Coe and Thornton well behind in financing of their races
The latest filings in the two competitive races for Sarasota County Commission seats this year show that developers are continuing to throw financial support behind construction company owner and former Sarasota County Planning Commission member Teresa Mast of Sarasota in District 1 and Commissioner Neil Rainford, whom Gov. DeSantis appointed to the District 3 seat after the death of Commissioner Nancy Detert in April 2023, The Sarasota News Leaderhas learned.
In fact, of the $15,000 in $1,000 contributions Rainford received in the second half of June, his campaign finance report shows, $10,000 came in a “bundle” from companies associated with developer Carlos Beruff’s Medallion Home firm in Sarasota: I-75 Office Park LLC, Oneco Park Properties LLC, Palmer Oaks LC, Pearce Drain Utility Co., Riva Trace Irrigation Utility, River Woods LLC, Twin Rivers Reserve Irrigation, Verna Road 132 LLC, Watercolor Utilities LLC, and Waverly Water Co. LLC.
Mast has remained well ahead of her Republican Primary challenger, Sarasota County Charter Review Board member Alexandra Coe of Sarasota, the reports also make clear. Through June, Mast had raised a total of $241,557.92, while she had spent $89,700.97. Coe’s total as of the end of June was $29,696.48. Her total expenditures were $21,882.93.
Mast filed for the District 1 seat in in January 2023, as Commissioner Michael Moran — who first was elected to that seat in 2016 — was term-limited. Coe did not enter the race until 13 months later — in February of this year.
In District 3, former three-term Sheriff Tom Knight of Venice is much closer to Rainford in fundraising terms. Both Republicans, they will be on the Aug. 20 Primary ballot.
A Sarasota resident, Rainford had to move to Venice to qualify to run for the seat, which he has held since June 2023.
Through the end of June, Knight had received $222,610 in contributions, while Rainford had pulled in $289,089.93, as shown in the forms filed with the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office.
From April through June, Rainford had spent $137,639.93, while Knight’s expenditures totaled $146,732.31.
Yet, a review of Knight’s political action committee (PAC) contributions through July 12 show him with $171,800 in monetary contributions, compared to Rainford’s PAC money total of $134,000.
Thus, adding their PAC money to their funds listed in documentation provided to the Supervisor of Elections Office, Knight had narrowed Rainford’s lead. Knight’s total through July 12 was $394,410, compared to $423,089.93 for Rainford.
The documents, provided on the Florida Department of State website, show that Rainford had collected no new PAC money since June 14, while Knight’s PAC raised another $5,000 from June 29 through July 5.
A third candidate in the District 3 race, Shari Thornton of Venice, who has no party affiliation, had received only $20,005 in contributions through the end of June, less than a tenth of the amounts for Knight and Rainford. She listed expenditures adding up to $4,753.33.
Commissioner Ron Cutsinger of Englewood has no challenger for the District 5 seat he won in November 2020. Through June 14, he had raised $105,265.92 and spent $27,006.40, his reports show. The report for that period was the latest report that the News Leader found.
In response to a News Leader question about that situation, Paul Donnelly, director of communications and voter outreach for the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office explained in a July 24 email that Cutsinger “was required to file reports while there was a chance he might be opposed. … Since he is now unopposed, he is only required to file a final termination report within 90 days of the end of qualifying,” which was in June.
Coe’s reports
From April 1 through May 31, Coe raised $10,010 in cash and checks, and she received $3,370 in in-kind contributions. Coe gave her campaign $1,500 of the in-kind funds for rental of a “club car” and another $1,750 for the rental of a small trailer, the report notes.
During the same period, she spent $4,002.10, that report shows.
The document lists 89 contributions, with the amounts ranging from $20 to $1,000. Procore Electric of Sarasota the only entity that gave her $1,000, which is the maximum allowed by state law.
Coe did receive several $500 contributions. Those came from Sarasota retirees Eileen Schineller; Teresa Stottlemyer, co-owner of Stottlemyer’s Smokehouse restaurant and live music venue on Fruitville Road; David Koffman of Sarasota, president of HSK Industries, a private equity firm; and Sarasota retiree Susan Erhart, who has served on the board of the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC) in Sarasota;
Another Sarasota retiree, Audrey Rueth, gave Coe $500 after contributing $25 almost a week earlier, the report shows.
Realtor Ruediger Weiss of Sarasota and retiree Roger Quick of Sarasota contributed $400 apiece to Coe’s campaign.
Coe’s largest payments as noted in that report went to Angelo Di Fiori for food for an event ($1,440); Gateway Media of Sarasota for brochures ($567.10); and Office Max Depot for supplies and printing ($428.47).
