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Hildebrand campaign is flush while 2 opponents go broke

After expenses, she still has $40,000, while her foes together never raised a total of $10,000.

NEW PORT RICHEY - County Commissioner Ann Hildebrand and her two GOP opponents spent several thousand dollars apiece in the early stages of the campaign.

The difference is, her challengers' campaign accounts are nearly depleted, while Hildebrand still has more than $40,000.

That's because Hildebrand has vastly outfundraised her opponents, collecting $46,793 in cash and in-kind contributions since July 23, the end of the latest reporting period. Challenger Scott Factor raised $5,090, including $4,465 from his own pocket, and opponent David Abremski collected $3,307, including $1,467 from himself and his wife.

Nearly two-thirds of the contributions to Hildebrand's campaign - about $29,250 - have come from developers, builders, real estate agents and attorneys who represent developers.

"I recognize that generally business entities are the ones that contribute financially to campaigns," said Hildebrand, a Republican seeking her sixth term.

"I've raised dollars from the business and the corporate community, but I emphasize strongly that I'm very cognizant of the fact that my responsibility is to the voters," she said. "I'm just trying to get my message out as far as what I stand for and what I've done."

And that takes money, particularly because Hildebrand plans to use direct mailing to reach voters.

Factor wasn't surprised by the figures. He made an issue of the developers' contributions when he ran against Hildebrand four years ago.

"Quite frankly, when it comes to campaign contributions, (developers) seem to be the ones that contribute, and they direct their money toward her," said Factor, an insurance underwriter.

"Other commissioners have shown that taking (developers') money doesn't mean owing their votes to them, but she's not one of them," Factor said.

Since he can't match her dollar for dollar, Abremski plans to make his case to voters in person, by going door to door and attending events.

"I'm more of a feet-on-the-street kind of campaigner," said Abremski, a technical support manager. "If you can get face to face with somebody, you're more likely to persuade them to consider you."

Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is hall@sptimes.com