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Soft money gives politicians rolling start

A state party spends thousands of dollars on political operatives for a man who hasn't filed to run.

By ADAM C. SMITH
Published May 17, 2005

Officially, Tom Gallagher is still considering whether he wants to run for governor. But you wouldn't know it from the team of paid professionals he already has working on his political future.

In a shaded brick building a few blocks from the capital, some of Florida's top Republican operatives are quietly promoting Gallagher even before he has become a candidate for anything.

Gallagher can't raise or spend a dime directly for his campaign until he files paperwork declaring what office he's seeking. But through one of the newest loopholes in Florida's campaign finance laws, the state Republican Party is spending tens of thousands of dollars on Gallagher's political preparations.

"I haven't heard of this for people who haven't even become announced candidates. ... It's using the soft money loophole to a greater extent than it's been in the past," Common Cause Florida executive director Ben Wilcox lamented, refering to the unlimited political donations that the state parties can receive but individual candidates cannot.

Nobody is suggesting that Gallagher is breaking any rules or laws. His Republican rival, Attorney General Charlie Crist, said the state party also briefly paid for two political aides working on his behalf, though they became part of his campaign team after he formally announced his candidacy last week.

"It's legal to do that, so God bless them," Crist said of the Gallagher political workers.

Gallagher, the state's chief financial officer, did not return phone messages Monday. Nor did officials with the state Republican Party. But Brett Doster, one of the Gallagher political advisers being paid by the state GOP, said Gallagher wants to be sure not to mix overt political activity with his state job.

"In order to be completely above reproach, his policy has been he doesn't want anybody in his (CFO) office doing anything remotely related to political activity," said Doster, who said his work includes writing speeches and political and "messaging" advice.

Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, another potential candidate for governor, responded by e-mail when asked whether she has any political staff funded by the party: "Glad you asked. No one working for me and being paid by the Republican Party!!!"

Those working on Gallagher's political team include Doster, who led President Bush's re-election campaign in Florida last year; veteran fundraiser David Browning; former state party executive director David Johnson; and Malorie Miller.

State reports show the state GOP paid those four staffers more than $75,000 in the first three months of 2005, though Doster said the staffers haven't all been working full time for Gallagher. Precisely how much money Gallagher has raised for the party, who he has raised it from, and how much of it is directly helping him is unclear from state reports.

It's just that kind of ambiguity that's the problem, according to advocates of campaign finance reform, who say unlimited "soft money" party donations diminish accountability in elections; the public can't clearly tell who is giving money for whom.

It's easier to raise political money through five- and six-figure checks than the $500 maximum allowed for state elections, and the reliance on soft money in Florida elections is growing. Lawmakers just raised the amount of soft money state parties can directly give to campaigns campaigns from $50,000 to $250,000. On top of that, party money can pay for a host of other expenses, from staff to polling to TV ads.

Typically, candidates need to raise soft money for the parties in order to expect the parties to cover their expenses. In 2002, Janet Reno seriously hurt her own gubernatorial campaign by refusing to accept soft money in the Democratic primary because she saw it as violating the spirit of campaign finance laws.

"It's a pox on both our houses because both parties do it," Democratic consultant Robin Rorapaugh said of the way soft money is spent directly on candidates. "I suspect it will remain a loophole for many, many years because neither party wants to contest it."

But while state parties have spent big money covering campaign expenses in recent years, few Democrats had heard of parties paying for political operations for prospective candidates.

"There's no such thing as a $500 limit on campaign contributions any more," said former Democratic Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who left office three years ago and was unaware of any Democratic Cabinet members ever having party-funded political teams. "I don't think any of us were that sophisticated to start that early and open up political offices funded by the party."

Mark Herron, a Democratic election law expert, noted that state lawmakers have routinely operated their own political and fundraising operations within their state parties, just as Gallagher is doing.

"You could look at it in that light," Herron said, "Or you could look at it as those guys only being there for the purpose of getting their campaign ready to go before it's officially started."

--Times staff writers Aakash Patel and Joni James contributed to this report. Adam C. Smith can be reached at adam@sptimes.com or 727 893-8241.

[Last modified May 17, 2005, 05:09:07]