In the first half of June, Coe took in $8,500.48 in cash and checks, of which $5,970.48 was a loan she made to the campaign. She also reported $1,000 in in-kind contributions. The latter, as in April and May, represented Coe’s expenditures for the car and trailer rentals.
Her total expenditures for that period were $14,017.73.
The number of contributions she received during the first two weeks of June was 22. The amounts ranged once more from $20 to $1,000. The only contribution she received at the latter level came from Jim Morton of Bradenton, owner of ProspectsPLUS!, a marketing firm.
Coe listed eight contributions of $100 each, and she received $500 from John Phair, a real estate developer in South Bend, Ind.
Coe’s two largest expenditures during that period were the $5,970.48 filing fee for the County Commission race and $6,878.82 paid to Sublimation and Stitch of Sarasota for political signs. She also spent $799.18 with Opportunity Knocks of Bradenton for a direct mail campaign.
In the second half of June, Coe reported raising another $4,405 in cash or checks, and she listed $1,000 more as in-kind contributions — again, for rental of a car and a small trailer. She spent $21,882.93, the report shows.
The range for the 22 contributions listed in that report was $5 to $1,000.
Attorney Susan Schoettle-Gumm, who has been long been an advocate for controlling residential growth in District 1; and Sarasota retiree Stephen Rueth both gave Coe $1,000 apiece.
Tim Hensey, a Siesta Key retiree who led the most recent campaign to allow island residents to vote for incorporation; and retiree Harry DeBusk of Sarasota gave Coe $500 apiece.
Among her top expenditures that period, the report says, Coe paid $917.20 to In Sublimation of Sarasota for yard signs; $871.10 to Gecko’s for two event with food; $365.02 to Opportunity Knocks in Bradenton for mailers; $350.30 to ProspectsPlus! of Bradenton for mailers; and $265 to Webelect of Tampa for campaign software.
Mast’s reports
From April through May of this year, Mast added another 36 contributions, but only six of them were at the maximum level of $1,000.
Those $1,000 contributions came from the following: Shawna Wilson of Sarasota, director of purchasing at Kolter Homes; the Realtors Political Advocacy Committee, a political action committee (PAC) based in Orlando; the Taylor Morrison Building PAC, based on Scottsdale, Ariz.; the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange PAC; Commodore Realty of Key Biscayne; and Creekside South of Parrish, which is identified on the form as an agricultural firm, though the News Leader found several websites for Creekside residential communities in Parrish.
In that report, the largest portion of the expenditures — $17,450— went to Strategic Image Management (Simwins) of Tampa for multiple types of campaign-related assistance — from social media management to campaign photography to consulting work.
Cathy Antunes, one of the founders of the Citizens for Sarasota County Facebook page and host of The Detail on WSLR radio in Sarasota, has identified Anthony Pedicini, a partner with Simwins since September 2009 — as his LinkedIn account notes — as a political consultant for both Mast and Rainford. Antunes has reported on the Citizens Facebook page that Pedicini’s company has made more than $33 million in the past four years with its “portfolio of political services.”
From April through May, that campaign finance report shows, Mast also reimbursed herself $4,760.72 for expenses she had paid out of pocket.
Mast’s filing for the period of June 1 through June 14 notes that she added only $220 in contributions, but she spent $1,821.20. The largest single amount on the contribution list was $100, from a retired registered nurse named Teresa Hoffman, the form indicates. Hoffman’s address was “protected,” which typically means that the person at one time worked in law enforcement or in a district attorney’s offices — or the person is the spouse of someone who is or was so employed. The goal, per the relevant state law, is to try to protect those individuals and their families from retaliation because of the law enforcement/district attorney’s office work.
The largest expense in that report for Mast was $1,250, paid to Simwins for consulting work. The document does note that Mast reimbursed Commissioner Moran $171.20 for an “endorcement [sic] flyer.” That apparent misspelling, for the same purpose, shows up in a report filed by Commissioner Rainford. The same figure is listed as a payment to Moran in Cutsinger’s report for the first half of June; however, it is listed as a reimbursement for printing.
In the second half of June, Mast raised $3,400, and she spent $1,651.50, that report says.
Of the six contributions listed, she received $1,000 apiece from retirees Robb Peterson and Ashley Peterson of Sarasota, plus $1,000 from an audio engineer named Jacob Peterson, also of Sarasota.
Once again, the largest portion of her expenditures went to Simwins: $1,514. Of that total, $1,130 was for “text messaging service,” the document said.
Rainford’s reports
In April and May, Rainford’s reports show, he pulled in another $20,845 from 36 contributions and spent $27,278.70. Of the latter amount, $25,229 went to Strategic Image Management (Simwins) of Tampa, the report notes, mirroring Mast’s use of that firm.
