Big money flows into Winter Park elections
The three-way race for Seat 2 on the City Commission is also proving a tight financial contest
Feb. 28, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Money is flowing into Winter Park elections, with five candidates for two open seats raising a combined $200,000 so far, and about half of that still on hand to spend before the March 19 election.
The biggest money is pouring into the three-way race for Seat 2 on the City Commission.
Craig Russell, a teacher and coach at Winter Park High School and first-time candidate, raised $49,128, according to the most recent reports filed with the city clerk last week. That figure was enough to overtake the $41,952 raised by Jason Johnson, an attorney and also a first-time candidate, who was the early money leader in the race.
The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce announced earlier this month that it would endorse Russell and his contribution records show a $1,000 check from the chamber’s political action committee as well as donations from other business leaders associated with the chamber.
Notably, at least $8,000 in contributions are from businesses owned by or associated with the Holler family, which owns car dealerships and Winter Park real estate. Individual checks are logged from Holler Honda, Holler Hyundai, Holler Driver’s Mart, Classic Mazda and Audi among others, according to the reports.
Frank Hamner, an attorney for the Hollers, gave two separate checks of $1,000 a piece on Jan. 16 and Feb. 16, both marked as individual contributions. Hamner said in an email message that one of those contributions was “misclassified” on the report and was actually from his law firm rather than a personal check. Each individual and business is limited to $1,000 maximum per cycle.
Strong Persuader Arms, a gun store on Wymore Road owned by Hamner, also contributed $1,000 on Feb. 16.
The combined total donations related to Hamner and the Hollers adds up to $11,000 or more than 20% of Russell’s total contributions.
The Holler family or corporations affiliated with the family own prominent land along Orange, Fairbanks and Park avenues that could one day be redeveloped. The family also was at one time involved in a lawsuit against the city of Winter Park, arguing that commissioners improperly overturned the original Orange Avenue Overlay zoning rules.
Hamner said the Hollers’ support of Russell evolved because they know him as a leader in the community from his work at the high school and his nonprofit Army of Angels.
“The property they own and plans for that property have zero to do with supporting Coach Russell,” he said, noting that Russell is “a great leader” and an “impressive young man.”
Russell told the Voice, “I am no more beholden to developers than I am to the other citizens of Winter Park, including our police, firemen, nurses, young professionals and others who can’t enjoy Winter Park because there’s nowhere for them to live.”
At a candidate forum hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, he said he was open to the idea of revisiting the original overlay plans.
At that same forum, Johnson said he was not interested in revisiting the OAO.
A mix of well-known names contributed to Johnson, including Full Sail University CEO Ed Haddock and his wife Edye, who each gave $1,000; a $1,000 from former Winter Park Mayor David Strong; $1,000 from former gubernatorial candidate Chris King and $1,000 from former U.S. Congressman Alan Grayson.
Noting that his opponents have surpassed him in fundraising, Johnson said he doesn’t believe the race will be decided on money alone. He said he’s been focusing on talking with as many voters as he can in individual and small group meetings.
He is the only candidate who lists detailed expenses for coffee with voters or stakeholders such as Police Chief Tim Volkerson and former Mayor Terry Hotard and sponsoring a golf tournament for Dommerich Elementary.
“I’m not trying to win the battle of the mailers,” Johnson said. “Getting in front of people and talking to voters is really, in my opinion, where this race is won.”
Mailers appear to be a key strategy for Stockton Reeves, who has sent at least eight to voters homes so far.
Reeves, the executive director for the Center for Public Safety who also ran for a Florida House seat, has brought the most money into his campaign account with more than $69,000 so far. But the bulk of that total — $53,000 — is in the form of loans from himself to his campaign. That means he’s raised just $16,000 from other contributors.
He received $250 from David Albertson, a former citrus grower and real estate investor who was one of the original founders of the Orlando Magic and $250 from Mike Clelland, an attorney and former Democratic member of the Florida House among others.
Reeves declined to answer questions about his mailers or fundraising because, “I will be giving away our strategy for the final few weeks of the campaign.”
With less than three weeks until Election Day on March 19, vote-by-mail has already started and early voting at select locations will begin on March 4 and run through March 17.
Sheila DeCiccio, who is leaving Seat 2 to run for mayor, is the clear money frontrunner in her race. She has picked up nearly $40,000 in contributions and spent more than $25,000 so far, according to reports.
Her contributors include $1,000 from King, the former gubernatorial candidate, Strong, the former mayor, and Alan Keen, an attorney and developer.
Michael Cameron, who is running against DeCiccio and owns a real estate school, has raised $4,971 and has spent nearly all of that on a political consultant called Panoplia Consulting Group started in 2022 by former Republican state house candidate Jeremy Sisson.
Panoplia’s web site describes itself as a firm that “exclusively serves Kingdom-focused candidates who are called to serve their communities in a civic capacity.”
The site calls on candidates to “put on the full armor of God” and says, “We equip our clients with the armor and weapons necessary to do battle in the political arena.”
