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Donor list includes adult club owners

A Pinellas commissioner receives $3,000 in donations from several adult nightclub owners for her re-election.

By WILL VAN SANT
Published January 10, 2006

CLEARWATER - Some of the money Pinellas County Commissioner Susan Latvala has raised for her 2006 re-election bid comes from an unusual source: adult nightclub owners.

Latvala, 56, accepted $3,000 in mid August from adult club owners or their businesses, according to a fundraising report and interviews with the St. Petersburg Times .

All of the contributions were for the maximum $500 and represent a small portion of the $45,000 Latvala has raised.

Latvala, a Republican, acknowledged that some constituents might be uncomfortable with the source of the money.

But the clubs are legal, she said, and it's not her job to be "holier than thou" and decide who should be allowed to take part in the political process.

"I knew it was going to be controversial when I did it," Latvala said. "If I were ashamed of it, I would not have taken the money."

A former Pinellas County School Board member, Latvala was elected to the commission in 2000. She represents County Commission District 4, a single-member district in North Pinellas.

The 2006 primaries are nine months away, and only Ray Brooks, a political newcomer, has filed to run against her.

Brooks said that as long as those making the donations follow the law in running their clubs, he saw nothing wrong with Latvala accepting the donations.

"I'm not going to question the ethics," Brooks said. "Everybody needs protection, and if they want to contribute to her campaign, they have every right to do so, and she has every right to take it."

James Dato, a shareholder in Diamond Dolls and Sweethearts, both in unincorporated Pinellas near Clearwater, organized the donations. He also has an interest in Calendar Girls, a Pasco County adult club.

Development and political consultant Todd Pressman introduced Latvala and Dato early in the summer, the two said. Dato brought three dancers, all single mothers and students, to the meeting.

Dato said he wanted to talk to Latvala because he was concerned that Pinellas' development rules could be changed to target adult clubs. He also wanted to declare his opposition to more stringent regulation of the industry.

Dato said he left the meeting impressed.

"I was pleasantly surprised," he said. "She seemed to be very honest, sincere and understanding."

Latvala said she told Dato that "the intention of the county is not to ever go after any business to run them out of town."

"You play by the rules, and you can operate," she said.

Pinellas' adult nightclub laws prohibit substantial exposure of the breasts and buttocks in establishments that serve alcohol, according to assistant county attorney Carl Brody.

Also, adult nightclubs are prohibited within 400 feet of a residential property, church, school, child care facility or another club, Brody said.

The county's regulatory and zoning restrictions have withstood court challenges, he said, and there are no plans to revise the approach.

Still, Dato said he wanted assurances, which prompted him to reach out to Latvala.

Encouraged by the meeting, Dato donated $1,500 to Latvala as an individual and through his businesses. Dato's girlfriend also donated $500.

Dato said he encouraged Paul Scagnelli, an owner of the adult nightclub Oz, also in unincorporated Pinellas south of Clearwater, and a registered agent for a Web site selling adult toys and videos, to donate to. Scagnelli contributed $500.

Herb Sylvester, who has an interest in the Largo-area nightclub Atlantis on 66th Street N, also was approached, Dato said, and donated $500 to Latvala. Latvala never met Scagnelli or Sylvester.

Dato said he may try to set up meetings with commissioners other than Latvala, but has no immediate plans.

"It's refreshing to find someone you can talk to who has an understanding," he said. "And when you find someone like that, why not support them?"

--Will Van Sant can be reached at 445-4166 or vansant@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 10, 2006, 01:51:15]