Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
A money-grubbing culture at Florida’s Capitol
For some Florida legislators, the day before the start of the legislative session is one of their busiest days of the year, and for all the wrong reasons.
Monday was the last day they can collect money for the election campaigns and political committees under their control — the cesspool of Florida’s campaign finance system.
It’s a shakedown. Lawmakers put the arm on lobbyists and their clients for checks to beat the clock before a 60-day fundraising ban begins Tuesday. Under the rules of conduct for the House and Senate, lawmakers cannot solicit or accept campaign money during session (Tallahassee knows a quid pro quo when it sees one). The ban does not apply to Gov. Ron DeSantis, but should, because he has absolute control over every bill and appropriation.
It used to be that a money-grubbing politician in Tallahassee had enough respect for lobbyists to personally ask for money, but even that’s gone now. The obsession with fundraising is so deeply ingrained in this one-party, post-term limits culture that some lawmakers now pay political consultants to do their asking for them. Those consultants keep part of what they raise, which makes the obsession with money even worse.
No self-respecting lobbyist should answer a fundraising pitch from a consultant. But they do, because those same lobbyists desperately need access from the legislators with their hands out — even though the next election is nearly two years away.
‘A check pick up’
Eight lawmakers signed onto one dash for cash, which listed their names but was signed by Rich Porter of Political Capital Florida, a consulting firm. The email circulated to lobbyists, obtained by the Sun Sentinel, appears to make meetings with the lawmakers
conditional upon sending money. Read it. You decide.
“We are working on client schedules this week,” the email said. “Please let us know if you may be in need of a meeting or check pick up with any of our folks (list below). If you have support for them and DO NOT need a meeting Monday, please let us know ASAP so we can schedule a check pick up this week.”
The Republican lawmakers listed were Sen. Nick DeCeglie of Indian Rocks Beach, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia of Spring Hill and Reps. Alex Andrade of Pensacola, Shane Abbott of DeFuniak Springs, Tom Fabricio of Miami Lakes, Mike Giallombardo of Cape Coral, Fred Hawkins of St. Cloud and Keith Truenow of Tavares.
The joint sales pitch listed all of their political committees or PCs, which are special interest cash cows exempt from the $1,000 limit on contributions to lawmakers’ campaigns. PCs can take money in unlimited amounts.
Fabricio, the only South Florida lawmaker among the group, represents District 110 in northwest Miami-Dade. A lawyer with an interest in a real estate title company, he’s a
former Miramar resident who was elected in 2020 and won a second term last fall without opposition.
‘True Freedom’ — at a price
One reason Fabricio waltzed back into office without an opponent is that he raised six-figure sums twice, as both a candidate and through his PC, which is named True Freedom (the same name of his title firm, which has the same initials, T.F., as he does).
With no opponent, Fabricio raised $150,334 for his re-election and $129,250 through the True Freedom committee, whose address is a nondescript strip mall on University Drive in Tamarac, which is also the law office of the PC’s listed chairman, attorney Kevin Tynan. Fabricio did hand out about $18,000 to other candidates, but he spent another $80,000 on consultants, travel, meals, hurricane supplies and even a Rotary Club sponsorship.
When Florida legislators legalized member-controlled political committees a decade ago, they specified no contribution limits and very few restrictions on how money is spent. It’s become a free-for-all where elected officials use money from lobbyists’ clients to augment their personal lifestyle. A responsible Legislature would end the use of this political money to literally feed at the trough.
Steak dinners and doughnuts
Fabricio, who reported a modest net worth of $192,000, did not respond to email, phone and text messages.
Online public campaign records, accessible to everyone, show that Fabricio’s committee reimbursed him nearly $25,000 for expenses, including $7,580 for travel to an event last August — the committee’s largest expenditure. At the same time, he used campaign committee money for meals, rental cars, gas, even Krispy Kreme doughnuts. A tab of $190.49 at an Outback Steakhouse paid for a “policy discussion dinner.”
Like us, Fabricio’s constituents might wonder why he spent $7,622 of campaign money last year on “postage” from his other fund, a campaign committee. That’s a lot of stamps.
With so much campaign money on hand and no opponent to fret about last year, Fabricio put $20,000 in his legislative office account, which is allowed by law, to cover other expenses, and put $18,000 in the bank for his next race in 2024, to discourage opponents. That’s business as usual in Tallahassee.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.