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PALM BEACH POST: Campaign contributions coming in, as local and statewide races take shape

By George Bennett, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

 
Whether they're running for governor or a county commission seat, most candidates had a similar campaign finance strategy in 2009: pile up as much money as possible while minimizing expenditures to save cash for election season.
 
Then there's Bill Hager.
 
The former Boca Raton councilman, a Republican seeking the state House seat of term-limited Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, raised $53,092 from contributors and chipped in $14,500 of his own money in 2009.
 
But Hager also spent $50,670 during 2009 -- the most by any non-incumbent state House candidate in Florida, according to reports filed this week.
 
Hager's expenditures include consulting fees of $11,935 to Tom Plante, $9,900 to Cheryl Carpenter-Klimek and $7,500 to Kathleen Daley.
 
"The expenditures have been focused and intentional. I've used the money to position myself in that race," Hager said.
 
As a result of the strategy, Hager began the new year trailing District 87 Democratic rival Lori Berman in finances. Berman raised $67,170 and spent $18,436 in 2009.
 
But Berman dropped out of the race for Republican-leaning District 87 last week and switched to heavily Democratic District 86. Incumbent District 86 Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, expects to run for state Senate if Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, wins a special congressional election in April.
 
Some other highlights of the latest finance reports for state and county candidates, which cover activity through Dec. 31:
 
State Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, began 2010 with $468,609 in his campaign for attorney general while his Democratic primary rival, state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach, had $403,372. Gelber raised more money than Aronberg in 2009, but also spent more.
 
Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, raised nearly $1.9 million in 2009 in his campaign for chief financial officer. The only candidates in Florida to raise more money were two gubernatorial hopefuls: Democratic CFO Alex Sink ($6.6 million) and Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum ($4.4 million).

In the Republican primary for Atwater's Senate seat, state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff of Fort Lauderdale more than doubled the fund-raising of state Rep. Carl Domino of Jupiter, $338,296 to $159,403. And Domino's total includes $110,000 of his own money.

In the Republican primary for Aronberg's Senate seat, Wellington Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto more than doubled the fund-raising of former state Rep. Sharon Merchant, $161,977 to $79,798. On the Democratic side, state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, raised $141,911 while attorney Peter Burkert of Fort Myers raised $103,035.

Pat Rooney Jr., who entered the race for Domino's state House seat in late October, raised $42,826 by year's end. GOP primary rival Nancy Cardone raised $26,245. Democrat Mark Marciano raised $57,809 during 2009.

The Palm Beach County commission race to replace term-limited Jeff Koons is a financial mismatch. School board member Paulette Burdick raised $48,777 during 2009 while her Democratic primary rival, state Rep. Mary Brandenburg of West Palm Beach, raised no money in the fourth quarter of 2009 and $2,350 for the year.

Contributors appear to be waiting to see whether Democratic County Commissioner Jess Santamaria runs for reelection in 2010. The only candidate for Santamaria's seat, Democrat Elissa Pearl, raised a mere $520 during the fourth quarter and $9,165 for the year. She also put $10,500 of her own money into the race. Santamaria expects to announce his plans in the next few weeks.

george_bennett@pbpost.com

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/campaign-contributions-coming-in-as-local-and-statewide-176921.html

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