Big developers bundle campaign cash for commission incumbents

Prominent developers, builders and real-estate people well known for bundling campaign donations for their favorite candidates are throwing considerable financial support behind two Tallahassee city commissioners facing tough primary competition.

The commissioners, Elaine Bryant and Curtis Richardson, are running in the Aug. 18 primary. Bryant, who was appointed in 2018, is locked in what appears to be a close contest with challenger Jack Porter. Richardson drew four opponents this year, three more than in 2016.

Among the incumbents' big donors are the Ghazvini family, whose numerous corporations include Premier Construction and Sandco; Gordon Thames and a myriad of LLCs related to his Arbor Properties apartment business; and a host of TALCOR commercial real estate entities, whose principals include Ed Murray and John McNeill.

The Ghazvinis and others are backing a recently formed political committee called Grow Tallahassee PC, which held a virtual fundraiser Tuesday for Bryant just as early voting gets underway. The political committee, which has not received donations yet, is an offshoot of Grow Tallahassee, which formed immediately after the 2018 election and is running paid ads for Richardson and Bryant on Facebook.

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The Ghazvinis were early backers of Richardson’s campaign, donating at least $5,000 from 19 different companies, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Individually, family member or close business associates gave $1,200. Grow Tallahassee principals gave $450 individually. That's roughly a tenth of his total campaign haul of $55,000.

Six different corporate iterations of TALCOR, Tallahassee's top commercial real estate firm, gave him at least $1,500.

Under Florida statutes, individuals and business are allowed to give each election cycle a maximum of $3,000 to candidates running for statewide office and $1,000 for those seeking multi-county or countywide office. Voters approved campaign finance limits of $250 for city and county commission candidates.

The most prolific donors can get around the limits easily by giving through multiple corporate entities, a perfectly legal practice that irks proponents of campaign finance reform.

Richardson, in a July 23 candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Tallahassee Democrat, denied that he accepts bundled donations.

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"None of that big money has been bundled for me, ever," he said. He added that anyone whose votes can be influenced by money is "not the person we want to elect to public office." 

In an interview with the Democrat Tuesday, Richardson defended the donations."The contributions were legal, ethical and moral, and they were not solicited,” he said. “If they wanted to support my campaign under those circumstances, I accepted the contributions.”  

More developer money flowed into Richardson's campaign coffers a month after a crucial May 26 vote on Comprehensive Plan changes allowing greater development in the Welaunee property. The donations came from key Welaunee players.

At the end of June, Richardson collected $950 in total from attorney Gary Hunter, his firm, Hopping Green & Sams, and members of the Mettler and Davenport families, who own the “arch” portion of the property north of Interstate 10. Hunter is an attorney for the Mettler family corporation, Powerhouse Inc., and a registered lobbyist for the Ghazvinis, who are partners in Canopy at Welaunee, a massive mixed-use development under construction in the northeast.

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Ghazvini companies gave at least $4,750 in mid-July to Bryant's campaign, which has raised $76,500 in all. At least one Ghazvini family member gave $200. Another $1,750, at least, came from TALCOR companies and individuals. 

Thames gave at least $1,000 in donations to Bryant from five different companies.

Bryant did not respond to multiple calls and text messages seeking comment. 

County Commissioner Bryan Desloge, who is not in the August primary but faces Brian Welch in the general election, also has received chunks of campaign money from developers. 

Desloge has raised at least $2,500 in donations from Ghazvini-linked businesses, $2,250 from TALCOR and its principals. In addition, $2,500 in donations flowed in from Thames-connected companies and individuals associated with the Welaunee comp plan amendment donated $1,000.

TALCOR's Murray said the company stands with who it supports in local races and dismissed that contributions had any sway over official policy.

“I think if people think that a couple of $250 contributions will sway honest, commissioners that are well intended in trying to do the best for our community, that is silly,” Murray said. “We’re not embarrassed about who we support.”

Grow Tallahassee launches committee

An organization called Grow Tallahassee, whose principals include Justin Ghazvini, held its first meeting in November 2018, less than two weeks after the general election.

It served mostly as a loose organization of people who espouse pro-development views in email blasts and Facebook posts. In recent months, its Facebook page has prominently featured and endorsed Bryant and Richardson — and seemingly no other candidates.

“Commissioners Richardson and Bryant are people who have a record in favor of voting for growth,” said Jared Willis, the group's spokesman. “Our folks believe, and I firmly believe, development is not a dirty word. You can have this growth and it doesn’t come at the expense of the community.”

Grow Tallahassee, Inc., filed corporate papers July 9 and launched a related political committee, Grow Tallahassee PC, on Tuesday, the same day it held a fundraiser for Bryant. The money raised has not shown up yet in campaign finance reports.

Willis said Grow Tallahassee serves as a counterpoint to neighborhood advocates and environmental activists who show up at City Commission meetings in matching shirts to object to growth. 

“It’s not adversarial, but we wanted to show a level of support that we’re young folks and we want to see Tallahassee grow,” said Willis, who previously worked with the Downtown Business Association.

It has hosted events with guest speakers from the developers of the Cascades Park hotel project and top Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency staffer Ben Pingree. A December event about the Northeast Gateway Project featured keynote speaker Drew Jones, who runs Bryant’s campaign and represents the Ghazvini family as a private client.

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One of the Grow Tallahassee's principals, Bugra Demirel, was on the receiving end of Community Redevelopment Agency money for the SoMo Walls art project. A Citizens Advisory Council for the Frenchtown/Southside CRA voted 6-1 not to approve construction or utility work funding for the project.

In a late June meeting, the CRA, which is made up of all five city commissioners, voted otherwise, signing off on $560,000 in construction grant funds, roughly 12% of the total $5 million project's costs, and an additional $216,000 for underground electric utilities.

Demirel donated personally to Bryant's campaign. 

Bryant and Richardson are hardly the only local recipients of bundled campaign donations from developers.

Ghazvini businesses cut multiple checks to Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil, School Superintendent Rocky Hanna and School Board member DeeDee Rasmussen. TALCOR did the same for Hanna, Desloge and County Commission candidate Jeff Hendry. 

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.

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