Candidates Josh Wooten and Joyce Valentino ask two groups to cease the ads and mailers.
By AMY WIMMER SCHWARB
Published October 30, 2004
The political advertisements that have filled Citrus mailboxes and newspapers over the past two weeks, credited to innocuous-sounding groups called Truth in Political Advertising and Citizens for a Better Citrus, now have names attached to them.
Citizens for a Better Citrus, previously known only by its association with two members of the Citrus County Builders Association, is backed by dozens of builders, Realtors and subcontractors from industries such as plumbing and roofing, according to records filed Friday.
The group's donors became public when the group filed its campaign finance report.
Citizens for a Better Citrus has issued advertisements backing County Commission incumbent Josh Wooten, a Democrat; County Commission candidate Dennis Damato, a Republican; and property appraiser candidate John Barnes, a Democrat. The group also produced one flier against County Commission candidate Joyce Valentino, a Republican.
The committee raised $120,885 altogether between Oct. 13 and 28, the records showed. The top three contributors were the Citrus County Realtors Association, which gave $7,700; B.G. Rusaw Homes, which gave $7,000; and Sweetwater Homes of Citrus, which gave $5,300.
Under the rules that govern these kinds of "electioneering" groups, individuals and businesses are not limited to the $500 cap that applies to candidates' campaigns.
Meanwhile, a group formed in opposition to the builders-fronted organization, Truth in Political Advertising, also filed its campaign finance paperwork on Friday.
The group has placed newspaper advertisements critical of Wooten, and on Friday issued a stinging mail piece that lumped Wooten in with "the good ole' boys" in Citrus County and asked whether the Sheriff's Office gave him and his wife a break when investigating criminal matters.
Top contributors to Truth in Political Advertising were Jim Bitter of Homosassa, who loaned the campaign $15,500; Holder resident Charlie Strange, who donated $1,200; and Homosassa resident and Inverness business owner Winston Perry, who contributed $300.
Altogether, the Bitter-led group raised $19,275. Most of the contributors to Truth in Political Advertising gave $100. More than half of the contributors to Citizens for a Better Citrus gave $1,000 or more.
The financial disclosure took place on the same day that Wooten, the beneficiary of most of Citizens for a Better Citrus advertising, asked the group to cease involvement in his race. Likewise, Valentino, the only candidate supported by Truth in Political Advertising, asked the same of that group. Neither candidate is affiliated with the respective groups that are backing them.
Citizens for a Better Citrus announced Friday that it does not plan any more political fliers except for an upcoming newspaper advertisement that explains the organization's mission and purpose.
Linda Daly, chairwoman of the electioneering group, said in a statement released Friday that she "would like to apologize for the misunderstanding created by a statement in one of our mailings."
She went on to explain that one ad supporting Wooten, which credited him for ridding the county of waste, fraud and abuse, should have simply congratulated Wooten and the rest of the County Commission "for being good fiscal stewards and keeping a watchful eye out."
But Valentino's request for Truth in Political Advertising to step out of her race came too late for one negative ad that began arriving in voters' mailboxes on Friday.
That ad suggests that Wooten's commission position allowed him to avoid arrest when deputies went to his house to investigate domestic abuse, and for his wife to avoid arrest late last year when she was in a car in which drugs were discovered.
The Sheriff's Office said at the time that Wooten wasn't arrested because deputies didn't find evidence of domestic dispute.
As for the drug case, the State Attorney's Office has backed the Sheriff's Office's decision not to arrest Mrs. Wooten. The case led to the conviction of Lonnie Thomas Arnold.
Times staff writer Justin George contributed to this story. Amy Wimmer Schwarb can be reached at 860-7305 or wimmer@sptimes.com
