
So what exactly does WellCare want from the Hillsborough County Commission?
The company isn't saying. "WellCare's policy is that it does not comment on political contributions," said its spokeswoman, Carol Cassara.
It is more open, however, about one big ambition. As WellCare Florida president Imtiaz "MT" Sattaur told county commissioners in February 2005, "We are interested in pursuing bidding for Hillsborough County's indigent care program."
The Hillsborough HealthCare Program is considered a model nationally for health care assistance for the working poor, those uninsured families and individuals who don't qualify for Medicare and Medicaid. It is funded by a special sales tax that was championed in 1991 by then-County Commissioner Phyllis Busansky as a means of providing preventive care that would lower the costs of indigent care in Hillsborough.
Recently, however, the plan has come under attack from some conservatives who, feeling it ran too large a surplus, cut its half-cent sales tax to one-quarter cent. Commissioner Brian Blair was criticized in 2005 for suggesting the plan be privatized, something that could benefit WellCare, which gave him $10,000 in campaign contributions in the 2004 elections.
He denied being influenced, however, telling the Tampa Tribune, "I treat everybody the same, whether they gave me a contribution or didn't."
In addition to its campaign contributions, WellCare has employed a number of politicians and community leaders, such as African-American activist Carl Warren and former state legislator Sandy Murman. The former House member, who lost a primary campaign to Ronda Storms, was removed earlier this year from a county task force that was studying changes to the system after it was learned she was on WellCare's payroll as a consultant.
Unsuccessful Hillsborough County Commission candidate Chloe Coney got $7,000 from WellCare but said it asked nothing in return from her. She met personally with Farha but said he didn't raise the issue of Hillsborough's indigent-care plan.
Across the bay, WellCare runs Pinellas County's health care program, which is much smaller in scope and less funded. It was privatized in 1996, and WellCare was hired to administer it in 2002.
So how much money did WellCare contribute to Pinellas County commissioners in this year's elections, having already secured its $14 million contract?
Not one dime.
2. Bing Kearney
What he does: Owns construction and trucking companies; develops real estate
What he wants: More conservative GOP public officials
2006 local campaign contributions: $ 23,555
President George W. Bush knows who Bing Kearney is, even if the vast majority of people in Tampa Bay don't.
That's because Kearney is a major developer/builder/trucking company owner who is an avid fundraiser for conservatives. In September, Bush thanked Kearney in front of hundreds of bigwig contributors at a rally for (eventual winner) Gus Bilirakis at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Kearney was the event chairman.
Even though most of Kearney's Hillsborough developments are already built, he remains a player in GOP politics. He gave more than $120,000 in state and federal races in the past two years. In local campaigns, Kearney and his various companies contributed more than $23,000, mostly to county commissioners. Norman got $7,000, Sharpe got $4,000 and White got $1,500.
County records show Kearney lobbied Sharpe and Norman in 2005 for an ordinance that allowed helicopters to land in some residential areas as a favor to a fellow uber-giver, Tony Ferguson (who finishes just out of the CL Top 10 list). And Kearney is not just a good fundraiser to some politicians; he's a good friend. When Hillsborough Tax Collector Doug Belden drunkenly kissed and groped a female patron at a Harbour Island bar in October, Kearney was there with him, Belden told the St. Petersburg Times.
Kearney did not respond to a request for an interview for this story.
3. Ralph Hughes
What he does: Owns concrete and construction material manufacturers, but recently has branched out to biotech company turnarounds
What he wants: Lower taxes, no impact fees and conservative politicians
2006 local campaign contributions: $23,800
In 2006, Ralph Hughes went himself one better. Long known for mailing (at his own expense) letters touting conservatives, excoriating liberals and railing against higher taxes and fees, Hughes changed tactics. He set up his own political committee, Let's Make the World a Better Place Because We Have Been Here, and seeded it with the single largest donation on record in the electronic archives of the Florida Division of Elections: $1 million.
