Palm Beach County sheriff leads in campaign donations among county candidates

Bradshaw raises $465,000 in donations, far more than other county candidates

By Josh Hafenbrack | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

July 26, 2008

Far outpacing any other county politician, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw hauled in $465,000 as he prepares for an August re-election bid against a little-known challenger.

Aside from Bradshaw's prodigious money raising, summer fundraising was slow in a weak economy, according to campaign finance reports released Friday. County commissioners, while opening up wide money advantages over their challengers, have raised little compared with previous years. Chairwoman Addie Greene has raised just $38,000.

Bradshaw, seeking a second four-year term as the county's top cop, raised money from more than 1,000 individuals and groups, many at the $500 maximum. Of the $465,000 he has raised in monetary donations, $112,000 has come since the last totals were reported in April.

"Whether you have one opponent or 10 opponents, you have to take everybody seriously," Bradshaw said. "In the world of politics, people can make a tremendous amount of ground up on you real quick if you don't run a quality campaign."

He said he plans to launch his first TV ads the week of Aug. 4. The nonpartisan sheriff's race appears on the Aug. 26 primary ballot, pitting Bradshaw against Cleamond Walker of Riviera Beach, who drives a waste management truck.

"The sheriff's race, to me, that's an indication of the old saying: Everybody wants to back a winner," said political strategist Richard Giorgio, who is not affiliated with either campaign. "He's obviously finding it easier to raise money than some of the other candidates, just because he's got token opposition."

Attempts to reach Walker for comment were unsuccessful.

In the county's most-watched statehouse race, incoming Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, pushed his fundraising total over the $2 million mark including in-kind contributions as his former Democratic opponent, Skip Campbell, was dropping out of the race. Still, Atwater's torrid fundraising pace cooled a bit, as he raised about $300,000 in the last three months compared to a half-million in contributions in the previous period.

Atwater's political action committee, Preserve the American Dream, also has received $731,000 in contributions. Democrat Linda Bird, a Broward real estate agent, entered the race against Atwater this month. Her early fund-raising efforts will be reported in August.

Among county commissioners, Karen Marcus has pulled in the most money with $111,000. Her primary opponent, county public relations employee John Jamason, has raised just $1,450.

The commission's other veterans, Burt Aaronson ($82,000) and Addie Greene ($38,000), raised small sums by their own standards in past campaigns. Neither faces an opponent until the Nov. 4 general election.

"Right now, everybody's begging," said Greene, whose challenger, Republican Lizbeth Wade, had not submitted a campaign report as of Friday afternoon. "I would rather wait until all these people who are out there begging disappear after Aug. 26."

Giorgio said candidates are having a tough time raising money, especially for races out of the spotlight like elections supervisor. It causes problems as candidates try to draw a small pool of voters to the polls in August, he said.

"It's almost cost-prohibitive to even try and do mail [ads] countywide, and it gets even worse in the general election," said Giorgio.

One group of candidates that's had relative success in money raising: the three ex-legislators running for county posts. All three Democrats — Richard Machek (property appraiser), Susan Bucher (elections supervisor) and Shelley Vana (county commissioner) — lead the incumbents they are challenging in fundraising so far.

Drawing on support from years spent in Tallahassee is the key to their success. Among Machek's $102,000 fund-raising total are donations from gambling and agricultural interests from across the state, two industries he supported as a legislator. He even got a $303 in-kind donation from Clyde's and Costello's, a popular Tallahassee bar.

Machek has nearly doubled the fund-raising of his opponent, longtime incumbent Gary Nikolits. They square off in the Aug. 26 primary.

"I've still got a few friends out there," Machek said.

Josh Hafenbrack can be reached at jhafenbrack@ sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5508.

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