Steve Leary taps political committee for unlimited dollars in race against Kelly Semrad
Universal Orlando, Tavistock, other land developers wrote big checks in support of the former Winter Park mayor who is facing Semrad in the November election
Aug. 29, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Steve Leary, candidate for Orange County Commission District 5, started a political committee earlier this summer that has allowed him to take uncapped donations from deep-pocketed businesses who often have business in front of the commission such as tourism giant Universal Orlando and Tavistock Development Company.
The committee called Neighbors for a Sensible Orange County brought in $48,000 in July and August, according to the most recent financial filings, and has most of the money left to spend ahead of the general election on Nov. 5 when Leary, a Republican and former Winter Park mayor, faces Kelly Semrad, a Democrat and UCF professor who took first place in the primary on Aug. 20. The races are technically non-partisan but the parties are frequently involved in the campaigns.
Universal Orlando is the largest contributor so far at $7,500 followed by $6,000 from companies associated with John Miklos, the former chairman of the St. Johns River Water Management District who also operates an environmental consulting business.
Leary’s campaign did not respond to questions from the Voice about the committee’s contributions or expenses or how, if at all, the financial contributions would affect his actions if elected to the county commission.
The Rosen Centre Hotel and the law firm Fishback Dominick, which includes Winter Park City Attorney Kurt Ardaman, each gave the committee $5,000. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s political committee called Orlando PAC gave $4,000. A company called Windermere Property Holdings, which is managed by Tavistock Development Company’s general counsel and senior vice president, gave $2,500.
Another $2,500 came from a company called CHCG Land Services, which shares an address with Lake Pickett North, an entity behind Sustanee, the 1,800-home project proposed in the rural area between Lake Pickett Road and UCF that was rejected by the County Commission earlier this year. This month Lake Pickett North filed a lawsuit against Orange County seeking to stop a vote in November on ballot questions that ask voters to establish a rural boundary and give the county commission veto power over voluntary annexations into a city.
Some donors such as Universal and Rosen have also contributed directly to Leary’s campaign, which has raised about $200,000 compared to about $60,000 raised by Semrad, who is championing causes that conflict with some business interests of developers and the tourism industry.
Semrad, who is endorsed by environmental groups and is a vocal advocate for protecting the county’s rural boundary and giving the county commission more power over annexations such as those that have come up this year by Tavistock and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which recently applied to move some 50,000 acres of its Deseret Ranch land in southeast Orange into the city of Orlando.
Results from the Aug. 20 primary show a 9 point lead for Kelly Semrad. She is facing Steve Leary in the Nov. 5 runoff.
Semrad, who teaches about tourism economies, is also pushing to use a portion of the county’s Tourist Development Tax on basic services and quality-of-life projects for residents such as mass transit. Today the levy on hotel beds is directed almost entirely to marketing the tourism industry, the Orange County Convention Center and other industry-backed projects.
Political Action Committees are commonplace in Tallahassee and among statewide races, and appear to be gaining ground in local campaigns, too. They are a popular fundraising tool because donors are not limited to the $1,000 maximum that exists on direct campaign contributions and committees have wide latitude in how they can spend their money.
Austin Arthur, a candidate in District 1, and Linda Stewart, a candidate in District 3, also appear to have committees working to promote them or attack their opponents.
Leary opened the committee in late May and named himself as the chairman. The expenses so far include political consulting fees, $500 to the Orange County Republican Executive Committee and $1,476 labeled as text messages to voters, according to the financial reports.
Leary’s campaign did not respond to a question about what kind of text messages were sent. A firm called Victory Research Group was paid for the texts. Victory is managed by Robbie Vogan, according to state corporate records.
Vogan is a colleague of Rachael Kobb, who is helping to run Leary’s campaign, at Central Florida Public Affairs, the lobbying firm founded by Sharon Smoley.
Kobb is a registered Orange County lobbyist and managed the re-election campaign for Dyer, one of the region’s most well-known Democrats who used his own political committee this summer to endorse Leary as the only Republican amid a slate of Democrats in local races. Dyer is also a vocal opponent of the limits the county commission is asking voters to set on voluntary annexations, which would make it harder to grow his city’s boundaries.
Kelly Cohen, a lobbyist with high-profile clients who has been closely aligned with Dyer since his first mayoral campaign more than 20 years ago, told the Voice she is supporting Leary but does not not have a paid role on the campaign. Cohen represents Tavistock, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Orlando Regional Realtor Association and more as a lobbyist in front of the County Commission, according to the county lobbying directory.
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Just one more example of how money is ruining our democracy. Vote Semrad clearly the best candidate for Orange County District 5 Commissioner. Let’s make Orange County works for its citizens and not just the tourism industry
I agree with you. VOTE SEMRAD!!
Leary will be answering to the developers and tourism industry in lieu of the constituents in the district. Tourism taxes should benefit the community not the theme parks. Kelly Semard is a strong voice for the ppl and sensible growth, she has a strong background in economics with a common sense approach. Vote Kelly!
Well said, Anthony Bell , Bob Morris and Kathy. It is a clear choice between more of the same mindless and destructive pave-over of Orange County to make a few people even wealthier at everyone else’s expense (Steve Leary agenda) v. a more circumspect and resident-friendly approach to treatment/conservation of central Florida’s ecologically fragile lands and iconic wildlife (Kelly Semrad). Well written explication of the money involved by Ms Kassab. BTW Semrad’s campaign has not just been supported by environmental groups but also by a cross section of OC citizens from all walks of life who just hope to retain a halfway livable home county not utterly overrun by roads and concrete and all the negatives that go with unsustainable human growth. The scientific term “carrying capacity” applies to all populations, even human ones. Thanks to everyone for writing and paying attention to the true machinations behind the scenes. Such have manipulated our collective future for far too long. We need Semrad in District 5 and Nicole Wilson to retain her seat in District 1. And yes, as Kathy says, I hope Joy Goff-Marcil will support Kelly Semrad.