Cameron, who has not appeared at any public forums and also skipped a private forum at the Mayflower senior living community, did not respond to questions from the Voice.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
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By: Beth Kassab
No biography available at this time
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So it is true the one with the most money wins.
There’s a pot of gold ($11,000) at the end of that Holler rainbow. Do they call that an endorsement in the football sports world?
Thank you for reporting this to voters.
Should the Chamber be influencing a City election? At their forum they could have made their selection known and not waist the audiences time. They also are in a City building.
Cameron is the man.
This candidate is mysterious raising no money and no list obackers
Cameron figured out that whoever gets the most votes wins.
Fundraising and endorsements don’t win elections.
Votes win elections.
So Cameron is out getting votes while his opponent collects campaign donations and endorsements.
Cameron the man. He never shows up for any of the debates why should we expect him to show up for meetings.!!! He won’t answer questions or return phone calls from the newspapers so where does the man stand? Who knows !!! Why run for office when you don’t take the position for Mayor serious . Not getting my vote.
Alan Grayson supports Johnson? That’s all I need to know. Ha ha ha
Russell just lost my vote when I read the list of his contributors.
Also it would be good to mention that Stockton Reeves never shows up to these meetings or discussions either. What is he afraid of too?
Cameron’s under the radar campaign, modest fundraising, and low key style, masks a massive, aggressive, highly efficient campaign machine focused and energized 24/7 to win EVERY vote in Winter Park!
Craig Russell has proven to be a genuine hardworking man in Winter Park. He is out speaking and meeting with everyone. Hope people see he is a gem
A mayoral candidate wants Winter Park to have its own school board and fears taking his children to local movie theaters because of inappropriate content. Speaking of schools, it seems hard to believe that someone who teaches and coaches at a public high school would take a contribution from a gun store. Then the Chamber of Commerce PAC sent out a mailer using the address of a City owned building. The Chamber also endorsed a commission candidate prior to inviting his opponents to a debate in the City owned building.
Just got another email from The Coach. Wants the start times for commission meetings to change from 3:30 pm on the two days a month when the commission meets to better suit his schedule. He implies the commission chooses 3:30 start time as a penalty to families. The biggest problem with Coach is that he does not know what he does not know. Commission meetings require a number of city staffers to attend and work the meetings. These city workers have their own children and families. Public comment time at meetings is reserved for 5 pm or later. This is done to accommodate the needs of the general public. Nowhere does Coach tell the voters what time would suit his schedule better. Starting later means meetings will just run later. Does he actually believe if commission meetings started at 5 or 6, working parents with kids in school will start showing up at commission meetings? Instead of having dinner? Going to practices and games? Helping kids with homework? Commission service is a big commitment and a sacrifice of one’s time. Does he even know Cruzada is a sole practitioner with a law practice? Not sure Coach sounds ready. Maybe he wants to move meetings to the weekend. Young families would love that even better than 2 weekdays per month at 3:30. This guy is so green. This message was almost as bad as his email saying he will “stop large buildings on Park Avenue.” Apparently, he also does not know we have a zoning code that controls what can be built on Park Ave.
Your argument about city staff might make sense if the meetings ended at the end of the work day, but I cannot recall a time they ever have. I also recall many times things that would merit public comment or would better serve the public if they were there to hear the discussion, happen well before 5 pm. Starting meetings a bit later would have no real impact on staff but would make the process of City governing far more transparent for all.
Winter Park’s elections this year coincide with the Presidential Primary Election.
Both the Republican and Democrat presidential races are uncontested.
That means low voter turnout.
Challengers have a vote advantage when voter turnout is low.
It’s known as “the protest vote.”
Underdog candidates Michael Cameron and Jason Johnson could easily garner enough low turnout votes to take them over the 50% bar to victory.
The Voice published this article about contributions from myself and one of my clients to the Craig “Coach” Russell campaign, but has left out key facts that don’t support her and her primary constituency’s agenda. As I told Ms. Kassab when she called me, my clients and I are supporting Coach because of our personal relationships with him and because he is a proven leader and can bring a new voice to a commission that somehow almost always seems aligned in their efforts in a “groupthink” voice to support their chosen causes.
Yet, Ms. Kassab included in her article, “The Holler family or corporations affiliated with the family own prominent land along Orange, Fairbanks and Park avenues that could one day be redeveloped,” as a part of her story. Shortly after, a sitting City Commissioner, Todd Weaver, took the ironic step of criticizing the WP Chamber for exercising its political rights. The dog whistling and hypocrisy of both pieces merit a response.
The Holler family has been a part of the fabric of this community for over five generations. Their roots are here, and this community has benefitted greatly from their generosity and service. I have been here over 35 years, raised three of my children here and have served this community and the City on more boards and committees than I care to count. At no point in the five generations of the Holler family or in my decades in this community have either participated in the “development” of anything. We are now working to self-develop some of the property on Fairbanks but are working hand in hand with the City to not only benefit the property but to give the City stormwater, flood control and traffic relief the City desperately needs in the area.