Hughes plays to win in local politics, and he has enjoyed the ear of — if not flat out controlled — a strong majority of county commissioners in Hillsborough County. He is already close to incumbents Brian Blair and Ken Hagan; this year, he, along with his many companies, his partner's companies and family members, gave direct contributions to winning candidates Jim Norman ($6,300), Kevin White ($5,500) and Al Higginbotham ($5,000). The only commissioner he doesn't have ties to is the newly elected Rose Ferlita, who said during the campaign that she spurned Hughes' support when she came to realize that it came with strings.
The Hughes-controlled Let's Make the World hired the conservative Washington, D.C., consultant Red Sea LLC, widely known in national political circles as the polling and television ad brains behind the supply-side advocate Club for Growth. Red Sea's Jon Lerner was also lead consultant to former Florida Speaker of the House Johnnie Byrd in his unsuccessful 2004 U.S. Senate bid.
Hughes did not return a telephone call to describe in detail the work of his political committee. But state records show that Let's Make the World spent more than $300,000 of his $1 million donation in this election, attacking Sandy Murman in her primary against Ronda Storms and criticizing Hillsborough school board candidate Ken Allen in support of his opponent, April Griffin (who also got $3,000 worth of checks directly from Hughes-linked contributors). Both of Hughes' chosen candidates won.
Griffin welcomed Hughes' support but insisted she didn't know about Let's Make the World's attack against Allen and didn't approve it. "I will not be beholden to anyone as an elected official," Griffin wrote on the Seminole Heights blog (seminoleheights.blogspot.com) before election day.
But as the newest member of the Hillsborough School Board, Griffin will find herself right in the middle of the fight over whether to raise the county's ultra-low impact fees on new homes so it can build more schools. County commissioners voted to do just that earlier this year, but revised growth estimates have caused some commissioners to call for reconsidering that idea.
Hughes, of course, opposes the increase.
4. Ruden McClosky
What it does: The Tampa branch of the statewide law firm represents clients such as Liberty Waste, Waste Services and Bright House Networks, and is home to former Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority counsel Steve Anderson
What it wants: Depends on the client
2006 local campaign contributions: $ 20,600
Steve Anderson is perhaps the best-connected political lawyer in town. He was an informal patronage chief in the county for Gov. Lawton Chiles, for whom he raised significant funds in the 1990s. He served a long stint as general counsel to the Tampa Port Authority and former Property Appraiser Ron Alderman, who was evicted from office by the voters after Newschannel 8 filmed him drinking during workdays at a well-known downtown watering hole.
A 1997 St. Petersburg Times story said Anderson took in $3.5 million in fees for his law firms from those two jobs.
Most recently, Anderson is best known as the lawyer that the Expressway Authority fired and then got in a whole lot of trouble for doing so. He was the good guy in that story when it was revealed that his removal may have been improperly engineered by board members, its executive director and the agency's lobbyist.
Ruden McClosky is a large, statewide firm that gives plenty of money in legislative races. Locally, however, the money is directed at county commissions.
Ruden McClosky, Anderson and some of their clients gave more than $18,000 on both sides of the bay. In Hillsborough, the law firm picked all five winners, giving thousands to Ferlita, White, Norman, Sharpe and Higginbotham. In Pinellas, two winners, incumbents Calvin Harris and John Morroni.
Hillsborough County lobbying records show that Anderson lobbied for clients Liberty Waste and Waste Services regarding solid waste contracts in 2006. Both of those companies made campaign contributions as well.
Anderson responded to a request for an interview via e-mail: "We don't have any specific issues that relate to our contributions. Why do we give? Simple: We live and work here and we very much care what happens in our community. That is why Ruden makes many charitable, educational and civic contributions (as only one example, we recently committed $100,000 to the Mayor's Riverwalk project). Our political contributions pale in comparison, but are given for the same reason."
