Pilon remains in second place, with $9,055
Sarasota County Commission District 1 candidate Teresa Mast, a former Planning Commission member and a construction company owner, has picked up another $4,000 in her effort to win the seat that Commissioner Michael Moran will be vacating in November 2024, the latest campaign finance records show.
As of June 30, Mast had raised $194,800 and spent $7,576.36, her report for that month shows.
Former state House member and former county Commissioner Ray Pilon had boosted his contributions to $9,055 by the end of June, his report notes. He has spent $919.92.
Finally, Les Nichols, a property manager, added $200 in June, bringing his total to $5,550. He has spent about half of that: $2,216.70.
Mast, Pilon and Nichols are Republicans.
Additionally, on June 5, the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office website showed that new District 3 Commissioner Neil Rainford filed to keep that seat. In early June, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Rainford, also a Republican, to fill out the term of the late Commissioner Nancy Detert, who died unexpectedly in early April.
Rainford’s Statement of Candidate — which is required among the formal paperwork for filing for office — was dated June 16, the form indicates.
He took his oath of office on June 13 and participated in his first commission meeting the same day.
Republican Gregory Wood, a Realtor, filed in early February for the District 3 seat. However, after the end of June — mirroring his action in previous months — he submitted another Waiver of Report to the Supervisor of Elections Office, having raised no funds for his campaign.
Rainford will be expected to file his first campaign finance report after the end of this month.
Details of the reports
Mast’s latest form says that she collected four $1,000 contributions in June. They came from RV dealer Kevin Campbell in Sarasota; Shawn Briggs, a commercial real estate investor in Minneapolis; Alison Briggs, also of Minneapolis, who is executive director of the Edina Community Foundation; and Heather Eller, wife of Scott Eller, who is the CEO of Community Assisted & Supported Living (CASL), a Sarasota organization that works to provide housing for homeless people.
Mast’s largest single expenditure in June was $400, which she paid to the Venice CPA firm of Robinson, Gruters & Roberts. The Robinson is Eric, a former chair of the county Republican Party, while the Gruters is state Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota.
Mast also paid a $12 service fee to Truist bank and a total of $120.90 to Anedot in Baton Rouge, La., for processing credit card payments.
In his report, Pilon noted two contributions of $1,000 each — from the Aladdin pool and spa equipment manufacturing firm in Sarasota and from Lindy Lee Smith, the CEO of Aladdin.
Pilon’s next highest contribution — $250 — came from Pedro Reis, CEO of the Circus Arts Conservatory in Sarasota.
Pilon also noted two in-kind payments, both from his wife, as shown in past reports. The total was $70 for Constant Contact email blast services.
Pilon’s largest expenditure in June was $99, which went to KAJ Consults in Sarasota for monthly website maintenance. He also paid $44.99 to Dream Web Tec of Sarasota for domain name hosting. The rest of his June payments were made to Piryx Rally in San Francisco for processing fees.
During June, the solitary contribution Nichols received totaled $200; it came from Colin Brechbill, who had a Jackson, Miss. Address. Brechbill’s LinkedIn account says he is the chief operating officer and chief technology officer of Cision Capital Management and Advisory Services. That account does note that Brechbill is a native of Southwest Florida.
Nichols’ solitary payment in June was $50, which went to Capital One.