Perhaps Mr Leary would consider moving some of his PAC monies over to capture $25,000, $20,000, $15,000, $10,000 in title sponsorships for the over-budget and un-loved Winter Park Library building project he calls his own?
Bonus: Winter Park taxpayers are still on the hook to pay $2.4-$3.5 million annually to support the project—and keep the lights on even after construction is complete and the library has opened its doors.
Mr Leary, clean up your Winter Park mess before you mess up Orange County. (sounds like you have the funds).
A candidate that gets free publicity doesn’t need to raise a lot of money. WP is so fortunate to have the Voice.
VOTE SEMRAD!! We don’t want Leary!!!
Thanks, Beth, for laying it all out and bringing clarity to who is trying to pull the strings in this race.
Kelly Semrad: “Annexing into the city has been a loophole to make quick cash, contribute to sprawl and pay less for environmental devastation.”
Ms. Semrad is an extremist spouting hyperbolic clichés.
I had a front row seat to Leary’s tenure on the Winter Park City Commission and the nasty criticism is unwarranted and untrue. Leary is a moderate voice for sensible land management. He offers a balanced view on growth issues, prioritizing a better quality of life for all Orange County residents.
As a resident of WP who lived here through Steve Leary’s tenure, and I didn’t vote for him either time, I can attest to the fact that more demolition permits were given in Mayor Leary’s first month in office than the entire year prior. Mr. Leary is trying to greenwash himself and you, by calling someone who wants to protect Florida’s environment and allow voters to have a say in what developments move forward an extremist is not only wrong, it’s what we’ve come to expect from people who have a less careful approach to developers and their rampant takeover of our state.
Total baloney. The mayor and commissioners do not approve demolition permits. They are approved by staff if they meet code (which did not change under Leary).
You are always on here spouting “extremism and hyperbolic” around sensible land management because it doesn’t agree with your ideas. Makes me wonder, what’s in it for you?
“Neighbors for a Sensible Orange County.” Like most political tag lines, this name seems to make perfect sense to the average, uninformed voter. The devil is in Leary’s definition of “sensible.” His definition is pretty far off from most residents who think “sensible” means, “Let’s not develop every possible square inch of land in the County.”
Excellent reporting, Beth! Thanks for calling out all the players by name.
I am so disappointed in Mayor Buddy Dyer. A Democrat should think beyond current power and profit to the long-term livability of the state. Sprawl will ruin our fragile ecosystem.
Joy Goff-Marcil, if you are reading this, please endorse Kelly Semrad and ask your supporters to vote for her. It would be a real service to county District 5.
Thank you, Beth! This is very well written and demonstrates why I am supporting Ms. Semrad. I, too, am tired of money being the only consideration for people’s actions.
I wholeheartedly agree with Bob. To me, it is quite evident which candidate has the people’s concerns at heart & the knowledge of
what will happen to our beautiful Orlando & it’s surrounding areas
if the growth, as “they” see it, it allowed to happen. My vote is for
definitely for Kelly Semrad, a lady that wants to protect our environment
& let the people vote for what we want & need & not greedy people that
are so desperately trying to ruin our land & become a concrete jungle.
Kelly Semrad is the ONLY real choice we, as private citizens, have for County Commissioner of District 5. If we keep allowing the big money interests to decide what happens to the natural lands that remain, there is no hope for our planet. Where does it end? The developers don’t worry about where all of the water is coming from to supply all of the thousands of homes and services that accompany development. There is already salt water intrusion into the aquifer. None of these people who want to mow down what little is left of nature care one iota about any of this. They only care about making money and then leaving their destruction of everything we hold dear in their wake. What about the world these very people are leaving to their children, grandchildren and future generations? They will be long gone when the problems become insurmountable to the society left behind. The term “responsible growth” is just an acronym for tear down everything. Who will protect the future of this planet if not the voters of today?
If one lived long enough – and is smart enough – one certainly learned that governments, any government, and its cohort media, are not The People friends. I used to spend hours studying candidates “resumes”, for no avail. They say and promise what the “market surveys” suggest that would convince more people to vote for them. The clear truth is that the best for The People are always those trashed by the “establishment” and the big media. This makes very easy to pick a choice. Good luck to us all.
Semrad is for “giving the County more power over annexations…” sounds like a good idea doesn’t it? Unfortunately the charter amendment that is being presented is nothing more than denying residents who WANT to be annexed into a city from doing so and basically giving the County veto power. They will state that the people who want to be annexed will have reduced services or impact the environment. But the County doesn’t want to lose the revenue even if the residents make their decision based on lower taxes, or improved services such as public safety. It’s an attack on home rule and denies the citizens the ability to decide for themselves.
All I can add is that Steve was an excellent mayor for our city, which is an important experience factor in this new role. I am not political, just making an observation
Who is funding Ms. Semrad and the Winter Park Voice, though?
Your average citizen is supporting both. Not over-developers, large landowners, land-use attorneys and others who don’t think urban sprawl is a problem for everyone.
The voters who care about our lands and the future of Orange County are supporting Kelly in small increments and not PACS! Look c at the difference in the funding each has raised. KELLY IS FOR THE PEOPLE AND SUPPORTED BY SMALL INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS…the direct opposite of where Steve Leary is getting his money! Shame on you.