5. Manatee Bay Associates / EarthMark Companies
What it does: Develops new home communities in metro New York and Florida
What it wants: Zoning approval and land swap for its Riverton project in Ruskin
2006 local campaign contributions: $ 18,000
If you are a developer interested in staying on the good side of a couple of county commissioners who are running against each other, what do you do? Especially if you need both of their votes in August, before their election is decided?
If you are Manatee Bay's Fort Myers-based principals, you give equal amounts to both candidates. And that is just what the developer did earlier this year, giving both Sharpe and Commissioner Tom Scott $3,000 in donations in February, June and July. The contributions came from companies affiliated with the parent company, EarthMark, along with employees, associates and the Tampa law firm that represents the project.
Manatee Bay is trying to develop a 327-home neo-traditional neighborhood called Riverton along the banks of the Little Manatee River that has met with strong opposition from neighboring residents in Ruskin. Developers needed rezoning approval and a land swap from the county to complete their plans. Opponents said the development would block a vital wildlife corridor.
In March, after stories about Manatee Bay's contributions hit both daily papers, the County Commission voted down the rezoning. Norman voted to allow the project, while Sharpe and Scott voted against it.
In August, however, Sharpe and Scott switched their votes and joined Norman and Commission Ken Hagan to give it the go-ahead for the rezoning without the land swap. They did so after the developer lowered the number of units, made other changes and went through the county's relief hearing process to reach a compromise.
Commissioner Norman got the lion's share of Manatee Bay's money: $6,000 alone in Dec. 2005.
Sharpe, Scott and Norman did not respond to a request for comment for this story. But in a February Tampa Tribune story about the Manatee Bay project, Norman said, "I approach every rezoning the same way. I weigh the information from the planning commission, the planning and growth management staff, and the zoning hearing master. The contributions don't come into play. There is no quid pro quo."
Manatee Bay officials in Fort Myers referred questions to their general manager in Ruskin, Kelly Daniel, who could not be reached for comment.
THE RUNNERS-UP
Just below the top five are a handful of firms giving between $10,000 and $12,000 each.
Lance Ponton is another one of those political contributors that you never see a newspaper story about. The head of Cordoba Development has done many projects in Hillsborough and Pasco, including Cordoba Ranch in Lutz. That project met with resistance initially, but Lutz Civic Association President Denise Layne said it wasn't Ponton's fault; he was given bad instructions from county staff on how to design his equestrian-oriented community off Livingston Road.
"I'm not going to do anything but praise Lance for what he is doing," Layne said. "It is the first of its kind in the county."
Ponton bundled contributions from 10 companies he owns or controls to contribute $12,000 to four of the five winning Hillsborough County commissioners: Norman, Sharpe, White and Higginbotham.
He did not respond to a request for an interview for this story.
Two local political fixtures tied for seventh and eight places: The Realtor Political Action Committee of Florida spread its money on both sides of the bay and to county commissioners and school board members in both parties. Dick Mandt, a former Creative Loafing board member and past publisher of The Flyer, a shopper, supports conservative Republicans in Hillsborough. Both gave a total of $11,000.
At the $10,000 level, excavation company owner Nick Kotaiche and Tampa lawyer Steve Burton also tied. Kotaiche gave money to county commissioners in both parties in Hillsborough and Pinellas. Burton, the managing partner of Broad and Cassel, is close with Republican politicians. He was hired earlier this year to be general counsel to Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson.
(Disclosures: As a political consultant, the author represented Johnnie Byrd and worked closely with Red Sea's principals, who now work for Ralph Hughes' Let Make the World a Better Place committee. Garcia represented former property appraiser Ron Alderman and worked in that campaign with Steve Anderson. He was consultant to Rose Ferlita and Calvin Harris, two commission candidates who received contributions from one or more of the top 10 fundraisers. He also attended fundraising meetings with Hughes, Anderson and WellCare's Todd Farha in the course of representing various clients.)
Find out how we got the story.
This article appears in Nov 15-21, 2006.