Panepinto’s fundraising success is drawing attention
Businessman joined Orange mayoral race in October
Six months ago, the Orange County mayor’s race was shaping up as a fight between two Republican officeholders, Bill Sublette and Pete Clarke, both positioning to be the alternative to Democratic Sheriff Jerry Demings in an officially nonpartisan election.
But the entry of Republican businessman Rob Panepinto in October has shaken up the race. His initial $100,000 self-contribution kicked off a fundraising bonanza that led to the newcomer keeping pace with Demings, a prolific money raiser himself, in a campaign to lead a county with more than 1 million people and a budget of $4 billion.
“I’ve hosted a couple of meet and greets, bringing [people] in with an open mind,” said Todd Wilcox, a former GOP candidate for U.S. Senate from Orlando and one of the hosts of a $500-a-plate fundraiser for Panepinto’s campaign March 12 at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando. “The general impression across the board is that he’s a breath of fresh air.”
Wes Hodge, Orange County Democratic chair, said Panepinto’s rise “is interesting to see. But it’s hard for someone to come out of nowhere and build name recognition. … [People] just have to figure
out who this other person is.”
Panepinto’s campaign raised more than $37,000 in February to reach a total of $300,000, according to the Supervisor of Elections office, while Demings raised about $35,000 in February to reach $385,000. The PAC supporting Demings raised more than $28,000 in February to total $155,000, while Panepinto’s related political committee raised an additional $22,000 in February and $116,000 overall.
Money isn’t everything in a campaign, of course. Bill Segal out-raised Teresa Jacobs with more than $1 million to her $558,000 in the 2010 mayoral race, and yet Jacobs defeated him in a runoff. But Panepinto’s success so far has already had a major impact.
Sublette, Orange County School Board chairman, was one of the biggest names running but lagged behind Panepinto in raising money and dropped out in January.
Clarke, 68, an Orange County commissioner who also had been lagging behind when raising money, loaned his campaign $200,000 in February to total more than $260,000.
“There was some talking going on that I was getting out of the race,” he said. “I figured I just wanted to let people know I’m serious.”
Demings, 58, called the mayor’s race “a marathon.”
“Nearly six months remain until the August election day, and I remain focused on the finish line,” he said in an email. “I carefully watch how my opponents run, but in the end, it will be the voters who will determine the winner. … The daily feedback that I receive from citizens is encouraging that victory is still in reach.”
Panepinto, 51, comes out of a business background as president of Florentine Strategies, a consulting and capital investment firm.
But he also has experience on the CEO of Entrepreneurs in Action, which helps support nonprofits, and as CEO and board chair of the Central Florida Social Enterprise Accelerator, a partnership between several groups including the Central Florida Foundation and Rollins College that provides funding for fledgling nonprofits.
He serves as the chair for the Central Florida Foundation, one of the region’s leading nonprofits, and also holds positions with the Orlando Economic Partnership, Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship and the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford.
“I am obviously honored and inspired and grateful that we have gotten, as an outsider running for office for the first time, the level of support we’ve gotten,” Panepinto said in an interview. “The breadth of it, the geographic breadth of it, that it’s coming from small business owners, from large companies, from different demographics.’’
Ken Bradley, a former Winter Park mayor and exFlorida Hospital executive, stressed the race is nonpartisan and hoped it wouldn’t be turned into a Republican vs. Democrat narrative.
“When I met Rob, I didn’t know what his political persuasion was,” he said. “For me, being a businessman trumps being a Republican or Democrat.”
But even if the candidates themselves can’t legally identify as party members, the parties still can. Lew Oliver, Orange County Republican chair, said the GOP will help support the last Republican in the race, as it has in the past.
For now, though, “Some as individuals are getting involved financially and otherwise at this time, behind the scenes, but the party will not officially endorse either Republican,” said Paul Paulson, the GOP state committeeman for Orange County.
Clarke “is in it to win,” Paulson said, and Panepinto “is a decent guy, getting a lot of donations and with his own money to spend. I like them both.”
Hodge, meanwhile, said the Democrats “were all in to get the sheriff elected as the next mayor. … We want candidates who share a Democratic ideology.”
Others who have filed for mayor include Jose Datil Colom, who was ordered to serve probation in a public corruption case, and Robert Edward Melanson, convicted of trespassing on the roof of singer Rihanna’s mansion in Los Angeles.
The election is Aug. 28. If no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates will be held Nov. 6.