Two groups in favor of the penny tax will meet to discuss whether to file an elections complaint over the publication.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published March 5, 2004
A last-minute, antisales tax mailing to scores of Pasco voters might violate state campaign finance laws, Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning said Thursday.
The three-page mailing from Wesley Chapel resident Larry Toll lacks a disclaimer saying it is a paid political advertisement, Browning said. It also appears that Toll's employer, Cast-Crete Corp. of Tampa, paid for the mailing. If the two are working together to spread a political message, Browning said, they are required to file the appropriate paperwork with Browning's office.
"I went over this with Mr. Toll," Browning said. "If the fact is that Larry Toll and his employer are working in concert with one another, they would have to file as a political action committee, in my opinion."
Browning emphasized that his opinion is based on his reading of campaign finance statutes, and only the Florida Elections Commission can determine whether violations have been committed.
Toll was out of the office Thursday and could not be reached for comment. His boss, Cast-Crete owner Ralph Hughes, did not return calls for comment.
The mailing has caused such a stir that two pro-Penny for Pasco groups, the Pasco's Citizen Committee and Preserve Pasco!, will meet today to discuss whether to file an elections complaint.
"I can't count the number of calls I have had (Thursday) from people who think it is time they are held accountable for consistently ignoring standard ethics," said Allen Altman, co-chairman of the Pasco's Citizen Committee.
Added Jennifer Seney, head of Preserve Pasco!: "We're all talking to each other. We have agreed that when we get our ducks in a row, we will take action if it is appropriate. We're not ready to do that yet, but you can be assured we're lining up our ducks."
The mailing includes a short letter from Toll and photocopies of two newspaper columns raising questions about the proposed 1-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax hike, which goes to voters Tuesday.
Toll's Wesley Chapel home is listed as the return address, but the postage was paid with the same bulk mailing permit number used by Cast-Crete in other mailings.
Under campaign finance law, when at least two people or entities raise more than $500 to spread a political message, they must register as a political action committee, Browning said. It doesn't matter if all of the money comes from the pockets of the two entities involved, he added.
Did Toll's mailing cost more than $500? It is unclear how many people got it, although Seney got calls from dozens who received it.
By way of comparison, Browning said he recently sent out his own campaign mailing to about 1,500 people, and it cost about $600 or $700.
Cast-Crete has been a major contributor to the Citizens Against the Penny for Pasco, a political action committee headed by Ann Bunting. The firm provided $1,350 in photocopying and mailing costs for a mailing Bunting sent to various chamber members last month, according to campaign finance records.
But Toll's latest mailing has nothing to do with Ann Bunting's group, said her husband, Bill Bunting.