He received a $3,000 “bundle” of contributions from the airport engineering and planning firm American Infrastructure Development in Tampa; its president and CEO, Sabina Chaudhry; and its vice president, Michael Cummings.
A second bundle, comprising $2,000, came from Bowersox Air Conditioning and Heating in Venice, plus BSOX LLC.
Yet another $2,000 bundle came from James Cox, whose family founded Cox Chevrolet in Bradenton; and Jennifer Lipsey, executive manager of Cox Chevrolet.
The other $1,000 contributions came from Shawn Wilson, president and CEO of Blue Sky Communities of St. Petersburg, which builds affordable housing; the FPF Fire political committee, based in Tallahassee; Voight Brothers Construction in Sarasota; strategic consultant Brittney Metzger of Fort Myers; Give School Kids A Brake, identified as a “school safety co.” in Marietta, Ga.; attorney Anne Corcoran of Sarasota; Brett Hutchens, president of Casto Southeast Realty Services LLC in Lakewood Ranch; and Kaycee Wells, a Bradenton Realtor.
One other point of note in that report is that Rainford’s document shows he received $900 from the Sarasota real estate firm Marsvision LLC, whose registered agent is Mark M. Palmer, as shown in Florida Division of Corporations records. Palmer’s LinkedIn account identifies him as a “content media producer.” In that same report, Rainford listed a $900 payment to “Mars Vision Productions” for campaign photography. Both “Marsvision” and Mars Vision Productions are located in the 4300 block of Independence Court in Sarasota, the campaign finance document says.
In the first half of June, Rainford reported no contributions, but he spent $68,168.20, that report points out. The vast majority of that money went again to Simwins — $67,597. One of the other two payments during that period, $400, went to the Venice CPA firm Robinson Gruters & Roberts in Venice, which is serving as his campaign treasurer. (The Gruters in that firm is state Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota.) Rainford raised another $16,900 in cash and checks in the second half, of June, that report shows. He spent only $388.14 during that period.
Of the 22 contributions listed, about two-thirds — 15 — were at the $1,000 level, including those from Beruff’s companies, as noted above.
Among the others who gave Rainford $1,000 in the last half of June were both Rebecca Keiver, president of ROL Insurance Consulting on Siesta Key, and her husband, Ash, a Realtor. In December 2023, Rebecca Keiver won County Commission approval to construct a new home on Siesta property that is landward of the county’s Gulf Beach Setback Line. That line was established in 1979 to protect dunes and beach habitat which, in turn, protect landward structures from storm damage. Rainford voted with the board majority to approve her request for a Coastal Setback Variance, even though the county staff report pointed to a number of policies with which the proposed construction was inconsistent.
Additionally, Andrea Gallo, an architect, designer and engineer in Sarasota; and Julie Lengacher-Taylor, a Lakewood Ranch resident, gave Rainford $1,000 apiece.
The largest expenditure in that report was $200, paid to the Republican Party of Sarasota County for the sponsorship of an event.
Knight’s reports
Tom Knight listed 108 contributions in his second quarter report, with the amounts ranging from $25 to $1,000. The total of cash and checks was $25,925, while Knight also received $5,359.48 in in-kind contributions.
Those who gave him $1,000 were Venice Realtor Norman Holloway; retiree Mark Ohara of Osprey; wealth adviser Cole M. McHargue of Sarasota; Busch Storage Capital LLC in Sarasota, whose principal is attorney John Patterson, husband of the late, four-term county Commissioner Nora Patterson, of Siesta Key; Ping Faulhaber, co-founder and executive director of the Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab in Sarasota; Venice Realtor Debi L. Cohoon; both attorney Michael France of Nokomis, and France’s wife, Kathleen; Steve Harner, owner of The Crow’s Nest restaurant in Venice; and both Patricia Tassone and her husband, John, Sarasota retirees.
Those who gave Knight $500 apiece were retiree Jeffrey Hughes of Venice; attorney Charles Fitzpatrick of Venice; retiree Robert Lindsay of Sarasota; Stephen Clouse of Venice, whose eponymous firm “produces high-quality, high-impact, visual professional services for select charitable and political organizations,” its website says; Dennis J. Neeser of Venice, whose eponymous consulting firm also is located in Venice; Venice retiree Michael Levine; Stephen Russell of Sarasota; Cathy Layton, who has is past chair of The Bay Park Conservancy in Sarasota; retiree Tommye Whittaker, whose address was marked as “Protected”; MRT Lawn and Garden Center in Port Charlotte; CPA Linda Mehserle of Venice; dentist Lisa Klein of Sarasota; Venice land planner James T. Collins, who is associated with the Boone Law Firm in Venice; retiree James M. Kasmark Jr. of Venice; and Richard Gonzmart, one of the principals of the Columbia Restaurant company, which is based in Tampa.