Contrast that to what else Ms. Kassab chose not to report. While the Hollers live here and face their neighbors every day, another candidate has taken extensive contributions from companies associated with a south Florida developer who has no relationship to our community…except for lobbying for development. None of that was reported even though it was in the same financial reports she reviewed for her article.
Candidate Jason Johnson’s first financial report show multiple contributions from Blue Longhorns, LLC, JPOP Maine, LLC and H.A. Cumber & Company, Inc….all maximum contributors and all showing the exact same address in Jacksonville, Florida. What they also have in common is management or representation by Husein Cumber, who has served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for Florida East Coast Industries, a company involved in HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENT at or near train stations throughout south Florida. FECI even touts their work on 8, 10 and 12 story developments at a Miami Brightline station.
So, from the Voice’s perspective, taking money from a named local family who has never developed anything is somehow more newsworthy than investigating why shell Jacksonville companies tied to a south Florida development company with a history of high-rise development would be making contributions to a City election; particularly to the candidate backed by the anti-development crowd.
But their hypocrisy is boundless. Development is all bad they say, yet their own Mayor was once a developer with his eyes on Winter Park. Mayor Anderson’s vision for development was far different in 2015 when he personally lobbied the City Commission for “Progress Point”. The Orlando Business Journal reported in August 2015, “Winter Park may be the home of a new senior-living community called Progress Point,” part of proposal from then former city commissioner, now mayor, Phil Anderson, and his company ROC Senior Housing Fund Managers to build an assisted living facility and restaurant on the site. That proposed development from one of their insiders certainly did not slow down the anti-development crowd’s support for Mr. Anderson as their mayor, nor does it slow their support for Mr. Johnson as their chosen flag bearer for commission seat 2, even when he takes out of town money from companies associated with development. Again, hypocrisy…if it’s one of our chosen few, it’s ok; but if it’s not, then it’s bad.
And make no mistake, there is a very organized group running these campaigns, both for the mayor when he ran, for Commissioner Weaver and now for Mr. Johnson. It runs in the shadows but pulls all the strings. Thus, the continued hypocrisy, and added irony, of Commissioner Weaver taking a shot at the Chamber (“The Chamber is at it again.”) is almost laughable.
Think about it, a sitting City Commissioner invoking his power to remind (warn??) the Chamber that the City is its landlord and further chastise them for exercising a fully legal and tangible Constitutional right to participate in the political process in a wholly transparent and open way. Meanwhile, he has benefitted from the political support of a shadow group who supported not only his campaign, but that of their current chosen candidate, Mr. Johnson, who is taking money from the exact type of developer they use as a boogeyman about what could happen, but never has, in our City.
This type of government overreach to attack and suppress any view except the ones they like and the total lack of transparency on their part is part and parcel of why I am supporting Coach Russell. If you are tired of the hypocrisy, do something about it. Get out and vote for transparency and accountability to all…. not just the chosen few.
I guess this diatribe falls into the category of “the best defense is to go on the offensive.”
My wife has been personal friends with Mr. Cumber since before we got married nearly 14 years ago. I subsequently became friends with Mr. Cumber and his wife. They are wonderful people, and I am proud to call them friends. We are social friends with the Cumbers—nothing more.
We supported Mrs. Cumbers candidacy in a municipal election in Jacksonville, and when Husein learned of my candidacy in this race, he was kind enough to support my campaign.
None of: (I) Mr. Cumber; (ii) any entities in which he has an interest: or (iii) his employer; have ever been a client of mine. Neither have I ever had any business relationships with them. And as far as I am aware, none of them have any interest in, or related to, the City of Winter Park.
So, try in vain as you may, Mr. Hamner, there is simply no development connection—nefarious or otherwise—that can be drawn from Mr. Cumbers support of my candidacy. It is simply one friend showing support for another.
One one hand we have a local family that owns a lot of real estate supporting your opponent. You question those donations. But you accept money from out of town developers and blithely pass it off as a “social” donation. I guess we’re still stuck in the “I’ll protect you” fear-mongering that has been the hallmark of recent candidates. The facts are nothing above 3 stories can be built inside 17/92 and Lakemont Ave. Can we stop the patronizing, pandering pablum just to get elected?
Will someone please just get the darn roads fixed?! I mean really – so concerned about development (every year same story) and nobody is focused on keeping our infrastructure in good working order. I can’t drive one block in this city without hitting a pothole and for goodness sakes – the brick road on Lake Sue Ave is a great way to lose your transmission. Pretty with bricks but a nightmare to drive on.
Guess it’s just a cosmic coincidence that Hamner and Hollers are donating thousands in support of Craig Russell, the only Seat 2 candidate who openly stated he wants to revisit the original OAO-where the Hollers just happen to own acres of land. Walk away, People. There is nothing to see here. Do the Jacksonville donors to Johnson own land within the OAO or anywhere else in WP? No. Nuff said.