In regard to Knight’s expenses in that second-quarter report, the largest total went to Data Targeting in Gainesville — $34,957.50, primarily for direct mail services. He also reimbursed Michael Quillen of Sarasota $1,813.35 for food and beverages for an event. Further, Knight reimbursed himself $541.22 for a variety of payments that covered, for example, postage, printing, and food and beverages for events.
In the first half of June, Knight had 22 contributions that added up to $10,375, while he spent $18,758.91.
Again, his contributions ranged from $25 up to $1,000.
He did get $2,000 in a bundle from Margaret Rauch, who was identified as a teacher, and Rauch Realty, both of the same Casey Key Road address in Nokomis, the document shows.
Knight also received $1,000 apiece from Sunacre Corp., a real estate firm in Venice; Nokomis retiree Patricia Lombard; Clayton Taylor, owner of DeSoto Hay & Cattle LLC; and retiree Margaret Grohne of Wilmington, Illinois, and her husband, David F. Grohne.
Once more, the largest portion of Knight’s expenditures went to Data Targeting: $1,7680.
In the last half of June, Knight took in a total of 38 contributions in cash and checks that added up to $8,305, plus $2,425 in in-kind contributions, that report shows. He spent $69,019.
Those who gave him $1,000 apiece were Bird Bay Plaza in Key Biscayne; and Michael Pachota of Venice, whose family owns the Venice Pier Group, which includes Sharky’s on the Pier, and Pachota’s wife, Madonna.
Jaime DiDomenico, owner and president of CoolToday, PlumbingToday and EnergyToday, and his wife, Julie, of Nokomis gave Knight $1,000 apiece for event food and beverages, the document says.
Among his expenses for the last half of June, Knight paid $55,000 to Mentzer Media of Bel Aire, Md., for “media” and $12,270 to Data Targeting. Knight also reimbursed himself $1,614.18 for multiple campaign expenses.
Thornton’s reports
In her second quarter report, Thornton noted 93 contributions adding up to $10,970. The amounts ranged from $10 to $1,000.
Her only contributions at the maximum level came from retiree Carol Kennedy of Venice; retiree Ruth Cordner of North Venice; and retiree Robert Wright of Sarasota.
She did receive $500 from attorney Dick Cushing of Venice.
The News Leader counted 78 contributions that were $100 or less.
The largest expense in that report was $1,230.50, which went to Sir Speedy in Sarasota for door hanger cards. Thornton also paid $401.51 for yard signs; that went to Good Guy Signs in Tampa.
In the first half of June, Thornton took in $1,745 in cash and checks and $136.40 in in-kind contributions, that report says. She spent $400.54.
The contributions numbered 14, ranging from $20 to $500. The latter amount came from Venice retiree Mark Furfari, the report says.
Venice City Council member Joan Farrell provided the in-kind contribution for car magnet signs, the report notes.
As for expenditures in that report: Thornton’s largest payment was $247 for wristbands from Wristband Express in New Berlin, Wis. She also spent $78.11 to pay off a balance for T-shirts from Royal-Tee’s in Sarasota.
In the last half of June, Thornton received $2,185 and spent $36.82, that document says. She received 32 contributions ranging from $10 to $200.
All of her expenses appeared to be service charges related to her contributions, except for $6.40 that she spent on index cards at Staples in Venice.
Cutsinger’s reports
In his report for May and June, Cutsinger noted a total of $8,000 from nine contributions, while he spent $12,678.78.
He received one $2,000 “bundle” from associated development firms in Des Plaines, Illinois: Lad Infinity Realty Group and GSP Development LLC.
The other five contributions at the $1,000 level came from Keith Green, CEO of B C Investments in Sarasota; Rave Investments of Sarasota; Scot Lloyd, principal of Marquesa Capital Partners of Sarasota; interior designer Andrea Gallo of Sarasota; and Michael W. Nole III of Seminole, who is described as being in the machinery business.
Former County Commissioner Alan Maio of Nokomis gave Cutsinger $500, that report says.
Among his expenditures for that period, Cutsinger paid $2,400 for “communications consulting” to The Thomson Group in Sarasota, whose principal is Rod Thomson; the $5,970.48 filing fee for the District 5 race; $2,500 to Public Concepts LLC of Jupiter for campaign consulting; and $1803.30 to PAC Financial Management in Tallahassee for providing services as his campaign treasurer.
The only contribution Cutsinger received in the first half of June was $1,000 from the Floridians United for a Sustainable Economy, a political committee, that report shows.
The solitary expense Cutsinger listed was the $171.20 payment to Commissioner Moran.